Daniel 8:1,2 “Canals”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹In the third year to the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me – me, Daniel – after the [one which] appeared to me in the beginning. ²And I saw in [the] vision and it was in my seeing and I [was] in Shushan the Citadel which [is] in Elam the province and I saw in [the] vision and I was upon the Canal of Ulai.

And so we’re back to Hebrew. Hallelujah! I’m so glad I got to work with Aramaic from back in chapter 2 on through chapter 7. Aramaic is very similar to Hebrew, so if you know one, it is a fairly easy transition to work with the other. However, this is one of the cases where they are “the same – only different!” I have never gotten comfortable with the “different.” So, I am very glad to be done with it and back to my familiar Hebrew.

This is the second recorded vision of Daniel himself and occurred specifically in the “third year of Belshazzar.” This is the same Belshazzar from chapter 5 and the “Handwriting on the Wall” episode. This is believed to be about the year 550 BC. Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC, so it has been twelve years and Daniel would now be probably right around 70 years old. In the twelve years since Nebuchadnezzar died, Daniel has had to survive through four complete changes of administration with one king taking over by killing his predecessor. Finally, Belshazzar’s father Nabonidus killed the third one and took over, then left his son in charge of Babylon while he tended to other matters in the kingdom.

Somehow Daniel has stayed in some position of the government as we note (looking ahead) that, after this vision he says he “got up and went about the king’s business” (v.27). Apparently, sometime after Nebuchadnezzar’s death, the higher-ups ceased to value Daniel’s wisdom, based on the dialogue with Belshazzar back in chapter 5, but he has managed to stay in some position in the king’s service. It’s interesting to note that, in just eleven years (539 BC), the Persians will conquer Babylon, kill Belshazzar, and the new king Darius will immediately raise Daniel (by then around 80!) to be his prime minister! Daniel sure gets run through the ringer, but then that is exactly what we all go through in our careers, is it not? No matter how hard you work, you’ll go through times under good leaders, bad ones, be raised up, put on a shelf, and maybe raised up again. This is why us believers need to get it settled in our hearts we are actually servants of the Most High God and do our jobs well for Him, regardless of whether we are recognized or not. In the book of Esther, Mordecai is another good example of a man who did his job well whether he was forgotten or raised up.

It is interesting that this vision occurs in Elam, along the Ulai Canal. Elam is the very next province east of Babylon proper and the capital of that province is the city we now call Susa, which is also the setting of the books of Esther and Nehemiah (which will all happen about 100 years later). I say it is interesting because Elam is actually a part of what will be considered Medo-Persia. At this very time (and probably one of the reasons Nabonidus is out traveling) is because, as Babylon’s government is falling into total corruption and indolence, Medo-Persia is rising in power. Babylon was, of course, Nebuchadnezzar’s head of gold and the winged lion from chapter 7, while Medo-Persia was to be the chest and arms of silver and the bear raised up on one side. Even as Daniel has this vision, he is keenly aware that Babylon’s days are numbered.

Elam, Susa, and the Ulai Canal are only about 350 miles from Babylon. That would be quite a journey on camel back, but it was a hop-skip-and a jump when we realize the Babylonian empire stretched clear from India to Egypt. Susa being the capital city of the Elam province, Daniel has probably been there many times as part of his administrative responsibilities, at least under Nebuchadnezzar when his services were highly valued. Some writers question whether Daniel is actually having the vision in Babylon and transported to Susa or if he is in Susa having the vision. For whatever it’s worth, I can’t see any reason whatsoever in the text to understand that he is in Susa. As far as I’m concerned, there is no question he is still in Babylon and only transported to Susa in the vision.

Also, for whatever it’s worth, I’d like to suggest why it’s important that the vision occurs alongside the Ulai Canal. First of all, I’d suggest it’s in Elam specifically as a foreboding of Medo-Persia’s rising power. The whole point of these visions is to reveal the Lord’s plans for the rise and fall of the great Gentile kingdoms which would dominate Israel history, right down to the Coming of Christ. It only makes sense to me that, in a way, it’s like the Lord is done with Babylon, and in just a short time, the entire focus will move east, even including the fact that the Medo-Persians kings will make Susa their winter palace.

