epcblog: July 2008

Hosea 4

The Lord has something to say to His people Israel through the prophet Hosea. Though they may have forgotten long ago about His Word, He has not forgotten, and He brings a charge against them for their violation of His covenant. The problem is certainly a problem of behavior, which is spoken of here as a lack of love, but that lack of love proceeds from a lack of the knowledge of God. Though everyone knows God in some sense, what is meant here is a lack of reverence and awe for God that shows an ignorance of the One who is Lord of all and who especially is Lord of His people. From that root of spiritual ignorance springs all kinds of horrific sin. Because of this ignorance and wickedness, the people of God, and even the land and all the creatures that live within the borders of Israel, are damaged somehow by the unrighteousness of the people.

This devastating spiritual ignorance is presented as the fault not only of the people at large, but especially of the priests that have a responsibility to teach the Law of God and the prophets that should be bringing the Word of the Lord to Israel. Even if prophet and priest were to do their divine tasks with true faithfulness, it could be that the people would refuse to hear the teaching and the preaching that they would present to them. Yet if the priests will not teach the Law, and the prophets will not speak the truth of the Lord’s warnings and the encouragements of His promises, then these men are especially responsible for the destruction of Israel.

It is not that the religious leaders and the people of Israel were not spiritual. They inquired of wooden idols, and were led astray by the worship of false gods. They had set up high places for their rituals and they offered sacrifices in many locations that they had decided were holy. The people of Israel are spoken of here as brides and daughters that commit adultery, but the priestly leaders are as husbands who go after cult prostitutes. Because of these wandering husbands the people have become as those without understanding, and they shall come to ruin.

The time of Israel as a nation is almost over. At the end of this chapter her sister to the south, Judah, is indirectly warned. She must not follow in the same idolatrous way as Israel, also called “Ephraim” here. There comes a point when it is necessary to recognize that the nation to the north is utterly joined to idols. She is spoken of as hopelessly committed to one excess after another. They are led by rulers who are said to dearly love shame. Therefore, it is not safe for the godly to have contact with them.

He could not do this by ignoring the other provisions of the Law. If He was to become a sacrifice that could work true blessing for the wayward, it would have to be through the pathway of complete obedience to God’s wonderful commandments. This He did for us, and then He displayed the Lord’s covenant faithfulness to His true Israel by taking the righteous curse of the covenant upon Himself. The destruction of the nation of Israel by foreign powers was nothing compared to the curse that Christ took for the elect. He faced our hell and was victorious over it, atoning for our sins, and eliminating our frightful debt.

Now when we hear the warnings of the prophets concerning our unfaithfulness, by the power of a new wind of the spirit of God, we can be cut to the heart, and repent. Every unfaithfulness and weakness that we have in this life will not magically be removed. Sanctification is a tough battle and our victory now is partial at best. Yet the perfection of the Lord’s atonement requires that the perfect day will in fact come. This is our hope. It is far better than any nation that the world could offer us in the present age of disappointment.

Hosea 3

It is one thing for a prophet to give a speech to others about the redeeming love of God. It is quite another for him to model that love with actions. Hosea was told here to take the message of restoration between God as husband and Israel as His wayward wife, and to live that out in his own marital relationship. His wife was an adulteress woman. She was loved by another man, just as Israel was in the spiritual embrace of idolatry and worldliness. As the Lord continued to love Israel despite her waywardness, Hosea was to truly love his wife Gomer.

Hosea did this. In order to get his wife back, he actually had to face the humiliation of paying for her. Why would he have to buy her? Apparently she had somehow been sold into slavery. When the people of God leave their true love and give themselves over to false gods, they become slaves of things that are not divine. Because of this condition, if we are to be free, we must first be purchased by our Redeemer. The price would be much more than silver and barley. The cost would be measured in righteous blood.

Gomer was told that abiding with Hosea would mean that she could not be intimate with other men. Sometimes we are so stuck in our pathways of slavery that the Lord’s instruction to us must be very plain and explicit. It apparently is not enough for us to know that we should live with God. We also need to be told that loving the Lord means that we cannot worship other gods. The Lord is not open-minded on this point. He is delightfully committed to us as His bride, and He will not tolerate our wandering ways.

The encouragement that Hosea gives to his bride is the same one that Jesus gives to His disciples before He ascends into heaven. He tells them, “I will be with you.” This is what Moses insisted upon when the children of Israel were to go into the Promised Land. We are also on a journey, and our destination is better than the land of Canaan. Yet our pathway may take us through some rough terrain. We need the Lord’s presence now, and we need the assurance that where we are going, there He also will be. If He is not there with us, how can it be heaven?

As Hosea had been without his wife for some period of time, there would be a long time when Israel would be without their normal life with the Lord. They would have no king or active dynasty. They would have no system of divine sacrifice or the old places of religious worship. They would have no assistance from their accustomed tools of spiritual guidance or religious ceremonies. This is not to suggest that the kings, the shrines, or the sacraments that Israel had become used to over the centuries of her wayward life were authorized by God. It is just to say that her civil and religious props would be gone. She would not be a sovereign nation, or even an organized spiritual entity. This would be part of the Lord’s discipline of His bride.

Despite the fact that we still wander away from Him and have a continual need to confess our sins and repent, He does not speak of us as some unclean prostitute. He says that we will be a glorious bride. Despite your own sense of shame and guilt, despite the fact that you cannot imagine that there would be any good news left for you, Jesus really does love you. He gave the fruit of all His righteous labor for you and then He paid for your redemption with something more precious than silver or gold. He knows that you are His rich inheritance. Do not fight against Him. Do not go running off after some other gods. Stay with Him, and be fruitful. He will never leave you. The fact is that He really does love you.

Hosea 2

Restoration is a most beautiful gift. Those who have been called “not my people” long to hear the words from the Lord, “You are my people.” Those who think that they may have been cut off from all divine mercy long to hear, “You have received mercy.” We speak these good words to one another as brothers and sisters in the family of God, and look for the day when restoration is so obvious that it will be seen in the renewal of even the land all around us. For now, we must hear God’s word of mercy and believe, and take our places together as those who worship the Lord with renewed hearts, knowing the Lord to be merciful and forgiving.

If we want the forgiveness that comes from the God of the Scriptures, we must also hear what He has said concerning the sin of His people. Israel was an unfaithful bride, and the children she gave birth to, did not show the marks of the Lord, her husband. They resembled the foreign lovers of this false woman. The warning comes here from God. Israel will be publicly exposed, and she will suffer greatly. She will yet hope in her lovers, the gods of the nations that she turned to for prosperity. She believed that the blessings that she had in the past came to her as a result of her appeals to these local deities. The true God will make it harder for her to go chasing after these others, and He will take away her ease and plenty in the hope that she will return again to Him who is her first husband. Will she remember that there were better days for her when she followed the Lord more faithfully? Will she come back home again?

The story of the unfaithfulness of Israel is a sad one. She does not seem to know how many blessings have come to her from the God’s hands, things she thought came from Baal, things she used in her worship of this false god. The Lord will not put up with this anymore. There will be no one who can stop Him when He comes to discipline this disgraceful nation. There will be great desolation upon her lands. Her festivals will be no more. She made herself beautiful for the Baals, and she forgot the Lord Her husband. The Lord would not allow this to continue.

Will the Lord’s purposes then utterly fail because of the disgrace of His people? No, amazingly He speaks here of a future time of great blessing, and of a process of wooing back His bride. He will allure her back to the place of their courtship. He will speak tenderly to her. He will give her great gifts and somehow overturn a place of destruction, making it into a new door of hope. There is a confidence expressed here that Israel will return to the Lord, calling Him her Husband again, and never mentioning the Baals. This great day of blessing is something that could never spring from her faithlessness and rebellion. It is God who will do this, somehow changing His bride through His kind affections.

This future day of covenant blessing is ultimately beyond the normal range of experience that we have in this current age. It will involve a change, not only in the heart of the Lord’s bride, but even in the entire natural world all around us. This will be something new for the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, even the insects that crawl along the ground. The life of grasping for the property of others, and the warfare that springs from that covetous root will be utterly gone, so that weapons will be abolished from the land, for they will no longer be necessary. There will be no more falling away from the love of the Lord, for His people will have an eternal betrothal to Him. There will be no more sin, oppression, hatred, and betrayal. God will bring us a new day of righteousness and love that will never end.

This is what God has done for us in the provision of His Son. This is what the cross has accomplished. There is no magic in a piece of wood. It is the Man who suffered on the tree that paid the price. No other man could have done what He did for us. He took His wife’s unfaithfulness upon Himself on that great and horrifying day. He showed us what it means to be a Husband. He died for us, yet He did this with the power of an indestructible life. Not only the perfect Man, but also perfect God, He both died and rose again. In Him we have a world of blessing. In Him we have an eternity of newness. The price was massive, but it has been paid.

