Thursday 29th August 2024
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, ‘So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that enlightenment, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and tell me its interpretation, but they were not able to give the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and tell me its interpretation, you shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around your neck, and rank third in the kingdom.’
Then Daniel answered in the presence of the king, ‘Let your gifts be for yourself, or give your rewards to someone else! Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and let him know the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar kingship, greatness, glory, and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed those he wanted to kill, kept alive those he wanted to keep alive, honoured those he wanted to honour, and degraded those he wanted to degrade. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he acted proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was stripped from him. He was driven from human society, and his mind was made like that of an animal. His dwelling was with the wild asses, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and sets over it whomsoever he will. And you, Belshazzar his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this! You have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven! The vessels of his temple have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in whose power is your very breath, and to whom belong all your ways, you have not honoured.
‘So from his presence the hand was sent and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene, tekel, and parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom 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.’
Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
Reflection
The writing is on the wall. A well-known phrase drawn from this astonishing story. Belshazzar (who should have learnt from his own father’s demise) mocked the living God through defiling holy items set aside for worship whilst feasting and toasting idols with his harem and allies. Terrifyingly, a hand appears and writes words on the wall which folk are unable (or unwilling) to interpret – so Daniel teller of truth to power is called.
Numbered, weighed, and divided. Belshazzar days were numbered, the days of his kingdom numbered, he had been weighed and found wanting, the kingdom was divided between his enemies.
Numbered, weighed, divided. A message to all of us too.
Numbered. Teach us, O God, to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12), for every one of them is written in the book of life (Psalm 139:16) and we cannot add one hour to our life through worry (Matthew 6:27). Numbered. The days of any oppressive regime or power are numbered – no kingdom will ultimately stand against the coming of the kingdom. Our attempts to run our own lives, control our circumstances, have anything other than God at the centre will ultimately fail.
Weighed. The measure we have used will be used to measure us (Matthew 7:2). Has it been a good measure, pressed down, shaken and running over (Luke 6:38)? Have we lived as children of our loving, generous, hospitable justice-seeking God?
Divided. The Kingdom is like good and bad fish being sorted from the catch; like wheat and weeds being threshed; like sheep and goats being divided by the shepherd. Parsin means divided, decided, judged. At the heart of this judgement is the promise of being reconciled to God through our union with Christ in his death and resurrection. The truth is we were divided but are called to be one just as Jesus is one with the Father (John 11:17).
Prayer
Numbered.
Numbered.
Weighed.
United.
Loving God, you made us mortal
and call us to serve your everlasting kingdom.
May we embody your loving generosity to the world
and remain in you as you remain in us. Amen