PM Daniel 5:1-31 "The writing on the wall"

[0:00] was humbled. But King Belshazzar, he made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then he brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his lords, his wives and the concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the God of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. 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 colour changed and his thoughts alarmed him. His limb gave way and his knees knocked together. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation, be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and should be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or made known to the king's interpretation. Then

[1:40] King Melshazzar was greatly alarmed and his colour changed and his lords were perplexed. The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall and the queen declared, O king, live forever. Let not your thoughts alarm you or your colour change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom it is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans and astrologers. Of course, an excellent spirit, knowledge and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belshazzar. Now let Daniel be called and he will show you the interpretation.

[2:39] Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, Here are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. I have heard of you that the spirit of gods is in you, and delight and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men and enchanters have been brought in before me to read this writing and make it known to me its interpretation. But they couldn't show the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpreters interpretations and solve problems.

[3:21] Now if you can read the writing and make known to me the interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

[3:35] When Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation.

[3:50] O king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father wisdom and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all people's nations and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would he killed and whom he would he kept alive. Whom he would he raised up and whom he would he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind and his mind and his mind was made like that of a beast and his dwelling was with it wild donkeys.

[4:42] He was fed grass like an ox and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew the most high God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord.

[5:05] of heaven. And the vessels of the house have been brought in before you. And you have, and your lords and your wives and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know. But God in whose hand is your breath is your breath and who are all your ways you have not honoured. Then from his presence the hand was sent. And this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed. Many, many, tekel, parson. This is the interpretation of the matter. Many, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.

[6:00] Peres, your kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar gave the command and Daniel was clothed with purple. A chain of gold was put around his neck and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night, Melshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. And Dyrus, the Medes, received the kingdom, being about 62 years old.

[6:33] The God had his wife in this reading from that chapter we read together, Daniel chapter 5. And then we'll read again verse 27.

[6:44] Or 26, or verse 26 rather. This is his interpretation of the matter.

[6:56] Many, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

[7:09] Quite a well-known chapter, I think. I'm sure many children's Bibles also include this in them. The writing on the wall. Now all these happenings here in Daniel have been well prophesied in various parts of the prophets.

[7:28] Jeremiah and Isaiah touching these things. For example, if you turn to Jeremiah chapter 25, verse 7, it reads, But you would not listen to me.

[7:40] As he's speaking to Judah and Jerusalem in the captivity. But you would not listen to me. You made me furious by worshipping idols. You made with your own hands.

[7:52] Bringing on yourself all the disasters you now suffer. And now the Lord of heaven, the army says, Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north, under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy.

[8:10] I bring them all against this land and its people, and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you, and make you an object of horror and contempt, and a ruin forever.

[8:23] Israel and our neighbourhood lands will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years. That's just one example of the prophets. Because they were worshipping idols.

[8:36] And that's how God said in this prophecy, This is what's going to happen for 70 years. You're going to be under Babylon. And that God had appointed us.

[8:49] And it was God who was ruling. And set this all in place because of their disobedience. So that's the kind of background of these prophecies. And now it's being fulfilled during Babylon.

[9:02] And we looked at Nebuchadnezzar's conversions this morning. And here, quite the opposite, we're turning to Belshazzar this evening. Poles apart, it would appear.

[9:14] We read of this party, this drunken party that they were having. Well, they were drinking anyway.

[9:25] I'm sure they got merry. The king Belshazzar starts with drunkenness. And as we finished the chapter, he ended with destruction. From drunkenness to destruction.

[9:38] So that was Belshazzar's life. To sum up all this chapter. So he has this party that we read about. Now that was a bit irresponsible as we read in Jeremiah there.

[9:53] Because the city was being besieged just at this time by the enemies. By the Medo-Persian Empire. As predicted. You remember Daniel 2?

[10:04] All the different parts of the statue. And here was the Medo-Persian kingdom coming to overthrow the city. And as the enemy was approaching in these circumstances.

