The Book of Daniel 5: 1-31

Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. Then the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together... Then Daniel answered and said before the king, "Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father... Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified... Now this is the inscription that was written out: 'MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN.' This is the interpretation of the message: 'MENĒ'—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. 'TEKĒL'—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. 'PERĒS'—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians." That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. (Daniel 5:1-31, NASB)

Sermon Summary
On Sunday, Pastor Russell Johnson explored Daniel 5 by opening with sentimental coffee mugs to illustrate what happens "when you use a coffee mug that is important to God, in the wrong way"—specifically, "what happens when we make something common that God has deemed Holy." The sermon introduced Belshazzar, who threw a massive feast and ordered the sacred vessels from Jerusalem's temple to be brought out so "the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines" could drink from them while praising false gods. Pastor Russell emphasized the gravity of this mockery by noting that these vessels were consecrated and that "outsiders" touching them warranted death in the Law. When a disembodied hand appeared writing on the wall, Belshazzar became terrified—"pale, scared, knees knocking, and may have lost his bowels"—and his advisors once again failed to interpret the message. Daniel, who had been "forgotten" after decades of faithful service, was finally summoned and boldly told the king "Keep your gifts for yourself," then delivered a scathing rebuke: "Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this" about Nebuchadnezzar's humbling. Pastor Russell unpacked how Belshazzar was "not ignorant" but "insolent" in treating holy vessels as "common Tupperware," asking us to examine how we treat holy things like marriage, the Bible, and people as common. The writing on the wall—"MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN"—pronounced judgment: God had numbered, weighed, and divided Belshazzar's kingdom, and "that same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain," demonstrating that "pride leads to devastating falls" while "humility is the character quality God desires."