The Handwriting on the Wall

Daniel 5:24-30

 ²⁴ Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

 ²⁵ “This is the inscription that was written:

   MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN

 ²⁶ “Here is what these words mean:

   Mene^[e]: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

 ²⁷ Tekel^[f]: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

 ²⁸ Peres^[g]: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

 ²⁹ Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

 ³⁰ That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians,^[h] was slain, ³¹ and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.^[i]

King Belshazzar realized too late that the handwriting on the wall was the end for him.  We all

seem to realize too late (at times) that the path we are on is not the best one.  We all need to 

step back at times and see the bigger picture.  For us humans, that is sometimes impossible.  

I am not a big visionary.  I have a fault for not seeing what is to come, what may come, and all the 

possibilities around me.  That's why I have great people around me.  They bring things to the 

table that I wouldn't even dream of.   I do learn from the mistakes of others and do not have to 

make my own mistakes "just to see if it will happen again".  

Daniel read the writing and told him that the king would be dethroned and the kingdom would be 

pulled apart.  That is what happened.  Belshazzar gave Daniel his reward, and that night, he was

killed.  What can we learn from this story?  Sometimes we need to step back and see the bigger 

picture before God has to send a clear message.  

Lord, open my eyes and let me see clear, the path you want me on and the decisions you 

want me to make.  I love you and want to serve only you.