Daniel 5:5-9 “Power”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁵In that moment appeared fingers of a hand of a man writing to the opposite of the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king and the king [was] one seeing the palm of the hand which [was] one writing. ⁶Then the king, his countenance changed it and his thoughts alarmed him and the joints of his loins [were] ones loosened and his knees [were] ones knocking one to this. ⁷The king [was] one calling in strength to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and ones counseling. The king answering, one saying to the wise men of Babel, “All of a man who reads this writing and declares to me its meaning, he will be clothed [with] purple, and the necklace of the gold upon his neck, and third in the kingdom he will rule. ⁸Then ones coming in [were] the all of the wise men of the king, ones not able to read the writing and to make known the meaning to the king. ⁹Then the king Belshazzar [was] one being greatly alarmed and his face [was] one changing on him and his nobles [were] ones being perplexed.

One last thing I want to ponder on before I leave these verses. Isn’t it interesting that this is how the Lord chose to reveal Himself to Belshazzar? The Lord very specifically chose to use this image of a hand writing on the wall to get Belshazzar’s attention.

I guess my point is that He could have done this in a thousand different ways. If it were me, I would have thought perhaps a thundering voice along with an earthquake would do nicely. Or perhaps, how about a giant shining angel who sweeps the room with his sword and wipes out all these profaning revelers? Or what if the floor of the whole hall just opened up and swallowed them all alive?

If you think through your Bible, at different times and in different places, the Lord used all those methods, and many more. But not here. Out of all His revelations, as far as we know, this is the only time He ever used this image of a man’s hand writing on a wall.

It certainly got the job done. By verse 9 we have a terrified king, answerless “wise” men, and a thousand baffled nobles. At least two things are clearly established: the Lord is present and they are clueless. The Lord has been present all along, of course. He has been watching and listening ever since the party began. He heard Belshazzar call for the temple vessels. He watched their arrogant sacrilege as they drank their wine from those holy vessels. He listened as they praised their idols. He heard it all. He saw it all. Their problem was they didn’t see Him.

Because He wasn’t visible, it was easy for them to pretend He doesn’t exist. But in an instant, the hand appears and all of a sudden they know they’re in trouble! At that point, once again, it would have seemed like a great time for a thundering voice.

But that isn’t what the Lord did. My mind goes immediately to Elijah who found out the Lord is not in the wind, or in the earthquake, or in the fire, but rather in a still, small voice (I Kings 19:11,12). The Lord certainly can and has expressed Himself to the world in great displays of power, as in the case of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. However, I’ve been thinking lately how sometimes a still, small voice is almost more impressive than loud, explosive displays. It seems to me another way to express power is not to use it! It’s like a boss calling you in to quietly fire you! He could yell at you and throw you out on the street, but, because he has the power, he can simply, quietly tell you your services are no longer needed and dismiss you. What if you throw a tantrum and threaten to sue the company and he still just quietly reiterates that your services are no longer needed and dismisses you? I’m thinking, in a sense, that quiet calm demeanor can be more impressive than a loud, angry voice.

I’m also reminded of a story I read once of a group gathered for a barbecue. At some point, one of the men (probably drunk) started asserting to everyone there that God does not exist. To prove his point, he stood and shouted to God to send a lightning bolt and kill him. After nothing happened for several minutes, the man scoffed and turned to get another brew or something. As he turned, his heel landed on a pea someone had dropped. His feet slipped out from under him, his head hit the concrete, and there he died. Case in point. Which is more impressive, that the Lord in fact send the lightning bolt, or that He kill the arrogant man with a pea?

When Jesus returns to the earth, He will come riding a white horse, with eyes like a blazing fire, leading the armies of heaven, and with a sharp sword going out of His mouth “wherewith to slay the wicked” (Rev. 19:11-16). Yet, the first time He came, He let Himself be born a helpless baby in a stable in a little town and it was said of Him, “He will not shout or cry out, or raise His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out” (Isa. 42:3,4).  

Sometimes He does. Sometimes He doesn’t. Of course, you and I will probably never know why the Lord one time chooses to reveal Himself in displays of awesome power, then the next time turns around and speaks in a still, small voice. Maybe that is itself an expression of power—that He chooses.

I think the takeaway is first of all that we should all notice it is definitely true that the Lord can and may display His power precisely by being very quiet. I would guess the world as a whole would assume any expression of divine power should be awe-inspiring. However, people who truly know their God will also see Him in His quiet expressions of power.

The second takeaway might be a “Go and do thou likewise.” Perhaps we all need to realize how much power can be displayed simply by being quiet? There may be times to yell and scream, but perhaps we should be more aware of those times when, if we know we have the power, we choose not to use it? I find a sort of strange comfort in just knowing that is an option!