The Handwriting on the Wall

  

Daniel 5:1-12

 

March 19, 2024

 

The Handwriting on the Wall

King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.  Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.  Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.  They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Immediately, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.  Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.  The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”  Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.  Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.

The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.  There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.  In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

 

When God’s hand writes on the walls of your heart, whom do you seek to make clear the meaning of the words?  For me, it was back in my thirties, and I like King Belshazzar tried to use what God had set aside for His Temple, and use it.  I was being used by God in a movement called “The Lay Witness Mission.”  As one of many who were picked to lead, my job was to pray and ask God to show me whom to ask to go as witnesses of what He had done for them.

 

We would be invited by a pastor to a local Church and spend Friday, through Sunday in the home of the member, and our lay people would share both in the home and lead out in small groups and some gave testimony in the main services, Unlike King Belshazzar I knew and worship the I Am, the God of heaven and Earth.  The God who is three in one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

 

But like the king's dad, I got full of myself and the praise of men, and I allowed lust and pride to enter my heart.  I did not see a human hand write on a wall, but I had God's Spirit send men who most told me what a low life I was, and I was fully aware of that.  I went to see a man whom I had read and was sure would give me wise counsel.  He told me to ignore what others were saying and follow my heart.  For some reason, I knew his words were empty and much later read in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  I became aware that the man had left his wife and was having a relationship with a lady.  One can never be too careful about whom they seek counsel.

This and the conviction of Scripture began the writing on the walls of my heart, and God sent me to my Daniel, his name was Ted Anderson, a lawyer, a wise and quiet man, who, like me, knew and had a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was used to allow me to see into the future what my foolish heart was leading me to, not peace or joy, but loss of everything I valued and needed.

Do you have a Daniel that loves God and you enough to tell you the Truth?

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice