The Writing On The Wall - Apr 23

So many in the secular world use this well-worn expression yet few know of its Biblical origins. The episode of 'The Writing on the Wall' is found in the Book of Daniel, chapter five. For your own edification, I urge you to read the chapter in its entirety. Here's a brief summary.

At the beginning of the chapter, King Belshazzar is having a party using the silver and gold goblets used in the Temple in Jerusalem. At this point, the king receives a terrible fright:

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. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
(Daniel 5:5-6)

From verse 7 to 24, Daniel the prophet is summoned to interpret the message before the king. Daniel's fateful (and fatal) message to Belshazzar follows:

"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."
(Daniel 5:25-28)

After Daniel receives some lovely parting gifts (v. 29), Belshazzar gets his due:

That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.
(Daniel 5:30-31)

Numbered, numbered, weighed and divided. That was Belshazzar's lot. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a just and holy God.

Johnny Cash