Hi all, sit back and relax. Have a drink of something, and lets have some Halloween Menē History storytime.
Belshazzar's Feast, the story of the writing on the wall (chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel) tells how Belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the First Temple.
What's the First Temple? You might ask. Well, quite simply it was the first one. Also known as Solomon's Temple. And just like the Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog song....they had some "mighty fine wine"....and of course, some incredible gold.
Some facts about the First Temple: In 589 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege to Jerusalem, culminating in the destruction of the city and its temple in the summer of 587 or 586 BC. (Yeah...BC years run backwards...odd)
And for all of you Bryan Adams fans out there "The Summer of 587 BC" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
So anyway old Belshazzar got his hands on some of that looted hooch from the siege of the First Temple. He held a big party for 1,000 of his Lords. Needless to say that wine had time to age and was probably even better.
This is where the party went South. You've all been to that party, when things just get out of control and you know you should have already been gone.
A DISEMBODIED HAND SHOWED UP and started writing on the wall. Yep. True story.
Eyewitness Account: "What had happened was...we were all just drinkin' an this hand was floating around, writing stuff..."
This is where I would have just jumped in my chariot and swerved on home. Ain't nobody got time for all that.
It wrote some things that our drunk friend Belshazzar could not understand (Mene).
מנא מנא תקל ופרסין
So he asked all of his best "diviners" and magicians to figure this phrase out. They were all stumped.
So he did the only logical thing and called up the Queen. She told him to grab Daniel (remember the lions?) because he had a lot of knowledge and wisdom.
He grabs Daniel and promises him some purple clothes (Royalty) and a big old honkin' pure gold chain (probably like the one that's out of stock now on the Menē site) as well as 3rd place in his Kingdom...if he could just figure out
"the handwriting that was on the wall".
Yes, this is where our modern phrase originated.
Daniel reads the words "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN" and interprets them for the king: "MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed ... and found wanting;" and "PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
Daniel turned down that offer of purple clothing, a big gold chain, and 3rd rank in his Kingdom. For obvious reasons. This guy had just been told his days were numbered and a floating hand showed up to let him know!
That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean (Babylonian) king was killed, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom.
So, the moral of our story. You figure it out....
Don't do things that are obviously bad? Don't wait for a Disembodied Hand to tell you to invest in gold? Don't drink ancient alcohol stolen from a Temple?
Or maybe it's simply pay attention to the handwriting on the wall...the impending danger. Act on it now, while you still can.
Live a good life. Do the things that you know are right. Work hard and earn your wealth the honest way. Save that wealth by accumulating real assets every chance that you get, to preserve the buying power of your dollar.