Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Welcome to the Wednesday in the Word podcast, equipping our leaders of this great weekly Bible study held at Dario, our wonderful, gracious host. all across North Carolina. This is to equip, encourage, and guide you as you prepare to teach the word and guide the discussion. at each location each week.
And we continue our journey now through the book of Daniel. Here we are with today's special guest. Dr. Sam Warren. The writing is on the wall.
heard that expression. Maybe all your life.
Well, we are looking at that up close. in Daniel chapter Five on this week's Wednesday in the Word episode. I've got Dr. Horn along with me. His title for this week is a lot sexier.
When God Crashes Your Party, Dr. Horn. A lot going on in Daniel chapter 5. What a chapter in God's word. Yeah, this is an amazing moment in the story of the book of Daniel.
It's Some people would say it's the climax of the first half of the book.
Some people would say it's actually the very bottom. Of the first half of the book, but either way you look at it. In Daniel 1 through 7, Daniel has been driving you to chapter 4 and to chapter 5 so that you can see two pagan kings side by side who receive. A call from God to repent, to humble themselves. And how they respond and what happens.
to both of them and to their kingdom. And that's really what's been going on in the whole first half of the book. Remember, we said at the very beginning: the book of Daniel is wisdom from above. In other words, God is going to give wisdom. from his vantage point as the sovereign over the earth And he is going to give that wisdom to two groups of people.
He's going to give it to the nations. In the first half of the book, which is written in Aramaic in their mother language, their trade language. And then he's got a unique wisdom for his own people. And that's going to be the second half of the book. And that's in Hebrew.
And that wisdom to his people Is designed to help them navigate life in the kingdoms of the world that more often than not. are gonna are gonna reflect what we see in chapter five more than what we saw in chapter four.
So Dr. Horn, as we set this up, we always do a review going back to kind of how we got here. Where are we?
Some folks might be parachuting in for the first time, and they're meeting us in chapter five, right here, kind of at an intersection of this great book. Others have been with us all along. There's a transition to a new ruler. There's a time lapse in between. Uh, chapters four, chapter five.
So, will you set us up? What I have here. Because you know, I love this alliteration stuff. I have, in terms of contrasting those two, and I want you to expand on this, and it helps us kind of. Of review what's happened and how we got to chapter five.
We have a contrasting two rulers. Two rebukes. Two results. One result is redemption. One result is retribution.
Take us into we we Left off our Nebuchadnezzar. Just a real powerful time. Chapter 4. I hope everyone will go back and listen to that podcast. It was a little bit longer, but it was every minute of it was worth it.
It was rich. And what happened to this man, where we know God is the true sovereign and he finally recognizes that? Then we have this not-so-humble and not-so-responsive. King coming in here in chapter five.
So, Dr. Horne, set us up. Give us a quick, if you would, review of from chapter four to five. Yeah, so It's interesting as you come into chapter six or chapter five, rather, you know exactly what day it is. It's the very last day of the Babylonian kingdom.
It is the very last day of Belshazzar's life.
So, you know, this going in because when you read the chapter historically. You know exactly when this happened. This was not a minor thing. This is the collapse of a world power. Think about it this way: it would be like the world power, the United States of America.
On the very last day of its dominance, and on the very last day of the life of its last political leader. It's that kind, it's to that level. And so 23 years have passed. Since Nebuchadnezzar's death, So, if you remember, the events in chapter four happened somewhere in the last 10 years of Nebuchadnezzar's reign. And so he dies in 562 BC and 23 more years are going to pass.
In those 23 years, there have been several kings that have come to the throne. Nebuchadnezzar had her son that came to the throne. And was uh moved out of out of power. His name was Ebel Meradoc. And he reigned for about three years.
Then there was another son or descendant named Nereglissar. And he reigned for a few years and eventually There is a general in the Babylonian army who rises to power named Nabonidus. And Nabonidus comes to power to settle the kingdom down, and he marries Nebuchadnezzar's daughter to give him legitimacy.
