SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/16/2013 11:35 AM
My Worship Time Focus: A Concerned
Prophet
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Daniel
10:1-3
Message of the verses: “1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. 2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.”
Introduction to Chapter Ten: We see the date in verse one of Daniel ten as
the third year of Cyrus King of Persia, and this was probably three years after
the vision seen in chapter nine if we assume that the king named in chapter
nine is the same king, but not all agree with that. It is possible that Cyrus was the name of the
king and Darius may have been a title of the king. Not all are in agreement with this, but some
are. The year according to Dr. Wiersbe
was 536 BC, and this means that Daniel had lived long enough to see the
fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy telling that the captives would return to
Israel. This would also fulfill Isaiah’s
prophecy that the king who let them go was Cyrus. This is seen in Isaiah chapters 44 and 45
where Isaiah talks about Cyrus.
We see in verse one that Daniel’s name was used in the
third person and that also his Babylonian name was used too, Belteshazzar. From verse two until the end of the book
Daniel will be used in the first person.
Dr. Wiersbe writes on this:
“Daniel in the third person suggests that the statement that opens this
chapter may be an official ‘identification title.’” This also could be the reason that his
Babylonian name was given too.
A concerned prophet (Daniel 10:1-3): We see in verse one that Daniel was given a
message, which he understood, and that he had been praying for three weeks as
seen in verse two. What was he praying
about? This is a good question to ask,
but we know that Daniel was a person who was greatly concerned about his
people, and prayed much for them, especially those who had already left to go
back to Israel to begin the rebuilding of the temple. They had no modern equipment to use like is
available today, so the work would take a long time to complete, and thus
Daniel prayed for them. There were
nearly 50,000 Jews who left Babylon nearly a year before, and Daniel probably
knew that they had arrived safely because of his position in the
government. This is just like Daniel to
pray for something that he had already seen in the prophetic Word of God as
demonstrated in Daniel chapter nine.
This is something we all can learn from as we too need to pray for things
that God has already said will happen, things like the rapture of the Church,
and the second coming of our Lord, who will come at the end of the tribulation
period.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “Daniel may not have understood that
the prophecy of the seventy years had dual application, first to the people and
then to the temple. The first Jews were
deported to Babylon in 605, and the first captives returned to their land in
536, a period of seventy years. The
temple was destroyed in 586 by the Babylonian army, and the second temple was
completed and dedicated in 515, another period of seventy years. Daniel was burdened that the house of God be
rebuilt as quickly as possible, but he didn’t realize that God was fulfilling
His plans without a mistake. The work
was stopped in 536, it resumed in 520 and it was completed in 515. The sixteen-year delay kept everything right
on schedule. This is a good reminder to
us as we serve the Lord today, that our times are in His hands (Ps. 31:15) and
He is never late in accomplishing His will.”
Daniel was probably somewhere in his 80’s, perhaps 85
years old when the first refuges returned to Jerusalem, and he had seen much in
his days, but we will see as we go through chapter’s ten and eleven that he
will see more. Perhaps Daniel was
praying about the future of his people for these three weeks, for we know what
Daniel was praying about in chapter nine, and before he even got finished with
his prayer God sent Gabriel to answer his prayer. This time it took three weeks, and we will
see why there was a delay later on in this chapter. Daniel knew that trouble lie ahead for his
people, and this may have been another reason why he was praying about
too.
The psalmist wrote in “Ps 122:6 “Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.’” There is another thing that we pray for when
we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and that is that when we pray this prayer
we are actually praying for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the
only one who can bring peace to Jerusalem.
Nehemiah prayed for those who were in Jerusalem and the Lord used him as
an answer to his own prayer as seen in Nehemiah 1-2. Jeremiah the weeping prophet also wept and
cried over Jerusalem and we also see these words in Matthew 23:37-39 “37
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to
her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers
her chicks under her wings, and
you were unwilling. 38 “Behold, your house is being left to you
desolate! 39 "For I say to you,
from now on you will not see Me until you say, ’BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE
NAME OF THE LORD!’” Although it does not
say it here we know that the Lord did weep over Jerusalem too. We read in the 9th and 10th
chapter of Romans about the kind of love that the Apostle Paul had for
Jerusalem, as he even wanted to give up his salvation if it would mean they
would all be saved.
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on this section with
these words: “God laid a burden on
Daniel’s heart, and because Daniel fasted and prayed, we are studying his
prophecies today. May the Lord help us
to leave something behind in the journey of life so that those who come after
us will be encouraged and helped!”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: We see in this
section that we have looked at the seriousness of Daniel, Nehemiah, Jeremiah,
Jesus, and Paul, seriousness over something that they desired to happen that
was in the will of God. They fasted, prayed,
and shed many tears over something they believed in and prayed for, and God
answered their prayers. I need to do the
same over souls that are lost, and habits that I need to break.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Remember the seriousness of sin, and also
lost souls.
Answer to our last Bible
Question: “Luke”
Today’s Bible
Question: “How long was Solomon King?”
Answer in our next SD.
12/16/2013 12:33 PM
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