The Writing on the Wall

Today’s Verse

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ~Daniel 5:5

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One of the essential skills taught to every child is good penmanship, or handwriting. As we get older, I have found that a person’s handwriting either remains the same or gets worse. I jokingly tell people that I can fill their medical prescription with my handwriting! King Belshazzar was reveling and in a drunken state. The fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall. He was shaken by this sight and his inability to interpret this message. He was pressed in his heart to find out what the writing on the wall meant. Can you read the writing on the wall?

We see a hidden mystery.

“The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” None of the king’s men could tell him what the writing on the wall meant. God has spoken to this world through His creation, His Son, His Word, and His church. People are troubled by the writing on the wall that they cannot understand. Why am I here? What is my purpose in life? Why is all this trouble happening to me? Where can I find peace for my life? Where will I go when I die?

We see an honorable messenger.

“Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.” The queen told the king about Daniel. Daniel was a reputed man. He had an excellent reputation, beginning in the days of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was a righteous man. He was a man with an excellent spirit, filled with knowledge, understanding, and interpreting of dreams. He could give a truthful report. Daniel was the right man. He was a man so filled with the Spirit of God that he was known as a dissolver of doubts. He was a man of faith, prayer, and power. When you want the meaning to something hard to understand, you need God’s man who is filled with God’s power.

We see a holy manifestation.

Daniel told the king that the writing consisted of three messages. The first was that the days of his kingdom were numbered and finished. The second was that God weighed him in the balances and he was out of balance. The third was that his kingdom was to be taken away from him. This king was so full of pride that he did not see the cracks in his kingdom, the enemy that would defeat him, and his need for God. God gave this prideful king a message that spoke of his fall and of his future. The writing was on the wall; he could not read it because of his blinded ambition and pride.

We see a humbled magistrate.

That same night that the writing was interpreted, King Belshazzar lost his life, and the kingdom fell to the Medo-Persians. We see a message that is repeated in life. First, we are created to glorify the Lord. Second, we must live in anticipation of eternity. Third, life is short and we must not waste it. Fourth, a sinner must repent of his sin and call on the Lord to be saved. Read the writing on the wall.

Have a wise and insightful God Morning!

Bible Reading Schedule: Joshua 1-4

#Pride #Daniel #Belshazzar #Handwriting #Humility