Sermon Tone Analysis

Mene & Tekel

I have been looking forward to today because now we pick up our deep and wide study in the book of Daniel.

Now I should warn you, I’m going to break all the rules when it comes to this sermon series.

This series will not be preach progressively, that is starting from chapter one and moving through until the book’s end.

Instead of beginning in chapter 1 with Daniel entering Babylon as a young man, we begin in where Daniel is an old man and Babylon is on its way out.

So I’m breaking the rule of preaching progressively, we will hop about this book.

The next rule I am going to break is one and done.

That is only giving one sermon for each of the book’s chapters.

This year we are going to revisit the same chapters in Daniel.

Because one and done preaching often repeats the same ideas while leaving other lessons behind.

Daniel chapter 5 is a perfect example of this.

We come to this story of a king who holds a party for a thousand of his officials.

The amount of alcohol being served and the immorality at this party would have made Hugh Heffner blush.

All of a sudden a hand without a body, writes words that have come from God on the banquet hall wall.

No one knows what the words mean until Daniel is summoned.

Daniel tells the king that the words are Mene [which means Numbered] , Tekel [which means weighed], and Upharsin [which means divided].

And of the these three words, most one and done sermons on focus on Upharsin – Divided.

One and done sermons on focus on Babylon’s fall.

In Adventist churches we focus on Upharsin – Babylon’s fall – because of our interest in the book of Revelation.

An angel in Revelation warns those living in the last day that a future Babylon is “Fallen, Fallen.”

We are told that the keys to understanding the fall of the future Babylon in Revelation are found in what led to the fall of ancient Babylon in Daniel.

Or in Adventist churches we focus on Upharsin – Babylon’s fall – because of our interest in Bible prophecy.

is just one big exciting confirmation of Bible prophecy which helps anchor our faith.

This chapter confirms large predictions recorded by two Old Testament prophets who in detail describe how Babylon would fall.

The prophet Isaiah wrote over 150 years before and the prophet Jeremiah wrote 65 years before Babylon’s demise.

The end of confirms what both prophets said, that the Medes would conquer Babylon.

And the beginning of confirms what both prophets predicted, Babylon would fall on a night of drunken revelry.

Just look at Jeremiah’s description of that night, “I have laid a snare for you [Why do you lay a snare for someone?

To take them by surprise]; You have indeed been trapped, O Babylon, And you were not aware; You have been found and also caught, Because you have contended against the Lord.

[Jeremiah continues speaking for God] And I will make drunk Her princes and wise men, Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men.

And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,” says the King, Whose name is the Lord of hosts.”

Not only does confirm Jeremiah’s words, ancient historians also do.

Herodotus, the first person in the ancient world to systematically arrange his historical writings, giving him the title “The Father of History” writing 100 years after Babylon was conquered, recorded that the citizens of the central section of the city did not know that Babylon had fallen for a good while because “they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and reveling until they learned the capture.”

I mean that is some good stuff isn’t it?

If you could only preach one message on and then be done with that chapter, you’d focus upon the word Upharsin – Babylon’s fall.

Because this chapter confirms prophecy, which tells us that the Bible is not about children’s stories, myths, or legends.

It is a book that accurately tells us about real people, real history, and how God is involved and in control of the affairs of man.

This is a book that can be trusted as a guide for your life!

And if you preached that sermon, your congregation would say “Amen.”

But your one and done sermon on Upharsin – Babylon’s fall – as good as it is, would leave other lessons left behind unexplored.

In all your focus on Upharsin – Babylon’s fall – you would have never had the chance to preach on the words Mene and Tekel.

And church these words Mene and Tekel have been speaking to me.

I believe God wants these words to speak to you today.

But to get these words to speak to you today, I need you to do something you may find difficult.

I need us all to relate to and connect with the bad guy in the story, Belshazzar.

Usually pastors want their congregations to connect with and learn from and act like the good guys in a Bible.

But in order for Mene and Tekel to speak to you, try to relate with Belshazzar.

You say, “Pastor Jason how can I connect with Belshazzar, I am not a king.”

Yes, this world will not recognize you as a king or a queen but if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, the Bible says that you are royalty.

We are heirs of God and co-heirs with Jesus.

The apostle Paul tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ because we are citizens of another kingdom.

An ambassador represents His king, and the values of his nation, before people who are not of that kingdom.

So while you may not be a political king as Belshazzar was, you are royalty.

And like Belshazzar you have a kingdom that is to be your primary priority.

Because Jesus told you to, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God …”

You say, “Ok, Pastor Jason, that was a cute parallel you just drew.

Very creative.

Well played sire.

But how else could I possibly be like Belshazzar?

I would never put on the kind of party he did.

I would never go to that kind of party.”

I know you wouldn’t.

But like Belshazzar, we are all at risk of ignoring our kingdom for the pleasures of a party.

You say, “What do you mean Pastor, that I would ignore seeking God’s kingdom for the pleasures of a party?”

In Luke chapter 14, Jesus tells a parable about a man who throws a party.

That man represents God.

God is going to throw a party for the all the redeemed in heaven that the book of Revelation calls the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

That’s a party none of us would want to miss.

It’s a party that we will not anyone we love to miss.

But as Jesus tells the parable, three people refuse their invitations to this great party because they have their own party plans.

One gives the excuse, “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it.”

This person lives for the Home Party.

You know parties hosted in a home where someone tries to sell you items from Tupperware, Pampered Chef, or LuLaRoe?

Or if you are a guy you could go to a Man Cave home party called a MEATing where guys eat steaks and buy grilling equipment.

These are parties devoted to people who want to acquire more things.

This person refuses to go to a real party, to enjoy food, fun, and fellowship, because he wants to look at dirt.

And if we are not careful, we could miss God’s party in His kingdom because we pursue possessions.

The second says, “I have bought five yoke of cattle and I am going to test them.”

This guy lives for the Office Party.

This person does not enjoy real parties, because they are consumed with performance, productivity, and profitability.

This guy passes up a real party, food, fun, fellowship, because he’d rather watch oxen work.

That’s a workaholic.

Some of us are at risk of missing God’s party because our jobs and careers take a higher priority than seeking God’s kingdom.

The third refuses, “I have married a wife, therefore I cannot come.”

This guy is living as if he is still part of a Wedding Party.

He’s just so focused on making his wife happy that her concerns take precedence.

I think he wants to accept this invitation but he implies his wife doesn’t.

And if Mamma ain’t happy, then no one is happy.

And some us put the Wedding Party, our spouse and their happiness, or the Family Reunion, our children and their happiness, we put their happiness at a greater priority than pleasing God and seeking first His kingdom.

Being too preoccupied with things, being too busy with work, putting family over God – these parties may not look like as deplorable as the one Belshazzar threw.

But Belshazzar partied when He should have been focused on the security of his kingdom.

Let me ask you, what takes priority in your life – seeking first God’s kingdom or your Home Party (things), your Office Party (work), or your Wedding Party (family).

Where are your priorities?

Now look I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.

How many sermons have you heard that challenge you to think about your priorities?

How many times have you committed to change and to seeking God’s kingdom first?

And how many times did you find yourself slipping back into old habits and getting your priorities out of line again?

Why do we do that?

I believe one viable explanation is that like Belshazzar we believe there will always be a tomorrow.

We feel we can afford to let our priorities slip and slide today, because we will have tomorrow to recalibrate.