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Handwriting on the wall

“You... praise gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone — gods who cannot see or hear and do not know anything... You did not honor the God who determines whether you live or die... That is why God has sent the hand to write these words.” — Daniel 5:23-24

The Belshazzar story

There is a story in the Book of Daniel about King Belshazzar of Babylon (Daniel 5:1-30). He had a great banquet with thousands noblemen, and with his wives and concubines. They drank wine and worshipped their gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone — gods who cannot see or hear and do not know anything. It was in the midst of such merriment when a mysterious hand appeared, and began writing on the plaster wall of the palace, where the light from the lamps was shining most brightly.

Today we are seeing a similar handwriting on the wall. While the powers-that-be are feasting on moneys they accumulated out of graft and corruption and jueteng payolas; while they are worshipping mammon, the god of money; God’s mysterious hand is continuously writing a message of warning for all of us. Perhaps, it is not written on the walls of Malacañang Palace, of Senate or Congress; but it is clearly written on the streets, on the pages of newspapers or on the TV screen. It is written and painted in the lonely faces of ordinary Filipinos who are struggling for survival.

King Belshazzar was so frightened that his knees trembled. He ordered his magicians, wizards, and astrologers to read the handwriting and tell him what it means; but unfortunately, none of them could read nor understand.

Certainly, today’s powers-that-be are also frightened by the warnings around them. They mobilized the military and put them on red alert status. The “magicians”, “wizards”, and “astrologers” in Malacañang, Senate or Congress cannot also read nor understand our people’s collective handwriting on the walls. This happens when leaders do not truly identify themselves with the people, when their hopes and dreams are not really the hopes and dreams of the people whom they are supposed to serve, when their interests are not actually the people’s interests. Definitely, they could not read nor understand the handwriting on the walls.

The Queen Mother of King Belshazzar intervened and told him to consult Daniel. Before Daniel read and interpreted the handwriting, he first reminded Belshazzar about his own father, King Nebuchadnezzar, his predecessor. Daniel recalled to Belshazzar that his father was a cruel, proud, and stubborn ruler. If he wanted to kill someone, he did; if he wanted to keep someone alive, he did. He honored or disgraced anyone he wanted to. And because of this, he was removed from his royal throne and lost his place of honor. Until he finally realized that God Almighty controls all human kingdoms and can give them to anyone he chooses.

One of the most frightening trends in our country today is that it has become not only one of the most corrupt nations in Asia, but also one of the most dangerous nations for journalists to be, even more dangerous than Iraq! But it is not only journalists who are being killed, but also church people who are exercising their prophetic role in society. At least two church leaders, Fr. William Tadena of the Philippine Independent Church and Rev. Edison Lapus of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, have been killed in cold blood recently.

Then, Daniel told King Belshazzar that he never learned from his father’s experiences. Instead, he worshipped gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods who cannot see nor hear, gods who do not know anything. He did not honor the God who determines whether he lives or dies, the living God who controls everything he does. That’s why God now has sent the mysterious hand to write the words on the plaster wall.

This is the same problem we have with today’s leaders. They also have very short memories. They have forgotten somehow the lessons of Philippine history; they have forgotten the lessons of Martial Law, the lessons of EDSA. They continue to worship the gods made of silver and gold. Hence, we see all over again the handwriting on the wall.

Daniel’s interpretation

The handwriting on the wall said, “Mene, mene, tekel, uparsin. Translated in English, it says, “Number, number, weight, division”. Today’s handwriting on the wall is perhaps expressed in different ways, but the meaning is essentially the same.

Daniel interpreted the word number to mean that God has numbered the days of King Belshazzar’s reign and will bring it to an end. This is the same prophetic word our government has been receiving from various sectors. A government that works against its own people, especially the poor, will not last long. It will surely come to an end.

Moreover, Daniel also interpreted the word weight to mean that King Belshazzar’s reign was weighed on the scales and found wanting. We don’t usually trust statistics, but nevertheless according to the latest survey, our President’s popularity rating was already far below zero. She was weighed by the scales of public opinion, and she was found very much wanting.

Finally, Daniel also interpreted the word division to mean that King Belshazzar’s kingdom will be divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Historically, we have never been truly united as a people. Our country’s continuing insurgency problem is a living testimony to this fact. But we can never truly be united as a people as long as we do not address the roots of insurgency and refuse to heed the message of warning of the handwriting on the wall. #

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