Daniel (Greek) 5:1-6: a reflection

1Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded that the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem be brought to him, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. 3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of God’s house which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. 4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone. 5In the same hour, the fingers of a man’s hand came out and wrote near the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6Then the king’s face was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another.

At the height of a great feast, as Belshazzar and his guests drink and praise their idols, even using the holy vessels taken from God's temple in their revelry, a hand suddenly appears and writes on the wall, and the king's revelry turns to terror in an instant. Belshazzar made a great feast, and while he tasted the wine, commanded the golden vessels from the temple to be brought, that they might drink from them; and they praised the gods of gold and silver. In the same hour, the fingers of a hand appeared and wrote on the wall; and the king's face changed, and his knees knocked together. In a single moment, at the height of proud, irreverent revelry, everything changed; the God whom the king had ignored and profaned made his presence felt, and the feast became terror. This shows that proud revelry ignoring God can be interrupted suddenly by a reckoning. Proud revelry ignoring God can meet a sudden reckoning. In a single moment, the feast turned to terror. The God we ignore can suddenly make himself known. Pride and revelry are not as secure as they seem.

Notice how suddenly the scene changed. Belshazzar was at the height of his glory, feasting with a thousand of his lords, drinking, praising his idols, even desecrating the holy vessels of God's temple in his revelry, treating the things of God with contempt and ignoring God entirely. Everything seemed secure, the feast in full flow, the king untroubled. And then, in the same hour, in a single moment, a hand appeared and wrote on the wall, and the king's proud revelry collapsed into terror, his face changed, his knees knocking. The God he had ignored and profaned made his presence felt, and everything changed at once. This is sobering. Pride, revelry, and the ignoring or profaning of God can seem secure, can go on untroubled for a time; but they are not as secure as they seem. The God who is ignored is not absent; he can make his presence felt suddenly, unexpectedly, and bring a reckoning we did not see coming. This warns against proud, careless living that ignores or profanes God, as though he did not see or would not act. He does see, and there is a reckoning; and it can come suddenly, even at the height of our security. We do well to live in reverence of God, not proud revelry that ignores him, mindful that a reckoning can come suddenly. Do not live in proud revelry that ignores God; a reckoning can come suddenly. The God we ignore is not absent, and can make himself known. Pride and careless revelry are not as secure as they seem. Live in reverence of God, not in proud forgetfulness of him.

That is worth taking to heart, for proud revelry that ignores or profanes God can be interrupted suddenly by a reckoning, and we do well to live in reverence rather than proud forgetfulness of God. We can live in proud, careless revelry, ignoring God as though he did not see or would not act; but Belshazzar's feast turned to terror in a single moment when the God he had ignored and profaned made his presence felt. A reckoning can come suddenly. Do not live in proud revelry that ignores God; live in reverence, mindful that the God you ignore is not absent and a reckoning can come suddenly. Live in reverence of God rather than in proud revelry that ignores or profanes him, mindful that such pride can be interrupted suddenly by a reckoning, as Belshazzar, at the height of a great feast, drinking and praising his idols and even using the holy vessels taken from God's temple in his revelry, saw a hand suddenly appear and write on the wall, so that his revelry turned to terror in an instant, his face changed and his knees knocking together; for in a single moment, at the height of proud, irreverent revelry, everything changed, and the God whom the king had ignored and profaned made his presence felt, which is sobering, since pride, revelry, and the ignoring or profaning of God can seem secure and go on untroubled for a time but are not as secure as they seem, for the God who is ignored is not absent and can make his presence felt suddenly and unexpectedly, bringing a reckoning we did not see coming, so that this warns against proud, careless living that ignores or profanes God as though he did not see, since he does see and there is a reckoning that can come suddenly even at the height of our security, and we do well to live in reverence of God rather than in proud forgetfulness of him.

Lord, at the height of a great feast, as Belshazzar and his guests drink and praise their idols, even using the holy vessels taken from your temple in their revelry, a hand suddenly appears and writes on the wall, and the king's revelry turns to terror in an instant. Belshazzar made a great feast, and while he tasted the wine, commanded the golden vessels from the temple to be brought, that they might drink from them; and they praised the gods of gold and silver. In the same hour, the fingers of a hand appeared and wrote on the wall; and the king's face changed, and his knees knocked together. In a single moment, at the height of proud, irreverent revelry, everything changed; the God whom the king had ignored and profaned made his presence felt, and the feast became terror. Show me how suddenly the scene changed. Belshazzar was at the height of his glory, feasting, praising his idols, even desecrating the holy vessels of your temple, ignoring you entirely. Everything seemed secure. And then, in a single moment, a hand appeared and wrote on the wall, and his proud revelry collapsed into terror. The God he had ignored and profaned made his presence felt, and everything changed at once. This is sobering. Pride, revelry, and the ignoring or profaning of you can seem secure, can go on untroubled for a time; but they are not as secure as they seem. You, ignored, are not absent; you can make your presence felt suddenly, and bring a reckoning we did not see coming. This warns against proud, careless living that ignores or profanes you, as though you did not see or would not act. Take that to my heart, for proud revelry that ignores you can be interrupted suddenly by a reckoning. Keep me from living in proud, careless revelry that ignores or profanes you; help me live in reverence of you, Lord, mindful that you, ignored, are not absent, and that a reckoning can come suddenly even at the height of my security.