The Holly chieftain., 1922-07-13
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Si11gldaySchool .
' Lesson '
(By REV. p B. FlTZwATER. D. D..
Teacher of EnglInh Bible In the Moody
Bible Institute OF ChicagoJ
Copyright 1873 Wsstern Newspaper Uniop
LESSON FOR JULY is
THE HANDWRITING ON THE
WALL.


GOLDEN TEXT-God will bring every
work into judgment, with every secret
thing. whether it be good. or whether II
be evil.-Eccl. 12:li
REFERENCE MATERIAL-Gen. 1851
2s: Exod. 14:2i-3l; Ezek. 3l:l-A; Acts II:
1923
PRIMARY ToPIC-Danie Tells the
King of His Wrong-Doing.
JUNIOR YOPIc-Belshazzars Feast
and Fate
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Judgment Against King Alcohol.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
How to Enforce the Judgment Against
Strong Drink.
I. eeishazzar's Impious Feast wv.
1-4).
1. Who attended (vv. 1, 2). Bel
shazxar, his wife and concubines and
a thousand of his lords.
2. Behavior thereat (vv. 3, A..
"a They drank wine; they engaged
In revelry. (2) They committed sac
rilege. In their drunken revelrg they
drank wine out of the sacred vessels
which had been taken out of the
temple, of the house Of God, which
was ut Jerusalem. When men are un-
der the influence of intoxicating
liquors they lose all regard for sacred
things. (3) They worshlped idols.
They prayed to gods of gold and Of sill
yer. of brass, of iron, wood anG stone.
II. The Handwriting on the Wall
wv. 5-16).
/. The time of ". 81. 1t occurred
in the same hour in which they were
engaged in their drunken revelry.
2. The effect upon the king ". 81.
He was greatly disturbed; he was
seized with CONSERVATION. "The joints
of his loins were loosed and his knees
| smote one against another"
3. The kings behavior (vv. 7-16).
ny He called forth astrologers and
soothsayers, offering rewards of gold
and position ". 7-9). Their utter in
ability to interpret the writing left
the king even worse perplexed.
(2) Daniel brought at the suggestion
of the queen wv. 1910. The queen
here was perhaps the wife Of Nebu-
chadnezzar who remembered Daniels
service in Interpreting his dream. For
| that reason he was sent for and prom
ised great reward.
III. Daniel lnterprets the Writing
| wv. 1928.
!. Daniels address to the king wv.
17-24). He brushes aside his prom
ised gifts ". 10. He would not have
his speech limited by the kings gifts.
2. The Interpretation of the writing
| (vv. 25-2s). (D Meme" means mum
horoJv fy ORN aGod hath vunharad
thy kingdom and finished It," (2) ''Te-
ker' means weighed" ". 27). Thou
| art weighed in the balances, and art
found wanting" (3) "Peres" means
"divided" ". 2S). "Thy Kingdom is
divided, and given to the Medes and
Persians.'
~. The judgment Executed wv.
29-31).
In that night was Belshazzar slain
and Darius the Medean took the king
dom.
The Chaldean dynasty ended with
Belshazzar. So we may interpret this
whole scene as pointing to the con-
ditlOns at the close of the times of
the Gentlles and as adumbrating the
prevailing conditions. Let us note:
]. The stupidity OF men. They, like
people today, would not learn by ex-
ample. Nebuchadnezzar's fate should
have deferred Belshazzar from such
| frivolity.
g The magnificent splendor. This
great feast was characterized by
pomp. display, parade. How. charac-
| teristlc of this age!
g. Luxury The famous hanging
gardens of Babylon were notewor-
| thy example. Signs Of luxury today
ere on every hand.
| 4. Licentiousness. The king with his
wives and concubnes. This Is noto-
riously prevalent today.
S. Blasphemous sacrAege. And may
not the sacrilege of today be in ex-
;ess of theirs, expressing itself in Q)
n profession of religion for pecuniary
gain, social and political preferment
(2) use of the pulpit and of the min
istry for display and notoriety, even
for the propagation Of false doctrine;
| CD uniting with the church, attend
ing the communion, 50 as to cover up
secret sins; az the use Of the Word
of God to give point TO Il joke; 90 de-
nying that the Bible is Gods Word,
making it book of errors, myths and
legends; (G sneering at the Virgin
birth, repudiating Christ's deity and
setting aside His vlcariOus atonement.
8. Drunken carousals. The hand.
writing is on the wall. God will not
endure this forever; His judgment
shall fall Conditions in the world
Indicate that the time is drawing
near. Are you ready?