In today’s reflection from Daniel 5, we look at the famous story of the writing on the wall and, more specifically, at the sacred vessels Belshazzar took from the temple and used at his feast. That leads us to think about what makes something sacred. A church building, an altar, communion vessels, or even Scripture are not holy simply because of the materials they are made from; they are sacred because they have been set apart for the worship of God. And while we are grateful for sacred spaces, our relationship with God isn’t limited to a sanctuary. Through God’s grace, we can find sacred moments in our homes, our cars, our workplaces, coffee shops, and throughout our ordinary lives. Our souls are longing for the divine, so today we’re invited to slow down, look for those moments, and enter into the sacred presence of God wherever we find ourselves.
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Good morning. It’s good to be with you on this Thursday morning. I hope you’re doing well and that you’ve had a great week. Things are hopping around here. Mississippi State has a home game this Saturday, so Starkville is getting ready for football. It’s back. SEC football is back. I’m looking forward to seeing what life is like with almost 70,000 of my closest friends here this weekend!
So if you’re making your plans to come to Starkville, I’ll talk more about this tomorrow, but bring your church clothes and stay one extra night. We’d love to have you worship with us here at Starkville First.
Today we’re going to be reading from Daniel chapter 5. I’m going to combine two sections because I think they flow together and help us understand what’s happening. We’re going to read Daniel 5:1–12, which includes the great feast and the writing on the wall.
Belshazzar, the king, made a great festival for a thousand of his lords, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be brought in so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines could drink from them.
So they brought in the vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem. They drank from them and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Immediately, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale. His thoughts terrified him, his limbs gave way, and his knees began knocking together.
The king called for the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. Whoever could read the writing and tell him its interpretation would be clothed in purple, receive a gold chain, and be made third in the kingdom.
But none of the wise men could read the writing or tell the king what it meant.
Then the queen came in and reminded Belshazzar about Daniel. She said there was a man in the kingdom who had been endowed with wisdom and understanding, a man who had served Nebuchadnezzar and had demonstrated an extraordinary ability to interpret difficult things.
In other words, once again, somebody needs to give these Babylonians a to-do list or maybe a few Post-it notes, because they seem to keep forgetting Daniel!
How many times have we seen this already? Daniel has interpreted dreams. Daniel has demonstrated wisdom. Daniel has shown again and again that he has a gift from God for understanding things that other people cannot understand. And yet, when the crisis comes, they seem to forget about him.
This is where we get that famous phrase, “the writing on the wall.”
There are certain stories and images from Scripture that have escaped the Bible and become part of our everyday language. We may not know all the details of the biblical story, but we know what it means when somebody says, “The writing is on the wall.”
We talk about David and Goliath. Every March Madness, somebody is going to be the David facing the Goliath. We talk about Noah’s ark. If somebody is trying to save everything from a disaster, they’re going to joke about putting it all on the ark. And when somebody is facing a difficult situation, we talk about going through the lion’s den.
These biblical images have become part of our cultural language.
And the writing on the wall is one of those images.
Now, we’ll talk tomorrow about exactly what the writing means, but you can probably figure out already that it isn’t a birthday message from God. This is not God writing, “Congratulations! You’ve won!”
Something is happening here.
And I think it’s important to notice what led up to it.
The text tells us that Belshazzar was under the influence of wine. He was not thinking clearly. And in that state, he commanded that the sacred vessels from the temple in Jerusalem be brought into this party.
These were not just ordinary cups and bowls. These were vessels that had been consecrated for the worship of God.
And I think there’s something important here for us to think about when we talk about sacredness.
This sanctuary where I’m sitting right now is a holy and sacred place. But there is nothing inherently holy about the materials that make up this room.
The pews are made of wood. The wood came from trees. The fabric came from whatever fabric is made from. The stained-glass windows are made of glass. The altar is made from materials that, in and of themselves, are just materials.
There’s nothing inherently holy about a pew. You can find pews in all kinds of places.
What makes these things sacred is the purpose for which they have been set apart.
They have been consecrated. They have been given over for the worship of the Triune God.
That’s what makes them holy.
The communion table is sacred because of its purpose. The chalice and paten are sacred because of their purpose. The stoles that clergy wear are sacred because of their purpose. The Scriptures we read are sacred because of their purpose.
These things have been set apart to draw us closer to God, to help us worship, to help us remember who God is, and to help us know and love God more deeply.
And I think we need that in our lives.
We need sacred places.
We need sacred spaces.
We need times that are intentionally set apart for God.
We need moments when we stop and say, “This time is for God.”
When you pray, that time becomes sacred because you have set it aside to commune with God.
When you read Scripture, that time becomes sacred because you have set it aside to listen for God.
When you come into this sanctuary and sit at the altar, there is something powerful about knowing that this space has been set apart for worship.
One of the great perks of working at a church is that my office here at Starkville First is literally about ten feet from the sanctuary. I can walk out of my office, walk into the sanctuary, and pray at the altar whenever I want to.
That’s pretty phenomenal.
But here’s the thing: I can also have a sacred moment somewhere else.
I can pray in a coffee shop.
I can pray in my car.
I can pray at home.
I can find a sacred moment walking outside.
The place itself isn’t what makes the moment sacred. It is the purpose for which I have entered that moment.
And I think that’s important because our souls need sacredness.
Our souls are aching for the divine.
Our lives are longing for places of rest, worship, purpose, and connection with God.
We need places where we can step away from the noise and remember that there is something bigger than us.
And yes, I am incredibly thankful for churches and sanctuaries and altars and all of the sacred spaces that have been intentionally set apart for worship. We need those places.
But through the grace of God, we can also find sacred moments throughout our ordinary lives.
So today, look for the sacred.
Look for the places and moments where you can stop, breathe, pray, worship, and remember that God is present.
Our souls are aching for the divine.
And through God’s grace, may we find it today.
Thanks for being with us. Tomorrow we’re going to look at the writing on the wall and what Daniel says it means.
Have a great day, and I’ll see you in the morning.