So there have been a couple of kings between Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar. But one of those kings was this guy named Nabonidus, who marries Nebuchadnezzar's. Daughter, and they have a son named Belshazzar. Belshazzar's name means Bel will protect the king. And so you have this sort of interesting dynamic.
He is actually Nebuchadnezzar's grandson. And you notice at the end of the chapter, he's going to offer Daniel. A really high spot in the kingdom, but the highest he can offer Daniel is the third position. because he's actually occupying the second position. You just say, well, who's occupying the first?
And the answer is: Nabonidus is dead. Nabonidus. Was an absentee king. If you go back into the history of Babylon, he loved to go out and conquer things. He loved to go out and explore things.
And so, for most of his reign, or at least the latter part of it, Uh Belshazzar had been left in charge. As the second in command at Babylon. And what has happened is the Persian army, the Persian kingdom has been on the rise for some time. And it has been marching through the Babylonian Empire. starting at its edges and moving toward the center.
And and territory by territory, nation by nation. That used to be under the control of Babylon, under the protection of Babylon, has fallen to the Persians. And for the last 10 days, the Persian army has been chasing Nabonidus. who has been fleeing for his life. And here they are, and they are finally at the Capitol, and they're parked outside the gates.
And Belshazzar knows the game is over. And out of desperation. he calls a religious feast. And he gathers a thousand lords. These are sort of the governors of the empire who've all come to Babylon.
And and they're doing something. Uh unusual. Uh Belshazzar is convinced. That the reason the Babylonian empire is crumbling is because of something that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar did. And it's at the end of chapter four when he turns away from the gods of Babylon.
And he starts to worship the god of Daniel. And he becomes a follower of the God of heaven. And since that time, The Babylonian kingdom has been in decline, and in its most critical moment, Bellshizer has a hard choice to make. Who am I going to look to to deliver our kingdom? Am I going to look to The God of Daniel and the new God of Nebuchadnezzar, or am I going to look to the gods?
The original gods, the gods of wood and of stone, that have always been our gods, that have been dishonored. And so that's the context of the feast. He is calling for a feast to honor the gods of Babylon and to appeal to them to deliver him from the hand of the Persians. And to show that, he brings out. These vessels of his grandfather's new God.
And he uses them. in a horrific way. to show how shameful Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel's God was, and how powerless that God was in the eyes. Of the gods. And so he's saying the God of Nebuchadnezzar and the God of Daniel is actually gonna serve you, and we're gonna drink out of the vessels in honor to you.
So there is an elevation now. Belshazzar has made his choice. I'm going to turn to the old, lifeless idols, the powerless gods of Babylon, for help.
Well So as you as a as our teachers, as people lead through this, chapter, Doctor Horne. Structurally, how should they be looking?
Now, as we get into, that's a great and excellent. review of kind of where we came from.
Now we look at as we preview this chapter, how should people People look at the structure. You've got this opening feast, then you've got this. Uh Act of absolute defiance and blasphemy against Almighty God. It's one thing to steal and to plunder. Like Belchazzar's granddad did Jerusalem.
It's another thing. To Corrupt and defile that which was, you know, which God has called holy, you know, that the, those, those. implements and those different faculties from the temple. And then you have this uh this writing thing that just is you know is is shocking these folks are like are we It maybe we're just in a drunken stupor and this is just a hallucinization. And then you have This woman who, you know, this queen who's kind of the maybe the only level head in the crowd who remembers.
The man of God. Take us through the structure, how we think through it, by way of a quick preview as we start to jump into this. Yes, sir. Yeah, organizing how the chapter falls.
So I divided it up this way in verses one through nine. You have a perspective and you're looking at it through the eyes of a wicked ruler who defies God. In other words, he makes a choice. You know I'm not going to serve a God who isn't serving me. You know, Nebuchadnezzar's God, you know, if that God were really, if he really cared about us, Babylon would be strong.