Hosea 1

God has spoken clearly to people for many centuries. He “speaks” through all that He has made, but because of our sinful hearts, we need something more, because we suppress the truth of His majesty in ungodliness, and we will not acknowledge our sins, nor will we worship Him. Because of this He has spoken to people in former days through visions and visitations. He has also caused His Word to be preserved in writing since the days of Moses, so that there could be no doubt concerning His message to us in this confusing sin-filled age. Even in the most bleak times, we can read this Word and be comforted with the truth of the Lord’s great love for us, and His intention to give to us the desires of our hearts. Yet as any great father disciplines His children because he loves them, God disciplines us, and moves us toward the fullness of His blessing for us in the age of resurrection. He has used men like Hosea to record for us the character of His love for His people, so that we would not think of ourselves as unwanted.

In the days of the Old Covenant, God spoke through the prophets, little by little and in various ways. One of the most amazing ways that He has ever spoken was through the life of this man Hosea. He told him to take a wife of whoredom, and to have children with her. Understand that when Hosea obeyed the Lord by taking Gomer, the prophet was playing the part of the covenant-keeping, faithful, and loving God, and Gomer was displaying the false dealings of Israel against her faithful Lord. How can a nation be counted as unfaithful to God? They do this when they have been promised to Him and then turn away from Him and consort with other deities. We are supposed to feel the pain of this situation, and to know something of the character of our God, who loves us despite the despicable way that we have treated Him.

All of this took place during the closing years of the northern kingdom of Israel, when she was about to be taken over by the Assyrian empire. Judah would follow later in her own days of trouble, but our focus here is on the other tribes to the north. Though Judah was in some ways the more faithful of the two lands, this book tells us that God still loved Israel despite her whoredom, a lesson that we will do well to reflect upon when we consider the character of the God who sent His Son to die for sinners.

God’s plans are sure from all eternity, yet they are presented to us through His prophets over time in the language of being more or less settled depending upon the response of His people to His entreaties. In this way, the Lord is honestly pleading with His people, so that we will see that for His part, He has done all He could for them. Yet there comes a time when their fate is presented as certain. That time has come for Israel during the ministry of Hosea. The Lord’s settled determination to punish the dynasty of Jehu, to have no more mercy on the governing authorities of Israel, and to end their existence as a nation is reflected in the very names of Hosea’s children.

Despite this pronouncement, the electing love of the Lord toward His chosen ones is very powerful, so that even at this desperate time He not only renews His covenant promises to His people somehow, but expands them! He indicates that there will be those who were formally called “Not My people” who will now be brought into the household of God. These loved ones from the nations will somehow be considered to be a part of the Jewish people that will soon be no more, not only in the north, but even in the south. Though He will discipline Israel, He will somehow expand Israel, for these new children will be there with the children of Judah and the children of Israel. They will all somehow be a reconstituted nation, under one Head. What a mysterious and wonderful prophesy! What an amazing God we serve who announce His wrath against His people, and in the midst of what will soon be their worst days, speaks with such certainty of the blessings of grace that will come upon them and upon many others in the day of their best blessings.

There has never been a better Man than Jesus Christ. He has suffered greatly for the glory that was set before Him. It was His Father’s good will to set aside some vessels for mercy even from the nations of the world, and to join these children together into one body with descendants of the tribes of Israel. Christ is the Head of that body and the King of a most mysterious kingdom which will soon be born in resurrection glory. We wait for that day as those who have become convinced of the surpassing greatness of the King of the kingdom, who is even to be our faithful Husband. In that day, the sins and weaknesses of His bride will be put away forever in a great burst of resurrection glory, just as surely as the penalty for our sins has been entirely paid for by His death on the cross for His bride.

Prayer based on Exodus 22

Heavenly Father, Your sheep hear Your Son’s voice, and they know Him and follow Him. Thank You for rescuing us, for we were wandering from You in spiritual stupidity. You have sent ministers of the Word to call us back. Those who are themselves sheep of the only true Shepherd have become under-shepherds of our glorious King. We respect the gift of such servants. You are the owner of all things, and You will make all things right in a world full of evil and disappointment. We have been betrothed to Your Son, and our hope in Him is strong and sure. We shall not be left without a future, and even now we possess a present comfort. When we cry out to You, You hear us and You help us. We can trust You with our families and with all of our possessions. You are God, and Your Son loves us with an everlasting love.

Prayer based on Jeremiah 10

God of Truth and Beauty, we will not be fooled by the idolatry of the nations. Their gods are objects made by men. You alone are the Lord, full of wisdom, and speaking words of the most valuable instruction. You are clothed in majesty. You have wrath that we could never endure. You made the earth by Your power and understanding. You control the motions of the clouds, and the lives of human beings. You are the portion of Your people and the Lord of angels. You bring distress upon us when we need the affliction that comes with fatherly discipline. Take away our stupidity. Give us sense. Show us the way of life. Do not correct us in Your anger, or we will be brought to nothing.

Daniel 12

The Book of Daniel is easily split into two sections. The first six chapters recount the story of six events that the Jewish exile Daniel and his companions faced during the time of their service under various rulers. The remaining six chapters contain apocalyptic visions. This brief summary of the book might give the wrong impression that there is little connection between these two sections. That is not the case. Both parts of the book have the same theme: the sovereignty of Almighty God as He moves His people through suffering toward the greatest ultimate victory. Also there are apocalyptic elements in the events in the first six chapters, and there are historical elements in the apocalyptic passages in the second part of the book. We have now come to the final chapter in this second section. It seems appropriate that it would deal with images of that ultimate victory that will come to us through the sovereign power of the Lord.

Along the way we have heard of one “Michael” who is a powerful spiritual being associated with the covenant people of God. We are told in this chapter that He has charge over Daniel’s people. Though Michael shall arise at some point called “that time,” this does not signal immediate painless success. Instead we are told to expect a great time of trouble beyond anyone’s frame of reference. God’s elect people whose names are in His book will be delivered from that trouble. Those whose bodies rest in the grave will be brought back to life. There will be a separation of some who are destined for everlasting life and others destined for everlasting contempt. Those who have served the Lord with wisdom and have turned many to the way of righteousness are particularly noted. All of this goes beyond the days of Antiochus IV or even the Roman Empire. When we are so clearly referring to the general resurrection of the dead can we be talking about anything less than the dividing line between this age and the age to come?

Daniel is told to seal the book until the time of the end. There is something here that will not be revealed, at least at this time. Meanwhile Daniel hears an angelic conversation questioning how long it will be until these wonders take place. An answer is given, but the unit of measurement used is a “time” and the remaining words of description here do not resolve our comprehension difficulties. Though the answer is given in a very solemn way, indicating that the time is sure, there is no adequate explanation of what is being said. Even Daniel, who has been given great gifts by God of interpreting dreams and symbols, is unable to understand the timing and outcome of these things that have been spoken to him. When he asks for more information, he is told to go his way, since the further understanding of these words that he seeks will only become obvious when they are finally fulfilled. They are said to be sealed “until the time of the end.”

Until then, the people of God should do what we are always told to do. We are not cracking the code of a mystery novel. We are hearing the clear word of God and devoting ourselves to following our Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to purify ourselves, remove the blemishes of sin, and understand the will of the Lord to sanctify His whole church. This is what we can understand, and it is what we are supposed to do as God gives us grace. We do not know more than this. Even though we are told of a period of trouble amounting to 1,290 days between the end of the Old Testament sacrificial system and the final time of crisis at some future moment, and even though we read of some kind of vindication after 1,335 days, anyone who gives an authoritative interpretation of these numbers is surely only guessing.

Daniel 11

We continue with this final vision in Daniel which includes chapters 10 through 12. In this eleventh chapter an unidentified heavenly speaker refers to another heavenly power called “Michael.” We find it very hard to comprehend heavenly powers, particularly their impact on the affairs of men. It does seem that the speaker may be superior to Michael, since this speaker is said to have stood up to confirm and strengthen Michael. It seems likely that the messenger is speaking for God Himself, who is the Lord of the heavenly host and the Ruler over all times and places.

