Introduction: Most of you here tonight have probably heard the phrase or expression “The handwriting is on the wall” before. But what some of you many not realize is that the phrase originated from an event that is recorded in the Bible. Turn with me if you will to Daniel 5:1-6. (NIV)
On March 19, 2003, Saddam Hussein and his sons Udah and Kusah invited a few of their close friends and advisors to have dinner with them in an exclusive restaurant in downtown Baghdad. They did this despite the fact that an invasion seemed imminent from the U.S. forces that were amassing across the border in Kuwait. Saddam and his sons were used to the good life, and they weren’t about to let the threat of war ruin an opportunity to party with their friends. But someone tipped off some of our Special Forces troops who were already operating in the area and President Bush ordered a strategic strike. Saddam’s dinner party came to an abrupt end when cruise missiles slammed into the building and completely demolished it. Saddam and his sons survived this initial attack, but it was the beginning of the end for a brutal dictator who had ruled Iraq for 30 years.
Saddam liked to compare himself to the Great Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar who ruled the Babylonian Empire from 519 until he died in 562 B.C. In fact before the war in Iraq began we learned that Saddam had spent millions and perhaps billions of dollars rebuilding the city of Babylon which is located approximately 50 miles South of Baghdad along the Euphrates River.
Babylon was the New York City of its day. It was the economic, cultural and religious center for the world during its hayday. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which Nebucadnezzar had built for his wife, was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
From a military viewpoint the city of Babylon was virtually impossible to conquer. The wall surrounding it was 300 feet high, 80 feet wide, and extended 35 feet underground to prevent anyone from tunneling under it. At least 100 towers were placed on top of the wall to defend the city against attack.
The city covered approximately 100 square miles, which is five times larger than Paducah. The Euphrates River flowed through the middle of the city, which provided all the fresh water they needed. Historians believe the Babylonians had enough food stored up that they could have survived a 20 year siege. These are just a few of the reasons why Babylon was known as “Babylon the Great.” Earlier in the Book of Daniel, Daniel had interpreted King Nebucadnezzar’s dream and explained to him that the Babylonian Empire was the Greatest of 5 World Kingdoms.
Perhaps these were some of the reasons that Nebucadnezzar’s successor King Belshazzar didn’t seem overly concerned about the threat posed by the Persian army that was laying siege to the city. Like Saddam Hussein and his sons, Belshazzar wasn’t about to let a little thing like the threat of war keep him from having a good time. So he hosted a banquet and invited 1000 of the noblemen of Babylon to join him for a feast. Perhaps he wanted to reassure the nobility that despite the proximity of the enemy that there really wasn’t anything to worry about.
Belshazzar wanted to have a good time and wanted to make sure everyone else did too so I’m sure no expense was too great. These feasts were traditionally wild and unrestrained, and the fact that he invited his wives and concubines has led most scholars to believe that the feast turned into a drunken orgy. Perhaps the closest thing we could compare it to would be “Marti Ghrah” in New Orleans or “Carnival” in Brazil.
At some point during the feast Belshazzar ordered his servants to bring in the gold and silver goblets that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Jewish Temple and brought back with him when he had conquered Jerusalem. Now verse 2 says that Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar’s father but in reality he was his grandfather. His father was a man named Nabonidus, but it was not unusual for them to refer to Nebucadnezzar as his father, since in fact He was an ancestor.
These Gold and Silver goblets had been dedicated to the Lord and were only to be used in the Temple for the specific purpose for which they were created. But of course Belshazzar didn’t care about that. All he cared about was having a good time and impressing his guests. While they were drinking and who knows what else the Hand of God appeared and wrote a message on the wall. According to verse 6, the King turned pale and was so scared that his knees began knocking. Of course Belshazzar didn’t know what the message said so he summoned all of the wise men of Babylon together hoping one of them could decipher the meaning behind the strange message. He promised that he would promote the individual who could interpret the message to him to be the third highest ruler in the Kingdom, behind him and his father of course. But the wise men were just as clueless as Belshazzar was.
Then all of a sudden the queen came in to see what all of the racket was about. Undoubtedly she had not been present when the Hand of God appeared and wrote the message. We aren’t sure whether this woman was Belshazzar’s mother or grandmother, although it seems more logical to me that she was his grandmother, since she knew so much about Daniel.