We wouldn't have been through 23 years of decline. And so Babylon and its decline, the God of Nebuchadnezzar is useless. Why would I keep serving a God who isn't serving me? That is a massive question that all of us face. All right, so that's one through nine.
And then 10 through 12, verses 10 through 12. You have a perspective of a wise woman. There is a wise woman who comes on the scene, and it's Belshazzar's mom. Listen, when your mom talks, you need to listen. And so she's probably the only person in the kingdom.
Who can come in and speak to Belshazzar at this moment? The way she speaks to him. She basically looks at him and says, Get it together. And listen, I'm going to give you advice that you need. to follow.
Now, this woman grew up in Nebuchadnezzar's court. She saw the transformation of her dad. She knew everything. She, you know, historical narrative would tell us, you know, outside of the Bible, extra-biblical literature would tell us that she was very involved toward the end of her dad's life and his reign. And she knew Daniel.
When she describes Daniel, she isn't just saying, I remember hearing about him. There's firsthand knowledge that's being communicated. She knew Daniel, and she knew what happened to her granddad. And she's looking at her son and basically saying to him. You need to get it together.
Your granddad actually ran this kingdom very differently than you ran it, and he humbled himself. And you've got to get it together.
So there is a perspective of this wise woman. And then in verses 13 through 28, Daniel comes on the scene. And you get perspective number three. There is this wise, bold witness. Who speaks for God?
And he basically looks at Belshazzar and he says, I'm not impressed. And I won't be swayed. Keep your stuff. You know, hey. I don't need any more gold chains.
And I don't want a purple robe. Purple's not my color.
So keep your stuff. I'm not impressed and I won't be swayed and I'm going to speak truth. that you need to hear on the last day of your life. And so it's urgent. Right.
It's urgent. And then the last thing is verses 29 through 31 is the God who acts for his glory. I mean, the last word in the chapter isn't Daniel, and it isn't Belshazzar, and it isn't his mom, it is God. And God is going to give you the assessment of everything that you see in the chapter.
So that's how I divided it.
So when you look at that structure, and I really like that structure, and there are all kinds of different... different ways to structure this. Even One of the real Kind of Quintessential or loud points of this whole passage is the actual handwriting itself. Dr. Orrin, how can we understand that?
Some folks just jump right to, okay, what's the meaning? What do they actually say? I mean, there is, you know, we have a culture that one of the hottest things in our culture today are escape rooms, right? And you have these, you have a whole board game of clue, you know, the classic, the veritable who, you know, who done it, right? And who, you know, who's.
And you know, all these mysteries. And this is one of those in history, one of the greatest mysteries, because here you have this whole crowd, all the. The great, grand, powerful people, power players of the land in there, they're partying away. in their revelry and suddenly a hand literally a hand is writing Something on the wall. And who knows?
They're thinking maybe their pagan gods are answering their prayers and they're going to best in battle the Medes and the Persians who are knocking at the gate. Who knows what this is?
So this obviously has. The you know, uh bell chats are all mixed up and torn up, just like Nebuchadnezzar's dreams had him troubled on both occasions. In the other scenarios we see in the book.
So take us to that, if you would, Dr. Horne. And then from that, take us to kind of the big idea. Of how we should kind of land the plane with Daniel chapter 5. Yeah, but what you have here is you have a king who's in trouble.
And he knows it. And it isn't a minor. minor trouble. I mean, this is The end of the empire and probably the end of his life because he would have been really aware of what the Persians would do to him if they conquered Babylon.
So he is at a moment where he's got to decide who he's going to turn to. And we all get there. That's the point, right? It's not who we worship on Sunday when everything's calm. It's when we get to those moments, and there will be those moments in all of our lives that are make or break.
You know what? I got a colon cancer diagnosis and it looks like I'm not going to make it. Or, man, my wife was in a horrific car wreck and she's in the emergency seat and she's on life support. Or I just found out that my company got sold and my job is going away and I'm 54 and I and all of a sudden our whole life is in one of those moments And at that point, we've got to decide who we're going to turn to. And Belshazzar decides, I'm not going to turn to the God of my father, Nebuchadnezzar, my granddad.
