The Kings of the South and the North
11:1 “And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
2 “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.
5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported1 her in those times.
7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.
10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 11 Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years2 he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.
14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,3 but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed,4 he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 23 And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 24 Without warning he shall come into the richest parts5 of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. 26 Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed. 28 And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.
29 “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. 30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.
36 “And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. 37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.6
40 “At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack7 him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train. 44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.
Footnotes
[1] 11:6
Or obtained
[2] 11:13Hebrew at the end of the times
[3] 11:17Hebrew her, or it
[4] 11:18The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
[5] 11:24Or among the richest men
[6] 11:39Or land as payment
[7] 11:40Hebrew thrust at (ESV)
Author: SFJ Bible
Daniel’s Terrifying Vision of a Man
10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. And the word was true, and it was a great conflict.1 And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision.
2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. 3 I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river (that is, the Tigris) 5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed,2 and I retained no strength. 9 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.
10 And behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, 14 and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.”
15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute. 16 And behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. 17 How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.”
18 Again one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. 19 And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince.
Footnotes
[1] 10:1
Or and it was about a great conflict
[2] 10:8Hebrew My splendor was changed to ruin (ESV)
Daniel’s Prayer for His People
9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us,1 by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord,2 make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
Gabriel Brings an Answer
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.
The Seventy Weeks
24 “Seventy weeks3 are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.4 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again5 with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its6 end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,7 and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
Footnotes
[1] 9:12
Or our judges who judged us
[2] 9:17Hebrew for the Lord’s sake
[3] 9:24Or sevens; also twice in verse 25 and once in verse 26
[4] 9:24Or thing, or one
[5] 9:25Or there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again
[6] 9:26Or His
[7] 9:27Or seven; twice in this verse (ESV)
Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat
8:1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. 2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in Susa the citadel, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was at the Ulai canal. 3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
5 As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then the goat became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.
9 Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. 10 It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And some of the host and some1 of the stars it threw down to the ground and trampled on them. 11 It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression,2 and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me,3 “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
The Interpretation of the Vision
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.”
18 And when he had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the goat4 is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his5 nation, but not with his power. 23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great—but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many. And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but by no human hand. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.”
27 And I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it.
Footnotes
[1] 8:10
Or host, that is, some
[2] 8:12Or in an act of rebellion
[3] 8:14Hebrew; Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate to him
[4] 8:21Or the shaggy goat
[5] 8:22Theodotion, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew a (ESV)
Categories
Going Deeper
Going Deeper
Daniel 3-7 (6.16.18)
In Daniel chapter 3, we encounter one of my favorite Old Testament stories. There are so many layers and lessons here that it truly blesses me again and again. Let’s dive into the testimony of three guys named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel 3:14 (NIV) says, “Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?’”
King Nebuchadnezzar had built a 90-foot statue of gold and placed it in the city center with orchestras surrounding it. His command on the people was when they heard the music, they had to stop what they were doing and bow down to it. If they didn’t do this, they were thrown into the blazing furnace to die.
The statue is never given a name or specific description, but what we do know is the Babylonian culture worshiped many gods. King Neb himself refers to this, as he lays out consequences for those who “do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up.”
The Hebrew word in the NIV translation “or” is also used as the word “by.”
It makes sense here. In other words, Neb is saying there are consequences if the people don’t serve his (many) gods by worshiping the image of gold he has set up.
The statue is meant to represent many gods. It represents the diversity and plurality of the city.
What he is really saying here is, “I am not asking you to just worship my gods instead of your God. I am just asking you to worship our gods in addition to your god.”
In other words, “If you are going to make it in our land, in this pluralistic city of Babylon, you must embrace the diversity and capitulate to it by joining us in our pluralistic worship.”
What we have to see is this pressure is on us as well in our modern culture. We, too, are pressed by the culture to not just tolerate other ideas and beliefs or lifestyles; we are charged by the culture to embrace the many roads people might choose.
This is a direct attack on God’s command to not have any other gods before Him.
It is a direct attack on the exclusivity of Christ, who claims that He is the only way, truth, and life.
In our passage today, we see that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had none of it.
Now, we assume that because they stood so strong against the cultural pressure that they must have been like the Amish–set out and removed from the city life.
But they weren’t. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all lived in the center of the city and worked for the very leaders that conquered them. Daniel was one of the highest advisors to Neb there (much like Joseph was to Pharaoh as the one interpreting his dreams).
They were doing what Jeremiah 29 said the people should do, which was to work for the city, invest in the city, and love the city, so they could minister to the city.
But when they were asked to privatize their faith and to compromise their worship of the one, true God, they said, “NO, and we don’t care what the consequences are.”
Read Daniel 3:16-18 again.
Their response in the face of pending painful death is awesome.
-They believe that God can save them.
-They believe that God will save them.
-But if in His sovereign plan He does not, they still will not bow down to that false image.
This is an awesome example of true devotion and faith.
Despite the level of threat, and despite the ability and authority of the ruler they are conversing with to carry out their penalty for disobeying, they hold fast full of faith and devotion to God alone.
Now, what is so key in this that we must see here today is they are saying, “We do not trust in our God, worship our God, live for our God, suffer for our God because of what we get out of it, but simply for who He is.”
We love God for Himself! Not just for what He can give us!
This unveils for us one of the biggest controversies we have in modern Christianity today:
People who claim faith and devotion to God alone, and people who claim to worship God alone, but in the end, when life doesn’t go the way they want it to, they are furious with God.
WHY? Because deep down, God was just the means to an end–A greater affection of the heart.
In the end, they want to be God and determine what they need or the way it should be according to themselves.
Do you see the deception in that? The hypocrisy?