One thing is for sure however, we know she wasn’t married to Belshazzar because verse 2 says that his wives and concubines were with him during the banquet. But nevertheless she had some valuable information for Belshazzar. She told him about a man living in Babylon who might be able to tell him what the message said. She told him that on at least two separate occasions this man whose name was Daniel had been able to correctly interpret a strange dream of King Nebuchadnezzar’s.
Daniel was one of the Jews that had been taken back to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. He had served King Nebuchadnezzar faithfully for many years before the King’s death. Daniel was probably somewhere between 80-90 years old at this particular time.
Belshazzar sent for Daniel and of course he lived up to his reputation. He was able to read and interpret the message for the King. But being the wise man that He was Daniel felt that it was important to point out some very important and pertinent information to Belshazzar first.
DANIEL BEGAN BY GIVING BELSHAZZAR A LESSON IN HISTORY.
Daniel reminded the king how God had blessed King Nebuchadnezzar and had allowed him to make Babylon into the Greatest Empire that the world had ever known. He reminded Belshazzar that people far and wide had respected and feared King Nebuchadnezzar. But then something happened to Nebuchadnezzar that happens to many political leaders.
As a result of all of the success he had enjoyed, King Nebuchadnezzar became arrogant and proud of all he had accomplished. He began to think that He and He alone was responsible for everything that had taken place in Babylon. Consequently God warned him through a dream that Daniel interpreted that if he didn’t repent of his sin and prideful ways that He was going to find himself eating grass like the cattle and living outside among the wild donkeys. Sure enough that is exactly what happened. For approximately 7 years, the Great King Nebuchadnezzar looked and acted more like a wild animal that the ruler of the Greatest Kingdom on Earth. Finally, after seven years, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that God and God alone is sovereign over the Kingdoms of the Earth and, He and He alone, is responsible for putting into power those He wishes to rule. After reminding Belshazzar of what had happened to his Grandfather…
Daniel lowered the boom so to speak on Belshazzar. He said, “But you Oh King, even though you knew this, even though you knew what had happened to your forefather Nebuchadnezzar, you made the very same mistake. You too have failed to humble yourself before God. And to make matters worse you have mocked him by taking the gold and silver goblets that had been dedicated to Him and using them for your own selfish purposes.
THE NEXT LESSON DANIEL GIVES KING BELSHAZZAR IS A LESSON IN THEOLOGY.
Daniel told the King that He had refused to honor and worship the One true God and had instead chosen to worship and praise gods made out of gold, silver, bronze and other materials, that Daniel quickly pointed out are not really gods at all. Daniel pointed out to the king that these gods couldn’t see, hear or understand anything, but he had made the mistake of honoring and worshipping them instead of the God of Heaven who held his very life in His Hand. The Scripture doesn’t tell us at this point how Belshazzar responded to what Daniel was saying, but I imagine he was even whiter than he had been earlier when He had seen the Hand of God.
Having given the King some important background information Daniel came to the Message itself which is found in verse 25 and the interpretation which follows in verses 26-28. Follow along with me again as I read these verses of Scripture.
"This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
"This is what these words mean: Mene : God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Verses 29-30 tell us how Belshazzar responded to Daniel’s interpretation of God’s message. He kept his promise and promoted Daniel to the Third highest ruler in the Nation, even though Daniel wasn’t interested in the promotion or the gifts that the King lavished upon him.
But I want you to notice what the King did not do. He didn’t humble himself before God. He didn’t cry out to God and repent of his sins or ask for forgiveness like Nebuchadnezzar had done. As a result that very night his enemies managed to sneak into the city and kill him in his own palace, fulfilling the prophetic message that Daniel had interpreted for the King only a few hours earlier.
This has always been a very interesting passage of Scripture to me, but in recent years it has begun to take on even more meaning. I believe there are some things that we cam learn from this passage of Scripture tonight.
I. THE FIRST THING I WANT US TO CONSIDER TONIGHT IS THE DANGER OF BECOMING TOO ARROGANT.
Someone once said, “If you don’t learn from the past you are doomed to repeat it.” King Belshazzar had not learned from the mistakes of his predecessor King Nebuchadnezzar. And even worse than that, Belshazzar hadn’t even learned from his own mistakes. It seems that all God really expected from either one of these pagan rulers was for them to acknowledge that He was Sovereign.
But Belshazzar refused to believe that. He refused to believe that anyone was more important or more powerful than himself. He was the leader of the greatest Empire on Earth, and undoubtedly he must of thought that he was invincible. I’m presently going through the Beth Moore Study on Daniel, and in that study she refers to what she calls the Babylonian philosophy which essentially says, “I am and there is no one else who can even come close to comparing to me.” Belshazzar had fallen for that lie, hook, line and sinker, and it ended up costing him his life and his Kingdom.