I'm going to go back to the gods that he abandoned, right? And so. There is this arrogant defiance. He calls for a feast. Um He is absolute.
absolutely drunk everybody in the room is drunk The text in verse 2 says, When he had tasted the wine. In other words, when he was well into the wine. Um And literally, his wives and his concubines are drinking with him. I mean, there is this orgy, I hate to use that word, but there is this sense that this is degenerated into a pain. pagan, religious.
A feast that is full of sensuality and sexuality and idolatry and immorality. And if you go back to ancient Idols, that is always what happened, right?
So he brings into the mix the vessels. of the God of heaven who stands against all of that. He's not making an innocent mistake here. He is humiliating the God of Nebuchadnezzar and the God of Daniel. And in the middle of all of that, God says, listen.
I have not forgotten my vessels. You may have thought they've been in the temple where Nebuchadnezzar put them way back. When he came in 609 BC, but I've known exactly where they are, I put them there. And while you're using them to shame Me in front of your gods, I'm going to shame you in front of your lords. And so this hand appears and writes on the wall.
And the text says, as The hand wrote Nebuda or Belshazzar rather saw What was written? And he responds in humiliating desperation. In other words, he's trying to humiliate Daniel's God and the God of Nebuchadnezzar. He's the one who ends up being humiliated. Listen to the description.
The king's color changed. Like he lost all his coloration. His thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave way. Like his he just collapsed.
And his knees knocked together. That's a really polite Hebrew or Aramaic phrase. That literally would say this: the joint, the knot of his loin was loosed. In other words, I'm not trying to be crude here, but he lost control of his bowels. And he does this in front of all of his lords.
And the king stood. Starts yelling. He cries out loudly. to bring in the enchanters the chaldeans and the astrologers.
Now, we've been seeing this, right? Nebuchadnezzar does it in chapter one. I'm sorry, in chapter two. And then he does it again in chapter four, same song and dance. Here we are again in chapter five.
And these dudes trapes in, and it's almost comical. Here they come again. Bring in the clowns. and they show up and they can't do a thing, right? They could not read the writing.
or make known to the king the interpretation and and now Belshazzar is even more alarmed. And so are his lords. His lords are now joining him in the terror.
So that's what happens when you turn away from the God of heaven. Remember what Proverbs says? Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding. Here's a king who leaned to his own understanding and it got him in trouble.
So that's that's Point number one. Point number two. God always is merciful. And he's going to send somebody in. to remind you Of who he is.
And so in comes the one woman in the kingdom who can talk straight. To Belshazzar, and it's his mom. And we've already talked a little bit about her, but there is this mercy, she intervenes. forcefully The Queen declared. She speaks really frankly.
Stop. Stop it. In other words, don't let your thoughts alarm you. or your color change, pull it together, that's the idea. Right.
And then she speaks wisely.
So there's this forceful, frank communication, but it's wise. She says, there is a man in your kingdom. And then she calls attention. To who this man is. In the days of your father, this man was light.
and understanding and wisdom like the light and understanding and wisdom of the gods. Nebuchadnezzar, your father, and the word there is your ancestor. Your father, the king, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, and Chaldeans, and astrologers.
Okay, that's a new piece of information we haven't had yet. We knew that Daniel was high up in the kingdom. But he's actually at the top of the wisdom pile. He's not just at the top of the political pile, he's at the top of the wisdom pile. And so This woman is calling attention to that.
And she says, the reason all of this happened is because of an excellent spirit. Knowledge and understanding. The ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems was found in Daniel. whom the king named Belchazzar.
Now note His name is Belshazzar and Daniel's name was Belshashazzar, right?
So very similar names. And she says, if you're looking for help. If you want somebody, if you want a God to protect the king, stop looking to Bel and start looking to Daniel. Because that's what your grandfather found. Seek the right person, summon Daniel.
and request his insight.
