Written Warnings

"Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall." (Daniel 5:5)

There are some messages we would rather not receive. A warning light on the car dashboard. A motorway sign: “Slow down. Queue ahead”. A pop-up advising us to take a break from social media. Warnings are not usually given to spoil our enjoyment, but to alert us to danger and protect us from it. Tooth twinges may indicate the start of decay; a backache may be more than a pulled muscle.

Daniel chapter 5 gives us one of history's most famous warnings. King Belshazzar is feasting, drinking and celebrating while Babylon is under threat. Suddenly, a hand appears, writing mysterious words on the wall. Daniel interprets them: God has numbered Belshazzar's days, he has been weighed and found wanting, and his kingdom is about to be divided. The phrase “the writing on the wall”, having entered our everyday language, is now used to point towards an approaching peril or an inevitable outcome. Belshazzar saw the writing, but tragically, he did not heed the warning.

God still gives us warnings today. He warns us through His Word: Scripture confronts our attitudes, exposes our sin, challenges our priorities and calls us back to God. He may also use circumstances to cause us to stop and reconsider our direction - a closed door, a painful consequence or a crisis. He may use people: a friend who loves us enough to speak truth.

In John 8, Jesus wrote with His finger in the dust. Though perhaps a reminder of Exodus 31:18 and Deuteronomy 9:10, we are not told what He wrote, but we are told what He said. He confronts those who were condemning someone caught in sin by turning the spotlight onto their own hearts: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus neither excuses nor ignores sin, commanding: “leave your life of sin.” A sober warning for all of us sinners to read.

Jesus' warnings were wrapped in mercy: exposing sin to rescue sinners, revealing danger and offering a way out. The question, therefore, is not simply, “Is God warning me?” but “Will I heed His warning?”

We can speed past the road sign. We can silence the carbon monoxide alarm. We can scroll or stroll past the warnings. We can dismiss the voice of conscience, even when confirmed by God's Word. We can surround ourselves only with those who reinforce our views and behaviours. We can even close our Bibles.

But God's warnings are loving invitations to stop and turn before it is too late. Belshazzar's ‘Banksy’ reminds us: Read the warning. Recognise the danger. Respond to God.

The God who warns us also welcomes us back. For in Christ Jesus, the Word became flesh, and the Way back to God was opened.

Revd Michael Hogg