Then why a canal? Here’s where we need to do a little of transporting ourselves back into their world. Here in the Midwest, we get abundant rain (usually) and you can drill a hole in the ground anywhere and generally get all the water you want. As is still true in some parts of the world, farming depends completely on a series of irrigation canals. There is not sufficient rain to grow crops or maintain orchards, so water has to be brought in by those canals. Here’s where the monumental factor comes in – those canals are all controlled by gates and, generally speaking, the king controls those gates. What that means, obviously, is that he holds the power to either allow you to prosper or totally ruin you. All he has to do is order your gate shut and within days you’ll be the proud owner of a desert covered with dead plants

This dilemma is the backdrop for Prov. 21:1, “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord; He directs it like a watercourse (a canal!) wherever He pleases.” The point of that proverb, which we all miss, is, while the king seems to be the one who literally holds your life in his hand, it is actually the Lord who holds his life in His hand! As Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no power over Me, except it be given you from above.” Ancient peoples, reading Prov. 21:1, would know that immediately, as they lived all day every day under the specter of the king’s power, and that especially when it came to the canal water upon which they were totally dependent.

The Ulai Canal is said to be a canal which stretched between two rivers in Elam and would have been politically of profound importance to the entire province. That is probably why Daniel knows the canal and why his vision occurs there. He has probably been to Susa many times specifically dealing with issues regarding this canal, its maintenance, the commerce surrounding it, and even issues of who gets their gates opened and shut. In a way, the canal is a fractal picture of the whole point of Daniel’s vision – the rise and fall of political powers. It’s not even surprising to me that, in v.16, the voice calling to Gabriel will call “from the Ulai.” The canal itself speaks of power, but we know who is the real power controlling all of this. Everything going on is all about power and Daniel teaches us again and again, “The Most High rules in the nations of men!”

We all desperately need to know our God is, in fact, in complete control. Yes, the heart of the king is and always will be “in the hand of the Lord.” And it isn’t just the king, it’s every single power of any kind which we find threatening our peace and happiness – even the rain on our planned picnic day. Our God is in charge and He wrote one whole chapter of the Bible – Romans 8 – to assure us that “nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Lord, help us to learn all we can from our good friend Daniel and may we share even just a little corner of his great faith! May we remember it is You who controls the “canals” of our lives.

 

Romans 8:35-39 “Living in the Sunshine”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

³⁵What will separate us from the love of Christ? Affliction or distress or persecution or hunger or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶Just as it is written that, “On Your behalf we are being killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep of slaughter.” ³⁷But in all these things we are being more than conquerors through the One loving us. ³⁸For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers ³⁹nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which [is] in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

I guess I’ve come to the end (for now) of my study of Romans chapter 8. As is usually the case, I’m loathe to leave. What a bombshell of encouragement is every line of this glorious chapter! I’m still floored to know that this entire presentation of the Gospel clear from chapter 1 on through chapter 8 concludes with what? “Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Just think about it – all of that teaching about the Fall and the wrath of God and all of the discussion about Law and Grace and even chapter 7 and the “O wretched man that I am!” and all of that ends where? With you and me snuggled in the big strong arms of our wonderful loving Father whispering in our ear, “You’re mine forever!”

The one thing we need in this badly broken world – the assurance of His love – is exactly what the entire Gospel gives us, if we’ll only train our ears to listen to Him and not the other thousand voices that scream in our ears. He’ll go on later in the book of Romans to say, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope … May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (15:4,13). Through all the smoke and noise and heartache of this world, the sun of God’s love would shine into our hearts, encourage us, give us hope, help us endure, and fill us with the same love Jesus lived even from the very Cross itself! “Today, you shall be with Me in Paradise!”

God give us the eyes to see You in it all, to trust You above it all, to live our lives literally from the lap of Your love.

I’m reminded once again of the words the Lord gave me as a young man as I was riding on a plane. As we ascended higher and higher, we passed through the clouds, then suddenly were literally above them. Though the clouds were thick, there was the sun shining brightly and beautifully. It had never occurred to me living my life under the clouds that the sun is always shining above the clouds. And so I quickly scribbled down the words:

“The sun is always shining, when you fly above the clouds,

Like the way my life is beautiful whenever You’re around.

You soothe my soul like summer rain;

You make the world seem right;

You lift me up above the clouds and drive away the night!”

When I wrote those words, they were just a silly love song. Today, I capitalized the “You,” realizing now it was Him all along!