So here is this opportunity now. That the king has. And that's perspective number two. Does that make sense? It makes a lot of sense, and it really is fascinating that.
You know, like the the old, uh, what's the old uh Rhyme, the old kids' rhyme, nursery rhyme. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.
So, yeah, you have that as a recurring theme, both with Nebuchadnezzar over and over again. It says, and he summoned the he summoned the astrologers, he summoned the magicians, he summoned the wise men, he summoned the Chaldeans, he summoned the soothsayers, and anyone that could figure this out, the sorcerers. And Same thing here with this with this wicked king. And it takes a woman. with some wisdom.
to intervene and then you have this rioting, Dr. Horn. that has been a fascinating Dr. Jeremiah, the name of his Daniel commentary, which I've been studying, which is a great, a great resource, is The Handwriting on the Wall, which hails from this chapter right in the middle of this book.
So effectively, they call Daniel to kind of decrypt this message. And it really makes me think of How many times have we said in our life, As believers, As unbelievers, how many people today were saying, if God would just write it in the clouds, what He wants me to do? Oh, yeah. Right on the wall, just give me an indication. Give me something.
And here you have God literally writing it. The hand of God. The The the word of God. On the wall. For everyone to see, there is no embellishment.
There's no real gray area here, although it does take the man of God. to interpret and to explain this. It ain't pretty, Dr. Horne. When the verdict comes down.
Yeah, I love how you said it, and you actually had a little alliteration I want to pull out there because you love alliteration. You have the Word of God. revealing the will of God. On the wall of Nebuchadnezzar's or Belshazzar's life, right? I mean, this is the main place where his throne is.
This is where it all happens, and God shows up. And Daniel shows up. And it's interesting as you look at the text and you think back to every time Daniel shows up before Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar treats him with respect. And when he shows up in front of Belshazzar, Belshazzar humiliates him. You are that, Daniel.
You are that Jew that my grandfather brought in. I mean, there's just this. Disrespect the only reason that you're here is because I'm desperate. And desperate people are gonna try anything. I'm actually not here because I give any credence to your God.
I'm here because my mom told me I need to talk to you, and I'm desperate. But he's very dismissive. Of Daniel. And you know, you can imagine this, right? Daniel's probably been, he's in his 80s now.
And he's probably back. You know, we know in chapter six, he has a house.
So he's in his house, and somebody comes knocking on the door. And Daniel opens the door and he says, Hey, Daniel, there's stuff happening at the palace, and the king would like to see you. And Daniel says, well, this is new. I haven't been to the palace in years. Let me get my hat.
and uh and uh and my cane and we'll go down there. And so he shows up, and the king says, Let me tell you what'll happen to you if you solve my problem. I will give you gold, I will give you power, I'll give you position, and I'll give you honor. Daniel pretty much looks at him and he says, I'm not impressed. And I won't be swayed.
Keep your stuff. And then he goes at this king. I mean, he. confronts the king In really bold terms. I mean, he speaks really boldly.
He said, he says, remember, let me talk to you about your granddad. Your granddad had all the power and God gave it to him. And he would kill whoever he wanted to kill, and he would raise up whoever he wanted to kill. But when his heart was lifted up, And his spirit was hardened so that he would dealt proudly I.e., just like you. He was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.
He was driven among the children of men, and his mind was like the beast, made like a beast, until he knew that the Most High rules the kingdom of mankind and set his Sets it over whom he will. And Belshazzar, you knew this. You have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all of this. And you have brought the vessels of that God that you've dishonored. Into disrepute here before you.
And you have refused to recognize what your granddad learned the hard way: that the God of heaven rules the kingdoms of men. And so let me tell you what that handwrite, that's sort of the leaded, right? He's just set it up. There are four words: meanie, meanie, same word repeated twice. It's an accounting word.
You know, God has counted something and He's numbered it exactly. That's the idea. There is this numbering. And the reason the word is repeated twice. Is because the numbering is precise.
