Monday December 4
Daniel 5:1-12 Daniel called to
interpret
King Belshazzar made a great
festival for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence
of the thousand.
Under the influence of the
wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver
that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so
that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from
them. So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver that had been taken out
of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his
wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the
gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Immediately the fingers of a
human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal
palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote. Then
the king’s face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave
way, and his knees knocked together. The king cried aloud to bring in the
enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners; and the king said to the wise men
of Babylon, ‘Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall
be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around his neck, and rank third in
the kingdom.’ Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the
writing or tell the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar became greatly
terrified and his face turned pale, and his lords were perplexed.
The queen, when she heard
the discussion of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting-hall. The
queen said, ‘O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or
your face grow pale. There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a
spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father he was found to have
enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your
father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters,
Chaldeans, and diviners, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and
understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were
found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called,
and he will give the interpretation.’
In this passage, King Belshazzar had a festival with all his
lords, wives and concubines. While they were drinking from the gold and silver
cups taken from the temple in Jerusalem, they were praising their gods.
Suddenly, King Belshazzar saw hand writing on the wall of the palace. He became
very frightened and called for his astrologers and enchanters to interpret the
writing. When they were unable to tell the king the meaning, it was suggested
that Daniel be called to interpret!
Okay, I wondered, what does this possibly have to do with
Advent??? Does this king represent us today when we become so wrapped up in the
commercialism of Christmas that we lose sight of the true meaning of
Christmas…… the birth of our Savior, Jesus??? Do we miss/see “the writing on
the wall”?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, open our hearts and
minds that we may stay focused on the true meaning of this Advent season, the
preparation for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen
Kathie Ruhs