The first twenty verses of this chapter are a detailed account of events that would occur over the next three or four centuries in the Persian, Greek, Egyptian, and Roman empires. This is more than simply identifying that the Greeks will be the power that comes against the Persians as we saw in an earlier chapter. Here we have information on the number of rulers in each dynasty, the marriage alliances that will be made, their military campaigns, and their victories and defeats. Even to hear these many items revealed is more than we can hold together in our minds. We have to start making diagrams and use all of our capacities to think about these few sentences of information presented to us here. Consider the greatness of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He decrees all his creatures and all their actions. The only way for any messenger, heavenly or earthly, to know the things listed definitively in these verses is to receive a message from the One who works out all things according to the counsel of His own will.

There had been and would continue to be a great variety of rulers and nations who would flex their muscles in this strategic place of conflict between larger empires. Why does God have so much to say about this one figure from history, Antiochus IV, a man that few beyond biblical commentators would have any interest in at all today? We do well to remember the connection between men and angels that we see in these final chapters of this book. A strange proud figure like Antiochus IV does not stand by himself, and he stands for more than himself. He is an important expression of the antichrist spirit that would come again at various points throughout the current age and will one day find an ultimate expression prior to the return of the Lord. We learn more about that antichrist spirit by the actions of this one man two centuries prior to our Lord’s public ministry. He is a contemptible person who surprisingly slithers into power through flattery. His arsenal of strength seems to go beyond obvious military assets. Somehow he is able to have victory over the might of his enemies. Alliances with him will mean nothing, for he is a liar. Though he has surprising power, it is not unlimited, and it is only for a time. We especially see here that he sets his heart and uses his power against the holy covenant.

In today’s language, the antichrist spirit hates God’s church. He will fool many who forsake the work and worship of the Lord’s church. In his determination to destroy the Lord’s living temple, he will bring about some great abomination in God’s eyes that will trigger the Lord’s defense of His suffering people through God’s mighty power which can easily overwhelm every enemy. There will yet remain a remnant that knows God and stands firm in the truth. That remnant will take action. More than that, the God who knows all these things will take action to save us. There will be a great power to the antichrist’s flattery and deceit. He will have many allies and will seem invincible for a time, but he will reach too far. He will do this when he exalts himself and magnifies himself above every god. Despite this enemy’s persuasiveness and his worldly and spiritual powers, he will never overturn the decree of God. He shall come to his end, with no one to help him.

God has a Son. He is our one Messiah. We have no need for false gods, and no good can come to us from false messiahs. The antichrist spirit showed came in the figure of Antiochus IV, and he would do that again many times. The language describing this one figure would be picked up by Jesus and the Apostle Paul to describe the troubles that would come in the New Testament era. Antiochus IV would not be the last man who would try to set himself up as a god and would express surprising power and a venomous hatred of everything connected with the true God.

Despite the frightening physical and spiritual reality of the antichrist presence, we are more than comforted by our remembrance that there is a true God in heaven. He has fully accepted the sacrifice of His only Son on our behalf. This Son, our true Messiah, will only let an antichrist figure go so far. Abominations of all kinds take place all the time, but there is an abomination that causes desolation. There is also a disgrace that some power of evil might like to achieve that will be more than our Lord will allow. He knows how to cut short the time of any tribulation, and He will send the Lord Jesus Christ again to rescue His beloved church. He will surely overthrow every power that stands against Him and us. This great Jesus is on our side.

Daniel 10

The final three chapters in Daniel contain the last vision and interpretation of this prophetic book. In some of the previous visions, the prophet had indicated that he did not understand the visions that he saw or even the explanatory words that he heard. While we learn in chapter twelve that the timing and the outcome of the events referred to here remain mysterious to Daniel, we begin this section with a strong statement that the prophet understood the word and the vision. When we come to difficult apocalyptic sections of the Scriptures, it is not our goal to guess at possible interpretations, as if we cannot be satisfied until we have understood everything. Instead, we want to understand what the Lord has for us to understand, and we want to have peace and trust regarding all of it. Too often we argue about those aspects of a passage that seem beyond our comprehension, and we do not give sufficient attention to the amazing things in a text that are very clear and very important.

Even though there were important things that Daniel understood concerning the final vision of this book, this does not mean that the experience of receiving this revelation was an easy one. Daniel saw an impressive-looking and very frightening angel. Though his friends saw no one, they must have sensed something, since they were overcome with a great trembling and they ran away to hide. Daniel was left alone and he had no strength left in him. The appearance, the voice, the feeling of this angelic messenger was too much to bear. Then the angel touched him, and picked him up, but he was still on his hands and knees trembling.

Despite the sights and sounds associated with this heavenly visitor, the message that he began to speak was very comforting. Daniel was greatly loved by God, and the Lord had heard His request and had set in motion certain events in response to Daniel’s prayer. These are not small points. In the turmoil of world events and the personal challenges of even a calm life, we can take some comfort in the truth of what our status is with God. Through Jesus Christ we are called sons of God and referred to as the beloved of the Lord. We are also told to pray without ceasing and are encouraged in this duty by the fact that we have bold access to God through the mediation of our Savior.

What follows now is not easy for us to wrap our minds around since it speaks of realms of existence that are simply beyond our normal frame of reference. Whatever difficulties we may have in understanding the finer point of what is said here and in the next two chapters, there are certain things that are obvious. God is involved in the affairs of men and nations. This is something that we learned in the events of Daniel’s life recorded in the earliest chapters of the book. There is a strong connection between those memorable and inspiring stories and the apocalyptic visions that we are looking at now. They both teach the absolute sovereignty of God. Furthermore, there seems to be some connection between specific beings in heavenly realms and events among particular people groups and nations here below. It should not surprise us that this would be hard for us to consider. We have a hard time understanding the life of even one soul. How are we to consider the society of angels and then the relationship between the societies of men and that of angels? What we should see is that God is above all of these things and controls them, and it is for this reason that He can send us a sure message about the future.

The final thing we can glean from this passage is that the Lord is able to give us the strength necessary to respect and value the reality of spiritual life. We can go beyond simply being overwhelmed by the facts of heaven. We can be strong and of good courage as it relates to these matters because the Lord is able to strengthen us in our own souls. The affairs of Persia and Greece are not beyond His portfolio, and He can use powerful angelic beings with actual names to fight other angelic beings and humans who are beyond us. We can have peace in our souls because the Lord God has a book of truth, and what is inscribed in that book will surely happen.

The events of our own lives would be plenty of trouble for us without hearing about Persia, Greece, Gabriel, or Michael. Our souls need to be strengthened from above. Our friend, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Hosts, is completely on our side, and through His Spirit He is more than at our side. He is actually inside us, which is exactly what we need. Because of this soul-strengthening divine presence we can do much more than we might think we can do, for God is at work within us both to will and to do according to His good pleasure.

This reality of soul encouragement is one of the many benefits that our Savior has won for us through His death. It is important to realize that we are supposed to ask for the blessings of the Holy Spirit, rather than simply to presume that we already have them. The Lord, before He took His seat at the Father’s right hand, told us that we should ask Him for help, that our joy might be full. There is probably no reason for us to be entirely and forever incapacitated by things that are beyond us. God is stronger than kings and angels, and He is in us for our greater comfort and for our more fruitful service in His glorious Kingdom.

Daniel 9

He spoke to God with an acknowledgement of the Lord’s greatness and righteousness and with confession of the sins of the people. The exile to Babylon was not a result of something lacking in God, but a long-expected discipline of the Lord’s people for their sin, for they had not been true to the Word. Earlier prophets had spoken to those in authority and to the people at large both in the northern and southern kingdoms, but the Lord’s people had not listened to them. Daniel confesses the treachery of the people, but he also confesses that mercy and forgiveness belong to God.

This trouble that has come upon Israel and Judah should not have been a surprise, since Moses had warned them so many centuries before about the chastisement that would come upon the people if they did not obey the Lord. What had taken place was not simply the result of anonymous geopolitical movements from economic or military disadvantages of Israel compared to the empires from the north and east. The God of Israel had patiently warned them over many centuries, and had finally brought upon them the calamity that He had promised. What is amazing, and what we have seen previously in the account of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, is that even after all of this happened, the people did not really turn to God and repent. Nonetheless the mercy of God remains a delightfully steadfast fact. Daniel calls upon the Lord with a confident expectation that this discipline was to be for a given period of time. If the Lord dealt with us only according to the Law, there could never be any hope for us, but with God there is abundant mercy.

Daniel’s plea is based on the Lord’s own Name, and His love for Jerusalem and for the Lord’s sanctuary which was now desolate. He cries out to God based upon the Lord’s own Word and a secure understanding of the character of our Maker and Defender. He cannot plead the righteousness of the people, for they have not been righteous, but He can ask God to act for His own Name’s sake, and to do what is consistent with His own sure promises. Why would the Lord even continue to care for those who were obviously disobedient? The reason is that the city and the people are somehow united to the Lord, just as the church of Jesus Christ today bears the Name of the Son of God.

