Devotion 4.20.16

"I can see the writing on the wall."  That's a phrase used when the apparent outcome is obvious.  I heard it in my days as an administrator from various people as we talked about programs, funding, and perhaps even job performance.

"The writing on the wall."  We use that phrase quite a bit.  Do we know where it comes from?  If you said, "The book of Daniel," you would be correct.  Daniel, an apocalyptic book in the Old Testament, tells the story of Israel, God's unfaithful people, and their capture by Babylon (a lesson constructed by God to teach his unfaithful people, but He wasn't a champion of Babylon during the course of captivity either.)  From the moment Babylon captures Israel to fulfill God's will, God puts Babylon's king through trials via dreams and visions, which elevates Daniel as he speaks on behalf of God, interpreting these.

During a great banquet given by King Belshazzar, "Immediately, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.  Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together."  (5:5 - 6)  The king literally buckles under the pressure.  Calling in the astrologers and tells them that whoever can read the writing and its interpretation will be clothed in purple, gold and be declared the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel is eventually called as they fail, and he reads the writing to the king and gives its interpretation.

"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 in the balance and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." (5:25 - 27)  Later, we are told, the king was killed and his kingdom handed over to Darius of Mede.

We have the writing on the wall in the form of God's Word.  God's Word tells us of our creation, our fall, sin, God's plan for our redemption, the suffering, death and resurrection of His Son to overcome the certain death we face, and God's Spirit who strengthens us. 

Pray we stay in God's Word to learn his plan for us.  Pray we share this good news, this "writing on the wall," with others and that God's Spirit place that faith in them.

Hope Men's Ministry