[10:18] Here was Belshazzar, as it were, sitting at the feast. Quite irresponsible, wasn't it? Of this king. How all these things were going on in his kingdom. And it looks like the wine was flowing.

[10:34] And just as the wine was flowing. Perhaps a bit worse for the weather. He ordered the vessels from Jerusalem temple. So the guests could drink from them.

[10:45] And it's interesting. After that. They drank wine from these vessels. And praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.

[10:58] You remember. I don't know if you remember. But the materials made up in the statue. That was made in chapter 2. And how these were the materials mentioned. And now these same materials are mentioned here.

[11:11] Remember what happened to the statue. It fell. And it's as though saying. These are the same materials. The statue fell.

[11:21] It was made of these. And you, O king, will be like them. You will fall as well. So he has this blasphemous party, as it were.

[11:32] Because as we read there. He brings in these vessels from the temple. That Nebuchadnezzar had taken. If you go back to Genesis. What? Genesis. Daniel chapter 1.

[11:44] Verse 2. It was Nebuchadnezzar that had taken these vessels. And placed them in the temple of his God. But interestingly enough, that verse says.

[11:56] And the Lord delivered Jerichoam into his hand. Along with some of the articles from the temple of God. So the Lord's hand. Just like the prophecy of Jeremiah.

[12:07] It was the Lord's wrath or anger against Israel. That these things happened. The Lord was in control. It wasn't this.

[12:18] It was the enemy out of his own power. Decided to just do this. It was the Lord who says. The Lord delivered these articles from the temple.

[12:30] Into his hand. So you have to remember the Lord's ruling. Over all these things. Because of their disobedience. Of worshipping idols. Mainly in their. And the way that they were living.

[12:43] As a punishment. The Lord permitted. These dreadful things to happen. These things that were so dear to. The Israelites. And the people of God.

[12:55] Were being now used as drinking vessels. And while they were drinking from them. It said. They praised the false gods. And this was their way of treating.

[13:08] These sacred things. That were set apart. To help God's people. Remember God. They're all significant. These things. These pictures. In the Old Testament.

[13:19] They all spoke volumes. To the people who saw them. But then. They were being abused. In this way. But it reminded me. Of the privileges.

[13:30] That we have. We have been given. And I think there's a warning. How we. Should be very careful. How we should use. The means of grace. That have been given to us.

[13:41] Now. There's a danger. Of us. Coming to worship. Perhaps. Just through the motions. Going through the motions. That. It's not.

[13:53] You might not think. It's as bad as here. But it's similar. We're abusing. God's means of grace. If we just kind of. Go through the motions. And not. Concentrate.

[14:03] Why God has given us. These things. And there's an abuse of them. There's a couple. That come to mind. As I mentioned. This morning. I was brought up.

[14:14] In Musaba. In the Episcopal Church. It was a very very high church. That was brought in. It's very high. That was our family church.

[14:25] And we worshipped there. At first anyway. And. Some of you know. That at the age of 14. In the Episcopal Church. You're confirmed. That's it.

[14:36] You're 14. You're confirmed. You're now a Christian. And. I still remember. Going up to the communion rail. Before going to communion.

[14:49] All the youngsters. Are given communion classes. Which might be a good idea. And I think some churches do that. Before. People come forward to communion. Anyway. That's a different thing.

[15:00] But as we came up. To the communion rail. At rail. I was in the choir. Right. And had this. Cassock and surplus on. And we were all. Kneeling at the.

[15:11] Communion rail. And this is what the rector told us. He said. Now. Be very very careful. How you handle this. This cup. Because if it spills on you.

[15:23] That's the blood of Christ. And you'll have to burn these garments. So. You see how. The. The. The. The means of grace. Were being abused. That's not the.

[15:34] But it's so easy. To get. Led astray. Another illustration. Comes to mind. Was. I used to. Visit. Quite regularly. A church. Called Magdalena. Which was down.

