KING BELSHAZZAR: THE WRITING WAS ON THE WALL

(Daniel 5)

King Belshazzar gave a banquet,

For a thousand nobles and his harem.

They toasted their gods with goblets of gold,

From God’s temple in Jerusalem.

They praised the gods of silver and gold,

As they all drank their fine wine.

While praising gods of bronze, wood and iron,

God’s vessels they would malign.

There in the royal palace,

On a wall near the lampstand,

They couldn’t believe their eyes;

There appeared the fingers of a hand.

The king watched the hand as it wrote;

His face turned deathly pale.

He was so afraid his knees knocked together,

And his legs began to fail.

Enchanters, astrologers and diviners;

The king called his “wise” men to him.

The one who could translate the writing,

Would be third ruler over them.

But none of the “wise” men could read it,

So the king turned the color of cream.

The queen reminded him of Daniel,

And how he had solved his dad’s dream.

Daniel told King Belshazzar,

How God had made his dad king,

But his dad showed attitude, not gratitude;

God knew he needed humbling.

His dad lost his mind and grazed on grass;

Pride was his biggest sin.

When seven years later he looked to heaven,

God restored his dad again.

Belshazzar knew the story,

Yet the Lord God he ignored.

In fact he opposed Him when he praised other gods,

And his actions God deplored.

After Daniel told of God’s mindset,

For writing on the wall,

He began to interpret the writing,

Which foretold Belshazzar’s fall.

It said “Mene mene tekel parsin,”

“Mene” means with God you’ll contend,

Your days are numbered and so is your reign;

They will soon be brought to an end.

“Tekel” means you’ve been weighed on the scales,

And there you’ve been found wanting.

In other words, he had displeased God,

For the weight of his sins was daunting.

“Parsin” or “Peres” both mean the same:

The kingdom will be divided.

It will go to the Medes and Persians.

By God you should have been guided.

Daniel was then clothed in purple,

On his neck was placed a gold chain.

He was made the third highest ruler,

And that night the king was slain.

Becky L. Wall