Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“‘This is the interpretation of the matter: mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.’
That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, August 17, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Belshazzar was right to be terrified. Like his father before him, he calls in Daniel to solve the mystery in this horror story (who he does not have the same relationship with that his father had, but knows Daniel only by reputation). I can see this scene playing out in a gothic horror movie fashion—Daniel examining the writing on the wall, his brow knit, then nodding grimly before turning around to let Belshazzar have it. He enumerates the king’s arrogance and blatant defilement of holy objects, and his offence against the God whose power those objects reflect while the king and his wise men and his guests (those who were brave enough to remain after the intense scene in which the horrible fingers wrote on the wall in the first place) stand by with looks of terror. He then pronounces sentence—the writing on the wall spells Belshazzar’s death!
Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if this was exciting as heck to its first readers. I wonder if it was read aloud to great effect, sending thrills and chills through the audience. Maybe even in the way the book of Esther, which is a play, is performed. My daughter, who adores horror (I don’t), says that one of the reasons she likes it so much is that she knows it’s not real, so she gets to experience uncomfortable emotions in a safe environment. It gets her out of her anxiety about her own life and reality. To the original readers of Daniel, who had experienced warfare, defeat, and exile, the story is a reminder that evil—in the persons of arrogant kings—doesn’t last forever. So they could enjoy the thrills of having this particular king experience a truly terrifying tale, just as we can enjoy it now for the same or different reasons.
Do I allow myself to enjoy the full spectrum of biblical literature for what it is and find fun, thrills, consolation, hope, and more within its pages?