Though the words spoken to Daniel are supposed to give insight and understanding, as with the prior chapter, this does not mean that the prophet is given a full understanding of what is being spoken or that these words are simple or straight-forward. What we should be able to see is that the sovereign Lord has the future in His own hand. He will finish transgression. He will put an end to sin. He will atone for iniquity. He will bring in everlasting righteousness. He will complete special revelation, and he will anoint a most holy place with his presence. This will not take place without much suffering and opposition, but it is obvious from words that are otherwise quite challenging, that the mercy and righteousness of the Lord will be victorious.

Beyond everything else we should see here a Man greater than Daniel who made loud cries and supplications to God and was heard. We are told in Hebrews 5:7 that He was heard because of His reverence. By His one sacrifice He has accomplished all of the hopes of every prophetic revelation. We see in His own life, death, and resurrection the beginning of the new resurrection life that will come when the Lord returns. Now we long for an end to all transgression, iniquity, and sin. We have this already in Christ because He has atoned for our sins through the cross, but when He returns He will bring in the perfect kingdom of everlasting righteousness. He will anoint His church as the most holy place, and we will enter into the joy of the fullest eternal communion with our God and His people.

Daniel 8

Daniel had a vision in the first year of Belshazzar which is preserved for us in the previous chapter. That vision contained four animals coming up out of the sea. Two years later he had a second vision that was closely related to the first and to the four-part statue dream of Nebuchadnezzar from chapter two. It is important to interpret these dreams together in order to get the best understanding of the specific meanings of the images that God used to communicate His message regarding the future centuries that would arise. However, it is even more important to recognize that while the Lord was saying specific things about specific powers among men, this does not preclude that He was also saying something even bigger than that. For example, the legs of iron in chapter 2 and the horrifying horned beast of chapter 7 are apparently both pictures of the Roman Empire. They have one level of their fulfillment in the regime that replaced the Greeks after the second century BC, but these images also mean more that that. They stand for some system of world power that goes beyond flesh and blood as the New Testament use of the idea of the beast makes clear.

The vision in Daniel is not a four-part story, but a two-part story that helps us to understand the middle stages in the earlier four-part stories. Here the story is about a ram and a goat. The ram charges to the west, north, and south. The ram was clearly in charge of the whole region. There was no greater power, no other ally for a lesser power to turn to who could offer a credible challenge to the ram. Then along came the goat flying in from the west, and he destroyed the ram’s horns of power. Now it was the turn for the goat to be exceedingly great. Yet the day of the goat’s defeat is on the horizon of the vision. There is mention of a little horn that comes from the goat which grew exceedingly great, a horn that seems to attack the covenant community in the place that is called “the glorious land.” This horn is said to grow great “even to the host of heaven.” Here we have the sense of some evil that is beyond the powers of men. In any case, there is specific mention of the disruption of the worship practices of the covenant community, though perhaps only for a limited and defined period of time. It is helpful to consider that God is revealing these events to his prophet hundreds of years before they would take place. Even though we may wonder about the specific meanings of messages such as this, we cannot miss the fact that God is presented here as sovereign over it all.

Daniel wanted to understand this vision, and an angel was instructed to make him understand the vision. Even the angel’s appearance was frightening to the prophet. That messenger spoke of this as something connected to the “time of the end.” This expression is ambiguous. We are not told how to interpret these words, yet we are given a sense that a power far beyond us does understand the whole of it. These events were overwhelming to Daniel. He fell into a deep sleep, but was made to stand up. An explanation is given to him, yet by the end of the chapter we read that Daniel is troubled, and that he does not understand. There are things here that seem to defy explanation. Nonetheless, we are given an extraordinarily clear identification of the ram and its horns as the kings of Media and Persia, and the goat as Greece.

The angel goes on to reveal the coming of a “king of bold face” who will bring fearful destruction upon the people of God. This antichrist-like figure refers to a one who ruled prior to the birth of Christ, but also points forward and beyond the world that we see to a battle that is bigger than anything that men alone can accomplish. This evil entity will destroy many and will rise up against the Lord, and will ultimately be defeated by the power of God. Daniel was laid low by what he saw, but was soon up and about the king’s business. Nonetheless, he was deeply troubled, and he admitted readily that he did not understand the vision.

How would the church fare if we were under attack from one of the great powers of history? It is frightening to consider having to face the opposition of a powerful leader who has armies at his command and who is firmly against God, His Word, and His worship. Yet beyond men and armies, there are other powers that are even more disturbing. How can we deal with fallen angels that we cannot see? What is the relationship between powerful men that we can see and those angelic adversaries that we cannot see? We are not told. Like Daniel we do not understand.

It is enough for us to know that the God-Man Jesus Christ has full authority over men and angels. The One who cast out a legion of demons from a man and sent them into a herd of pigs is still in charge of the affairs of all His creatures, seen and unseen. When Peter cut the ear of the servant of the high priest, Jesus remarked that He had access to legions of angels. Clearly He could have avoided arrest if that had been His intention, but He was resolute in moving toward the cross for the accomplishment of our redemption. Here was one who had authority over kings and angels, yet he seemed to be their prisoner. This great Son of God was a willing victim according to the larger purposes of our glorious God. He understood what He was doing. We can trust Him with things that we do not understand. He is full of power and love. It will be our great privilege to be with Him forever. We are invited to know Him who knows things that would only make us sick and confused. We are invited to love Him who knew perfectly well what He was doing, and who loved us to the end.

Prayer based on Exodus 21

Almighty Lord, You have rescued us from the most horrible bondage. We are Your servants, O Lord. Yet You have made us sons by adoption through Jesus Christ. We have done much that is wrong. Some things are the sorry yield of some mistake or irresponsibility, but many other sins involve intentional wrongdoing. How can there be hope for us? There is sorrow upon sorrow in this world, and even the best system of justice cannot overturn the trouble that is all around us. What can be the answer to this misery? There is guilt in us for all kinds of misconduct, foolishness, and accident. A ransom needs to be paid. The duty of restitution and the penalties of further just compensation suggest an overwhelming debt. Who can make things whole again? We thank You sincerely and joyfully for the full answer to sin that has come to us through Your Son. We rejoice in the cross, and we look with a confident expectation to the promised new heavens and earth which Your Son will surely bring.

Prayer based on Jeremiah 9

Lord God, we mourn for our loved ones in Your church. They are Your people, but they are adulterers, slanderers, and workers of iniquity who refuse to know You. Refine them, O Lord. Is there some other way besides suffering? Father, we pray not merely about some unknown creatures, but about our own friends, even our sons and daughters, who have not obeyed Your voice. We raise a wailing because of Zion. Lord, we lament concerning Your people everywhere. Young men and women who should have more sense and maturity are in love with foolishness. How can we reach their hearts, O Lord? You must touch them, O Lord, and draw us all back to You.

Daniel 7

With the benefit of parallel passages in this and other books, and with the perspective of those who have been born after the coming of the Messiah, there need be little doubt what these four beasts stand for. They have in common with one another that they came against God’s Old Covenant people. It is fitting that they are pictured as rising up out of the tumultuous sea of the world, for ultimately they speak of the empires of this world. Yet they are distinct regimes that are easily guessed today. The lion seems to stand for Babylon. The bear is the empire of the Medes and the Persians. After them come the Greeks symbolized here as a leopard, and the final horrifying beast stands for the Romans. If we are wrong in any of these identifications, that is not particularly central to the point of the chapter, since God is not exalting the power of the world here, but His own sovereignty over even the most powerful empires of men.

All of these powers are vicious in their treatment of God’s people. It is important to consider that our hope is not for the best governing power that history presents as reasonable. Our hope is for the kingdom of God that the Lord has established through Christ, a kingdom that will have a perfect fulfillment far above any other power to which it could be compared. Each of these beasts has unusual and frightening elements that are not comforting to the people of God, but the final beast is definitely the worst. When such a vicious power is given authority over the covenant people of God, the only comfort that we can have is that it is our loving God who is giving them this authority, and it is clearly only for a time.

There is a little horn mentioned in connection with the final beast that seems to be more of a person than some phase in the life of a kingdom. This horn has the eyes of a man and a mouth that makes proud boasts. This could easily stand for the antichrist figure that we hear of in other biblical texts, either the plural generic antichrists that will arise at various points throughout the current age, or the specific singular one who will gain strength during the time immediately prior to the return of Christ and the full establishment of the Lord’s great kingdom.

