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Monday, September 21, 2009

The Writing Is On the Wall

In my former working life, I spent several years dealing, as an employee, with an elected board of education. All of that time, I was entertained with the wit and good humour of one special trustee who has since passed away. She had the most colourful comments to make, from time to time, that I enjoyed even in the heat of battle.

During the selection process for a new principal, she mentioned in defence of a female candidate that there had been a time years ago when a male principal was hired “if he could see lighting and hear thunder”. It does explain why for many years the principalship was a male dominated role. When this trustee was exhorting others to properly set goals and plan ahead, she would often say, “When you are up to your rear end in alligators is not the time to remember that your first priority was to drain the swamp”. My favourite expression that she used was biblically based. I am sure she was aware of the source. She would say from time to time that “the writing is on the wall”. The expression means of course that it is time to recognize and accept the inevitable. It is a commonly used expression yet I wonder how many persons know that they are quoting from the book of Daniel when they use it.

In Chapter 5 of Daniel, we read the story of the king Belshazzar hosting a drunken party where the sacred vessels of the temple of the living God are brought forth in order to toast gods of silver, gold and wood…useless and inanimate idols. A hand appeared and wrote on the plaster wall opposite where the king sat. The king became most upset by the appearance of the hand and because he did not understand what the words said. He called for his wise men who could not interpret the message. At the suggestion of the queen, Daniel, a Jewish slave, was summoned to interpret the handwriting on the wall. His interpretation signalled the end to the king’s rule. For his complete lack of obedience to the living God, he was slain the same night and his kingdom split up between the Medes and the Persians. Belshazzar was well aware of the powers of God through the experiences of his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, who had become a servant of The Most High God. He had made the choice to ignore “the Lord of heaven” in favour of idols. He was informed of the results of his bad choice by the writing on the wall.

If we fast forward to the here and now, how many in this so called modern world are doing the same thing? How many have made the conscious choice to follow the modern idols of money, pleasure, addictions, power, work or New Age beliefs? They are well aware of the gospel and the beckoning of the “Lord of heaven” who of course is Jesus, yet they choose to follow the desires of their own heart in a pursuit that is powered by their own resources. Even as they age, they fail to notice “the handwriting on the wall”. This life is a very short one unless we make provision to join Jesus here and forever in heaven. It is time to recognize and to accept the inevitable, which, if it is not written on the wall, it is surely written in the word of God. Daniel summed it up so well for Belshazzar in Daniel 5: 23

“…and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.”

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