DO WE SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL IN OUR LIVES?
____________________________________________________________
The scene is Babylon, 6th century BC. King Belshazzar, reigning king of the Babylonians, is hosting a great banquet for the thousand nobles of his kingdom. While presiding over this grand event, the king orders that treasures plundered from the temple in Jerusalem be brought out to impress his loyal vassals.
Many years earlier, Belshazzar’s predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, ruled over the Babylonians. During his reign, he besieged, and eventually conquered, Jerusalem and Judah… carrying away to Babylon all the treasures in the temple that had been dedicated to God (2 Chronicles 36:18).
From the spoils, Belshazzar chooses the elegant gold and silver goblets to showcase for his guests. The nobles, along with the king’s wives and concubines, all partake in drinking wine from these holy temple vessels. They praise their false gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. This revelry is a blasphemous affront to the Most High God.
“Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall… ‘Mene, mene, tekel, parsin.’” – Daniel 5:5, 25
Belshazzar watches in terror as these words miraculously appear. He calls for the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners whom he considers the wise men of Babylon. He promises that any who can interpret the mysterious words will rule as the third highest in the kingdom, clothed in purple with a chain of gold.
All are baffled. No one can decipher the meaning of the cryptic message. Yet the queen remembers Daniel…
“There is a man in your kingdom who has a spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.” – Daniel 5:11
The queen explains that King Nebuchadnezzar had been so impressed by Daniel that he made him chief over all the wise men of Babylon. For Daniel interpreted dreams for him where no one else succeeded.
Daniel, now an aged man, comes before King Belshazzar. He confronts the king about his pride and arrogance… his insolence before the One who rules over all…
“You have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven… you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways.” – Daniel 5:23-24
Daniel reminds the king of Nebuchadnezzar’s fate when his heart became hardened with pride and self-glorification. He set himself against the Most High God, the One who sets up kings and removes kings by His great power (Daniel 2:21). Nebuchadnezzar was stripped of his throne and his prominence… until he acknowledged God’s absolute sovereignty (Daniel 4:34).
Daniel interprets the mysterious message by divine revelation….
“Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” – Daniel 5:26-28
God’s judgment has come upon Belshazzar and his kingdom. He has met his doom. Mene… mene… means numbered, with double use of the word for emphasis. The king’s reign is coming to an end. His kingdom will soon fall. The days of the king are numbered as well, for he will be slain that very night.
Tekel… means weighed. The king’s character and actions have been weighed on the heavenly scales and found wanting in justice, righteousness and godliness. His sins are great. He is haughty and vainglorious with no acknowledgement of the Most High God in his heart and his life. Like his idols, he is found lacking in worth and value.
Peres (plural form: parsin)… means division. The great Babylonian empire will be torn apart, divided among the Medes and Persians. The conquerors have laid siege to the town and invasion is imminent. Yet Belshazzar believes his kingdom is unshakable, invincible.
That very night, the Medo-Persian army, led by Cyrus the Great, conquers the town. The kingdom of Babylon falls to the invading army, and King Belshazzar is slain… fulfilling the prophetic words written on the wall.
Belshazzar faced God’s judgment. He chose his path that led away from the One who could save Him. When he saw the writing on the wall, it was too late. His heart was hardened. His fate was sealed.
† Do we see the writing on the wall in our lives?
The Most High God holds everyone’s lives in His hand. He reveals His great love for us in countless, unmistakable ways throughout the course of our lives… hoping we will see and believe. The greatest manifestation of God’s love for us is the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world.
Everyone chooses their own path in life that leads either toward God or away from Him. We have the choice to either accept or ignore His gracious invitations… to receive or reject the salvation offered by Jesus. He waits patiently for us, wanting all to come to believe.
The lost choose the path that leads away from salvation in Christ… the path the world walks. It is a path of self-exaltation, defiance of the Most High God and worship of the worldly idols of wealth, prestige and power. Like Belshazzar, they believe their lives are secure, unshakable.
The lost fail to acknowledge their sins… and refuse to recognize God’s writing on the walls of their lives, warning of the consequences of their choice. One day they will face His judgment. Without a Savior, the heavenly scales will find them lacking in His love, righteousness and godliness. It will be too late. Their eternal fate will be sealed.
Believers choose the path of salvation that can only be found in Jesus. It is a path of humble reverence and worship of the Most High God… a path of surrender to His will. The redemptive blood of the Lamb will spare us from God’s judgment on sin. Our eternal destiny will be in His heavenly kingdom forever.
