DCLM Sincere Milk 14 December 2024 — Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

DCLM Sincere Milk  14 December 2024 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

Topic: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

Text: Daniel 5:1-6,11,12,17,25-28

1Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.

2Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the 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.

3Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.

4They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

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

6Then 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.

11There 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;

12Forasmuch 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.

17Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

25And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

26This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

27TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

28PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Key Verse: “And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” Daniel 5:25

Message

King Belshazzar purposely made fun of the true God. By drinking from the Lord’s Sacred Vessels in honour of the pagan gods of Babylon, Belshazzar and his officers dishonoured the one true God and brought final judgment upon themselves. While they were drinking and having fun, a strange hand appeared and wrote the message of judgment on the wall.
Mene – Numbered, Tekel – Weighed, Upharsin/peres – Divided. Daniel gave him the interpretation showing that God had numbered the days of Belshazzar’s kingdom and fixed the time when it would collapse. He has weighed Belshazzar and found him to be a failure. The kingdom would be divided and given to the Medes and Persians. That very night, Belshazzar was killed and his reign and kingdom came to an end.

Also Read:  DCLM Sincere Milk 13 December  2024 — Misuse of God’s Name

Today, many people are still behaving like Belshazzar. They are not afraid to use the Name of God in a playful manner. Some even go as far as using the word of God or songs dedicated for worship to do ‘Comedy.’ Beware, do not join the company of those that do this kind of evil, don’t take interest in such comedians and jokers so that you will not partake of their sudden judgment.

Further Reading: Hebrews 10:31

Prayer for today: Help me, Lord, to stand for the truth at all times.

GOSPEL REALM: STEPS TO SALVATION
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)