"Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin"

Daniel 5.17 CJB

“Dani’el answered the king, ‘Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the inscription to the king and tell him what it means.’”

Can I be bought? It’s an important question. Are my ethics for sale? At the right price, will I falter in my resolve to do the right thing? Do I cower before the god of public opinion? Would I trade my values for a chance at fortune and fame? Will I forsake what I know to be true so people will think well of me?

Who do I serve? Money, approval, comfort, things, self or... God?

King Belshazzar dishonored the things of God. He drank freely from the holy vessels stolen from the temple in Jerusalem and “praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Daniel 5.4). God crashed the royal party with a divine message written by the finger of God on the palace wall in the presence of a thousand noble guests:

מ נ א מ נ א ת ק ל ו פ ר ס י ן

Belshazzar could not read the handwriting on the wall (and neither can you, unless you know Hebrew). He offered Daniel royal garments, “a necklace of gold” and “authority as the third ruler in the kingdom” (Daniel 5.16) if he would reveal the meaning of the menacing words. I love Daniel’s response:

“Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else.

However, I will read the inscription to the king and tell him what it means.”

Daniel could not be bought. What about me? What about you? It’s an important question. ___________________

Find the prophet's interpretation of the handwriting on the wall (MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN) in Daniel, chapter 5, verses 25-28.