Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. – Daniel 5:5
Belshazzar was king Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson. He was arrogant, materialistic and liked to party. At one of his extravagant parties, he had all the sacred utensils from YHWH’s temple brought in as decorations. As they drank wine from them and praised the “gods” of gold and silver, a supernatural hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall – “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”
No one could interpret the meaning of the message until Daniel was brought in and God revealed it to him. “This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” And just as God decreed, Belshazzar’s reign ended that very night when the Medo-Persians attacked and overthrew Babylon.
This story is a vivid warning to us. We live in an arrogant culture that worships money, materialism and comfort and God knows the true state of our hearts. We must be careful not to mix the worship of money and success with our worship of God. If your life was weighed in the balances today, what would be found to carry more weight in your heart… love of God or love for the things of the world?
Let’s take this warning to heart and examine our hearts before it’s too late. And let’s humble our hearts before the Lord of heaven and worship Him alone!
Belshazzar was king Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson. He was arrogant, materialistic and liked to party. At one of his extravagant parties, he had all the sacred utensils from YHWH’s temple brought in as decorations. As they drank wine from them and praised the “gods” of gold and silver, a supernatural hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall – “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”
No one could interpret the meaning of the message until Daniel was brought in and God revealed it to him. “This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” And just as God decreed, Belshazzar’s reign ended that very night when the Medo-Persians attacked and overthrew Babylon.
This story is a vivid warning to us. We live in an arrogant culture that worships money, materialism and comfort and God knows the true state of our hearts. We must be careful not to mix the worship of money and success with our worship of God. If your life was weighed in the balances today, what would be found to carry more weight in your heart… love of God or love for the things of the world?
Let’s take this warning to heart and examine our hearts before it’s too late. And let’s humble our hearts before the Lord of heaven and worship Him alone!
Posted in devo