This is not just a general numbering, there is a precise accounting that's about to happen. Teakle is Wade. God has put you in, He's taken everything He's seen about you. with precision and he's put it in the balance. And you have come.
on the wrong end of things you have been found wanting. And, you know, think about how the most of the world thinks about. Stand before God. We're going to put all of our good stuff and all of our impressive accomplishments on the scale, and it's going to be in our favor. And here's this king, and when he gets weighed.
He's found wanting. And the last word, paris, is a word that means divide. Your kingdom has been divided from you. And the idea there is Uh the it there's a play on word because Paris Um makes you think of the word Persian. And so here are Here is a division that is gonna happen.
God is gonna separate the kingdom from you, and the people who are gonna get it. Are the people who are doing the separating, and it's those Persians that are outside the gate. And That that is the you know the truth. I mean nobody there. could ever understand it.
Now at the very end, of the chapter you find out something That Cyrus. Comes in and he's 62 years of age. And what you discover is that these words, meaning, meaning, tackle. Du Parson or Paris. are are also mathematical terms in the ancient Babylonian system, words stood in for numbers.
And when you add up the numerical value of these four words, it comes to 62.
So, there are all of these clues that God is writing into this story that let you know this isn't just an accident of history. This is not just history unfolding, it is history that is being shaped theologically. for his people just like he said. He told Nebuchadnezzar back in chapter two. The golden kingdom is going to fall one day.
And a kingdom of silver is going to rise in its place. And here is the day that it happens. And God gives Belchazzar one last chance. and Belshazzar refuses to repent.
So it's as though this is almost a deathbed confession. You know, here you have. You know, we we we death bed best dead Deathbed conversions. Boy, that's a tongue twister. can be real and there are many testimonies out there.
But you don't want to wait. You don't want to wait to the very end. Thank God for the thief on the cross and that powerful story. Where he had a death cross conversion. Here you have.
Here you have this king, this wicked king. in front of The man of God with the hand of God writing his fate on that wall. Right in front of him and all his people. And what a better chance to repent And what a better chance to say Hey, wait a second. we've we've blown it here we need we need to get we need to we need to say we need to just flip the page back a chapter And we need to just quote my my own granddad here.
Where he lifted his eyes to heaven. And he blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever. And if he could have just, that was written by his, those are his, those are his granddad's. Legacy writings, right there, you know, his memoirs. If he had just said, Hey, wait a second, look what happened to him, and look how God blessed, and now.
I have an opportunity. A privilege. And Dr. Hornet, just and I don't want to be be overly practical, but honestly, there are people listening Who are just kind of putting off getting right with God. They're putting off getting serious about God.
They're saying, oh, you know, when I'm older and I kind of, you know, have a little more time. You know, young people that are, man, they're just jumping into college and the party scene. They're man, oh, this is, oh, wow. And they're, but, you know, one day I'll get around to church, I'll get around to the Lord. But don't wait because now is the day of salvation.
Will you speak to that? The urgency we do need to wrap up and give us kind of a closing conversation. Closing big picture perspective on this chapter. And then, if you would give us a closing prayer, too. This has been such a blessing.
Yeah.
Well, let me take it to you this way. Let's take it here. you know, Ecclesiastes wisdom from above. CHAPTER twelve Remember your creator when. In the days of your youth.
Align with the purposes of God early in your life. Because every one of us is going to have a last day. Every one of us, if the Lord doesn't come back, we're going to have a last day. Belshazzar was living his last day. And on the last day of his life, God gives him one more opportunity.
And Belshazzar says, in essence, no thanks. I'll take my chances with the gods of heaven. If you can't deliver the kingdom, if you aren't going to change stuff, then I don't want anything to do with you. And so, what you have here is a pagan king who, on the last days of his life, refuses to turn to God. And here is an old man who, in the very early days of his life as a young teenager, set his heart in chapter one that he would honor the God of heaven.