[15:44] From where we lived. Many years ago. And I got to know. That folk. Quite well up there. Down there. It was down from Kakamar. But still quite high up.

[15:54] You know. The mountains. But. Lovely climate. And. And made. Kind of treacle. And. Used to invite me up. To the. Jakaras. Fields.

[16:05] Jakaras. Crofts. And. Used to. Back me up to the crofts. And. The harvest. This crop. And made treacle out of it.

[16:16] And. As we were sitting on the bench. Maybe. Wrongly. I must admit. I put my bible on the floor. That wasn't.

[16:29] Allowed. You know. It was the bible. And I was speaking to. A good friend of mine. At that time. Don Napo. And I claimed. I said. There seemed to be quite an overreaction.

[16:40] At me putting the bible on the floor. I said. Oh yes. And some of the. Men. In the country. Wiped the bible. On their bodies.

[16:51] So. You see. It was a gift of God. But it was being abused. Maybe it was a mistake. To be done before. But anyway. The reaction. I think. Was over the top.

[17:03] I remember watching a video once. No. It wasn't a video. It was Duncan Peters. Explaining. Whenever. In a. Context of Muslims. Never. Never. Put your bible on the floor.

[17:14] You know how they've got the. The apparatus. To put their bible on. Because it's so sacred. Well. That's another theme. But. You see. All I'm saying is. You have to be very careful. How we use the means of grace.

[17:27] And. Not to abuse them. Not to neglect them. God has given us his word. And. God has given us his sacraments. And. Just as. These people are abusing.

[17:38] God's gifts. That were given to them. There is a danger of us. Getting over. Familiar. Perhaps. With the means of grace. And. We have to be careful then. Till.

[17:49] Let's be scriptural. In our teaching. But also. One other. Challenging verse. That came to my mind. In the similar context. In Matthew 5. 23.

[17:59] It says. So if you're offering your gift. At the altar. And there remember. That your brother. Has something against you. Leave your gift there. Before the altar. And go.

[18:10] First be reconciled to your brother. And then come. And offer your gift. So you see. That's a very challenging thing. In the means of grace. You know. We mustn't have that kind of.

[18:23] Attitude. Against our brother. Father. So. That was just a kind of lesson. I took. From the abuse of these articles. And what we can learn from that. Is being careful.

[18:34] How God has given us. These means of grace. Just. Just. Just. And to. Try to. Be more. Alert. Of whatever it is. As we appreciate.

[18:46] These things. That God has given us. And not to abuse them. But just as this is happening. There's this hand. That appeared. The fingers. Rather. Appeared. I think it's just fingers.

[18:57] That appeared. And wrote. On the wall. That the king. Couldn't understand. In fact. Similar to. Nebuchadnezzar. He too. Turned pale. Although.

[19:09] Nebuchadnezzar. Was terrified. Here. The king. It's quite an amusing picture. Isn't it? He turned pale. And his knees. Were knocking together. So. He was quite frightened. That this.

[19:19] This. Finger coming. Writing on the wall. Where God was going to. Declare his judgment. He did declare his judgment. On him. But it was in a kind of code. That you couldn't understand.

[19:32] And. So. This. Terror. Before the king. Should have helped him. Prepare. For repentance. I think. But.

[19:43] It didn't. He hardened. His heart. I was looking up. As you do these days. Right. I don't know how this has happened. But when you moved house.

[19:55] Somehow. My hymn books. Disappeared. So. I looked on the internet. And there's quite a few hymns. About. I don't think you would know them. You might have done.

[20:06] There's a hymn by Daniel Warner. 1885. And he puts it this way. See the great king of Bible. In his latter days of time. Make a feast that's universal.

[20:18] All the nations drink her wine. As they eat, drink and revel. In our lovely steeple hall. God proclaims her desolation. By hand. Upon the wall. And so on.

[20:29] So. So. There's a few people. Who have put this account. Into. Hymnology. Me. And Daniel Warner. Was one of them.

