God's Handwriting

Good morning, everyone. We're going to continue our study through the book of Daniel today, picking up in Daniel chapter five. Lee already knew this because she assumed we were going to continue. She told me she read it three times. I might let her get up and teach the lesson.

Before we begin the service, let's look to our Lord in prayer. Our holy, holy Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning so thankful for your mercy and grace that sinners can come to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, completely free of sin, claiming his righteousness, that we might call thee Abba Father.

Lord, we pray that you would bless this congregation, that you would leave us not alone this morning, but that you would send your spirit to be among us to apply the word to the hearts of your children. Lord, feed your sheep. We pray for those who are going through difficult times. We hold them up to you, knowing that it's your will. and pray that you would accomplish your will quickly. Restore them to us. Father, once again, we pray that you would bless this service. Leave us not alone. We ask all these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Okay, so the lesson this morning is is entitled God's Handwriting. And this portion of scripture is one of those things that I knew this idiom growing up, you should have been able to read the writing on the wall.

That's a warning, right? Just like I remember hearing, you can't get blood from a turnip. And even saying that, not realizing, oh, that's referring to Cain's sacrifice, that you can't get blood from a vegetable, from a turnip. We need a blood sacrifice.

But that saying, reading the handwriting on the wall is that you should have been able to see this obvious warning. Just last week, a player for the Reds got sent down to AAA. He hadn't played in a month, so he should have been able to read the handwriting on the wall that when the one guy got healthy, he was going to be the one leaving the roster to go down to AAA. And this is a very sobering story.

It shows us the judgment of God. But I believe that we can, after we read through this story, I want to look for Christ. I want to look for the gospel. I want to look for the good news in this story. Because all these Old Testament scriptures, they speak of Christ. He's told us that. And I want to see if we can find Christ after we read through this story. So, as we go through this book, I want to look at several things.

I want to look at man's sin, God sending his word, the need for a preacher, the source of the preacher's message, what the preacher's message is, then God's judgment, and finally, the result of unbelief. Like I said, it's very sobering. The story takes place about 25 years after chapter four ended, when our Lord revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar and gave him a new heart to praise and glorify the Lord.

If we read in Daniel 4.37, we read, now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth in his ways judgment, And those that walk in pride, he is able to abase.

We have that natural pride. And he is able. We talk about physical healing. And he's able. He's the great physician, but spiritual. To give new life to his people, he's able. And we pray that he would do that. We pray that for our young children all the time. So Nebuchadnezzar learned through that ordeal that God's a sovereign ruler and that his works are truth. He sees things as they are. His ways are judgment and our Lord Jesus Christ, truth and judgment are reconciled. We're complete in him and he's able to abase those that walk in pride. So let's pick up reading here in chapter five. In verses one through four, we're gonna see man's sin.

Belshazzar, the king, made a feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whilst he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the gold, golden and silver vessels, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple, which was in Jerusalem, that the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines might drink therein. Now it says his father Nebuchadnezzar, that's actually his grandfather, it says that in my margin at least. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was at Jerusalem, and the king with his princes, his wives, and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. So here we have Nebuchadnezzar's grandson.

He's falling into the same sin that Nebuchadnezzar fell into. He didn't honor the king of heaven. Actually, he mocked God. He told them to go get these vessels from the temple, these vessels that were used in the ceremonial washings and sacrifices that point to our Lord Jesus Christ, and bring them, and we're just gonna have a party with them. They're drinking wine, and they were mocking God. They were toasting these false gods, these idols, these man-made idols, using those holy vessels. You know, that's the root of all sin, is man putting themselves above God.

And that's what he was doing here. You know, in Genesis, when Adam and Eve fell, you know, the serpent came to Eve and said, and the serpent said unto the woman, you shall not surely die. God said, you're going to die if you eat that fruit. And the serpent said, no, you're not.

He said, That's our sin, is elevating ourselves up to God's level. You know, we want to make God's ourselves that are powerless to save without us. We want to have some part in salvation. And the Lord said he's going to have mercy on whom he will have mercy. That's God's glory. And man, we're making these man-made gods, even the Jesus that many people preach, that can't do something, can't save without man doing their part. In Habakkuk, it says, What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it, the multanimate image and the teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusteth therein. You made that idol and you're gonna trust in it? And God's not gonna share his glory with anyone. Like I said, in Exodus, God talks about Moses said, show me your glory. He said, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. Salvation is of the Lord. That's God's glory.

And he's not going to share that with anyone. And in Exodus 20 verses three and five, we read the commandments and it says, thou shalt have, thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of fathers upon children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." God's not going to share his glory with gods that we make up, man-made gods.

