The Writing on the Wall episode in the fifth Chapter of the Book of Daniel (27th Book in the Bible) is one of the MOST melodramatic incidents at once evoking awe on the omniscience of God. There was that indulgent Babylonian King -Belshazar- in one of the Rev parties of yore which would make modern day revellers proud. On a drinking spree, which would last till rude wake up call came his way, this Oriental potentate would commit unpardonable sins. In the spirit-induced high of his, the fatal slip came his way proverbially between the cup and the lip. Into the revelry, he ordered the bringing of the Sacred items of the Jewish temple,defiling them consequently. Can anyone get away from an omniscient God (Heb 4:13)? And in one of the most defining Divine finger pointing acts in human history, the verdict was out.
Let the Scripture take over: “This is the message that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is what these words mean:
Mene means ‘numbered’-God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end.
Tekel means ‘weighed’-you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.
Parsin means ‘divided’-your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5:25-28)
The key operative word in the entire Cosmic comeuppance being TEKEL: “you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.”
Broadly speaking, are not all of us -with inherent Adamic sin- BLAMEWORTHY BELSHAZZARS’ in God’s sight? Doubtless, we too have all been weighed on the balances and not measured up. Consider what this Scripture portion states … for everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23). The Good News is that we need not remain in a condemned condition a la Belshazzar for the Saviour has paid the price to acquit us all from Divine condemnation (Romans 5:6-10/2 Cor 5:21/1 Peter 3:18). We need simply to accept God’s gracious offer of salvation through Christ (Romans10:8-10). And the result of it all? Hey, there is writing on the wall for the Devil… The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet (Romans 16:20).
Prayer: Father, we praise thee for sending your Son and paying the price for our release from Divine condemnation. Inspire everyone, reading this to accept Thy gracious offer of salvation. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Suresh Manoharan
Hyderabad-India www.jandsmministries.com