[20:39] Just to. Remind people. How they can use the Bible. As an instrument. To learn. And reflect on. And. We find.

[20:50] Once more. Belshazzar. Asking these wise men. To come and help. Read these words. That appeared. On the wall. And. They couldn't. Of course. Even.

[21:01] A reward was offered. But. They couldn't. Understand. These things. It was as though. That they were very. Wise men. There's different ways.

[21:12] To describe them. They were called astrologers. Chaldeans. Or whatever else. They were called. Magicians. And. Despite all these gifts. It was. I'm not sure.

[21:24] I didn't look into. In a lot of detail. What language. It was written in. But. I think. My understanding. Of some of the commentaries. Was. It could be understood.

[21:36] In fact. Daniel understood it. Maybe that was because. God revealed him. But. It's so. God's word. The message. Was veiled. From them. They couldn't. Understand it. And of course.

[21:47] That led me. To 2nd Corinthians. 3. 14. But their minds. Were hardened. For to this day. When they read. The old covenant. That same veil. Remains. Unlifted.

[21:58] Because only through. Christ. Is it taken away. To this day. Whenever Moses is read. A veil lies. Over their heart. But when one turns. To the Lord. A veil is removed. That the Lord is spirit.

[22:08] And where the spirit. Of the Lord is. There is freedom. And we all. With unveiled face. Beholding his glory. Are being transformed. Into the same image. From one degree.

[22:19] Of glory. To another. For this comes. From the Lord. Whose spirit. Isn't it remarkable. Like this morning. I mentioned. Reflection. And how the veil.

[22:30] Has been removed. From our eyes. And now. When we read God's word. With the help of the spirit. We can understand it. And it's so clear to us. And we think. Why can't others understand it.

[22:41] It's because. There's this kind of veil. That God's puts on them. And. That's a very. Interesting thought. There's that veil. That is there.

[22:52] And something similar. Happens here. I think. With the wise men. There's this veil. That they couldn't. Read the message. And interpret it. For them. But we know. The answer.

[23:02] To that. Of not understanding. As we. As the basic passage. In Corinthians says. Once you turn to Christ. Then. It's as though the veil is removed. And God helps you.

[23:14] Understand. Through your spirit. And. What God's word is saying. To you. A similar message. So. And. The queen.

[23:26] Now. When you read. In this account. About Nebuchadnezzar. Being his father. And the queen. Coming in. It's most likely. The language. If the bible. Means. If you.

[23:37] That it was his grandfather. Most of the commentators say. And. Although it says. It's the queen. It's probably. The queen mother. It's just because.

[23:48] When the queen. Comes in. She remembers. Nebuchadnezzar. So. She wasn't. A young woman. So. It's more likely. It was the queen mother. Who came in. And told. The king.

[24:00] Belshazzar. About. Daniel. And the story. About. How he helped. Nebuchadnezzar. That we saw. This morning. And. Daniel.

[24:10] Was able to help. Nebuchadnezzar. Your son. Actually. His grandson. And therefore. She encourages. Belshazzar. To. Look for this. Gifted man.

[24:21] Who. The spirit of gods. Was in him. We know. It was the spirit. Of the lord. But she just. Calls him. The spirit of the gods. It was in him.

[24:31] So. God's judgment. Was coming upon. Belshazzar. Although he couldn't. Read the message. Nobody else. But Daniel. Comes along. And being gifted.

[24:43] For God. He was able to. Use this message. And declare. How God. Was. Angry. With Belshazzar.

[24:54] And. How God. Was sovereign. Over the kingdoms. Of men. Now. Belshazzar. Verse 22. Is interesting.

[25:05] It says. And you have not. Humbled your heart. Though you knew. All this. That was the problem. With Belshazzar. He knew. What happened. To Belshazzar. Nebuchadnezzar.

[25:16] He knew. The judgment. That fell upon. I think. It's his grandson. Nebuchadnezzar. He knew. That he. Was like the tree.

