“Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him.” (Daniel 5:5–6, NLT)

You’ve heard the saying, “The writing is on the wall.” That phrase comes from this story in Daniel about King Belshazzar. His mother (or grandmother) was the daughter of King Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar reigned as coregent with his father, Nabonidus, from 553 to 539 BC. This event occurred about 25 years after Nebuchadnezzar was restored, following his seven years of insanity.

The Persian army was outside the city walls of Babylon, but King Belshazzar was seemingly unconcerned. They estimated that they had enough food stored up in the city to last a twenty-year siege! So Belshazzar gave a great banquet for 1,000 of his nobles. While the wine was flowing freely, Belshazzar commanded his servants to bring in the holy vessels from the temple in Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar had brought these to Babylon after destroying the temple in 586 BC. As the king, his officials, his wives, and concubines drank from these, they praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.

Suddenly, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing in the plaster of the wall illuminated by the lampstand. (Somehow this story seems appropriate on Halloween!) Belshazzar’s face turned pale with fright, his knees knocked together, and his legs gave way so that he fell to the floor. He called for his wise men, but none of them could read the writing on the wall or interpret it. The queen mother (or grandmother) was told about the situation. So she entered the banquet hall, informed the king about Daniel, and suggested that Daniel be summoned.

“Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel…” (Daniel 5:12, NKJV)

This story reminds us that we will each give an account of ourselves before God. People think they are getting away with their words and actions because they are not immediately judged. But God sees what no one else sees and hears what no one else hears, and He weighs all our deeds. We may not see a hand suddenly appear, but “the writing on the wall” remains the same. Whatever we sow, we will also reap. Whoever fears God does not need to be afraid, but whoever does not fear God will one day be terrified!