Writing on the Wall

“Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king’s palace.” Daniel 5:5

Many odd things happen in Bible stories, and this one in the book of Daniel is one of them. King Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, held a feast. He was drunk with wine and power and ordered the vessels his father had stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem, to be brought out from storage. He and his guests then used the gold and silver vessels for drinking wine. While drinking, they praised gods of their own making, gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. 

Eerily, the fingers of a human hand appeared out of thin air, and started writing words on the wall. “MENE, TEKEL, PERES,” was inscribed, and the king shivered, his face turned white, as did his guests. Then he called for Daniel the prophet to interpret the words. Daniel said, “You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven. The God in whose hand is your life breath and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify. You have been found wanting.” 

Poor King Belshazzar had wealth beyond his wildest dreams. He had so much power which he could have used to help his people. But he didn’t do that. 

I was listening to the speech the actor Denzel Washington gave in 2015 to the graduates of Dillard University. He said they should always put God first in everything they do. He proclaimed that everything he has, everything he has accomplished in his life, was by the grace of God. He told the story that when he was young and was starting to make it as an actor, he asked his mom, “Mom, did you think this was going to happen? I’d be so big and I’ll be able to take care of everybody and I can do this and I can do that.” Then his mom shushed him and corrected him, “Boy, stop it right there, stop! If you only knew how many people have been praying for you!” She had asked so many groups to pray for him, even splashed him with holy water to protect him from evil! 

One thing Denzel said was that you never see a U-haul behind a hearse because no matter how much money you’ve amassed, how many mansions you’ve built or bought, how much jewelry or bitcoins or gold bullion you have, you’ll never be able to take it with you. 

He emphasized that the most selfish thing we can do is help others. The more we help others, the more successful we are. There’s joy in it, there’s satisfaction, plus we add to our treasure in heaven! Better to follow Denzel’s advice than King Belshazzar’s example!