Photo by Melchior Damu on Unsplash
God creates job opportunities. He orchestrates promotions.
In a kingdom long long ago, the fingers of a man’s hand appeared on Belshazzar’s wall. This was light years before Facebook, yet the post was not pretty. Unsurprisingly, it had no likes! Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s son had been found wanting! He was yet to decipher this cryptic message, but already his thoughts, his face, his loosened limbs let him know that this did not look good. With all the breath he could muster, he shouted. “Any man who can read and explain the inscription of the wall shall receive a wardrobe upgrade of the purple and gold kind. He will be made third ruler in the kingdom!”
But none of his wisemen were up to the task. Enter Daniel via his queen’s recommendation. “There is this man in your kingdom. He is a man apart, of extraordinary spirit and exceptional knowledge, interpreter of dreams, explainer of enigmas and solver of difficult problems. His name is Daniel. Your father named him Belteshazzar. Let him be summoned into the room and your conundrum will be solved.”
When Daniel appeared before the King, Belshazzar asks him “Are you the Daniel of whom they speak? I have personally heard about you”. In other words Belshazzar was telling him, Daniel your gift has made room for you and you are now standing before the greatest man in the land. The King repeated his lavish reward, all to be Daniel’s should he interpret the writing on the wall.
“Keep your gifts for yourself or give them to someone else. I will give you the interpretation” Daniel responds. In effect Daniel was saying, I don’t need your honorarium. My God is the one who provides for me, He is the one who determines my reward.
Daniel reads and interprets the post on the wall. It does not bode well for ‘Shazzar but he is a man and a king focused only on the moment. He has had the scary post deciphered and interpreted. He has no further thought for the implications of this divine red card. He must show the people that he is a king of his word. Pride was his downfall; it was how he got into the situation in the first place. (He had thrown a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and given orders that the gold and silver vessels which his father had taken out of Jerusalem, be brought out for him and his guests alongside his wives and concubines, so they may drink from them. Those vessels taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem were turned into Belshazzar’s dinnerware. They drank and then began to praise the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. And then the fingers of a man’s hand emerged!)
“Bring out the purple cloth, drape him in a necklace of gold” And Daniel is clothed appropriately, showing that, when God decides to promote you, if He created the room for your gift to shine, not even you can stop it!
The real lesson of the day however escapes Belshazzar and that night he was slain, proving to the whole kingdom that the true King of kings, who holds the life and breath of kings and men in His Hands is the only King to be worshiped and praised forever! Selah!
All that his father Nebuchadnezzar experienced, was lost on his son. He did not learn from the past! Nebuchadnezzar after his colossal judgment and punishment following his monumental pride, acknowledged and praised the Most High God, said “……….no one can ward off His hand and say to him what have you done.”
Aren’t you glad that from year to year, those are the same hands that uphold and care for you, the hand that creates opportunities and orchestrates promotions for you?
*This story is an adaptation from Daniel Chapter 5 and 6
Thanks for reading
Emi x
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