Do you know what you are truly devoted to? What you truly trust in to live and enjoy life?
The core of our sin is to long for anything other than God, or worse, to use Him to get to the thing we really want. And when the fire comes, when life the way you like it hits a screeching halt, that is when you truly find out if you are devoted to God or if you see God as needing to be devoted to you.
True worship is for a God who is worth it in and of Himself and not for what He has done for us.
If God Himself determines I must go into the blazing furnace, then so be it. WHY? HOW?
Because I have God. Because God is my end! TO LIVE IS CHRIST! To die is gain, because I get to enjoy and feast with Christ all the more.
Do you see that when these three said, “If God doesn’t save us from the fire, we still will not bow down”? NO matter what happens next, they have already won! WHY?
Because they are spiritually FIREPROOF. They are not clinging to something that they might lose. They are not trying to earn something they still need. They have God. They are satisfied in GOD!
These guys said, “You can have it all, but you can’t separate us from God. So, turn the heat up. Let’s do this!”
What happens next? King Neb is furious with these three. He is steaming. So, what does he do?
He has his men turn up the heat seven times its normal temperature and has them bound fully clothed and tossed in. The fire is so hot that the men who put them in it die from the heat!!!!
Next, King Neb sees two shocking things:
- He sees Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking around in the blazing furnace.
- He sees not three, but four men in the fire. The fourth he says “looks like a son of the gods.”
What can we glean from here? In the Bible, furnaces are a metaphor for trials, suffering, and trouble.
Exile doesn’t mean comfort. It doesn’t mean HOME!
When you are in captivity or stuck in a strange and foreign land, you are not comfortable at HOME!
A few things to take away here:
- While in this life, you will suffer, struggle, and experience great trials! It is inevitable.
Job 5:7 (NIV) says, “… man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.”
1 Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
As Americans, we really struggle with fully accepting this. No other country in the world thinks like we do when it comes to this. Americans deep down believe if you do life right, you will not and should not suffer. We think, “I have lived a good life. Why should I suffer?”
The simple answer to that is Jesus lived a perfect life, and He suffered greatly during His life and in His death.
We need to hold to the truth the apostle Paul gives us: “… the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18)
- If you truly trust in God and hold nothing as more valuable than Him, then WHEN the fire of this life comes, you will not burn up; instead, it will be to you what FIRE is to GOLD.
It will refine you at your very core, changing you from the inside out. The fire will produce in you a character–the Fruit of the Spirit that you and I cannot produce ourselves.
But, if you hold onto something as more valuable to you than God, the fire will consume you.
Why? Because it has something to cling to and consume! But in God, you cannot be consumed by the fiery trials. You will instead be refined!
1 Peter 1:7 … the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This allows us to embrace our exile position in this time and in this land.
It allows us to not only endure suffering when it comes, but to joyfully embrace it!
Why? Because we see how in God’s grip, suffering refines us for His perfect purposes!
God says, “If you trust in me, I will walk with you in the furnace of your trials and suffering.”
Isaiah 43:1-3 “… Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
… when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior …”
“I will be with you.” Jesus said it to us before ascending to heaven: “I will always be with you.”
How is He with us? The same way He was with the three men in the furnace.
Once again, we see in this encounter the appearance of THE ANGEL OF THE LORD.
Did you catch it? Neb said it himself in verse 28.
Verse 28 (NIV) says, “Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him …’”
In the Bible, there are angels of God who come with words from Him, and in the Old Testament there is also THE ANGEL OF THE LORD.
Distinct from the rest, the angel of the Lord in the Old Testament can be appreciated only if we understand him as a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ Himself.
Why is this good news to you and me today?
How does this help us walk through the fires and trials and struggles of our lives here and now?
You will feel Jesus Christ walking with you through the furnaces you face in this life–.
To the degree you know that Jesus was willingly thrown into the ultimate furnace for you!
Jonathan Edwards, years ago, wrote a sermon where he talked about this as he walked through the New Testament passage regarding Jesus in His last hours praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Do you remember Jesus was sweating drops of blood?
Edwards says, “The thing that Christ’s mind was so full of at that time was a near view of the furnace of wrath, into which he was to be cast; it was the dread which his human nature had of that dreadful cup of wrath, which was vastly more terrible than Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace.”
The gospel of Jesus Christ that changes everything if you repent and trust your entire life to Him is this: Because of our sin–because time and time again we bow down to the idols of this world and make our lives about us and not about GOD–you and I deserve to be cast away from God and to lose the pure joy and satisfaction that it is to KNOW Him.
Here is the truth: It is pure joy and satisfaction to know Him, and it is pure agony and suffering to be apart from Him.
It’s a fiery furnace.
The good news that everything is built on, the One whose name every story whispers, is His name–Jesus.
God in flesh came and was thrown into the blazing hot furnace of God’s perfect wrath that we deserve.
He does this for those whom God awakens to this good news. Maybe He is doing this right now in your soul. For those who hear of this gift of immeasurable proportions that Jesus died to take on our deserved wrath, this is the good news that sets us FREE.
This is the good news we stand on to walk confidently through this life and its furnaces.
This is the One who walks with us and sustains us unto victory into eternal life no matter how this life goes.
Now at the very end of this passage, Neb says it right. Verse 29 (NIV) says, “… no other god can save in this way.”
If you cling to any self-righteousness, any other God, any other power and try to walk through the furnace, it will not be able to save or sustain you. You will be forever consumed with agony.
Jesus Christ suffered for me, not that I might not suffer, but so when I suffer, I might become like Him who is victorious over suffering unto eternal LIFE with Yahweh! “… no other god can save in this way.” AMEN.
By His grace and for His glory,
-Shepherd
Soldiers for Jesus MC