And it talks about visiting the iniquity upon the children and their children. And I want to give a warning to the children of our congregation. Salvation is not hereditary. Now, we've been blessed. And you look around here, and we see multiple generations that the Lord has revealed himself to. But he doesn't have to do that. He's going to save whom he will. And he showed a lot of great mercy on this congregation that we have multiple generations. But your grandparents and your parents believing is not going to save you. You need to believe yourself. And I just want to make sure that we understand that. All right, so let's move on and see God sends his word in verses five and six.

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand and rode 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. Then the king's countenance was changed. His thoughts troubled him. so that the joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against another."

Can you imagine how frightening this would have been? They're having a party, they're mocking God, and all of a sudden there's a hand. that appears and it's riding on the wall. This is the supernatural hand of God riding on that wall. And Belshazzar got just a glimpse. of this hand, just a glimpse of God, and it scared him to death.

He was green in the gills. His stomach dropped. The party was over. He was scared half to death. His knees were knocking together. And you know, even natural men, if we stop and just look at God's handiwork all around us, we're going to be amazed. Even a natural man, if given just a glimpse of God, we're gonna cry like Isaiah did and say, woe is me, woe is me. And that's what Belshazzar, he was scared now. He saw this supernatural hand of God. He didn't even know what it said, but he knew it was God and he was afraid. So now we're gonna see the need for a preacher.

Verses seven through nine. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, the soothsayers, and the king spake and said unto the wise men of Babylon, whosoever shall read this writing and show 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. 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. that the king Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished. God wrote on that wall, this is God's word, and he couldn't read it.

He couldn't understand it. He needed a preacher to interpret it for him. And that's the same thing, that's what God has ordained. What did that eunuch say to Peter? And Peter said, do you understand what you're reading? He said, how can I except some man should guide me?

God has ordained to reveal himself to sinners through the preaching of the gospel. And, you know, Romans 10, 14 says, how then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? We need a preacher.

1 Corinthians 1.21 says, for after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. We need a preacher, and our preachers need a word from God. And God's ordained that. I feel so inadequate when I get up here. And I pray that I'm just a clay pot, right? A broken vessel at that.

But that the Lord would speak through his word to his people. And we've been blessed to have gospel preachers for many, many years here. But we don't elevate those people. preachers, those pastors, those teachers, they're men. They're sinful men, just like the rest of us. And this congregation, God's gonna use a preacher, but we have to be taught of God.

We have to be taught of God. And that's what we pray, Lord, teach me, show me your ways. 1 Corinthians 3, 5, 6, who then is Paul, and who is Apollos? The ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. God has to teach us.

John 6.45, it is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. And that's what our prayer is, to be taught of God that will come to Christ.

And you know, Belshazzar, he called on these false preachers and they didn't know the true and living God. So they couldn't interpret this. They couldn't tell him what God was saying. And he was troubled all the more for that. And that's what we run into with false preaching. Preaching that says you can work your way to salvation. You can fulfill God's holy law. When we run into that, all it does is give us more trouble in our hearts because we see that we can't meet God's standard. We can't. We see our sin. We feel our sin. We know our sin. and somebody telling you that you have to save yourself, there's no peace in that.

There's no peace in that. And that's all that those false prophets could give him. And he was troubled all the more because there's no hope and there's no comfort there. But God is gonna send a preacher and he's gonna send a message. Let's see where that preacher comes from in verses 10 through 17.

Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords came unto the banquet house, and the queen spake and said, O king, live forever. Let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed. There is a man in the kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.

In the days of thy father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of gods was found in him. and the king Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, the king, I say thy father made master of the magicians and astrologers and Chaldeans and soothsayers. For as much as an excellent spirit and knowledge and understanding and interpreting of dreams and showing 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 show you the interpretation." So here, Daniel, he's got a spirit of God in him. He's been given an excellent spirit, the spirit of God. And God gave him, God himself gave him that ability to interpret God's word. Continuing here, well, just to back that up, right?

Paul, what did Paul say in Galatians? But I certify to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached to me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Preachers, pastors need to be taught of God. 1 Corinthians 2, 4, and 5. In my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. If I can talk you in to believing, I can talk you out of believing. God has to teach us. God has to give us a new spirit.

Talking about showing hard sentences. True preachers, they don't appeal to man's pride. They tell men the hard truth. God is holy. Man is full of sin. You need a substitute. You need a salvation. Salvation can only be found in a substitute. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a man that was born under the law.

He lived a perfect life, pleasing the Father in everything he did. He was made sin on the cross for his people. And he fully paid the sin debt of his people. And he gave them his righteousness. They were made the righteousness of God in him. And then he rose from the grave, showing that the Father was fully satisfied, fully justified. without sin in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he ascended into heaven and he's seated there today at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for his people, claiming his work in them for their salvation.

