The writing on the wall
In this new post, Before and After, I’ll be digging into what happened before and after significant events in the Bible. What do the Before Events and After Events teach us about God and ourselves? What can we learn from The Main Event, the Before Event and the After Event—when we consider all three?
As I typed a list of potential events to explore, The Writing on the Wall jumped out at me—the Before Event for one of my 12 favorite Bible stories—Daniel and the lions’ den. What a delightful surprise. Get ready to read about King BB, the dark house, and a special delivery.
The writing on the wall
Most people have no idea that the well-known expression—“the writing on the wall”—comes from an important historical event recorded in the Bible. But everybody understands what it means: “Something is about to end,” “Something bad is coming,” and/or “You’re in for it now, buddyroe.”
“The writing on the wall” conveys impending
justice, punishment and/or difficulty.
Daniel, chapter 5 tells us where this famous expression originated.
The king’s deadly move
King Belshazzar of Babylon—let’s call him King BB—threw a massive party for a thousand of the big wigs in his empire. Everybody was feasting, drinking and making merry. To show off to the max, King BB ordered a special delivery to posh-up the party.
Then they brought the gold and silver vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his [concubines], drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
Daniel 5:3-4, New Heart English Bible
Immediately, a hand appeared and wrote on the wall of the king’s palace, while the king looked on, horrified.
The writing was on the wall, but what did it mean?
Advisors—satanic vs. godly
King BB yelled for his spiritual advisors—enchanters, Chaldeans and diviners; translation: satanic specialists. The king promised purple clothing—signifying royalty; a gold necklace; and a super-high position—third in the kingdom—to the one who could tell him what the writing meant. No one could do it. The king’s face turned pale.
Years earlier, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, King BB’s father, conquered Jerusalem and took the upper echelon captive—royalty, nobility and the best-of-the-best from the youth. Daniel, from the tribe of Judah, was among those taken to Babylon. The queen told King BB to send for Daniel “because an extraordinary spirit, and knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve knotty problems were found in this Daniel…” (Daniel 5:12a, NHEB).
King BB offered Daniel the same wealth and position he offered the others. I’m especially fond of Daniel’s reply.
“…Keep your gifts for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.”
Daniel 5:17, New Heart English Bible
King Nebuchadnezzar—a man of power
Daniel reminded King BB of what he knew from his father’s life. He mentioned some of the most important points below (from Daniel, chapter 4).
1. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingship, power and glory were gifts from God.
2. King Nebuchadnezzar pridefully stated that his power and might came from himself.
3. A voice from heaven declared that he’d lost his kingdom and would roam like a wild beast, eating grass, “until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:32c, NHEB).
4. For seven years, King Nebuchadnezzar was insane.
5. Finally, he looked up, regained his mind, and praised God rightly.
6. When he humbled himself, he was restored.
7. His kingdom was returned to him, and became even greater than before.
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven;
for all his works are truth, and his ways justice;
and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
Daniel 4:37, New Heart English Bible
A powerful earthly king spoke this vital biblical truth—a gift from the Lord to all of us: Those who walk in pride, God Almighty is able to humble. So true. See this post about pride.
Daniel—God’s man
There are many reasons to admire and love Daniel. He did not mince words. Daniel had just reminded King BB about all the lessons he should’ve learned from his father’s larger-than-life highs and lows.
“You his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, 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, nor hear, nor know. And the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not glorified.
“Then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Daniel 5:22-28, New Heart English Bible
To dig into the meaning of “you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting,” read The Warning section in this post.
That very night, King BB was killed and Darius the Mede became king.
King BB—a man of flagrant disregard
King BB knew all about his father’s life. He’d witnessed King Nebuchadnezzar’s highs and lows and heard about them from others. He didn’t care. He didn’t learn. He didn’t humble himself. King BB basically spit in God’s face when he and his peeps drank wine and praised idols using the gold and silver vessels from God’s holy temple.
Big mistake.
Daniel clearly said, “I don’t want your accolades or honors.” King BB ignored him and gave Daniel the goodies anyway. After Daniel told him that he’d lose his kingdom, did King BB keep drinking wine from the holy vessels? Did he say, “The party must go on”? I suspect so. He seemed like that kind of guy. And he paid with his life.
An act of war
Daniel described the problem well in verse 22 quoted above: “You… have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven.” In other words, “Your haughty pride is an act of war against God.” The writing on the wall declared that Judgment Time had come. God used the Medes to cut King BB down. Pronto. (For more, check out this article: “What is the significance of the Medo-Persian Empire in biblical history?”)
Time to reflect
Can we relate to the concept of committing acts of war against God? Of being enemies of God?
