WEIGHT AND FOUND WANTING

DANIEL 5:2

A. "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN"
  1. "God hath numbered thy kingdom":
    1. Said Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, "And after thee shall arise another kingdom" - Dan. 2:39
    2. "But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another" - Ps. 75:7
  2. Tekel:
    1. "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art wanting".
    2. "The Lord weigheth the spirits" - Prov. 16:2
  3. Peres:
    1. "Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians".
    2. "Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take" - Acts 1:20
B. WEIGHT AND FOUND WANTING
  1. The handwriting against the candlestick:
    1. Came very unexpectedly.
    2. That will be true of the wicked in the last days - 1 Thess. 5:1-6
    3. It found him wholly unprepared - Dan. 5:1-11
    4. That will be true of the wicked in the last days - Luke 12:25; 21:34-36
    5. It was overpowering, and that will be true when the Son of man will come the second time. Compare Rev. 6:14 with Isa. 13:8; Matt. 22:12
  2. Contents of the writing:
    1. Numbered, every word - Matt. 12:35, 36
    2. Every step counted - Job. 14:16; 31:4
    3. Opportunities ended - Ps. 87:6; Isa. 65:12; Matt. 25:1-12
    4. Weighed, some use a false scale - Hos. 12:8; Matt. 7:21, 22
    5. God wants us to use just balances. Compare Luke 18:9; Hos. 10:14 with Isa. 28:17; 1 Pet. 4:17; Ps. 62:1-11
    6. This was the message to Belshazzar, and it has a special application for our day.
C. A SPECIAL LESSON FOR GOD'S PEOPLE IN THE LAST DAYS
  1. We are, according to Dan. 8:13, 14 and Rev. 14:6, 7, living in the hour of God's judgment:
    1. The investigative judgment has been in progress since 1844; the records of the righteous dead are in review - Dan. 7:8- 11; Rev. 11:18, 19; 20:10-12
    2. When the investigation will begin with the living, no one knows.
  2. It is most significant that only God's children can read the handwriting on the clock of time:
    1. Only Joseph could interpret Pharaoh's dream - Gen. 41
    2. Only Daniel was given light about the destiny of the Babylonian Empire.
    3. Only God's remnant people will spread truth about things to come.
  3. The special solemnity of this message:
    1. God will hold us accountable for the life we now live - 2 Cor. 5:10
    2. That includes our young people - Eccl. 11:9
    3. The finding of a life wanting in God's balances is a life wasted in this present world - Matt. 16:26; Luke 12:16-20
    4. The announcement of the final verdict about our life is the last sermon to those who willfully rejected the call of mercy - Acts 24:25
    5. Think of these Bible characters -
      1. The man without a wedding garment - Matt. 22:1-12
      2. The invited guests that slighted the invitation to the great supper - Luke 14:16-29
      3. The foolish virgins that neglected to provide oil for their lamps - Matt. 25:1-12
      4. Think of the condition of the Laodiceans living in the hour of God's judgment - Rev. 3:14-17
    6. Let us, in the light of our text, examine our lives and search our hearts; let us be very serious with ourselves lest we will hear the same verdict which ended the life and kingdom of Belshazzar.


Design © John Bryant 2011