Bro. Bot Balbero
Oct. 14, 2009

     The City of Babylon is more or less 15 square miles, surrounded by a wall that is 350-ft. high, 87-ft. thick and extended 35 ft. below the ground.  

     There were 250 watch towers around it and it was surrounded by a moat (a body of water). It's where the "Hanging Garden" was, as well as the Tower of Babel.  

     It was a beautiful kingdom.  It was a model city. That’s why King Belshazzar was having a party.  It was a Belshazzar’s Ball.

     As stated in Dn. 15:1-4, “King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a housand of his lords, with whom he drank. Under the influence of the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, to be brought in so that the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers might drink from them. When the gold and silver vessels taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in, and while the king, his lords, his wives and entertainers were drinking wine from them, they praised their gods of gold nd silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.”

     While this was happening, people of Persia led by King Darius were surrounding the place and doing something.  With the thickness of the wall, who would think that the kingdom could be attacked?

     That’s why King Belshazzar was over confident. He was feeling secured that’s why he was enjoying the ball.

     But what he was doing was considered as Belshazzar’s Gall (apdo), in laymen’s term, “makapal ang mukha” (he is thick-faced). Because when King Nebuchadnezzar brought the holy vessels from the temple, he made a decree that no one should use these because these are sacred. But King Belshazzar desecrated these things.

     While they were rejoicing (Dn. 5:5-8)  “Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king’s palace.  When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched; his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook, and his knees knocked."

     The king shouted for the enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers to be brought in.

    "'Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means,' he said to the wise men of Babylon, 'shall be clothed in purple, wear a golden collar about his neck, and be third in the government of the kingdom.' But though all the king’s wise men came in, none of them could either read the writing or tell the king what it
meant."

     What was written on the wall? “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.” It was a warning to King Belshazzar but he could not understand what was written on the wall. How could they understand God’s handwriting when they were not doing God’s work?  Likewise, we, too, wouldn’t understand God’s warning until we do God’s will.

     Belshazzar’s wife saw what was going on and came to tell him to call Daniel who  was an anointed person. King Belshazzar summoned Daniel to interpret what was written on the wall.  And when Daniel saw the writing, he told King Belshazzar that he was hard-headed.  It was a Belshazzar’s Call. It was a warning.  He told King Belshazzar that he was doing many things not in line with God’s will.

     Just as what some of us are doing—enjoying in the midst of sins.  We should not be over confident with our positions, fame and situations.  God gives us warning.  And when He does, He doesn’t immediately implement it, He gives us enough time to reform. But if we remain hard-headed, we are asking for it.

     Just like King Belshazzar, he was stubborn and continued with his sins and disregarded God’s warning. That’s why there was a so-called Belshazzar's Fall.

     What areas in our Christian life require attention and need reform? Sometimes, we are too relaxed.  Beware of our attitude of feeling comfortable and enjoying doing acts of sin – illicit affairs, jobs, etc.  We tend to justify – "not being caught," "not being seen," or "not being obvious."

     God is giving us warnings. These may be found in Scriptures, from our friends and people around us, or even circumstances and experiences related to the situation.  We are too relaxed and cannot understand God’s warning, because we are immersed doing acts of sin. We cannot understand the message of God if what we are doing is evil.

     One of the causes of Belshazzar’s fall is the desecration of the holy vessels from the temple. All things being used in the propagation of God’s kingdom are holy vessels of God’s temple. If you have gifts and are using it for the proclamation of God’s kingdom, but after your service you are doing bad things, you are desecrating God’s vessel.  We might be doing our best, but our intention is different, we, too, are desecrating God’s vessel.  You might be just doing things for the sake of service and not out of love.

     That’s why, there are warnings. We have to do what is holy, for us to understand God’s warning. Some of us find it hard to have the power of discernment and to make the right decision because we are not doing what is holy.  Messages might come in the form of sickness, unsuccessful transactions, or unhappy service. These might be warnings for you. We cannot understand just like Belshazzar.

     It was Daniel who was able to interpret the writings on the wall, because he was a servant of God. In Dn. 5:25,"This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.
 
     These words mean: MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PARSIN, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

     MENE- It’s finished. Your foolishness is over. Your lavish rejoicing has ended.  TEKEL – “tinimbang ka ngunit kulang” (You’ve been measured/weighed but found wanting). PARSIN – your Kingdom will be overtaken by the Medes.  

     Balshazzar was too much engrossed, he became comfortable, over confident. He never thought that He could be overthrown.

     What did the enemy do? They blocked the water and dug up the soil. When they released the blockage, the water flowed towards the lower ground that they dug up and they were able to walk through and invade the kingdom. It was now Belshazzar's fall.

     What areas in your Christian life need attention?

     Overconfidence. You might be so absorbed in your work and overconfident of yourself. Your life seems so good that you are missing God’s warning.  Sometimes, a very good life will lead you  to your fall.

     Desecrating the Vessels of the Temple. You might have your own motive in your service to the community, that's why you find no joy. God’ workers should be fulfilled most of the time. At the very start of your service, you should be already enjoying it. And you look forward to something new after each service.  Else, if you find your service burdensome, un-enjoyable; then, you are desecrating the vessel of the Lord.

     Warning on your wall. There might be a need for you to change. You might be still not a fulfilled Christian or worker. You might be receiving messages from your loved ones, spouses; or having experiences in your life, i.e. unhappy disposition, weariness, or business bankruptcy. These are warnings.  

     If we want to understand God’s warning, then let us be holy, so that we can have the wisdom to discern what is happening in our lives.

     "But they who rejected me when I called, and no one take heed, when I spread out my hand, he ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke, I in  turn will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamities struck you."

     Prov. 29:1: “A man who remains stiff-necked and hates rebuke will be crushed suddenly beyond cure.”

     The Lord is giving us time, example and showing us what had happened to those who did not heed God’s warning and still we do bad things, the Lord said, “I will laugh at you.”

     We can’t say that the Lord is good and patient. Some of us would cite God’s patience, but the same patience led to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra, the great flood, sending out of Eden of Adam and Eve. Yet if we did not heed His call, He would laugh at us.  It would be our fault.

     What is this finger of the Lord? The finger of the Lord has been active and will continue to be so in our life. All we have to do is to trust in Him. All faithful servants of the Lord deserve something from Him.