Daily Devotions
9/21/26 Daniel 5,6; Psalms 130; Luke 3 These texts form a theological arc moving from divine judgment through penitential hope to the announcement of redemption—each addressing humanity’s condition before God and the response required. Daniel 5 depicts Belshazzar’s sacrilege: a Babylonian king desecrates sacred temple vessels by using them for pagan worship and drunken revelry. A disembodied hand writes judgment on the palace wall, terrifying the king ( Dan 5–6 ). His wise men cannot interpret the inscription ( Dan 5–6 ). Daniel alone deciphers the message—that God has numbered Belshazzar’s kingdom and found it wanting. The narrative illustrates how human pride and sacrilege provoke divine judgment. Psalm 130 responds to this condition with lament and hope. The psalmist cries from the depths, asking who could stand if God counted sins. Yet forgiveness exists with God so that He may be revered ( Ps 130 ). The psalmist waits for the Lord more intensely than watchmen await morning (...