This great kingdom of God is associated with the judgment of the final beast and with the coming of the Son of Man in clouds of glory. For this reason the final kingdom must be more than just the Roman Empire per se, but all the powers of this world that this great empire of men represented. The Son of Man who is the key to the Kingdom of God is presented before the Ancient of Days as one who is approved. The contrast between Him and the powers that came before Him could not be greater. The eternal God gives to our great Mediator Jesus Christ all dominion and glory and a world-wide kingdom that will not be destroyed. All of the other kingdoms will surely perish, though they may seem to last for some period of time during this age.

The authoritative interpretation of this vision tells us that there is a connection between this Son of Man and the saints of the Most High who are His people, for He is given a kingdom, and they receive this kingdom as well. We are also given a sense of the turmoil of this age with the first appearance of this new kingdom of God. There will clearly be a period of some kind of warfare where this beast will battle against the church, even seeming to prevail over them at least for a time. Whatever success these powers of the world or one evil center of authority will seem to have, they will be judged by God Most High, and His saints will inherit the earth in Christ our King.

These facts of vividly-portrayed prophecy amounting to many future centuries of covenant life and spiritual warfare were quite overwhelming to Daniel. We live in an age when Christ has already come, but not as the Son of Man on clouds of glory; at least not yet. Instead He first came as Isaiah’s Suffering Servant and as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The battle of this age is a plain fact according to Daniel’s dream. It is important for us to know that that battle eventually comes to an end. It is not enough for us to believe in the Suffering Servant. We need to know that He who has risen from the dead is coming on the clouds of glory to bring about the judgment of the world and to receive the Kingdom together with us, a prize that He so richly deserves.

Daniel 6

Daniel was a man of great insight and ability. This is not just an observation about his natural gifts. It was recognized that he was a man who had a spiritual discernment that came from beyond him. Because this was known by king Darius, Daniel was distinguished above other royal advisors. In this way his story is reminiscent of the patriarch Joseph, who did well no matter where he was placed, whether in the home of an Egyptian official, in the king’s prison, or in service to Pharaoh himself. Joseph’s story tells us that this kind of favor with God and man does not rule out suffering. In Daniel 6 we read of an episode of tremendous betrayal and trouble, but also of divine deliverance more powerful than the plots of evil men.

Daniel’s advancement had not escaped the attention of the many advisors to the king. When we read of them taking counsel together for the destruction of Daniel we remember the religious leaders at the time of Jesus, and their efforts to counteract the popularity of the Messiah, and even to have him turned over to the Gentiles in order to kill him. In the case of Daniel, his adversaries knew that they could not credibly accuse him of incompetence or wrongdoing. Their only hope was to create some conflict between the Law of Daniel’s God and some edict of the king. Their plan was to have the king prohibit the petition of any god or even any other man but the king for thirty days upon pain of death.

We are not told why the king agreed to such a decree, but he did. Daniel’s response to all of this was intriguing. He kept on doing what he had apparently been doing for some time according to a well-developed habit of spiritual discipline. Three times per day he went to his knees and prayed toward Jerusalem, thanking God and bringing his petitions before the Lord. What he did was courageous. It was not showy, but it was visible. He was not hiding from those who would be his accusers. He did not have to change his behavior at all. He did what he believed he was called to do, and he knew that it would be theirs to take the next step. He would not be intimidated.

The story of the care of Darius for Daniel is moving. He wanted him to live, and he did live. He wanted to have a voice answer him when he cried out in anguish as he came near the lion’s den, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then he heard the words that his soul loved: “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths.” He was alive! We are told that he was alive because he was blameless before God and man, but how can a man be blameless?

We know the end of Daniel’s story, and we know the end of the story of his enemies who wanted him dead. This does not answer our question about blamelessness. Daniel came into this world with the stain of Adam’s sin. He was a truly great man, but like Joseph, Samuel, Ruth, Mary, and a handful of other truly great Bible heroes, he needed a Savior to come so that before the judgment seat of God he could be acknowledged as fully blameless because of the perfect blamelessness of Jesus Christ. The answer is in Daniel’s God, the one he prayed to when praying meant facing death by wild beasts.

When Pilate said about Jesus, “I find no guilt in him,” he could not have understood how true his words were. His enemies took counsel together against Jesus out of envy. They wanted to see him dead. They thought that they had succeeded in their plans, but Jesus was not dying on a cross because of their clever scheme. He went to the cross because of his willing agreement to the plan of our sovereign God that the Lord’s beloved people might be counted as blameless. Jesus did not lose his battle on the cross. It was through the cross and the resurrection that He won His great victory. He did this so that we would live forever.

Today we are still in an age where it could be said of us that we are in harm’s way. If we are faithful to God more than men, those who have the power of the sword may determine to use it against us. We do not choose to enter a den of lions, but that den may find us. Christ has warned us that what people have done to Him, who is our great King, they will also do to us, who seek to serve Him as His faithful subjects. God can deliver you out of the mouth of a lion, but that is actually a small matter compared to what He has already done for you through His beloved Son. Because of Jesus Christ, though we die, we shall live. This is better than any health or prosperity that might be ours for a brief moment. Follow the King who died on the cross for you. Live forever.

Daniel 5

Belshazzar made a serious mistake in his use of the power that he had been granted. Perhaps we can imagine the kind of temptations that will come upon a person who thinks of himself as largely unaccountable, and who is regularly treated as the supreme authority in any community. The extent of our fall in Adam is such that none of us would be particularly safe under those conditions – not only because of the potential of danger that we face from others, but especially because of our own unguarded depravity.

This king chose to celebrate with a thousand of his lords. His mistake was in his choice of vessels for his drinking. He gave the order that the holy vessels that had been taken from the Lord’s temple would be brought to him, so that these could be used for this celebration by the lords of Babylon and the king’s wives and concubines. As they drank together they praised the gods of their imagination that are no gods at all. There is a God of creation and providence who has made all thing and who rules over men everywhere. He grants them whatever achievements or setbacks He has ordained for His own purposes. There are no gods of elements, and the things that men make out of the elements are not gods at all.

The true God normally does not write things directly on a wall, but He can do that, and He did do that on that fateful day. Naturally the sight of the Hand of the Lord, and the experience of receiving an unknown message in this way was greatly alarming to the king. He was overwhelmed by the fear. He shouted out franticly for help that he hoped to receive from the group of wise men that were supposed to interpret such things. He promised them great rewards if they could read and interpret the writing. None of them could do it. On the advice of the queen, Daniel was called for, and a great reward was offered to him if only he could do what the advisors had failed to do. Daniel was recognized as one who had “the spirit of the gods” in him, allowing him to bridge the unbridgeable gap, and to interpret the words of heaven for men on earth.

Daniel’s response was instructive. Many years had apparently passed since the events in the earlier chapters in this book. At least one change of power had taken place in Babylon, and perhaps more than one, since the word “father” can be used loosely in describing an earlier generation that may not be immediately prior to the current day. We do not hear the same tone of admiration for Belshazzar that Daniel had once used in speaking with Nebuchadnezzar. There is still a respect of office perhaps, but an interesting unwillingness to take any rewards from this king. What follows is a clear rebuke. Belshazzar has not learned the lessons that he should have learned from the experiences of Nebuchadnezzar described in the previous chapter. Specifically, his use of the Lord’s vessels in such a disrespectful way is a horrible show of pride that was the point of the discipline that the earlier king had received when he was given the mind of a beast for some period of time. This man had worshipped false gods using sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem, but he had not honored the real God who gives breath to the king. This is what Daniel told the great Belshazzar.

He also revealed to him the meaning of the writing on the wall. It turns out that reading and interpreting this message correctly was not an easy task, since the words all had double meanings, all capable of being read as both verbs and nouns. Even after reading them correctly the interpretation was not at all self-evident. Any message that would be given would have to be tested by unfolding events. The words as nouns meant, “Mina, mina, shekel, half-shekel.” As verbs they meant, “Numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.” Daniel chose the verbal meaning and interpreted it to mean that this man’s days were numbered. He had been weighed by God and found wanting. His kingdom would be divided and taken from him. The truth of the message was proven that very night with the success of Darius the Mede and the death of Belshazzar.

The story of this man’s death vindicated the message of Daniel, and said nothing good about the man himself. Why did Belshazzar live? Why did he die? What was his existence about? Like Lot’s wife, his life is remembered not for imitation, but as a warning. For all of us it is a stubborn fact that our days are numbered. It is also true that if we are to be weighed on the only scale that matters, we will surely be found wanting. Anything that we think we have can be justly taken from us by God. The scale for measuring a life is God’s scale, not the horizontal comparisons that we make among men when we try to convince ourselves that we measure up. By God’s scale we deserve not only physical death, but even the eternal punishment of hell.