Notice, okay, so they, and then Daniel was brought in before the king and the king spoke and said unto Daniel, art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of captivity of Judea, whom the king, my father, brought out of Jewry? That's kind of, he's kind of saying, here you are, but. You're under me, yeah.

I have even heard of thee that the spirit of the gods is in thee and that the light of understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. And now the wise men and the astrologers have been brought in before me that they should read this writing and make known unto me the interpretation thereof. But they could not show the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of thee that thou canst make interpretation and dissolve doubts. Dissolve doubts. We need God to dissolve the doubts. Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ instead of ourselves dissolves all doubts about salvation because he's able to save them to the uttermost. Sorry. Thou shalt be clothed, dissolve doubts.

Now, if thou canst read the writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, let thy guests be to thyselves, and give thy rewards to another. Yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known unto him the interpretation.

God's preachers aren't looking for position or power, but by God's grace, they're gonna preach the word. You can keep your position, you can keep your power, but I'm still gonna preach to you, because you're a sinner. And that's what God's preachers do. So what was that message? We're gonna see that it's the same message that God used to reveal himself to Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, this language is going to be very familiar to what we read in chapter four. Let's pick up in verse 18 and go through 23.

O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor. And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he slew, and whom he would, he kept alive, and whom he would, he set up, and whom he would, he put down. He had absolute power, absolute authority, and God gave him that. But when his heart was lifted up and his mind hardened in pride, He was disposed from the kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. And he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beast's, and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

And now, His son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and now thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines have drunk wine in them. And now is praised the gods of silver and of gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know. And the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose art all thy ways hast thou not glorified.

Like I said, this was the same message that Nebuchadnezzar, that the Lord used to show Nebuchadnezzar that God is sovereign. That's the message. God is an absolute sovereign. He's going to lift up whom he's going to lift up. He's going to put down whom he's going to put down. And he rules in the kingdom of men. The only reason you're on that throne is for God. God put you there. And God's going to be glorified through you believing or you not believing. But God's going to be glorified. And God's going to save whom he will save.

And it says Belshazzar knew these things. He'd seen those things. He'd been spoken those things in the family history. But he only knew them in his head. He knew them in his head. He knew his grandfather said that God ruled. God was sovereign. But he didn't know it in his heart. He didn't believe it. And instead of humbling himself before God, he lifted himself up before God and he mocked God. and he worshiped the gods of his own imagination, the gods that he could control, he didn't glorify God. He hadn't been taught of God. Well, God's gonna pass judgment on that.

Verses 24 through 25, or 28. Then was the part of the hand sent from him, from God, and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written. Mene, mene, tikal, ufarsin. This is the interpretation of the thing. Mene, God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. God's raised you up for a period of time, but that time's over. Tikal, thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Perez, thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.

I have no doubt that this hand that was writing on the wall was the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin forever, sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth, expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. He's the right hand of God.

And John 5.22 says, for the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son. We're going to be judged by our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 4, 1 says, I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. This is our Lord Jesus Christ proclaiming God's judgment. And he says, God's numbered your kingdom and finished it. It's over. Your kingdom, God raised you up for a period of time, And now for his glory, God's going to end your kingdom.

Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. So back in those days, the way that they would weigh things was they had things that were set weights, right? They were certified to be a certain way and they put it on one side of a balance and put what they were trying to weigh on the other side. And if those two things, were the exact same height, then you knew that that's what that weight was. Men by nature compare themselves with other men, with themselves. And we look pretty good when we balance ourselves against other people. I don't outwardly sin as much as Joe does. Of course, outward sin is not the only sin, is it? If you think it, you've done it. Second Corinthians 10, 12 says, for we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that can commend themselves. But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.

In the day of judgment, we're gonna be weighed in the balance against the perfect righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. And if we come and put our filthy rags of self-righteousness on the other side, we're going to come up short. We're going to be wanting. Outside of Christ, those filthy rags are coming up short. We need to be in Christ. We need to have the righteousness of God in our Lord Jesus Christ in the day of judgment.

And then here is, thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. This is a fulfillment of that dream that Nebuchadnezzar had in Daniel two. There's going to be a second, there's going to be the next kingdom, you know, that, that, and it's going to be the Medes and the Persians. That's, God said, I've, I've prophesied this before. Now it's going to happen. It's going to happen. All right. So then, Finally, the last of this chapter, we see the result of unbelief. Verses 29 through the end.

Then commanded Belshazzar and they clothed Daniel with scarlet and put a chain of gold about his neck and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. And that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three score and two years old. Now, how do I know that Belshazzar didn't believe?

