King Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, had a great feast, and he had managed to get himself pretty drunk. That’s when he decided to send to the treasury to fetch the sacred vessels that had been taken as plunder from the Temple in Jerusalem, so that he and his court could drink from them. And as they drank, they “praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone” (Daniel 5:1-5).

Then a hand appeared and began writing on the room’s plaster wall. This terrified the king; he demanded that the diviners and wise men come at once to read what the writing said. But none of the king’s enchanters or sages could read the writing on the wall (5:5-9).

When the queen recalled that Daniel had been able to resolve dreams and riddles in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, they called him in to see if he could read the words. Daniel reminded the king of how his father had exalted himself and ended up humbled (4:28-33, 5:20-21). Yet Belshazzar had not profited by that lesson. Just like his father, he had exalted himself; and even worse, he had profaned these items from the Temple. Therefore God had sent this hand that had written the words on Belshazzar’s palace wall (5:22-24).

The meaning of the writing was stark: Belshazzar’s days were numbered; he had been weighed in the balance and found wanting; and the kingdom of Babylon would be divided and given to the Medes and Persians (5:25-28). Not a happy prospect; and indeed, that very night, the king died (5:30).

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We presume upon your grace so constantly, O Lord: we are arrogant and flippant in the face of your holiness, dismissive of any possibility that judgment would come upon us, and unable to read the writing on the wall. Teach us to humble ourselves before your majesty, O God!

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