[25:26] And ended up. Like an animal. And. And. And how he looked up. And then was converted. He knew all that. But despite the knowledge. He continued.

[25:36] In his evil ways. By. Getting out these vessels. That were sacred. And using them. In that way. And. Continued to sin. And worship. These idols. Despite all that knowledge.

[25:49] He didn't turn to God. Despite knowing. That account. And the history. Of his. Dance. Of Nebuchadnezzar. And Daniel.

[26:00] Said. That judgment. Was going to come upon him. Then. Because. He was a God. Who rules. God. Will. Judge. All those. Who reject him.

[26:10] And refuse. To repent. It came to mind. These two chapters. Chapter four. And chapter five. Chapter four. Was about Nebuchadnezzar. And how he came to faith.

[26:21] As he looked up. And as far as we know. He was converted. Chapter five. On the other hand. Is about Belshazzar. Who didn't.

[26:31] Come to the Lord. And who died. A very sad death. And it reminded me. Of the two thieves. On the cross. How. Remember. In Luke.

[26:42] They're told about. These two thieves. One of them. Who was hanged. Rallied. At him. Saying. Are you not the Christ. Save yourself. And us. But the other. Rebuked him. Saying. Don't you fear God.

[26:53] Since you. Under the same sentence. Of condemnation. We indeed. Justly. For we received. Our due reward. But this man. Has done nothing wrong. And he said.

[27:03] Jesus. Remember me. When you come into a kingdom. Truly. I say to you. Today. You are with me. In paradise. Remember. There was a preacher. I can't remember who it was.

[27:14] Was talking. Giving testimony. Or telling. About. How once he preached. And that. These two thieves. And after the service. I think it was. Somebody said.

[27:27] I'm not quite ready yet. You remember the thief. At the very end of his life. He said. Today. You will be in paradise. So. You know.

[27:38] Not yet. And the preacher. Turned around to him. And said. Ah. But there's two thieves. Just. Just to jolt his memory. That. No. That wasn't.

[27:49] An excuse. To delay. There were two thieves. On the cross. As far as we know. I think. We're not. It isn't specific. In the chapter. But as far as we understand.

[27:59] Only one of them. Was given that promise. Today. You'll be with me. In paradise. The other. As far as we know. Came under. That you died. Without that promise.

[28:10] Was given to him. And. It shows us. The importance. Of coming to. The Lord. While there is time.

[28:21] So. In verses 22 and 24. Similar to. This morning. His. Belshazzar's sins.

[28:32] Are outlined there. You've not humbled. Yourself. That you've. Brought the things. From God's house. Drinking from them. And praised the false gods. But didn't honour God.

[28:43] Who holds his hands. In your life. So there's three sins. That. The count Nebuchadnezzar. Committed. One. Is sin of pride. And right throughout.

[28:54] The scriptures. Were warned about pride. Pride. Pride goes before destruction. It says. And a haughty spirit. Before a fall. How true that was. With Belshazzar. Wasn't it?

[29:05] His pride. Went. For. His destruction. At the end of the chapter. And Peter puts it. Like this. Clothe yourself. All of you. With humility.

[29:15] Towards one another. For God opposes the proud. But gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves. Therefore. Under God's mighty hand. So that you. Proper time. He may exalt you. So that was his first sin.

[29:27] His sin of pride. And. These are. Verses in the New Testament. Encourage us. To humble ourselves. Rather. Before God. God. There's one well known example.

[29:39] You remember. The example. With the Pharisee. And the tax collector. The Pharisee. All stood up. And proud. And. Praying out loud.

[29:50] And. Kind of showing off. How good he was. Not like this man. And of course. The tax. Tax collector. Just said.

[30:04] God be merciful to me. A sinner. And Christ says. That I tell you. This man. Went down to his house. Justified. Rather than the other. So the sin of pride.

[30:15] There's much about it. In the scriptures. And that was his first sin. Sin of pride. He didn't humble himself. Like that. That tax collector. In that parable. And say.