He was no longer afraid. He was afraid of God before, just seeing a glimpse of God's holiness. Then the word was proclaimed to him and he wasn't afraid. He was told his kingdom's over, your kingdom's over, and he's making a proclamation about who's gonna be his successor. He's told God's in control, and he thinks he's still in control.

This man was able to go to sleep, to go to bed, fat, dumb, and happy, not knowing the Lord. He didn't have the fear of God in him. the beginning of wisdom, the fear of God, of I can't be found outside of Christ. Lord, don't let me stand on my own. That's the fear of God, afraid to be outside of Christ. And he went to bed content, and God killed him. And he's in hell to this day. Now, that's a very, very sobering story. And you might say, well, where's the gospel? Where's the gospel there? Well, let's look.

In the scriptures, God's hand wrote three times. There are three times in the scripture where God's hand wrote. The very first time that we read about God's hand writing is when the finger of God gave Moses the 10 commandments. God gave us the law with his hand, the law that we can't fulfill, but the law that says, do this and live, don't do that and live.

God's holy perfect law. Then the second time that God wrote with his hand was in this story. And God made a judgment that you've been weighed in the balance against my perfect law. and you came up short, you came up wanting. You can't be saved by the law because you can't keep the law.

That's what God's telling us here. And all the law can do is reveal our sin and point us to Christ who paid the debt for our sin and made us perfectly righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the third time that we read in the scriptures about the hand of God writing, is in John chapter eight. So let's turn over to John chapter eight, verses one through 11. Remember, this Old Testament speaks of Christ. And in this story, we see Christ fulfilling those handwritings of God from the Old Testament. We see that God's handwriting against man can be satisfied by our Lord Jesus Christ. So let's read this chapter eight, verses one through 11. And then I'll just comment on it briefly.

Jesus went into the Mount of Olives and early in the morning, he came again to the temple and all the people came unto him and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken and adultery. when they had set her in the midst, she was taken in adultery. She was literally caught in the act. She was guilty, no question about it. She was taken in adultery. Set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act.

Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? They said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down with his finger and wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. So they brought this woman before the Lord and said, Moses says we need to kill her. The sin that she's committed is to be, it kills her. It needs to result in death, which all sin does.

And they tried to, they asked him, well, what do you say, right? And they're trying to trap him, right? If he says, let her go, he's not honoring the law. He's not honoring God's perfect law, which he has to do, but he's also, the friend of sinners to show, he said he came to save sinners. And if he says kill her, well, you didn't come to save sinners. She's a sinner, you didn't save her. So they're trying to trap him. But the Lord Jesus Christ, he stooped down and he wrote on the ground. He acted like he didn't even hear him. Well, what was the first thing that God's hand wrote? Wrote the 10 commandments. I wouldn't be surprised if our Lord wrote, thou shalt not commit adultery.

That's the law. Because of that law that we could not keep, God Almighty stooped down and became man, made under the law. Let's continue. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again, he stooped down and he wrote on the ground. They persisted, they wanted an answer from him. He said, whoever's without sin, you cast the first stone. He stooped down again, he wrote on the ground. What was the second thing that God's hand wrote?

You've been weighed in the balance and found wanting. You, not just her, you, me, all of us, we've sinned and come up short of the glory of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ stooped down a second time and was made sin for his people. He hung on that cross bearing all the sins of all his people, to pay the sin debt for them, and to make them completely righteous in him. Well, what happened after that?

And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last, and Jesus was left alone in the woman standing in the midst. So they were convicted of their conscience and left. They weren't convicted of the Holy Spirit. If they'd been convicted of the Holy Spirit, they would have left. In fact, this woman, she was convicted of the Holy Spirit and she was left alone with our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that we'd be left alone with Christ. When Jesus lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, woman, where are those, thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.

This woman was born again in the Lord Jesus Christ. She was convicted of the Holy Spirit and given new birth because of Christ stooping down that second time. And now Christ has been raised up a second time in the resurrection. He's speaking to her in the resurrection. and she's perfect in him.

She's a new creature born of God and there are no accusers. No one can accuse her of any sin because it's gone. It is paid for. God sees things as they are and he sees her sinless in his son in the Lord Jesus Christ. He sees her perfectly righteous in Christ. And she's weighed in the balance. And she's found perfect. She's just like the Lord Jesus Christ. She's a new creature. If she wasn't a new creature, he wouldn't say, go and sin no more. There's a new birth in her, a new creature that can't sin. Just two more scriptures to close our message.

2 Corinthians 5.17, therefore, If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And then Romans 8, 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Jesus Christ, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. May the Lord grant us the ability to seek Christ in the spirit.

God's Handwriting

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