Even after Daniel told him what the Handwriting on the Wall said, I don’t think he really believed it would happen, because if he had he would have humbled himself before God and repented of his sins.
More and more people today are making the same mistake Belshazzar made. They are refusing to honor God and recognize that He and He alone is Sovereign. Of course this allows them to live their lives the way they want to without having to worry about being held accountable for their actions. If the truth was known that’s the main problem that so many people have with posting of the 10 Commandments in public buildings like courthouses. It’s not a “Church & State” issue, it’s simply the idea that many people don’t want anyone, (including God) telling them what they can or cannot do. They want to be their own god, and make their own decisions. They want to be able to do what they want to do whenever and wherever they want to do it.
Not only is there a personal application in this passage of Scripture, but I personally believe there is a corporate or national application. Just as the Babylonian Empire was the Greatest, most powerful nation of its time, so the United States of America has become one of the richest, most powerful nations that the world has ever seen. But I’m afraid that we have gotten too arrogant. Let me paraphrase for you what Abraham Lincoln said about this in the speech I shared with you this morning. He said, “We have deceived ourselves into believing that all of the great things that have happened in the United States are the result of our superior wisdom or knowledge. Could it be that we are just as arrogant as Belshazzar and Babylon? Could that be why the President and Congress see no need to secure our borders?
We need to be careful not to become too arrogant as a nation. We need to remember that God is still sovereign and we need to proclaim that not only in the church but also in the Government. Because if we don’t, He is going to teach us the same lesson he taught to Belshazzar and the Babylonians. (And by the way, He might just use the same people He used to teach Belshazzar that Lesson). He used King Cyrus who was the King of the Persia. In 1935 Persia changed its name to Iran. And their president is openly defying the United States, Israel and the United Nations in pursuit of nuclear weapons.
II. THE NEXT THING I WANT YOU TO NOTICE IS THE DANGER OF BECOMING TOO SELF-CENTERED, OR PLEASURE ORIENTED.
The philosophies of ‘if it feels good do it,’ and ‘you only go around once in life were very evident in Babylon, just as they are today. King Belshazzar was more concerned about drinking wine and having a party than he was about the armies of the Medes and Persians.
Today there are many people who are so pleasure oriented that they don’t care about anything or anyone else. Some live to get drunk, while the only thing some people seem to care about is when and how they are going to get high.
III. FINALLY, I WANT YOU TO NOTICE THE DANGER OF REFUSING TO SEE AND BELIEVE THE TRUTH WHEN IT IS STARING YOU RIGHT IN THE FACE.
Belshazzar was so scared when the Hand of God appeared and wrote that message on the wall that he turned pale, his knees began to knock and his legs gave way. He called all of his so-called wise men to the palace but none of them could interpret the message. But Daniel could, and he did. But it really didn’t matter, because there is nothing in this passage of Scripture that leads us to believe that Belshazzar asked for forgiveness, or repented of his sins. Consequently because of his pride and arrogance God allowed his enemies to kill him and take over his kingdom that very night.
Today many people including some Christians are making the same mistake that Belshazzar made. They see the handwriting on the wall. They see it staring them right in the face; they know the Truth, but they refuse to accept it.
The Truth is we are much closer to the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ than most of us want to realize. The Handwriting is on the wall. Jesus condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees for not being able to interpret the signs of the time and recognize that He was the Messiah. The truth was staring them right in the face. Jesus Christ was the Messiah that they had been waiting for, but like Belshazzar they refused to accept the truth even though He was standing right there in front of them. As a result they experienced the same fate that Belshazzar did, which was the judgment of God.
I hope you won’t make the same mistake that Belshazzar and the Pharisees made. “The Truth is that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that the wages of sin is Death.” But Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to give his own life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He paid the penalty, and took our punishment upon himself, so that we could be saved.
This is the handwriting on the wall for some of you here tonight. The Truth is staring you right in the face. The question is “How are you going to respond to it?” Are you going to ignore it like Belshazzar did, or are you going to repent of your sins and acknowledge the sovereignty of God like Nebuchadnezzar did?
Prayer:
*******************************************************
Do you need some good practical advice related to one or more areas of the ministry? If so check out my website and purchase my E-book "Get Practical! Sound Advice for those in the Ministry."
