At the beginning of Chapter 5 of Daniel we meet a different king of Babylon, Belshazzar. He is the last king of Babylon and is having a massive party, getting carried away, and he has begun to drink from the vessels from the jewish temple when this happens;
'5*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. *6*Then the king’s colour changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. *7* The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers.
Daniel 5:5–7.
That is rather scary, right?!
A floating, disembodied hand, writing on the wall right in the midst of this raucous celebration. King Belshazzar may have considered that he was seeing things, or maybe that he had drunk too much…..but clearly it was no magic trick, no figment of the imagination - It was so real that he could not explain away what he saw as his whole body responded in shock; Trembling, falling, looking as if he would faint. What a change from the pompous, proud, partying king that was lavishly celebrating and cavorting with those present! From the centre of celebration, the host is transformed into a quivering wreck.
What a change this brought upon the celebration too. Suddenly all the fun and feasting disappears in a moment and horror has been exchanged for enjoyment. I wonder what the other people present must have thought as they saw the ghostly shock of the king, and heard his terrified cries for help. To see the king suddenly in this state would have been disturbing and require urgent action. Such an out of character response as an unknown terror had struck the king’s heart and mind. Something had to be done, but there was no-one present that could help relieve Belshazzar’s troubled mind. They might have offered comforting words, attempted to placate him, or offer him another drink, but no-one there could solve the puzzle of the writing or soothe the fright. So, the king rightly acknowledges that he needs outside help. There’s no-one in his immediate sphere, even though there are over a thousand people present, who can help resolve this matter, and he knows that he will not feel alright until this mystery is solved.
It is probably quite difficult for us to imagine being in the same situation - I do not expect many or any of us to see a floating hand writing on the wall. God clearly did this to get Belshazzar's attention. It may extreme, but it was necessary as God knows that Belshazzar would need conclusive evidence that there is another world outside the one he had built. A kingdom that is higher and capable of impossible things like a disembodied hand writing on the wall.
So, my question for you today is; are you aware of God's presence? or does God have to perform extreme things for you to see Him?
God does and will perform signs, wonders and miracles - are you seeing them? Do you expect them? Or are you someone that explains things away in your own mind so that they do not seem supernatural, but natural consequences? Are you waiting for your own writing on the wall experience in order to truly believe?
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