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Chapter-a-Day

Weighed & Found Wanting

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Weighed & Found Wanting (CaD Dan 5) – Wayfarer

“But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.”
Daniel 5:22 (NIV)

About a month ago, this chapter-a-day journey trekked through 2 Kings 19, the historic account of a true and miraculous event. The Assyrian army encircled the city of Jerusalem laying siege to it. King Hezekiah tore his clothes, dressed in sackcloth (a sign of humility), reached out to the prophet Isaiah for prayer, and went personally to the temple to ask God for deliverance. In this instance, the miraculous happened and the city was spared.

Today’s chapter is one of the more fascinating stories in all of the Great Story. It is also the source of two famous phrases that are still commonly used today: “Handwriting on the wall” in reference to a clue or sure sign of something that is about to happen, and “weighed and found wanting” which has been re-used multiple times in stories and films like A Knight’s Tale.

What the narrative of today’s chapter doesn’t state is that the situation for Belshazzar was not unlike that of Hezekiah. The Persian army is on a campaign to destroy the Babylonian empire. They are close to Babylon and have been making steady progress. Belshazzar is the regent of Babylon, and should be leading his people in preparing for the defense of the city. Instead, he gathers his wives, concubines, and nobles to party hard.

As I contemplated this in the quiet this morning, I realized that Belshazzar’s revelry could have been a cop-out, as in “There’s no hope so let’s get drunk and enjoy our final days!” Given the fact that Babylon was one of the most securely fortified cities in the world, it may have also been a party thrown out of sheer hubris, as in “We have nothing to worry about. Babylon is impenetrable. Don’t worry. We have nothing to fear! Let’s party!”

The situation also sheds light on why Daniel, who has been offered a robe of purple, great wealth, and the third-highest position in the kingdom if he interprets the mysterious handwriting on the wall, tells Belshazzar to keep his gifts. Being in the third-highest position of the kingdom when the Persians arrive is a death sentence.

Daniel reads the cryptic message written by a disembodied hand on the wall for Belshazzar, pronouncing his doom. What is particularly damning, according to Daniel’s explanation, is that Belshazzar knew Nebuchadnezzar’s story of going insane and returning to sanity in acknowledging that everything he had and everything he was came to him from the Most High God. Still, Belshazzar was unwilling to learn the lesson. Rather than humble himself, he chose to either ignore or dismiss his precarious circumstances.

I pray that when I find myself in precarious circumstances on this life journey and things hang in the balance, I will choose to follow Hezekiah’s example, not Belshazzar’s. I’d rather be weighed and found faithful.

Featured Image: “Belshazzar’s Feast” by Rembrandt
Public Domain. National Gallery, London, UK.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Miraculous and the Mundane

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“There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners.”
Daniel 5:11 (NIV)

The book of Daniel is actually a literary compilation with two distinct sections. The first six chapters are selected stories from Daniel’s life in exile. The rest of the chapters are a journal of Daniel’s prophetic dreams, visions, and prayer.

In order to understand the context of the first section of the book and today’s chapter, I have to dig a little into the dates. Daniel, along with a host of other Hebrews, was taken into exile and captivity in 597 B.C. He was a young man. Today’s story takes place when Belshazzar lost the Babylonian throne to the Medes in 539 B.C. It’s now 58 years that Daniel has lived in captivity. Even if he was only 12 when taken captive, he’d be 70 years old in this story.

The six stories told in the first six chapters of Daniel are great stories. They are incredible, miraculous events both instructive and inspiring. But there are six of them in roughly 60 years. Across a lifetime of living captive in exile trying to be faithful to God in a foreign nation often hostile to foreigners, Daniel experienced six miraculous events. There are almost 22,000 days in a 60 year period. Daniel had six incredible days. So, what about the other 21,994?

Daniel served as an administrator for a foreign king. He went to work. He spent time in prayer. He sought God and did his best to be faithful to God’s commands. He did what all of us do as we walk this earthly journey. The mundane, everyday stuff of walking the journey for 21,994 days. And, he had six amazing experiences that were instructive and inspiring.

Along my own life journey, I’ve noticed that it’s easy for those of us fortunate enough to live in the luxury of the West to get addicted to experiences. We go to great lengths to have amazing experiences. For those of us who follow Jesus and regularly gather to worship, we desire to have amazing, miraculous experiences and events, even to the point of trying to conjure them and make them happen.