Aligned himself, he remembered his creator in the days of his youth. And God speaks to that, right? Because what happens?
Something unusual happens. I mean, if I were Belshazzar, I would be ticked at Daniel. And what happens? He gets the honor, right? He gets the honor, the robe, the gold.
And then God judges like he said he would. I mean, Belshazzar that night loses his life and the kingdom falls. But what happens to Daniel, who's in the middle of that kingdom? He endures. And by chapter six, the new king has elevated Daniel to the highest position again.
And so God is going to honor. His people in the hardest of circumstances when they remember him in the days of their youth. I am so glad. When I see college-age young people. Making decisions about how they're going to spend their life.
You know, I'm going to spend my life. serving God. And they may have parents that are like, I don't get that, son. I mean, you could, you could make so much money and they're like, no, you know, I actually can serve God. And and 50 years later, when you look at their life, it's an enviable life, right?
And we may have people who are sitting studying the book of Daniel who are in their 50s and they're looking back going, you know, I wish I had done that in my 20s.
Well, it's never too late. You can't do anything about your 20s that are gone, but you can do something about your 50s that are here. And no matter where you are, you need to be. And you need to embrace. What Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar to do, and what Daniel told Belshazzar to do, and frankly, what Daniel is telling us to do, right?
And that is to submit to the God of heaven and to worship Him and to serve Him with your life. And Daniel did that. And we're still talking about Daniel. But when we talk, and by the way, we're still talking about Belshazzar, right? When you go into a secular company and a total unbelieving consultant comes in and says, I got bad news for you.
The handwriting is on the wall. What they mean by that is, it's over, buddy. It's done.
Well, where did they get the handwriting is on the wall? They got it from Daniel chapter five. The whole world is still talking about Belshazzar. We just don't. he don't put his n to it.
The handwriting is on the wall. Well, Dr. Horn, before you pray, I want to make this thought just hit me. We see the gospel here so rich and so it's just so visible in that, in a very real sense, we're all like this wicked king. You know, as soon as we say, oh, look at that, how could he be so defiant and so ignorant?
And how could he be so blasphemous?
Well, we all, the handwriting in the law. condemns us. We're all under the guilt. absolute unbearable guilt of the law, But in the gospel, Jesus Christ See? And the, you know, telesty is also an accounting word.
And he said, I'm taking Sam Horns. punishment. I'm dying in Stu's place. Because he is out of balance and he is. Condemned, and God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that we could be the righteousness of God.
through him. And so isn't it beautiful how we have this? Every one of us is looking at our Our condemnation, and in Christ, he says, Romans 8:1, there is therefore now no condemnation. For those who are in Christ Jesus. But I guess there's an urgency here, Dr.
Horn, because literally the enemy is at the gate to take your soul, to ravage, to steal, to kill, and destroy. But Christ offers that abundant life. The good shape was calling us, right? Amen. Yeah, the handwriting on the wall gets canceled out.
by the handwriting on the cross. What God wrote on the cross. cancels out the condemnation. That was written on Belshazzar's wall. And that's true for all of us.
And you said it so well.
Well, let me pray for us. And as we start turning the corner, next time we talk about chapter six, it's a story of how faith finishes strong. And you and I are both at that place, brother. where we've been serving God for a long time. We've been friends for a long time.
And I want to do like Daniel, I want to finish strong. And that's chapter six.
So we can do that because of the gospel. Lord, thank you that we could talk today about this incredible chapter. And Lord, you wrote condemnation on the wall. And then you wrote salvation on the cross. and all of us have to make a Belshazzar choice.
We're all at a Belshazzar moment. where we've got to turn either to our own understanding and lean on our own strength and turn to the gods we putting our trust in that give us happiness and pleasure, or we can turn to you. And Lord, help us to be like the Thessalonians. who turned from idols. to serve the living and true God.
and to wait for his coming, the coming of the Son from heaven. In whose name we pray. Amen. Thank you, Dr. Horn, and thank you for joining us for this Wednesday in the Word podcast.
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