SCRITPURE: DANIEL 5
THE WRITING ON THE WALL (vs. 1-30)
King Belshazzar had a great banquet with thousands of his nobles. He gave order to bring in the gold and silver goblets that his father Nebucadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem to pour wine on it to drink. Suddenly, a human finger appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king called out all the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to read the writing and tell the meaning. Anyone who can tell what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck. And he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
When the queen entered, she introduced Daniel and Daniel was brought to the king. And Daniel said:’ O Belshazzar, you have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and you nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore, he sent the hand that wrote the inscription as follows: MENE, MENE, TEKE, PARSIN.
THIS IS THE MEANING:
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.
Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of 62.
THOUGHTS:
The king offered Daniel beautiful gifts and great power if he could explain the writing, but Daniel told the king to keep the gifts. Daniel was not motivated by material rewards nor gaining power. He wanted to give an unbiased interpretation to the king even through it was a bad news from him. His entire life was characterized by doing right. How about you? Do you love God enough to do what is right even it it means giving up personal reward?