The Royal Finger
One Year Bible: November 28
Daniel 5:1-31
“The Royal Finger”
Have you ever been driving down the freeway and someone “shoots you the bird”?
I have no idea why this idiom is used to describe a person holding up their middle finger in anger and profanity, but we have probably all been the recipient of this unwanted gesture. Make no mistake this grand gesture is a sign of blasphemy and a declaration of revenge.
What do you do when this happens?
I read a funny story about this very matter. There was a man who had a bumper sticker on his car that said, “Honk if you love Jesus.” When he heard all the honking and saw the antics of the person next to him, he immediately thought of his bumper sticker. He saw the finger in the air and heard the many blasts on the horn and he was getting so excited to think that this person truly loved Jesus and that they were ecstatic in their response.
Lucky for him, he didn’t notice which finger the person was raising!
Today’s story is about a great blasphemy that was done through Belshazzar and all of his guests that filled the banquet hall.
In response to this great blasphemy, there was indeed “a finger raised”. It was a single finger that wrote on the wall, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin.”
All the wealthy, self-seeking society was there dining in the fancy banquet hall when they saw the finger without a hand writing… Just writing. No explanation. No context. No interpretation.
They were merrily drinking from the sacred cups taken from the temple which was a blasphemous act in and of itself when all of a sudden the king’s knees went weak and his color went pale.
How humiliating and frightful! He too saw “the finger” but make no mistake he was not “praising the Lord”!
Most of us know very little about Belshazzar’s feast, rule, or the “handwriting on the wall”. We have no idea of the “grander picture”.
The city of Babylon had boasted that it was impregnable and had enough food stored away for twenty years. The great Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC and was succeeded by his son Evil Merodach, who reigned for two years. His brother-in-law murdered him in 560 and usurped the throne and ruled for four years. Nabonidus became king and reigned from 556 to 539 and he was the father of Belshazzar. It was a rotating “door” to the kingdom…
Young Daniel, who had been known throughout the kingdom by Belshazzar’s ancestors, was “lost on” Belshazzar. Somehow throughout the years, Belshazzar seems to have missed the stories of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednigo. He was also blind to what Daniel had spoken to his ancestors about their indulgence, indifference, and irreverence.
Belshazzar is blind to ALL OF THAT… until the Queen Mother shows up and reminds him that the foretellers and enchanters are still “clueless”, but Daniel revealed secrets before, and can do it again. He was known as a man “who has the spirit of the gods within him”.
Daniel had been just a young man when all of this occurred and historians believe that he is now probably in his eighties. He still has the very same power inside him as he did in his youth.
Belshazzar tries to coerce Daniel by offering him a “purple robe of royal honor and a gold chain around his neck”. Daniel tells him, “where he can put it”. To put that more politely he says, “Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means.”
Is this guy a diplomat or what?
Daniel begins telling Belshazzar about his “family tree”. He must have missed his kingly lessons on this subject, so Daniel is making up for this big deficit. He tells him of his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar. God made him so great that he could honor or disgrace whoever he wanted to through his great power. But then, his heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, and he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven from society and given the mind of a wild animal. In fact, he ate grass like a cow…
Then comes the big ending… You, O Belshazzar are his successor, and you sir, know all of this, and yet you have NOT humbled yourself. (Make no mistake this is a “Got Milk” kind of moment. The dairy industry is on full display right before Ol’ Belshazzar’s grazing.
He points out particulars now… “For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple rough before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold…”
The short summary is, “The Banquet is over!”
“Mene” means “numbered”. “Tekel” means “weighed”. Parsin means “divided”.
Daniel was dressed in a royal purple robe (though he did not desire that elevation in power), and Belshazzar was declared DEAD that very night. His robe and all his power were stripped away from him!
They were basically “giving the finger” to God through their blasphemy.
But make no mistake because God will not be mocked, even by wealthy, arrogant, godless rulers. With one finger he wrote on the wall, “Your days are numbered and your kingdom will be divided and taken away from you.” His days were “MENE”, not Many!
It only took God “One Royal Finger”, and three small words to leave a lasting impression and a new legacy for this nation!