[30:26] God. Be merciful to me. A sinner. But he remained. In his pride. The second thing. That is sin. Was he defied God. He defied God. By. Desecrating.

[30:37] The sacred vessels. But. In the New Testament. We're reminded. That our bodies. Are God's vessels. And we must never. Desecrate this vessel.

[30:49] That the Holy Spirit. Has given us. Rather. We should present our bodies. As a living sacrifice. Holy. Acceptable unto him. And to us. Be conformed to this world.

[30:59] That we transform. By the renewing of our mind. God has given us. This vessel. There's several passages. That teach us. About the Holy Spirit. And he was desecrating.

[31:10] These vessels. But. The New Testament. Teaches us. That. We are God's vessels. Now. And. We have to be very careful. How. We live our lives.

[31:22] Because. God. Indwells in them. And so. Never. We should never. We should never. Desecrate. The vessels. That got. Our bodies. But rather. What worthy.

[31:32] Of our calling. And to try to discern. What pleases God. And. Ask him. That we would. Dedicate ourselves. Rather to him.

[31:43] Wholehearted commitment. Is what's required. And to walk as children. As light. And to discern. Discerne rather. What is pleasing to God. His second sin.

[31:54] Was he desecrated. The vessels. And. That's something. We have to. Always. One is pride. Which. To humble ourselves. Before God. But. Second. Sin.

[32:04] That. Let's be very careful. How we use this body. Because. God has. Now. Indwelling in it. With his Holy Spirit. And we have to dedicate. Our lives.

[32:15] In service to him. And not desecrate themselves. Ourselves. To other things. And the third sin. That he committed. Was that he praised. Idols. Instead of turning from them.

[32:27] And it brings to mind. Of course. That verse in Thessalonians. For they. Themselves. Report concerning us. The kind of. Reception. We had among you. And how you turned to God.

[32:38] From idols. To serve the living. And true God. They had turned from idols. To serve the living. True God. Idol. As we all know. Isn't something.

[32:48] You can touch. And ribby. And harden. That you might be guilty of. Of. An idol. Is anything. We put before God. Anything. That we. Put in.

[32:59] First place. Rather than serving God. And so. For most of us. An idol. Can become. Any. Anything. That takes up. More of our time.

[33:10] Than God does. A habit. Maybe a good habit. That. That. That. If it's. Dominating our lives. More than God's. Dominating it. In some ways.

[33:21] That's called. An idol. And. Rather. Instead of. We're told. In that verse. That.

[33:32] Return from God. To idols. To serve. The living. And true God. God. So. Now. Instead of. Concentrating. On other things.

[33:43] We're now. Called to serve. As the verse says. The true and living God. Instead. One thing. That was constantly said. About our queen. Was that.

[33:54] She served. God. Throughout her. 70 year reign. And probably more. And because she served God. She served other people. As well. And that's.

[34:05] One of the things. We're encouraged to do as well. In the New Testament. Remember. Said of Christ. He is the son of man. Who came not to be served. But to serve. And to give his life. At ransom.

[34:15] For many. And. As he served. As he washed the feet. Of the disciples. It was an act of service. So. That was his three. Three sins.

[34:27] That. He was proud. We must humble ourselves. Before God. And. The second thing. Was that he desecrated. The vessels.

[34:38] We must be careful. To set our lives apart. For him. And never to have. An idol. Something else. In place. Of God. So it comes.

[34:48] Briefly. The explaining. Of these. Three. Words. That were written. On the wall. The first one.

[35:04] Was God. Has numbered. Your days. Now. I'll put that reference. As you all know. Psalm 90. Verse 12. I think that's.

[35:15] The same. Text. I used to see. In the bookshop. Used to get. We. Text. Bookmarks. And one of them. Was. Our times. Are in. Your. Our times. Are in.

[35:26] His hands. And so. We're told there. God has numbered. Your days. And. We had a member. In our congregation.

