Perhaps you have used the expression, “the writing on the wall,” but did not know where it came from.
Many phrases we use come straight from the Bible! You will find this one in Daniel chapter 5.
King Belshazzar made a great feast, and to show the superiority of his gods, he used the holy vessels taken from God’s temple in Jerusalem. They drank wine from them, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Then the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote on the wall of the king’s palace. The colour drained from the king’s face and his knees knocked together.
He called for his wise men. But again, none could read the writing on the wall or determine its meaning.
The queen heard of the dilemma and said, “O king, live forever! Let Daniel be called, and he will tell you what it means. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him.”
King Nebuchadnezzar had made him chief of the wise men because Daniel had an excellent spirit, knowledge, and could understand interpret dreams, and solve problems
Daniel was brought before the king, who disparagingly said, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah. I have heard that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men could not tell me the meaning. If you tell me the meaning I will make you the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Daniel replied, “Keep your gifts; nevertheless I will read the writing to the king and make known the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father, kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. But when his heart was lifted up and he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his throne, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men, and sets over it whom he will.
“And you, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have rebelled against the Lord of heaven; and you have not honored God, in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, and from His presence the hand was sent.
“It says that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; your kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians. … That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain.”
The wise men could not give an answer but again, Daniel showed that God knows the future.
Ian Cotton is the retired pastor of the Creston Seventh-day Adventist Church.