05/30/2024 – God Measures Twice
Daniel 5: 24 “Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. 25 “And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”[s] 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
On God’s appointed day, king Belshazzar decided to use the sacred for his pleasure. This is the worst decision a person can make. The sacred belongs to God alone.
During their feasting, a hand appeared and revealed God’s judgment. Now, all scripture is inspired by God. But when revelation is given in a way to indicate direct writing by the hand of God, we must pay special attention. There are only two times in the Bible where this happens. There is no grossest miscalculation than to think that the instruments of glory are for our glorification. In its writing, God revealed how He determines the value of everything. This revelation must enable us also to appreciate the sacred in the way that God values the sacred.
MENE MENE. The first word, MENE, is repeated. It means NUMBER, and it is used in the sense of using numbers to measure. We tend not to like numbers. I think we are afraid of their unique ability to tell the truth. We may be afraid to check the exact balance on our credit card, or our checking account. But God loves numbers. He created them. Think about the amount and complexity of math required to design and run the universe. Man is proud of getting people to the moon. God created the moon and keeps it orbiting the earth from the creation of the world!
If anyone does not need to count twice, it is our God. But He counts twice. This is a common saying in carpentry. If you have attempted unskillfully to make something, you have probably learned why you must measure twice. This is true beyond the making of a cabinet. In life, measure everything twice. Measure the material worth, and more importantly, the spiritual worth. Measure the spiritual worth of time, of money. There is a potential that is much greater than the market estimates. It is the potential of the glory of God. God measures time twice. First, He measures time chronologically. From the beginning, God created the day and the night to mark the passage of time. He knows exactly the number of your days. But then He measures time in terms of the accomplishment of His purpose. That is the real meaning of time.