Last night I heard someone use the expression, “I can see the handwriting on the wall”.
Do you know that expression is from the Bible? It’s from the book of Daniel. In Daniel chapter 5, a new king had replaced Nebuchadnezzar and his name was Belshazzar.
He decided to have a party for his rulers, their wives and his concubines. As the party went on he called for the golden goblets that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem years earlier. They filled them with wine and began toasting and praising their gods of gold, silver, bronze and stone.
“Suddenly, a person’s hand appeared and began writing on the wall. The fingers scratched words into the plaster on the wall, near the lampstand in the king’s palace. The king was watching the hand as it wrote.
6 King Belshazzar was very afraid. His face became white from fear, and his knees were shaking and knocking together. He could not stand up because his legs were too weak… His face was white from fear.” Daniel 5:5-9 ERV
The king’s wisest men couldn’t provide him with the answers he needed. Enter Belshazzar’s mother. She reminded him that Daniel had always provided the answers to King Nebuchadnezzar.
“12 The man I am talking about is named Daniel. The king gave him the name Belteshazzar. He is very smart and he knows many things. He could interpret dreams, explain secrets, and find the answer to very hard problems. Call for Daniel, he will tell you what the writing on the wall means.” Daniel 5:12 ERV
Daniel boldly proclaimed what God put in his heart. Daniel recounts how God revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar. And then he finishes by saying, “You knew all this but you didn’t learn a thing.” He went on to hold Belshazzar accountable for his arrogance and worship of false gods. And then he interprets the writing on the wall.
“You gave praise to the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone. They are not really gods; they cannot see or hear or understand anything. But you did not give honor to the God who has the power over your life and everything you do. 24 So because of that, God sent the hand that wrote on the wall. 25 These are the words that were written on the wall:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPARSIN.
26 “This is what these words mean:
Mene:
God has counted the days until your kingdom will end.
27 Tekel:
You have been weighed on the scales and found not good enough.
28 Uparsin:
Your kingdom is being taken from you.
It will be divided among the Medes and Persians.” Daniel 5: 22-28 ERV
And at the end of this chapter, Belshazzar gave Daniel the reward that he had promised to the one who could read the handwriting. And then he was killed and a new ruler, Darius the Mede, took the kingdom.
There is so much happening in our world today that can be seen as the handwriting on the wall. Not the scribbles of a child but the intervention of God into our lives. Daniel’s stand for God continued to bring him before kings. His boldness is an example to us.
When asked to give an answer, let God give us the words. Don’t apologize – but speak boldly what He puts in our hearts.