The writing on the wall
Daniel 5:22-23 tells us that Daniel told King Belshazzar, that he had not humbled his heart. King Belshazzar lifted up himself against the Lord of heaven, and brought the vessels of his house so his lords, wives, concubines, could drink wine in them. Then he praised and glorify the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone.
King Belshazzar, was the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, he decided to make a great feast. (Daniel 5:2). He commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink. Then praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. The same hour the fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
The writing that was written on the wall, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. (Daniel 5:25-28). Daniel’s words came true that very night. King Darius the Mede took over Babylon.
What does this story mean?
The story of the writing of on the wall may be shocking. Once you understand that the vessels Belshazzar gave to his lords, wives, and concubines, might drink from. These vessels were taken from the house of God which was at Jerusalem. When Belshazzar drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone he insulted the LORD God.
The god that Belshazzar praised and gave glory to could see not, nor hear, nor know. The Lord God in whose hand wrote the writing on the wall had breath, and whose are all the ways, Belshazzar did not give the glorified.
The biggest lesson we need to learn from the writing on the wall is that the LORD God told us in Exodus 20:5 “Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me”. Then again Exodus 34:14 “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne. “The writing on the wall.” Becker Bible Studies Library April 2022. https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p =5266. Retrieved [dateMLA].
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne. (2022). “The writing on the wall.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p =5266. Retrieved: [dateAPA].
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne. (2022) “The writing on the wall.” Becker Bible Studies Library (April), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/? =5266 (accessed [dateChi]).