You [adulterous people], do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God…. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you…. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
James 4:4, 6b-7, 10, New Heart English Bible
Can you think of times when you chose “friendship with the world” and engaged in acts of war against God? I sure can. Close your eyes and ask the Holy Spirit to show you examples from your life that you forgot or may not have considered before. Pray and ask him to help you wage war with your sin and replace vices with virtues. For a list of vices and their corresponding virtues, read The Inner State section in this post.
Let’s get back to King BB.
Truth and justice
After King Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself, he praised “the King of heaven,” and said:
“[All] his works are truth, and his ways justice….”
Daniel 4:37, NHEB
King Nebuchadnezzar’s son, King BB, experienced the Lord’s truth—through the writing on the wall; and the Lord’s justice—through the sharp blade of an enemy sword.
God worked his righteous justice,
and the recipient knew why.
Before we explore The Spider on the Wall, let’s take a little stroll down Memory Lane in Fort Worth, Texas.
Memory lane
The school and the church
Last Thursday, Logan and I were running errands in Fort Worth, so I showed him my high school. When I saw the parking lot, I told him about the student in my grade who played Russian roulette and killed himself in a car in the parking lot. That was the story that came to mind. Logan commented about how run-down the school looked. Yes, indeed.
I opted not to drive by our old church. My dad, the narcissist, was the minister of education there. We left after he got fired. I told Logan about the mass shooting there. He looked up a summary. This horrific event took place roughly 18 years after we left—seven dead; seven wounded. Lord, have mercy.
So much violence.
The dark house
I also showed Logan the house I lived in from late middle school ‘til after college. It was strange to see it again. I definitely had mixed feelings about the place, the 10 years there, and memories of “the people in the house.” I remembered the dark books I read while sitting alone in the living room. The house looked dark. No flowers. One of the house numbers was missing; another was broken in half. The thought of walking into that house repulsed me.
The mirror and the lies
Several days later, I remembered how my younger sibling, Pam, The Almighty, used to stand in front of her mirror, practicing her smile. I didn’t understand what that meant. I thought it was weird, but I didn’t understand how dark and disturbing it truly was. Watch this important 21-minute PBD Podcast segment with guest Chase Hughes, a behavioral expert. Pay close attention to the part about a psychopath practicing facial expressions in the mirror and why the psychopath goes to counseling. These realities are exceedingly chilling—yet, for me, all too familiar.
At the time, when I lived in the dark house, I mistakenly thought Pam was my friend. Years later, after The Showdown when I finally said “no,” Pam, The Punisher got busy. Really busy. Job #1 was character assassination to eliminate as many of my relationships as possible. She lied about me—most dramatically—to her husband and children, our mom, our sister, our cousins, the Bunco ladies, etc. My mom passed on the lies to the ladies in her Sunday school class. Yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the drift.
Brandon’s mom, better known as Her Majesty, the Sadistic Control Freak, did the same thing on his side of the family. By the way, she just rounded up another accomplice. More on that some other time, perhaps.
So much violence.
The spider on the wall
The other day, I was reminded of a revealing incident at the dark house. Shortly after we moved in, I showed my dad a large spider hiding behind the light fixture on our front porch. He told me it was a black widow. He killed the spider and her egg sack with a torch.
A deadly spider was hiding behind the light. Most interesting….
Symbolism and the warning
Little did I know at the time that three of the people in the house—my dad; my older sister, Linda; and my younger sister, Pam, The Almighty—were narcissists. The symbol for a narcissist is a spider. And the spider on our new house was an especially dangerous spider with babies on the way. She was setting up residence there.
The spider near our front door was “the writing on the wall.” The Lord gave me a vivid warning. This place is dangerous. You will not be safe here. There’s more than one poisonous spider here. Beware. Beware. And beware. I didn’t understand any of that at the time, but now I do. The black widow spider at the dark house, and the terrifying spider dream I had as a child—where I was covered head to toe with spiders—showed me the truth. Danger, Frankie Ann. Danger is lurking and ever-present here.
Remember from earlier in today’s post:
“The writing on the wall” conveys impending
justice, punishment and/or difficulty.
Your turn
Get out your journal or a piece of paper. Take your time as you reflect on these questions. Have you experienced “the writing on the wall”? Can you remember a time when you were warned that something serious was present or coming soon? Did you understand the warning at the time? Did someone display a pattern of behavior that you ignored until you or someone you cared about became a target? How was justice, punishment and/or difficulty involved?
Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things to you at the right time and in the right way. Trust him with everything.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways remember him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7, New Heart English Bible
Watch this excellent sermon to learn what it means to fear the Lord.
Thanks for exploring “the writing on the wall” today. I hope it blessed you. Please share it with a friend.
Coming next
Come back soon as we explore Daniel and the lions’ den. Get ready to read about the spies, favorite perks and a blow-out celebration party.
Until then, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Closing word and song
Today’s theme in word and song is King of kings.
These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful.
Revelation 17:14, New Heart English Bible
“Revelation 7” by Abriele Cole & “Of Valor”
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