July 5, Daniel 5
“Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” - Daniel 5:24-28
However great a king or other ruler may be in his own eyes or in the eyes of history, the day comes when his reign ends and another, perhaps his son, maybe an enemy, takes his place. Nebuchadnezzar had indeed been like the big tree in his dream. He dominated the then-known world. After his long bout with insanity and living among the wild animals, God restored Nebuchadnezzar to his kingdom, and returned him to prosperity. As we saw in Chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar, humbled by his tragic experience, acknowledged that God rules over all, even great kings.
Some historians and Bible scholars think Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson. Others believe he came to Nebuchadnezzar's throne in some other way, and the father/son language is figurative for predecessor and successor. We may not know exactly how his reign began, but we learn in Chapter 5 exactly how it ended.
Whatever his relationship to Nebuchadnezzar really was, Belshazzar had not learned the lesson his predecessor learned the hard way. Daniel told him that he knew about it. But his knowledge did not restrain the new king of Babylon from riotous excess, irreverence for sacred things, and boisterous, polytheistic idolatry.
I believe Daniel 5 is the true etymological root of the expression, “the handwriting on the wall." On the night described in this chapter, Belshazzar and his guests were having a party on what would be the last night of their lives and their kingdom. They were drinking wine from the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple of God in Jerusalem. A mysterious figure of a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall a message Belshazzar could not understand. Neither could his team of inept “wise men.” But when Daniel came in and heard about the hand and what it wrote, he knew, and told Belshazzar the bad news. He did not want the riches and honor that the king offered him for the interpretation. But as God's faithful prophet, he was obligated to tell the king what the mysterious words meant.
In three or four words, the hand of God wrote three bullet points to Belshazzar. His days were numbered, repeated for emphasis. He had been weighed in the balance of God, and found lacking. His kingdom was about to be divided and given to others. In this case, “about to be" meant that very night. History confirms that the Bible record is accurate, because the Medes and Persians, led by Darius’ general took the city of Babylon and killed Belshazzar the same night the mysterious message appeared. Belshazzar’s last sunset was also the last sunset on the Babylonian empire.
Daniel once again did what no other human could do, because God gave him the ability to know and tell such things. He was faithful to “speak truth to power” over and over again at times when no one else could or would.
Remember that the most powerful kings, the greatest warriors and biggest stars all have numbered days, just as we do. Our last day will come unless the Lord comes before our day to die. The greatest, most powerful figures in all history are judged in God's perfect scales, and so will we all be. May God give us grace to humble ourselves. We do not want to miss the reward God will give his faithful ones in Christ.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—July 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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