I’ve had a small handful of amazing spiritual experiences myself. I’m happy to say there were no fiery furnaces involved, and I am by no means saying they were on par with what I’ve read the past few days in Daniel. They were, however, pretty cool spiritual experiences that were unexpected. They were unlooked for. They came out of nowhere. I did nothing to conjure them. I was simply physically present, and spiritually open. Without wasting a lot of time recounting how many I’m talking about, let’s say there are five of them.

The rest of my 19,424 days on this Earthly journey have been spent doing what is the often mundane monotony of walking this life journey. I spend quiet time with God most mornings. I gather with other followers to worship once a week which is often spiritually filling and sometimes just feels routine. I work. I pay bills. I maintain stuff. I cultivate friendships. Wendy and I enjoy time together doing things we do.

In the quiet this morning I find myself thinking about the focus of my life. It’s so easy to slip into a mode where I’m chasing after experiences of all kinds. I’ve observed that social media isn’t helpful with this. I see everyone’s amazing experiences that make my mundane, routine existence today feel like I’m doing something wrong or that my life sucks compared to others.

I’ve come to the conclusion of late that if I seek after and find God in the everyday, mundane liturgies of my life then I find myself both more content and open to God doing the amazing and miraculous in His time, for His purpose, if and when He chooses.

And so, I enter day 19, 429.

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Parental Observation from a Child’s Perspective

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But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.
Daniel 5:22 (NIV)

As a parent, there is a big difference between a child who acts (or omits) out of ignorance and the child who acts (or omits) with the full knowledge that they are doing what they should not do, or not doing what they should do. Ignorance can be understood and the offense can be chalked up to a lesson that needed to be learned. When a child acts with the full knowledge that what they are doing is improper it is a very different situation. The action, or refusal to act, becomes a willing act of disobedience.

Today’s chapter fast forwards in Daniel’s story. Nebuchadnezzar is dead and Belshazzar has taken the throne. Belshazzar had witnessed all that his predecessor had gone through with the statute, his dreams, and his madness. He had heard Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge God and humble himself. Now that he is on the throne, Belshazzar throws an drunken feast and brings in the stolen gold cups from Solomon’s temple to drink from. If dishonoring the temple vessels wasn’t enough, B-Shaz and his homeys begin to honor the idols of gold, silver and wood. The lesson is clear, B-Shaz had witnessed all that Nebuchadnezzar had experienced and learned, but he didn’t learn the lesson himself.

This morning, to be honest, my heart is sober. As a parent it is easy for me to see and apply these simple lines of behavioral delineation, but then I think of myself as a child of God. I think of lessons I have learned along the journey that still have not translated into life change. There are things I know I shouldn’t do that I do, and things I should do that I don’t. Like a child caught red-handed, I am in continuous need of my Father’s grace and mercy.

[Side note: I love when I realize, discover, or rediscover the source of a common phrase. We forget how many every day sayings come from Shakespeare and from the Bible. “Weighed on the scales and found wanting” is a phrase I’ve heard referenced in books, plays, movies and conversation my entire life. Its source is today’s chapter!]

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Daniel 5

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The handwriting on the wall.  "God sent the hand that wrote on the wall, and this is what is written: mene, teqel, and peres. This is what the words mean:

Mene: God has numbered the days of your rule and they don't add up.
Teqel: You have been weighed on the scales and you don't weigh much.
Peres: Your kingdom has been divided up and handed over to the Medes and Persians." 

Daniel 4:24-26 (MSG)

There once was a man who built a business from ground up. He worked from dawn to dusk and often into the night. Through the blood, sweat, and toil of his efforts the business yielded a tidy fortune. After many years, the man died suddenly and the business was handed over to his children, who had grown up in the ease of their father's fortune. In their privileged upbringing, the children refused to learn or appreciate the principles of hard work, faithful stewardship and shrewd business practices on which their father built his business. Under their leadership the business quickly failed and their fortunes were squandered.

This parable is actually a common tale, and we see it again in today's chapter. Nebuchadnezzar was a great king who learned his lessons the hard way, but did learn his lessons. His son, Belshazzar, was a spoiled brat who did not learn from the lessons of his father. The "handwriting was on the wall," and it cost him the kingdom.

Living wisely and living well requires us to learn, not only from our own mistakes, but also the mistakes and successes of others. Seeing the patterns and principles of success and failure at work all around us, and adopting the lessons learned in our own lives is crucial. By doing so, God provides us with insights and wisdom we might not otherwise learn if we remain singularly focused on ourselves.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and silent e