Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin (Daniel 5:25-31)

Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin (Daniel 5:25-31)

25 “This is the inscription that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

26 “Here is what these words mean—Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain,

31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

 

Head)

1. Today’s scripture is a record of the fall of the Babylonian empire, one of history’s greatest and most magnificent civilizations. Babylon had, at one point, controlled and reigned over the Middle East, Israel, Lebanon, the Assyrian kingdom, Egypt and northern Africa. At the fall of this once great empire, a surprising event took place.

 

Babylon was established roughly 2600 years ago by Nabopolassar, a Chaldean, and raised to power by his son Nebuchadnezzar, hence why the Babylonians are called Chaldeans.

 

After Nebuchadnezzar’s death and four generations later was king Belshazzar under whose rule the nation’s power drastically declined. Belshazzar ended up assassinated by the Medes and the Babylonian empire came under the combined control of the the Medes and the Persians.

 

 2. But a mysterious and curious thing happened on the day of Belshazzar’s assassination.

 

Belshazzar held a great feast, inviting 1000 nobles, to display his power and honor. In the middle of the party, Belshazzar became very drunk, and swept up in the excitement he did something he shouldn’t have.

 

He commanded that the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar stole from the Jerusalem temple be brought to him. He handed the vessels out to the guests and had them drink from them. As they grew increasingly drunk, they praised their gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. Belshazzar had mocked the Lord by using the holy vessels meant for God’s temple for debauchery and depravity. 

 

3. It was at this moment when an amazing thing happened: A hand appeared from the air and started writing on the wall. Seeing this, Belshazzar was terrified. When no one could translate or understand what had been written on the walls, he commanded someone find an able interpreter.

 

He promised great rewards for anyone who could translate the writing and would make them Babylon’s third ruler. Yet no one was able to read the writing and the feast guests were all scared. Daniel 5:5-11 describes the scene as such:

 

“5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

6 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.

7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew 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.

8 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.

9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished.

10 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.”

 

 4. And so Daniel, more than 80 years old at the time, was called forth at the suggestion of the queen. Daniel came before the king and first explained why the hand had appeared in the first place.

 

Daniel tells Belshazzar that the hand appeared because he had been arrogant and mocked and insulted the Lord with his actions, despite the fact that God had already punished Nebuchadnezzar for the very same arrogance years ago.

 

Daniel then continues to translate the writing (verse 26-28):

“26 Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

 

Simply put, God was telling Belshazzar that he was not worthy of being king in the eyes of the Lord, and Babylon was soon to be divided and ruined.

 

Of course hearing this news made Belshazzar despair and panic. Still, he ensured Daniel’s safety and life just as he promised. And just as the hand wrote, Belshazzar was killed later that night and the mighty Babylonian empire fell.

 

Body)

A) Mene: An End

1. How many people today live their lives like Belshazzar?

 

These people are successful and have a sizeable wealth. They have an education second to none with power and a reputation following. The problem is, they become arrogant before God. Since everything goes their way they mistake their success to be the result of their own greatness. They look down on others and feel no need to depend on God. Some even proclaim there is no God. Others take it a step further and begin to worship something else.

 

To the worldly, these people seem successful and as if they are living their life as they should. But in God’s eyes their actions and lifestyles are wrong. Worldly people may see them to be worthy of envy, but to God they are worthy of punishment.

 

There is nothing wrong with receiving admiration and adoration from people, but all of that is worthless if God is unhappy with us. It is great to be the object of recognition and praise from others, but receiving approval from God is our priority.

 

“Mene” also means “numbered” or “calculated”. Daniel translates “mene” saying, “God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.” In other words, Belshazzar’s reign is limited. Our God is an Almighty God who can raise kings and ruin them in an instant.

 

People today who are like Belshazzar see their position and believe they have many more days to come. They see their wealth and believe they have all the time in the world to spend it. They believe their lives will last tens of thousands of years. And falsely so.

 

But a truly wise person remembers “mene”. Moses prays in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” It will be wise for us to remember the End of Times is coming, and each passing day only brings us closer to it.

 

2. Author Ho-jung Sul writes in “Life and Its End”:

“Last summer, I visited two cemeteries in Sweden… one of the cemeteries was by a small chapel. A small copperplate over a grave bore the words, ‘Today it is me; tomorrow it is you.’ Tears streamed down my face. The dead man’s last message to the world penetrated my dim eyes.”

 

We do not know when our day will come, but we must realize that it draws ever closer. This is how we live life recognizing “mene”. It is when we acknowledge and accept this we can live a life different from Belshazzar’s.

 

B) Tekel: Weighed on the Scales

1. “Tekel” means “to be weighed on scales.” Verse 25 tells us, “Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.” God had been watching Belshazzar and concluded that he was not worthy or qualified to reign over a nation.

 

 2. Belshazzar was deluded to believe he was a great king. He thought he had the support of his people and the loyalty of his nobles. Hence, he held a great feast for 1000 people in order to affirm and show off this fact.

 

There are so many people in this world today who falsely believe themselves to be great and loved by all. They take the smallest accomplishment and brag about it, deeming themselves better than others. They fail to see their own shortcomings and end up conceited and contemptuous of God.

 

 3. Occasionally, we see prime ministers or officials on TV, and watching these broadcasts can be incredibly disappointing.

 

These people reach a position of power only to be scorned and hated by the public after it is discovered they proudly paid their way out of military service, or they faked their education, or they evaded taxes, or had a history of violence and misconduct. They become powerful only to be torn down and shamed.

 

 4. How many of us fall short of being worthy before God? So many are unworthy, unqualified, and undeserving including pastors, churches, church members, and higher clergy members. They disappoint God and do nothing to help the Christian church.

 

If we want to please God we must think of our own “tekel”. How would I stand if God were to weigh my worthiness on the scales today? Will I fall short? We must all take an objective look at ourselves.

 

C) Upharsin (Peres): Divided

1. Upharsin is a combination of the word “u”, meaning the conjunctive “and”, and the word “pharsin” the past tense of “divided”. The scripture uses the infinitive “peres” in verse 28. Daniel translates peres saying, “Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” In other words, Babylon will be divided and fall. And just as Daniel said (and as it is written in text books today) Babylon was divided by Medes and Persia and saw its demise.

 

2. In our own lives, we will be divided one day into our spirit and flesh. Death will come. Hebrews 9:27 says, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” It is true. We cannot forget that we will all face judgment before our Lord. This is the importance we must always keep in mind when we remember “upharsin”.

 

Con)

1. We will all face judgment. We must be prepared for the day when it comes. only then can we stand rightfully before God. But it is not enough to know this yourself; you must proclaim this to others and let them know of the imminent judgment.

 

2. We are only given one life; live it as God wants us to. Live a righteous life God approves of. To do this, we must serve Jesus diligently. And we must remember, “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.” Remember our lives have an end (mene); we will be weighed on the scales (tekel) to determine if we are worthy to enter the gates of Heaven and receive His blessings; and finally, our spirit and flesh will be divided before God (upharsin).

 

When our spirit and bodies divide, Jesus will bring judgment to the people and the righteous will enter His Kingdom, while those who have lived without Jesus will spend eternity in Hell. Do not forget these truths. Let us all live as God desires.

 

By ik sun,Ahn/ Translated by yebin  040916