Daniel 11:7 In the place of the king of the South, a branch from her root will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and strengthen himself. Daniel 11:8 He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, Daniel 11:9 who will enter the domain of the king of the South but then return to his own land.
Euergetes
Ptolemy III invaded Antioch and took some Syrian idols, along with Egyptian idols that had been taken by Camyses in 524 B.C. He returned those idols to Egypt, thereby earning the title Euergetes (Benefactor). If the Egyptians only knew the bondage they were under by following those false gods, they would have refused the gift. They should have said that he could keep those worthless “gods.”
Daniel 11:5 “The king of the South will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will grow more powerful and will rule a kingdom greater than his. Daniel 11:6 After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father, and the one who supported her during those times.
he knows the details
The details of this prophecy so match the future history it predict6s that many have been convinced that it was written after the fact. But with God, all of our history is known before it happens. We can take comfort that the God who promises a future restoration of all things is well aware of everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. He knows the details. We can trust him to keep his promises.
Daniel 11:1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to strengthen and protect him.) Daniel 11:2 Now I will tell you the truth. “Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. Through the power he gains by means of his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. Daniel 11:3 Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants. Daniel 11:4 But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of the sky, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.
greatness and control
None of the four generals who inherited the Macedonian empire were descendants of Alexander the Great. His death led to the uprooting of his kingdom. It does not matter how great you are — or how great you think you are. You cannot control the future.
Daniel 10:18 Then the one who looked like Adam touched me again and strengthened me. Daniel 10:19 He said, “Don’t be afraid, you who are treasured by God. Peace to you; be very strong!” As he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, because you have strengthened me.” Daniel 10:20 He said, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? I must return immediately to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come. Daniel 10:21 However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth. (No one has the courage to support me against those princes except Michael, your prince.
strengthened to listen
Those of us who have grown up in Sunday School are not used to thinking of God’s word as requiring strength just to listen to it. But the longer we dig the well, the deeper the water it reaches. There are some truths that take a lot of digging, and they are not easy to hear. Some of the things we learn are the results of battles in the heavenly realms.
LORD, give us strength to learn the hard truths, as well as the easy ones.
Daniel 10:15 While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless. Daniel 10:16 Suddenly one who looked like Adam touched my lips. I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, “My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless. Daniel 10:17 How can someone like me, your servant, speak with someone like you, my lord? Now I have no strength, and there is no breathing in me.”
speechless
Daniel had consistently prayed to God all his life. But when he heard the words of this “Lord” speaking to him, he was speechless until empowered to speak. If you and I knew the potential behind our prayers, we would need divine power to pray them. God has given us such a responsibility.
Daniel 10:10 Suddenly, a hand touched me and set me shaking on my hands and knees. Daniel 10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, because I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling. Daniel 10:12 “Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he said to me, “because from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your prayers were heard. I have come because of your prayers. Daniel 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:14 Now I have come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision refers to those days.”
treasured by God
Oh, to be a man or woman treasured by God! Angels will fight battles with demons for days over you. Things will be revealed to you that defy the mind of a genius. Ask nothing more of this life than to be valued by your creator.
Daniel 10:1 In the third year of King Cyrus of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar. The message was true and was about a great conflict. He understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. Daniel 10:2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks. Daniel 10:3 I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil on my body until the three weeks were over. Daniel 10:4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, Daniel 10:5 I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. Daniel 10:6 His body was like beryl, his face like the brilliance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. Daniel 10:7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision. The men who were with me did not see it, but a great terror fell on them, and they ran and hid. Daniel 10:8 I was left alone, looking at this great vision. No strength was left in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless. Daniel 10:9 I heard the words he said, and when I heard them I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.
I was powerless
Barnes writes “It is certain that such visions as those which appeared to Daniel and John would have this effect; and, though we are not to expect that they will now be vouchsafed to men, no one can doubt that there may be such views of God, and heaven, and eternal realities presented to the eye of faith and hope; such joy in the evidence of pardoned sin; such a change from a sense of condemnation to the peace resulting from forgiveness, that the powers of the body may be prostrated, and sink from exhaustion. Indeed, it is not much of the revelation of the divine character that in our present state we can bear” (421).
God’s character is like an active volcano. It is easier to study it from a great distance because getting closer can be dangerous. Oh, but we need to get closer. We need the power of his presence, even if it renders us powerless.
Barnes Albert. Notes Critical Illustrative and Practical on the Book of Daniel with an Introductory Dissertation. Leavitt & Allen 1861.
Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city – to bring the rebellion to an end, to put a stop to sin, to atone for iniquity, to bring in permanent righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the holiest place. Daniel 9:25 Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an Anointed One, the ruler, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat but in difficult times. Daniel 9:26 After those sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the coming ruler will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come with a flood, and until the end, there will be war; desolations are decreed. Daniel 9:27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”
The seventy weeks of years were fulfilled in history from 458 BC to 30 AD. We are not waiting for a phantom 70th week to be fulfilled after Christ’s return. We are now waiting for the one who put a stop to sacrifice and offering and will return to take his place as the permanent king.
Daniel 9:20 While I was speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before Yahveh my God concerning the holy mountain of my God – Daniel 9:21 while I was praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the first vision, reached me in my extreme weariness, about the time of the evening offering. Daniel 9:22 He gave me this explanation: “Daniel, I’ve come now to give you understanding. Daniel 9:23 At the beginning of your petitions an answer went out, and I have come to give it, because you are treasured by God. So consider the message and understand the vision:
an answer went out
An answer to Daniel’s prayer had gone out as soon as he started praying, but he did not receive that answer until later. We often don’t know why there is a delay in God answering our cries for help. But more often than not, it takes a while before we see the answers we seek. Our God is teaching us to trust him.
Our Father in heaven has demonstrated patient love by not immediately administering justice and pouring out his wrath on us. He is looking for children who will demonstrate this same patient love in our prayer lives. Daniel demonstrated this trait. By the time Gabriel visited him, he had become extremely weary. But he was still praying.
Daniel 9:16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and your people have become an object of ridicule to all those around us. Daniel 9:17 Therefore, our God, hear the prayer and the petitions of your servant. Make your face shine on your desolate sanctuary for Yahveh’s sake. Daniel 9:18 Listen closely, my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion. Daniel 9:19 Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and act! My God, for your own sake, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name.
his abundant compassion
The heart of the gospel is that God’s compassion seeks us. Daniel recognized that God’s abundant compassion was the only hope to restore Jerusalem. We need to realize that his abundant compassion is the only hope for our restoration as well.
Devotions 