[35:37] An elder. And. His name. His name. Was. Willie Bain. And he died. Very sadly. So. On going to his house. The minister discovered.

[35:48] A calendar. On his wall. From his date of birth. To his date of death. Well. He'd marked. Every day. That he'd ever lived. A tick.

[35:59] And he'd counted them up. Well. I don't know. If that's what it means. But that's what that man did. It reminds us. That God. Has given us. So many days. On this earth.

[36:11] We must. Be very careful. Against. All those. Who. Are. Encouraging. Euthanasia. And so on. That. We must be very careful. About these things.

[36:21] Because it's only God. Who can take away life. God has numbered. Your days. Let's. Give thanks. He has numbered. Our days. He knows.

[36:33] How long. He has given us. To live. And as long as we live. May it. Be because. We want to serve him. So that was. He's numbered. Your days.

[36:45] He's weighed. And found. Wanting. Now. This is. Briefly. Take you back. To. When I. My life. Massabra. And I.

[36:56] Lived in a flat. In. Dandard Street. With five other Christians. Was it? And. We all lived together. And one of my friends. There.

[37:06] Stuart. Was very keen. On certain. Music. I won't name all the music. He was very keen on. But one of them. Was Johnny Cash.

[37:18] And I still remember. Way back there. The sound of Johnny Cash. Singing. My friend. You're weighed in the balances. And found wanting. Your kingdom is divided.

[37:30] Can't stand. You're weighed in the balance. And found wanting. Your house. I built. Upon the sand. For that song. If you go. Right through Johnny Cash's song.

[37:42] He takes you right. Through the story. Of the writing of the wall. In that song. So that was. My memory. Of. Of. Being weighed in the balances.

[37:54] And found wanting. He was measured. In the light of God's. Standards. And. That. Is a message for us. As well. You're weighed in the balances.

[38:06] But we're found wanting. Because. We read. We all sinned. And come short. Of the glory of God. But then. We read of this solution. To that. That Christ came into the world.

[38:17] To save sinners. And he came and died on the cross. So that we would be redeemed. From. Being found wanting. As we come to. Come to trust in Christ.

[38:29] Then. We're free from this wrath. But it's a reminder. That. Yes. Belchazor was found wanting. Everyone. Without exception. Of sin.

[38:40] And found wanting. And that's why Christ came. To redeem them. And to give them hope. From that. And the third thing. Was that his kingdom. Was going to be divided.

[38:51] Well. We saw that. In the. Way back in the statue. The Medes and Persians. Came in. And divided his kingdom. But it reminded me also. Of the New Testament.

[39:02] Where there is a greater division. And that division. As you know. Is sheeps on one side. And goats on the other side. There's that great division. That's made. Those in the narrow way.

[39:14] And those in the wide way. And so it goes on. There's a great division. And. And. Corinthians reminds us.

[39:25] For we must all appear. Before the judgment seat of Christ. So each one may receive. What is due. For what he has done. In the body. Whether good. Or evil. And.

[39:37] That's why we need to come. To trust in Christ. Because we all need to appear. Before him. And. We won't be found wanting. If. That number of our days is finished.

[39:49] And we come before him. We won't be found wanting. If we. Appear before that judgment seat. Having trusted. In Christ. So. As I've started.

[40:02] We had this Nebuchadnezzar. He repented. He broke away. Remember. From his sins. I think he was like the thief. On the cross. That Jesus accepted.

[40:12] And said today. You're with me in paradise. Belshazzar. On the other hand. Was like the other thief. In my opinion. On the cross. Who did not. Repent.

[40:23] Despite the warnings. These are the two ways. The two kings. The Nebuchadnezzar. Who came to faith. And was blessed. Belshazzar. Who didn't. And was judged.

[40:35] There only are two ways. Which road are you on. Tonight. May God bless. This meditation. With his own word. Talking of the two ways.

[40:47] I think the appropriate psalm. That talks about this.