Our great King and Savior came to be measured. A debt had to be paid out in the currency of heaven, and only He could do this. The reason is that when His life was measured on the divine scale there was absolutely nothing that was wanting in it. For this reason, by God’s justice, nothing could have ever been taken away from Him. His death had to be His own willing giving up of Himself for us. This He has done, and now He lives forever as our worthy eternal King. It is our great privilege not only to serve Him, but to worship Him forever.

Daniel 4

It is not a common occurrence in the Scriptures for the Lord to allow His story to be told by someone who is outside the covenant community of His people. Daniel 4 is one of those times when the Lord and His prophets seem to step aside for a moment and God expresses His sovereignty through the words of one of the rulers of the earth. In this case the man is the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, and the story that He tells is specifically about the sovereignty of God over even the most powerful rulers. What better way to make that point than to use such a man to tell the story! The message here takes the form of a letter from the king to all the peoples of the earth. He has a story to tell, a lesson that he has learned through a devastating series of events in his life. The events described brought him to admit that Daniel’s God, who the king calls the Most High God, has dominion over all places and all generations.

Everything began with a very alarming dream which only Daniel could interpret to the king’s satisfaction. The vision was about a great tree that reached to heaven and could be seen throughout the earth. The language that the king uses to describe it is the language from other Biblical passages about the tree that is associated with God’s kingdom. This is a tree of some authority and power. In the dream someone comes from heaven and makes an announcement commanding that the tree be chopped down. The stump will remain. The language then becomes personal, not referring to a tree, but to a man, who will be brought low, so low that he will be given the mind of a beast. All of this is presented as certain and purposeful, “to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.”

The letter goes on to describe the interaction between the king and Daniel, who is commanded to give the right interpretation. Why did others not give the interpretation? Isn’t the meaning of it fairly plain? The details of timing and some specifics could reasonably be in question, but isn’t the basic theme of a great ruler being radically humbled very evident? Perhaps the other wise men did not want to give the interpretation in part because they were afraid of the king’s reaction to such a message. In any case, Daniel is greatly troubled, but he does give the interpretation. Ho does so with sadness, respect, and boldness. This great king will be made to eat grass like an ox for seven periods of unspecified time until the Lord accomplishes His desired purpose.

This was not the end of the story. As expected the purpose of the Lord was accomplished. The king’s reason returned to him after the appointed time. He blessed God and acknowledged His eternal sovereignty and dominion. He noted that all the inhabitants of the earth were as nothing compared to their Maker, and that God does whatever He wants to do. The king’s former glory was restored, and he praised the King of heaven, who does everything according to what is right and just, and who humbles the proud.

The story of Christ is the story of God with us. By His divine nature He has always been and will always be above the most powerful kings of the earth. Yet He never needed to be taught a lesson in order to be made humble. He took upon Himself a human nature in His incarnation, and lived in perfect humility. We, on the other hand, who have no reason to exalt ourselves in pride, have often done so, particularly in our relationship with God. Every time we have ever decided that our way was the right way and a better way than the path of Christ, we have been proud in our estimation of our own wisdom and have acted as if we had sovereign authority over the affairs of our lives.

What should amaze us more than anything is that Christ took the discipline upon himself that we deserved in our pride. He did not have to eat grass like an ox for seven times. He did not lose His reason or His speech. He faced something much worse than what King Nebuchadnezzar faced. He took our eternal punishment upon Himself on the cross. He faced death and the grave for three days, and then rose again in glory. The message of this victory over sin has been published far and wide in His letter of love to His subjects. This is our great King. He is sovereign. He is the Most High God and the Savior of sinners. He rules over the affairs of men for the glory of His name and for our good.

Daniel 3

The absolute ruler of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar. Despite the fact that we have a record of a positive interaction from the previous chapter between Daniel and the king regarding the king’s dream, there is no recognition here of any benefit from that interchange. The king demands absolute obedience from these men who are exiles from Judah. This absolute obedience included their religious practices. If they want to live, they must do what they are told. They are told to worship an image, a significant violation of the Law of God. This they will not do.

The behavior of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego becomes a matter for the consideration of the king through a report of Chaldeans who accuse them concerning this matter. The contention is that these particular Judean exiles simply will not obey the king’s directive to fall down and to worship this golden image at a given signal. The broader point is also made that these men do not serve the Babylonian gods. This is something of a surprise for two reasons. First, in every other way these men do seem to be submissive to the king. It would not have been that difficult for them to fake obedience to this directive, but they refuse to do so Second, the history of God’s people has been full of false worship. It is surprising to think that these men might actually have been willing to obey the Lord on this matter when so many of their ancestors have made the free choice to worship false gods without the excuse of any outside compulsion. This is worthy of further examination. Could it be that God’s servants have become examples of faithfulness in the most unlikely place for their obedience to him, in the seat of Babylonian power?

These three brave men are not intimidated by these threats. They profess their faith in the Lord’s power to deliver them, but then they say something that is shockingly faithful, and that should be inspiring to all of us. “But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Even if the Lord determines to let them be destroyed by the king, they will still refuse to violate His commandments. This is a statement of loyalty and love that goes beyond the fact of what God will do for them in answer to their immediate plea. This is the kind of commitment that Christ would show to His Father in the garden of Gethsemane as written in Luke 22:42, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” There is a commitment here that is far beyond the immediate comfort of the one who makes the petition. In the case of Jesus Christ, this kind of commitment was necessary if the victory of the cross was to be secured by the Messiah.

The king was infuriated by this response. He took every effort to insure that he would be the victor in this contest. The men were bound. The furnace was especially hot, so much so that some of the servants of the king lost there lives just from bringing the Hebrew exiles close to their doom. Yet when the critical moment finally came, these three men were not destroyed. Instead, they were joined by a fourth man who seemed to be a divine savior. The men who had been cast into the furnace were safe and unbound. They were not hurt.

When Christ came to die for us, He did not need the help of men in starting the community of the faithful. He did what He did, not because of the power of men, but in spite of it. We who now proclaim the message of His cross have no interest in the coercive force of rulers to aid us in our efforts to preach the good news of Christ’s kingdom. We will resolve to obey the Lord even if the full force of the power of any state is against us. As our Savior was true to His mission when He was a victim of Roman injustice, we trust that He will use us, even if we face the hatred from men that our King once faced. Our God is able to deliver us. Even if he allows us to die at the hands of unjust men, we will not worship anyone except the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer based on Exodus 20

Exodus 20

Father, You have delivered us from the bondage of sin. We should love and serve You as the only true God. We will not worship idols. We honor Your holy Name, and rest in the work of Your Son, who is Himself our everlasting rest. We thank You for the privilege of loving others. Turn our hearts away from covetousness and hatred. We love Your Word, and we know that Your commandments are good. We repent of our sin; all murder and adultery, all stealing and lying, all rebellion against authorities that are established by Your command. Your Son has sacrificed Himself for us, and has made a way for us to have fellowship with You, for we have deeply violated Your law.

Daniel 2

There are many people who are willing to try to interpret your dream if you will only tell them the dream first. They may even claim to have the authoritative interpretation or even to speak for God Himself. Who will agree to tell you your dream without hearing some of the facts? Who can know what goes on in the heart of another person while that person is sleeping? Think of the kind of exhaustive knowledge that is necessary in order to accomplish this task. God alone has this kind of knowledge, but He is free to reveal this to someone according to His own will.

The wise men of the Babylonians knew they were in trouble when the king would not reveal his dream to them. They said, “No one can show it to the king except the gods.” The king, for his part, was unwilling to hear them unless they could tell him his dream. He did not want the interpretation of men, but the truth from the gods. He reasoned that the only way that he could have access to the truth would be to receive the interpretation from a man who could reveal his knowledge of secret realms by telling him his dream first. If the gods had revealed the king’s dream to such a man, then would it not be reasonable to assume that they would also give the true interpretation of the troubling dream through the same man?

The king was serious in his demand. In fact he announced his plan to have all the wise men put to death. None of them seemed to have the knowledge of the secrets of men’s hearts that he desired. When Daniel found out the king’s plan of destruction, he sought an opportunity to speak to the king and to give him the dream and the interpretation. His companions prayed to God, and the Lord revealed the mystery to Daniel. It was not the case that Daniel had the capacity within himself to know the unknowable. This information came from God.

When Daniel met King Nebuchadnezzar, he reiterated what the other wise men had said to the king. It was true that no man could know the thing that the king requested. But he went on to say what they could not say. “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” God had told Daniel things about the future, things that had become known through a dream to a pagan king. This alone is very intriguing. In the Lord’s providence, Nebuchadnezzar was given the dream and Daniel alone was given the supernatural knowledge to interpret it. God was setting up His servant Daniel to be exalted in the land of his captivity.

