HANDWRITING ON THE WALL! 2/22/15

REMEMBER the story in Daniel 5 about King Belshazzar? He was believed to have been the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar on his mother’s side of the family. Ancient Babylon flourished under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, but his son and successor, Belshazzar, proved weak and wild. He ignored all standards, and drank heavily from the holy vessels that were seized from the Temple in Jerusalem. A strange thing happened on the night of the great feast when Belsahazzar committed this act of sacrilege! A mysterious hand appeared, and to his astonishment, the hand wrote four strange words on the wall of the banquet room.

WOULD THAT have been me, I would have sobered up pretty fast! However only Daniel, the Hebrew prophet, could interpret the mysterious message. He boldly told the ruler that they spelled disaster for him and for his nation. That night Belshazzar was defeated and slain, just as Daniel said he would be, and Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians.

WHAT WAS the mysterious message? "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN." Daniel 5:25 In researching this I discovered the Aramaic of the weight known as a "maneh" is Mene; the verb from which it is derived means;"to number". Tekel; the Aramaic of the weight known as a "shekel"; the related verb means; "to weigh". Parsin; the Aramaic plural of the half-maneh weight; the related verb means "to divide." Daniel interpreted the names of the weights in terms of their related verbs; "numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided." Interestingly enough; Peres, the singular of Persin also suggests the name Persians.

SO WHAT WAS the mysterious message? "God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.     
Your kingdom is divided and given away to the Medes and Persians." Daniel 5:26-28
DID YOU KNOW that the foundation of this very wall has been uncovered? According to Halley’s Bible Handbook it has, and he shows a picture of the wall. Did you know that until 1853 no mention of Belshazzar was found in Babylonian records and another guy was known as the last king of Babylon? I don’t consider myself an authority on this subject but I do find it interesting when a story in the Bible comes to life as proof is given.

RELIGIOUS DRAMAS of the Middle Ages often included this vivid event that took place in the ancient banquet hall. Viewers of such pageants would sit on the edge of their seats, enthralled as they watched the writing of the strange warning to a king. As a result, any threat of impending doom is still known as "handwriting on the wall." Have you ever used that phrase yourself? I am sure I have because the term is often bantered about even today.

OF COURSE this story is during the time of the Law of Moses, even though the Israelites had been in captivity for 70 plus years. How do you think God views His people and even people in general today, who go about defacing or defiling the things that are precious to Him? Christians are referred to as the Temple of the Holy Spirit as well as the Church is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. What kinds of things do we do that would or could be called sacrileges? Think about those who are torturing and murdering God’s people!

"THEREFORE, lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with all men, and for the holiness, without which, no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fail to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble, and by it, the many become defiled." Hebrews 12:12-15

PAY attention to your walk, so that as you go, no one can say that your days are numbered; that you have been found wanting, and all you have will be divided, and cast asunder.   The writing on our wall has already been written by God through our baptism. It came with a seal, the Holy Spirit. Our escape route is through our obedience and His forgiveness. No matter what we may face; God knows our hearts; He is our witness!       By Jane Ann Crenshaw 2/17/15

(Why You Say It by Webb Garrison) (Halley’s Bible Handbook)