(Daniel 5:5 KJV) In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.Belshazzar was king of the Chaldeans and was having a party in Babylon. In the process he was mocking the God of Israel. Suddenly a hand appeared and wrote on the wall. When the writing was interpreted it spelled out his doom.
The way this is used seems to tell people to look at what it clear before them. Usually it is inferred that the news is bad. That is the current usage but, like many teachings taken from the Bible, it is not true to what actually happened.
If you go and read chapter 5 in Daniel you find that the king could not read the writing. He called his wise men and they could not read the writing. It was there in plain sight, but they could not understand the message. Finally someone mentioned Daniel, he was summoned and he translated it.
This is much more typical of where we are today. The writing on the wall is clear. Society is in decay. Government is becoming a tyranny. Education is becoming a joke. The church is becoming irrelevant. Marriage is becoming a game. What does it all mean? Much of the world sees the writing and instead of calling a man of God, a Daniel, they turn to their own wise men who consult their psychology texts and sociological gurus and ultimately don’t have a clue.
The church has the ability to read the writing but they are ducking and bobbing to avoid being put on the spot. The problem is in the heart of men and women. It is sin. The theological terms are original sin and depravity. The Biblical terms are the flesh, the old man, and of course, sin. That is sin as a condition, not as an action. Even the world will admit that there are things that could be categorized as “sin” but they deny the evil in the hearts of men.
The writing is on the wall and the news is not good. To find a solution you need to recognize the problem It will not be made clear by the ignorant intellectuals who reject truth. It is time for the people of God to step up to the plate and speak truth. In Belshazzar’s time the translation came too late.
We had better not wait too long.
homo unius libri
I think it too late already, Pumice, but then I always was a regular Pollyanna! ;-)
ReplyDeleteActually, I would put you more in the class of Daniel. Keep reading the writing out loud.
DeleteGrace and peace.
Strange, my friend Enrico and I were talking this morning that all over the world the writings on the wall. Warnings are there for all to see but very few are getting the message.
ReplyDeleteThe only hope I have for our times is that God would have spared Sodom if Lot could have produced just a few faithful men.
DeleteOf course there is the Christian hope that we have. In that case, as I tell the kids at school when death comes up, I am ready to go.
We are only salt. My prayer is that I don't lose my savor.
Grace and peacee