The dream of the king was very revealing. It spoke of kingdoms to come in the succeeding empires leading to the time of the Romans so many hundreds of years into the future. During that empire, the Lord would raise up a different sort of kingdom that would never be destroyed. This kingdom was represented in the dream as having an unusual beginning. A stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image in the king’s dream and reduced it all to rubble. Then that stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. The interpretation is especially clear to us now. In the days to come, God Himself would establish a great kingdom through one great Stone. In the days of the Roman Empire, God sent His own Son as the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. He came preaching and teaching the message of a new kingdom that would never pass away. That kingdom would be different than the kingdoms of the world, and would be greatly victorious.

Daniel received wisdom and power as a gift from the God who possessed them by His nature. Jesus was different. He possessed these attributes within Himself just as much as His Father possessed the same attributes. Jesus, in His divine nature, would not have needed anyone to tell Him the dream of any King, for He knew what was in a man. He knows us, and He has brought us into His all-surpassing kingdom. His greatness is far above all the kings and kingdoms of the earth, and He has shown his love for His subjects by dying for our sins

Daniel 1

Many of the historical and prophetic books of the Bible tell us the sad story of the rebellion of Israel and Judah and the way that God used the Assyrians and later the Babylonians in His plan of discipline against His people. This happened over a long period of time, ending with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Shortly before this time, during the reign of Jehoiakim one of the sons of Josiah, the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem. Daniel tells us what the other prophets note: God did this. The Lord gave the king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

What is different about Daniel’s prophecy when compared with other biblical books is the great note of victory in the midst of the worst of times in the history of God’s people. We are treated to six memorable stories in the beginning of this book followed by intriguing visions that make up the second half of the book. The opening accounts have proven to be greatly encouraging to the people of God over many centuries, showing us the way of faith in the midst of persecution, and revealing in the plainest terms the absolute sovereignty of God over men and nations.

Daniel and his three companions were among the best and the brightest who were taken among the early exiles to Babylon. They were to be trained in the literature and language of the Chaldeans and prepared to serve the king. They were given new names. It is quite a thing to assume the authority to rename a person. The Lord renamed Abram and Jacob. Jesus gave Peter a new name. Later the resurrected Christ changed Saul’s name to Paul. It is a way of asserting complete sovereignty over a person. These young men, together with many others from other lands conquered by the Babylonians, were to think of themselves as the vassals of the king. They were to submit to him without question.

Submission to lawful authority is an important Christian virtue but it has its limits. No one is free to submit to man when such submission necessitates rebellion against God. As it turns out, there are many opportunities for lawful and good submission to rulers in many varied settings. Occasionally a genuine problem of conscience may arise where a man is being forced to sin against God in order to obey a superior. This is where submission to kings must end, whatever the consequences may be of this disobedience.

The particular test of conscience that is recorded in Daniel 1 had to do with the provisions of food and drink designed for the strengthening of these young men for the king’s service. Daniel was determined to refuse the meat and drink of the king, since he had concluded that to eat and drink these things would be to defile himself. Therefore he wisely led the way for the four men in securing permission for a test of a different diet, one which proved satisfactory to all. Here we have a man who is respectful in his rejection of the plan of the king and his servants. They do submit, but in such a way where they can have a good conscience before God.

These men were far superior to others around them, and that was evident even to those who were not part of the people of faith. They conducted themselves with great integrity in the land of their captivity, and this behavior was a credit to the Lord whom they obeyed above the most powerful earthly king. The result is that Daniel served for a long time as a faithful official and advisor to pagan kings, and did this in a way that was completely consistent with his utter loyalty to God above them all.

The Christ who atoned for our sins on the cross understood the importance of submission to lawful authority and the preeminence of the Word of God above any laws of men. He was able to submit to His parents perfectly as a young boy, though they could not fully understand Him. He obeyed the Law of Moses, paid taxes, and in every detail of His life chose obedience. Above all earthly powers He was obedient to His Father. Anything less than this would have meant a rejection of the way of the cross. His death was His greatest act of obedience. His courage is a great inspiration to us in our own walk of faith, but His obedience is much more than inspirational. It is the source of our eternal life.

Ezekiel 48

A good example of this is Jacob’s first-born son Reuben. Genesis 49:3-4 says, “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it- he went up to my couch!” Reuben had an immoral liaison with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. When you think of the words of Jacob from Genesis 49 and realize that these two verses were all that a dying father had to say about his oldest son, this is a very sad story. “Reuben, what can I say about you? You are my firstborn. You have that position of dignity by birth. You are a strong man. But you slept with Bilhah. You are an unstable man, and you won’t have the position of a first-born any more.”

Many years later Moses spoke words of blessing about the tribes before his departure. In Deuteronomy 33:6 he said, “Let Reuben live, and not die, but let his men be few.” That was all. Again, this was strikingly discouraging. Yet consider this, Reuben has one portion of the new land described in Ezekiel 48, just as all the other tribes. There may be something to the proximity of a tribe to the sanctuary and the holy city. Judah and Benjamin have the spots closest to the temple, one to the north and the other to the south. Yet all of the tribes are given one portion of the same size.

It is shocking to consider that a tribe that is promised trouble in this age is yet represented in a prominent way with all the other tribes in the age to come. There is something in God’s purposes of election that cannot be stopped here, and that is more powerful by far than our own disobedience and the discipline that we face in this age as a result of our rebellion and sin. There is something wonderful about the reality that grace will really be grace, and Reuben and the tribe that bears his name are included in the day when sin is removed from the people of God.

In chapter 47 the river of life proceeded from the sanctuary of the temple. The same point (the centrality of the place of sacrifice and communion with God for all blessing) is shown in this final chapter through the location of the place of God’s presence in what seems to be the center of the land, perhaps the center of the whole earth. The new creation in the age of resurrection is powered by the presence of God. There at the center are the priests and the people of Levi who serve in worship. There is the holy city and the great Prince over the people of God. Here are God and His people together forever, as we have seen in previous chapters. This is a choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

The gates of the holy city are mentioned, each with the name of one of the tribes. Since Levi is included in the list, Joseph stands in for his sons in order to keep the number at twelve. These twelve gates are mentioned by John in Revelation along with the names of the twelve apostles inscribed on the twelve foundations of the city. If we have already said that the temple was glorious, if we have rejoiced in the wonder of the river that flows from it, if we are able to see the greatness of the gates of the city and the territories for the tribes throughout the land, then we will be able to especially rejoice in the final words of the prophet. He tells us the glory of the place in its Name: “Jehovah Shammah” or “The Lord is there.”

Reuben, despite his sin against his father’s authority, despite his violation of common decency, despite the fact that he was unstable as water, despite his lies to Jacob together with his brothers in the matter of their treatment of Joseph, claiming that Joseph was dead for so many years, despite all of this Reuben has a place in the land to come, in fact his name is on one of the gates of the city! There must be hope for us through our adoption into the household of God through Jesus Christ the Son of God. We are a part of this blessed land. The Lord is surely there, and we are his beloved, and nothing can separate us from His great eternal love.

Ezekiel 47

This is the moment we have been waiting for. Up to this point, much of what we have seen through this vision could have been interpreted literally. Now we are forced to consider whether there needs to be a symbolic understanding of the image that is described here. Normally water flowing from unexpected places in a building is not considered to be good news. Here the water is very good news. This water speaks of the impact of something that brings freshness proceeding from the temple and going out into the world.

The water was trickling out on the south side of the temple. What is most striking in Ezekiel’s examination of the water is the way that it seems to expand as he is brought to measure it. For the first thousand cubits it is easy to walk through, since it only reaches up to his ankles. Like a very broad and expansive seashore on a gentle coast, it seems like a person could walk out a long distance and still not encounter any dramatic shift in the depth of the water. After another thousand cubits it is still only knee deep. When the water is waist deep after another thousand cubits, it is easy to imagine a different feeling for the observer. Normally when water begins to go above our waist we have an increased sense of caution. Here there is no concern expressed, just as the existence of water flowing out from the temple was never said to be a sign of some trouble, which we might have reasonably expected. Instead of running back to dry land, the description makes us want to keep on going, even with increasing speed and anticipation. After another thousand feet the water is almost over our heads, but there is no talk of danger or drowning.

The properties of this river are most amazing. There are very many trees on the banks of the river. That would not surprise us. But there is no fresh water river with so much power to clean in it that it makes the waters of the seas and the oceans fresh wherever it flows. This river is full of good living things, and wherever it goes it brings life. What will happen to us if we are in this river? Can it mean anything less than eternal life for us? Any salt that remains seems to be left there on purpose. There are great trees here for food all year long, and leaves that do not wither, leaves that will be used for the healing of the nations.

