In Daniel 5:26-28, it is written, "' 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered3 the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 TEKEL, j you have been weighed4 in the balances and found wanting; 28 PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to k the Medes and l Persians. '5 " Daniel explains why this was written against Belshazzar, king of Babylon, for in Daniel 5:22, 23, it is written, " 22 And you his son,2 aBelshazzar, b have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against c the Lord of heaven. And dthe vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. e And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, f but the God in whose hand is your breath, and g whose are all your ways, h you have not honored. " God commands us ( see Ecclesiastes 12:13, for example ) to have humility and to honor Him.
Belshazzar, king of Babylon, knew what God had done to Nebuchadnezzar, his father, because of his pride ( see verses 17-21, for example ). However, this did not deter Belshazzar from being proud. In Isaiah 66:5, it is written ( please read all of this chapter to get the immediate context ), " 5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: ' Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name's sake have said, l "'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy'"; but it is they who shall be put to shame. '" Again, in Isaiah 66:2, it is written, " 2 c All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. d But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. " Belshazzar was unwilling to be humble and contrite and tremble at God's word.
In Proverbs 16:18, it is written, " 18 m Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. " We have seen this occur in the lives of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his son, Belshazzar. After Daniel had given the interpretion of the writing, Belshazzar was killed that very night, for in Daniel 5:30, it is written, " 30 n That very night a Belshazzar the o Chaldean king was killed. " Belshazzar's death is a foreshadowing of Romans 6:23, which reads as follows, namely: " 23 d For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. "
As Christians, we must always strive to be humble, and to honor God. Now we have a better understanding of the phrase " And this is the writing, " as found in Daniel 5:25 ( quoted on page one of the church bulletin, above ). Please study the Holy Bible.