In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Belshazzar and those at his feast, “drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon, whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom”, and in chapter five and verse eight of his book Daniel says “then came in all the king’s wise men” where we read,
Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing,
nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
The verse reads, “Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, …” Daniel began with the words, “then came in” or “at that time entered and arrived” “all the king’s wise men” which means “each, every, the whole and everyone of the learned men who were filled with wisdom”: “but they could not read the writing” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover they, the wise men, were unable to read the inscription written on the wall”. Daniel shared how every one of King Belshazzar’s learned men arrived, but they were unable to read what the inscription on the wall.
The verse continues, “nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.” Daniel added the words, “nor make known” which means “no and not in any way to certify, inform and communicate” “to the king” or “to the royal ruler and leader” “the interpretation thereof” which means “the rendering or meaning of the writing”. Daniel shared how none of the “wise men”were able to render the meaning of the inscription to Belshazzar.
When we think through Daniel’s words in this verse, we discover that King Belshazzar’s “wise men” were not as “wise” as they were supposed to be. God knew the inscription and the meaning of it, and He would give it to Daniel in our next few verses. This is another event where Jehovah God interrupted the leadership of mankind to demonstrate He is in charge. We shall see what this inscription was and what it meant for King Belshazzar, but for now, let us be mindful that God is able to interrupt our lives, and He will do so by helping us to know the sacrifice He made with His Son Jesus whom He sent into the world to die on the cross for the sins of everyone and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put the power and ability of His Holy Spirit within us as we trust Him with all meaning and interpretations that we will ever need.
Next time Daniel says, “then was Belshazzar greatly troubled”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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