The Writing Is On The Wall

The writing is on the wall Family. What is it saying to you? What is it saying to me?

Many of us here have gone through what seems to have been the worst times of our lives. Perhaps it was bankruptcy, maybe it was a serious illness, a breakup of your marriage. Perhaps someone close to you would have died. Perhaps you would’ve seen your children either go to jail or being strung out on drugs or ending up in mental institutions. Rough, tough, hard days, that you never thought that you would make it through. 

For some of us, these days are over, while for others, you are still going through. But through it all, I can imagine the question being asked: after this what then?

Then there are other people who are going through life without a care, seemingly, in the world. It’s all about partying, travelling and having fun, making money at all costs, rolling with the popular crowd, all without any regard for God.

I want to suggest to us today, me included, that it is time for us to take a serious look at the writing on the wall. 

And I said seriously because many times we do see the writing on the wall, because we hear of the calamities taking place around the world in terms of war and security breaches. We see people dying around us, we see people suffering in front of our very eyes. And so we see the writing on the wall, because we just never know when something similar will happen to us.

So we see the signs, we see the writing on the wall, but we either take it for granted or we choose to ignore it. We decide that maybe we will deal with this another time .

Certainly, we know that there’s nothing new under the sun, and we can reference the Bible for lessons and advice about everything that we are facing today.  

In Daniel chapter 5, we encounter the dramatic and sobering story of King Belshazzar's feast, a powerful lesson on the themes of not only divine judgment but the sovereignty of God.

Belshazzar, king of Babylon, decided to have a feast one day for about 1000 of his nobles. According to the account in Daniel chapter 5 verses 1-4, we see that this was a time when all of the guests drank from the sacred vessels that were taken from the temple in Jerusalem. 

This was considered an act of sacrilege and pride, in blatant disregard for God and His holiness.

Daniel 5:1-4 NIV “King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.”

Family, our Bible tells us in Galatians 6:7-8 that God is not to be mocked. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Amen?!

So, as these people continued in their revelry, Daniel 5:5-6 tells us, “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.”

So he called for the wisest of his men, but none could interpret the writing. But there was a man called Daniel, who was known for his wisdom and intimate relationship with God. Daniel was summoned and he interpreted the message. 

Daniel 5:18-24 ““Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes. “But you, Belshazzar, his son, 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 your 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.”

The writing on the wall, "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN" (Daniel 5:25), was a divine verdict.

It meant that God had numbered the days of Belshazzar’s reign and brought it to an end. He had been weighed on the scales and found wanting. His kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

That very night, after the writing on the wall, Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. 

That was a swift fulfillment of God's judgment.

This certainly should serve as a powerful reminder to us that no matter how huge a superpower America is, no matter how big a dynasty and much money your family has, no matter how intelligent you are, you have to live right, or else.

What is the or else? What are the consequences of not living according to God’s standards?

#1. Eternal Separation from God. Matthew 25:46, ““Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.””

#2. Divine Judgment. Hebrews 9:27 “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,”

#3. Loss of Eternal Life. John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

#4. Condemnation. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

#5. You Reap What You Sow. Galatians 6:8 “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

And #6. Exclusion from God’s Kingdom: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Family, we are reminded today that God is in control over the affairs of nations and individuals. 

No use going around playing high and mighty, no use being prideful and self righteous, no use going around trying to please man instead of pleasing God, no use thinking that you have all the money in the world and so you can go to the best hospitals if you get sick and you will be healed, no use wasting your life away partying and having fun and think that in your last days you will repent and have a come to Jesus moment.

The story of Belshazzar should challenge us to reflect on our own lives. 

Are we, like Belshazzar, living with a sense of pride and false security, disregarding the sacred and the holy? Or are we, like Daniel, living with a humble awareness of God's sovereignty and righteousness? 

The writing on the wall is a call to self-examination and repentance, urging us to live in a manner that honors God and recognizes His ultimate authority.

Let us remember that Jesus is coming back soon to reclaim this world. Will we be ready to see His Face?

We must keep in mind as well that we do not know when would be our last moment here on earth. Are we ready to die in Christ?

I pray that we would all ask God to help us to live with reverence and humility, always aware of His Sovereign Hand in our lives. 

May we, every moment of every day, seek to honour God in all that we do. 

The writing is on the wall. After this, what? The answer is: the judgment. How shall we stand on that great day? Questions that need answers. Questions that should stir us to right living. 

Aub - 22 July 2024

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