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heart set against

Daniel 11:20-28 (JDV)

Daniel 11:20 “In his place, one will take a stand who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger or in battle.
Daniel 11:21 “In his place, a despised person will take a stand; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
Daniel 11:22 A flood of military forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince.
Daniel 11:23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act as a traitor. He will rise to power with a small nation.
Daniel 11:24 During a time of peace, he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a while.
Daniel 11:25 “With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him.
Daniel 11:26 Those who eat his provisions will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.
Daniel 11:27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.
Daniel 11:28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land.

heart set against

It was Antiochus IV whose heart was set against the holy covenant. On his way back home from plundering Egypt, he stopped to deal with a small insurrection in Palestine. His “action” was overkill. He murdered 80,000 men, women, and children, and that small insurrection grew into the mighty Maccabean revolt.

Sometimes our solutions to our problems are so unwise that they end up causing bigger problems. We need to seek God’s solutions.