TITLE: "THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL"

Introduction

We continue in our sermon series called UNSHAKABLE, diving into the book of Daniel. There’s a saying that comes right out of Daniel Chapter 5: "The writing is on the wall." It means the game is up, and if you don’t change course, disaster is inevitable.

The Setting

"Many years later King Belshazzar gave a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles, and he drank wine with them." Daniel 5:1 (NLT)

Belshazzar was the great-grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. His father, Evil-Merodach, had a name that foreshadowed trouble. His family line had witnessed God's power but failed to pass down their faith. What are we imparting to the next generation? At this time, the Medes and Persians were outside the city walls, trying to break in, but inside, Belshazzar was throwing a party. His attitude was, "You can’t touch this!" (MC Hammer reference for the ‘90s crowd!).

Mocking God

"While Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. While they drank from them, they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone." Daniel 5:2-4 (NLT)

Belshazzar ordered the sacred gold and silver cups from God’s temple in Jerusalem to be used for drinking and toasts to idols. He was making a statement: "My gods are greater than your God." But then…

"Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear, and his legs gave way beneath him." Daniel 5:5-6 (NLT)

Immediate detox! God knew exactly how to get his attention.

The Search for Meaning

"The king shouted for the enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers to be brought before him. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor and will have a gold chain placed around his neck. He will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom!” But when all the king’s wise men had come in, none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant." Daniel 5:7-8 (NLT)

"So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish." 1 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT)

Belshazzar was growing desperate.

The Forgotten Prophet

"But when the queen mother heard what was happening, she hurried to the banquet hall. She said to Belshazzar, “Long live the king! Don’t be so pale and frightened. There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, this man was found to have insight, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your predecessor, the king—your predecessor King Nebuchadnezzar—made him chief over all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers of Babylon. This man, Daniel, has exceptional ability and is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.”" Daniel 5:10-12 (NLT)

So, at around 80-85 years old, Daniel was summoned. When offered wealth and power, Daniel replied:

"Daniel answered the king, “Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means.”" Daniel 5:17 (NLT)

Why? Because Daniel knew that Belshazzar’s reign was about to end.

The Judgment

“You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Daniel 5:22-28 (NLT)

God has a scale, but it’s different from ours. On God’s scale, we want to weigh more, not less!

"Let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity." Job 31:6 (NKJV)

"All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD." Proverbs 16:2 (NIV)

A Different Writing

Another time God wrote—not on a wall, but in the sand.

“Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” John 8:7 (NLT)

“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” John 8:11 (NLT)

Final Thought: Spiritual F.A.T.

Unshakable faith adds weight to God’s scale:

• F = Fosters humility – Recognizing that we are not all that compared to God.
• A = Adds true value – Accepting our imperfections and letting Jesus take over.
• T = Trusts Jesus – Finding our purpose and security in Him.

Closing

God is still writing. He can write a new ending to your story today. Daniel knew Belshazzar’s rewards were worthless because his kingdom was ending. What are we chasing that has no eternal value? God’s scale is the only one that truly matters. Will we weigh enough?

If you need to surrender your life to Jesus today, now is the time. Let’s seek to be weighed and found faithful before Him. Amen.