Chapter 5 of Daniel contains the famous incident of "the writing on the wall," which is the origination of that famous phrase. In that chapter, Belshazzar, king of Babylon, throws a party during which, in an attempt to escalate the hijinks of the party, he requests drinking vessels from the Jerusalem Temple.
In response, a mysterious hand emerges to write a cryptic message on the wall. Belshazzar summons Daniel to interpret the message. Needless to say, the interpretation is not good news for Belshazzar!
I find myself especially struck by a particular part of Daniel's interpretation. Daniel is explaining to Belshazzar that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, found himself punished by God for his own disobedience and arrogance. Daniel then says (verse 22, KJV),
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this.
It's easy to shake our heads at Belshazzar, but how often do we fall into that same trap. After all, we have an entire bible full of stories like Nebuchadnezzar's. We should know better, yet we still behave disobediently and arrogantly!
Peter emphasizes a similar point (2 Peter 2, KJV),
After they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
Yikes! While many parts of the bible are meant to provide comfort, these are not those types of passages. Rather, these passages are designed to chastise and bring about humble repentance. Let us take that message to heart in our prayers.