Of course we should want to be residents of any kingdom that had such a great river. Where is this city? Where is this river that flows from a temple? This is not a temple that man can build. The water that comes from this temple is not like any other river known in this present age. What does it all mean? What has God been showing over these many chapters since He described to us a mighty resurrection of dry bones in Ezekiel 37? He is speaking to us of the resurrection world in the age to come. Flowing from one mighty Source there is more life than we could ever need.

There is a land here for a people saved by God’s grace. This place is their inheritance. The borders are not entirely the same as what the Lord had given through Moses and Joshua. Many of the places mentioned are harder to establish. As we saw with some of the new regulations concerning offerings in the temple, there is something here that is not the same as the past. Nonetheless, the people of God in exile were supposed to know that the vision was real. It was physical. When we say that the prophet makes use of symbolism, this is not an effort to spiritualize the blessings of God’s promises into the realm of mere feelings. The land of resurrection will be intensely physical. Isn’t that the point of resurrection? As true as it is that it is better for our bodies on earth to die now so that our souls will be with the Lord in heaven, we can never be satisfied with our final state as disembodied spirits. Christ died for the purpose of a greater resurrection. That new life will be forever physical though we may use symbols to describe it now.

The good news is that you and I have a place in this new world. We have been touched by the river of God’s Spirit. We will swim in those waters. We will be healed by those leaves. We will eat that fruit, and enjoy the fish. We will live. Is this because we were all born as descendants of Israel? No, only by our second birth in Christ will any of us have a place in this great nation. We were sojourners, but through faith in Jesus Christ we have settled in Immanuel’s land. Let us make our dwellings even now alongside this great river, and let us bring up our children as those who have a wonderful inheritance among the people of God.

Ezekiel 46

In this world, we who deserve only God’s wrath and curse enjoy many blessings from His hand. Yet it is undeniable that there is a problem all around us. How can we move past the barrier of death? If we were able to do this, could there be any guarantee that the world that we would enter would be truly good? God has given us a weekly sign of the final plan of His goodness since the earliest days of human existence. A day of rest that came after six days of work was a powerful symbol of the perfect Sabbath rest that man desires. In the temple that Ezekiel describes at the end of this book, the gate of the inner court that faces east, the direction from which the prince comes, will be closed except on the Sabbath day and the day of the new moon.

We still long for the perfection of Sabbath rest and for the beginning of a new day that every month symbolizes. Somehow that new day is connected with the prince. We long for that gate to be opened and for the prince to lead the way for us. Christ, we are told in Hebrews, has entered into the heavenly temple. He made the way for us through the blood of His sacrifice. He came through the gates of His righteousness, and now we may go in. There is something of this world of peace that is already ours now through Him, though we still live in a world of death. Because of our connection with Him, we have peace.

The Lord Jesus is the Prince over His gospel kingdom even now. He will surely reign forever when the fullness of His resurrection kingdom comes. He has an excellent vantage point over all the affairs of His temple. He was the first to enter on behalf of His people. He came not only as Prince, but also as Priest. He took His own offering of Himself and presented it before God. After He made peace with God for us through this perfect offering, we were brought into the celebration, with a fullness of every good thing for our communion with Him.

Provision is made in Ezekiel’s vision for the large movement of crowds of worshippers on Sabbath days. The people are to enter through one gate and to exit through the gate on the other side. The presence of the Prince with His people is noted, and we remember that our access to God is through this one Lord Jesus Christ. Christ has won for us our Sabbath rest. We now gather together on the day of His resurrection. Crowds of people from all over the world are led into the presence of God every Lord’s Day through our ascended Prince. The details of the offerings are different in Ezekiel vision than they were under the Law of Moses. There is something new pictured here. We experience the reality of that newness in the church now in ways that were pictured in the shadows of Old Testament ceremonies in the days of Ezekiel.

As was the case during the Old Testament era and in the early years of the New Testament era, the worship of the Lord is not only from Lord’s Day to Lord’s Day, but morning by morning. Ezekiel presents the regulations of these daily offerings as a perpetual statute. As we live in this world now, we feel our own weakness in so many ways. Do we have the energy, or even the desire, to worship God with greater frequency? Yet there is something pictured in this vision of a more continuous experience of the life of worship which we will know when all our sin and the weakness of this age of death are far from us. The continuous blessing of the life to come is also symbolized in the security of the Prince’s inheritance through the year of liberty. As the sons of the Prince, we are joint-heirs of the kingdom with Christ forever. We ourselves are called His inheritance, and it is a comfort for us to meditate on the fact that we will always be His. The final verses of the chapter speak of the work of the priests in preparing the offerings, and the space reserved for kitchens in this new temple. It is amazing to think of the enjoyment of a meal with the Lord and His people in the life to come. Even now we have fellowship with God and with one another in Jesus Christ. What will it be like in the age to come?

It is a cause for great rejoicing that God has addressed both of these issues through the victory of the salvation won for us by Christ. The Lord will one day remove from us every sinful impulse. Our desires, thoughts, determinations, and actions will be completely holy. We will also live in a place of such perfect provision and communion with the Almighty that there will be no remaining limitation upon our enjoyment of God and His people. This is the Lord’s eternal plan and His sovereign promise. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has moved us past the barrier of death, and has secured for us an age of overwhelming and delightful goodness.

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 8

Great God, is today the day when we will meet our Husband more fully than every before? We hear His word of pledge. We receive the fire of His earnest love. The time has come for us to know that love more and more. No one can keep us from our Savior any more. He has purchased us by His blood. He finds His joy in us. Be near us forever Lord Jesus! Surely You will never die again.

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 7

Lord of Glory, the marriage of Christ and His church is approaching soon. The time of waiting will soon be over. We hear His voice saying wonderful things about us. He knows perfectly what we will be one day, and He truly loves us even now. We will not resist Him, for He seeks communion with us. We give ourselves to Him, for He is our glorious King. He is a Husband who has proven His love for us at the greatest cost.

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 6

Holy Father, Your Son has gone to be with You, yet He is with us even now somehow. We hear His voice of love in Your Word, and feel our communion with Him in the supper of love that He gave to us. We are greatly blessed. Your Son calls us back to Himself moment by moment. Why would we ever wander from Him. We anticipate the great day of our love even now. Our Husband is somehow with us, though our soul yet longs for Him as if He were gone. We will wait for our great Husband. No other lover will do. No crowd of admirers could every satisfy us.

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 5

Great God, we have heard of our Husband and our Redeemer. We dream of Him, yet we walk in a world of danger. We long to wake in Your presence on a glorious day. Where is Jesus now? We need to hear His voice. Why are Your ministers hurting Your church? Will they beat us because we are lovesick for Jesus Christ? Can they not celebrate the love of Christ with us? Please teach them to speak to us of His greatness. Show them the One that we must have, for we only want to know the glories of our Husband.

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 4

Lord God, Your Son calls His church beautiful. He admires our every detail. He seems to see beyond our current blemishes. He sees what we cannot yet see. He claims that there is no flaw within us. He calls us His bride, and insists that we have captivated Him. Father how we long for the day of the fullness of this love. We long for the beauty and wonder of the age to come. Come, Lord Jesus! Love us with an everlasting love!

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 3

Lord Almighty, we are seeking the One whom our soul loves. Where is Jesus today? If we could find Him, we would hold Him and not let Him go. Now He comes to us in Word and sacrament, for we worship Him in covenant assembly. We bow before Him. Will we one day look upon our glorious Savior, crowned in majesty, and seated at Your right hand?

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Hosea 4

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Hosea 3

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Hosea 2

Monday, July 28, 2008

Hosea 1

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Prayer based on Exodus 22

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Prayer based on Jeremiah 10

Friday, July 25, 2008

Daniel 12

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Daniel 11

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Daniel 10

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Daniel 9

Monday, July 21, 2008

Daniel 8

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Prayer based on Exodus 21

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Prayer based on Jeremiah 9

Friday, July 18, 2008

Daniel 7

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Daniel 6

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Daniel 5

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Daniel 4

Monday, July 14, 2008

Daniel 3

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Prayer based on Exodus 20

Friday, July 11, 2008

Daniel 2

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Daniel 1

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Ezekiel 48

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Ezekiel 47

Monday, July 07, 2008

Ezekiel 46

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 8

Saturday, July 05, 2008

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 7

Friday, July 04, 2008

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 6

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 5

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 4

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Prayer based on Song of Solomon 3

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