How does Daniel 5:25 connect to God's sovereignty throughout Scripture? A sudden handwriting and an eternal truth “Now this is the inscription that was written: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’” (Daniel 5:25) Belshazzar’s banquet stopped cold when the mysterious hand appeared. In one verse, four Aramaic words proclaimed the end of a dynasty and reminded every reader that history moves under God’s hand. • Mene (“numbered”)—twice, underscoring certainty. • Tekel (“weighed”)—God alone sets the standards. • Parsin/Peres (“divided”)—Kingdoms shift only when He says so. Sovereignty in Babylon’s fall • Daniel’s interpretation (5:26-28) shows God numbering, weighing, and dividing—a summary of divine prerogatives. • The Medo-Persian army was already outside Babylon’s walls; yet the timing (“that very night,” 5:30) belongs to God. • Earlier, Nebuchadnezzar heard the same lesson: “the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He wills” (4:32). Echoes in the Law and the Prophets • Deuteronomy 32:39: “There is no god besides Me; I put to death and I bring to life.” • 1 Samuel 2:7-8: “The LORD makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He exalts.” Hannah’s song anticipates Daniel’s message. • Isaiah 46:9-10: God “declares the end from the beginning… saying, ‘My purpose will be established.’” Wisdom literature confirms the theme • Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is a watercourse in the hand of the LORD; He directs it wherever He pleases.” • Job 12:23: “He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them.” The thread carried into the New Testament • Acts 17:26: God “determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation.” • John 19:11: Jesus tells Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above.” • Revelation 1:5: Christ is “the ruler of the kings of the earth,” gathering all sovereignty into Himself. Christ: the ultimate writing on the wall Where Daniel read words of judgment, the cross proclaims both judgment and mercy. Colossians 2:14 pictures another inscription—our debt—“nailed to the cross.” The same sovereign Lord who weighed Belshazzar offers forgiveness because His own Son bore the judgment. Living under the writing today • Nations rise and fall, but Psalm 22:28 stands: “Dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.” • Personal plans rest in His hands; James 4:15 reminds us to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” Takeaway: Mene, Mene—God is counting; Tekel—God is weighing; Parsin—God is allocating. Trust the One who holds the numbers, the scales, and the kingdoms. |
    |