In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Daniel 5:5
In Daniel 5, we see Belshazzar, the king who was happily partying with his subjects, suddenly becoming very gloomy and trembling with fear. There appeared the fingers of a man’s hand writing on the wall before the king’s face (5:5). The writings on the wall brought the fear of God and a holy conviction in the heart of the king. This divine hand was the same hand that wrote the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone at Mount Sinai (Ex. 32:15-16). The writings of the law had such power to convict man’s heart that centuries later, when the Book of the Law was found and read in the presence of King Josiah by a simple scribe, it brought the king to his knees in repentance (2 Kin. 22:11-13).
It was the same finger writing in the New Testament when the Pharisees brought to Jesus the woman caught in adultery. “This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear” (John 8:6). The writings convicted the conscience of the accusers, sending them fleeing (8:9). Like in Daniel 5, it was not the sound of an army; or the flashes of lightning or the roar of thunder that brought fear to the heart of the king. It was not even a destroying angel with his sword drawn in his hand; it was a finger, and the writings on the wall, that brought tremendous power to convict.
The writings on the wall were illuminated by a lampstand in the palace (5:5). The lampstand is the Spirit of God who illuminates the writings of the Word of God in our hearts. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them” (Heb. 10:16). On the day of Pentecost, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Peter stood up and preached from the book of Joel. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do’” (Acts 2:37)? Centuries may have passed, but the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible are still convicting and bringing sinners to repentance.
How can we bring conviction to the hearts of men that are blinded and hardened by sin and the god of this world? Preach the Word! The Holy Spirit will illuminate the Word in the heart of the listener and bring about the conviction of sin.
In Daniel 5, we see Belshazzar, the king who was happily partying with his subjects, suddenly becoming very gloomy and trembling with fear. There appeared the fingers of a man’s hand writing on the wall before the king’s face (5:5). The writings on the wall brought the fear of God and a holy conviction in the heart of the king. This divine hand was the same hand that wrote the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone at Mount Sinai (Ex. 32:15-16). The writings of the law had such power to convict man’s heart that centuries later, when the Book of the Law was found and read in the presence of King Josiah by a simple scribe, it brought the king to his knees in repentance (2 Kin. 22:11-13).
It was the same finger writing in the New Testament when the Pharisees brought to Jesus the woman caught in adultery. “This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear” (John 8:6). The writings convicted the conscience of the accusers, sending them fleeing (8:9). Like in Daniel 5, it was not the sound of an army; or the flashes of lightning or the roar of thunder that brought fear to the heart of the king. It was not even a destroying angel with his sword drawn in his hand; it was a finger, and the writings on the wall, that brought tremendous power to convict.
The writings on the wall were illuminated by a lampstand in the palace (5:5). The lampstand is the Spirit of God who illuminates the writings of the Word of God in our hearts. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them” (Heb. 10:16). On the day of Pentecost, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Peter stood up and preached from the book of Joel. “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do’” (Acts 2:37)? Centuries may have passed, but the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible are still convicting and bringing sinners to repentance.
How can we bring conviction to the hearts of men that are blinded and hardened by sin and the god of this world? Preach the Word! The Holy Spirit will illuminate the Word in the heart of the listener and bring about the conviction of sin.
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