But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. Daniel 5:22-24 (NKJV)
The Mede army was encamped just outside the walls of Babylon; yet, Belshazzar cloaked in his arrogance and false sense of security proclaimed loudly to all the people that there was nothing to fear. “No one could take down their mighty empire,” he declared with confidence. He knew the stories of his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar. He was well aware that Nebuchadnezzar had surrendered his heart to worship God. Yet, he did not take heed. While the Mede army was pressing in, Belshazzar called the people to a lush and extravagant party. This was a party filled with drunkenness, sexual immorality, and blasphemy against God. Indeed, they had all of the sacred golden goblets that had once been in the Temple of Jerusalem brought to the feast that they might drink their wine from them. While they were partying, declaring that all was good; the hand appeared and wrote these words upon the wall. “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN”— “Account, Account, Weighing, and Bisecting”. Belshazzar was suddenly filled with fear. He could not even read the words, nor did they make sense. But how did a large hand with no body appear and write this? What could it mean?
Quickly, Belshazzar summoned all the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the educated to read the writing and to interpret. They could not. He called for the Queen Mother who then told him of Daniel who worshipped God and could interpret such things. When Daniel came, he told Belshazzar that the writing came because he worshipped gold, silver, brass, wood, and stone as his gods instead of worshipping the one true God. Then he gave the interpretation of the writing as follows:
This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” Daniel 5:26-28 (NKJV)
While the partying had been going on and with all the men drunk; the Mede army had already infiltrated the city. Quickly they entered the hall where the party was held and took over. The Great Babylonian Empire fell that night and Belshazzar was slain. God had foretold this downfall of Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar long before it occurred. Yet, it was the utter disregard of this his grandson for God that ended the Empire. God is fully in control; yet, every human being is responsible for their own choice as well. Belshazzar chose to ignore God and live a life worshipping gold, silver and self. He felt secure in his own might. He did not heed the warnings, though the signs were all around him.
LESSONS FOR US
We must each and every one of us stop for a moment and examine our own hearts, lay aside all our own false idols and then begin to pray for forgiveness before God. As we do, we must then begin to pray for our family, our neighborhoods, and for our nation that God will open our eyes to see His truth before we too are measured, weighed and found wanting. As we hear more and more of the atrocities occurring abroad and within our own borders, can we continue to ignore the “writing on the wall”? As we see corruption, lies, suffering; do we remain silently enclosed, partying with a false sense of security that it could never happen here to our country? Has the true enemy of pride, selfishness, idolatry, and sin already so infiltrated that we are certain to fall? Is there still hope?
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV) tells us. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
So, the answer depends on you and me. I have begun a prayer effort that includes praying for our nation three times a day, reading God’s word, and seeking His wisdom to guide my life as well as to heal this nation. Will you join me? Nebuchadnezzar had learned the lesson and knew the truth that “the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will” (Daniel 5:21). Belshazzar failed to heed that warning nor the writing on the wall. What about us?
[bctt tweet=”We do need a Savior—His name is Jesus and as for me, I do need to be ruled by Him.” username=”effiedarlene”]
Only He Knows what is best for me and I will follow Him.
Listen to this song Give Me Jesus and let it be your prayer today.
New King James Version(NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.