Daniel 5:24

Daniel 5:24 says, Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.  Daniel told Belshazzar that it was because of his actions in claiming the temple vessels as his own that he saw the part of the handwriting on the wall.  We sometimes hear the expression that we have seen the writing on the wall, but we don't always associate it with God's judgment.  We need to acknowledge, that by whatever method, God will make people aware of their sin.  Verse twenty-five adds, And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.  Since the writing was from God, those who did not know Him could not understand it.  They may have even been able to pronounce the words, but they didn't know what they meant.  The same is true today.  God's judgment is certain, unless we accept Christ as our Savoir and Lord.  Until we do, we cannot begin to understand what God has to say to us.  There is no way that someone who doesn't know God can tell us about God and His will for us.  Verse twenty-six continues, This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.  Daniel begins a word-by-word interpretation of the message.  The first thing was that God had numbered Belshazzar's kingdom.  We can also be certain that our kingdom, our time on earth, is numbered.  It will end, either in death or at the return of Christ.  Verse twenty-seven then states, TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.  God weighed Belshazzar with God's scale, and no matter how important Belshazzar was in the eyes of the world, by God's scale he was found wanting.  When God weighs our lives, we will always be wanting or come up short.  It is only through the sacrifice of Christ that we can be restored. Verse twenty-eight adds, PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.  Beshazzar's kingdom was going to be divided between the Medes and Persians.  What we amass in this world will not last forever.  When we die, it will be claimed by others, yet we often put more emphasis on the things of the world than we do on the things of God.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.  There is nothing said about Belshazzar repenting.  He did fulfill his promise of making the one who interpreted the writing, which turned out to be Daniel, a third ruler of the kingdom.  Still, this was an empty promise, because his kingdom was coming to an end.  Any worldly possession or position we are given in this world is likewise an empty promise.  Verse thirty declares, In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.  We might say that God didn't give Belahazzar much time to make things right, but God had given him a lifetime.  Belshazzar knew of the experience of his father, Nebuchadnezzar, but still chose to defy God.  People today choose to ignore the teachings of the Bible and the example of Christians, sometimes even their own parents, and the time will come when God judges them, and they will be found wanting.  Verse thirty-one adds, And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.  Not only was there a new king, but there was a new kingdom in power.  Still, God was and is and always will be the ultimate authority.