The sun really is always shining, “when you fly above the clouds.” May my soul learn more and more to live above the clouds of this world’s troubles and ever enjoy the sunshine of His love. It’s there. Soul, go there and stay forever!

Romans 8:35-39 “Sheep for the Slaughter”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

³⁵What will separate us from the love of Christ? Affliction or distress or persecution or hunger or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶Just as it is written that, “On Your behalf we are being killed all the day; we are accounted as sheep of slaughter.” ³⁷But in all these things we are being more than conquerors through the One loving us. ³⁸For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers ³⁹nor height nor depth nor any other creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which [is] in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

I’ve always struggled just a bit to understand v.36, “As it is written, ‘For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’” This is a quote from Psalm 44:22, almost exactly taken from the Septuagint. To me, it seems strangely negative in the middle of all this conquering and victory. I vaguely understood that we as believers accept in this life whatever the Lord allows – and that sometimes that does include difficult times. However, it still just didn’t “fit” in the passage. It seems like it would be nicer if we just went from v.35 straight to v.37.

What I see now is that this verse is actually a victory in itself. This is a little deep, so I may not do a very good job of explaining what I see, but I want to try. It is generally true that, in this fallen world, we believers often conquer specifically by dying. How did Jesus win His great victory over death and hell? By dying, of course. Granted, He rose from the dead, but our redemption was won through His death. In Col 2:13-15 we learn, “When you were dead in your sins … God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; He has taken it away, nailing it to the Cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross.” By the Cross. Jesus won by dying.

We’re reminded too of Tertullian’s quote, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” Those words were originally written in Latin and could be translated, “We multiply when you reap us. The blood of Christians is seed." His familiar point was that the church only multiplied the more the Roman government persecuted them. That early church literally conquered the world by dying. Jesus’ words were true to them then and remain true for us, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Phil. 1:29).

I have always been inclined to believe that Paul’s conversion actually began the day they murdered Stephen. The entire reason they so hated Stephen was because “they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke” (Acts 6:10). The young, very intelligent Saul of Tarsus was there that day as Stephen admonished the entire Sanhedrin. For Saul and everyone else “they saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (v.15). Then, all the way through Acts chapter 7, Stephen did exactly what Paul would do later – he very logically and Biblically exhorted them with the truth.

That truth of course infuriated them and so they murdered the good and holy man Stephen. They thought by murdering him, they could silence the truth he’d spoken. However, chapter 8 begins with the words “And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.” The seemingly arbitrary insertion of that verse is what inclines me to believe that was the beginning of Saul’s conversion. It is true that his experience on the Damascus Road (chapter 9) would be dramatic, but Jesus converts no one against their will. I suspect that as Saul listened to Stephen’s admonition, he knew in his heart it was true, but his fallen, proud, Adamic heart wasn’t ready to bow, and so, he resorted instead to his murderous rage against believers.

Truth is, however, a stubborn thing. That day, listening to Stephen and watching him bravely (and humbly) die for his faith, young Saul of Tarsus suddenly had a crack in his armor. No doubt every day that he lived his murderous rage, that crack only widened as he watched one Christian after another suffer and die just like Stephen. Finally he was ready and that day Jesus met him and changed him from Saul of Tarsus to the Apostle Paul – the man who would carry the Gospel to the four corners of the civilized world and end up writing 2/3 of the New Testament!

My whole point in all of that is to illustrate how true were Tertullian’s words, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” Stephen’s death appeared that day to be nothing more than that – a man murdered because he dared to challenge the status quo. His murderers thought it was no more than that. Yet, if I’m right, and I think I am, that very death was instead the Lord’s tool to raise up the Apostle Paul and everything that would mean. Stephen probably didn’t know any of this at the time, yet it would be literally true that it was through his death that he conquered the world! His life (and death) certainly illustrated the truth of our verse, “For Thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter,” yet we also see that he truly was “more than a conqueror!”

You and I probably have no idea what the Lord is accomplishing through our lives (and maybe deaths). I’ve said before, I don’t feel like I do much good at all. I’m certainly no Billy Graham or Mother Theresa. I’m guessing you feel the same. We’re trying. We want the Lord to use us. We pray He would. Yet, I rarely see that I have any influence at all. Stephen’s death would teach us all to leave our “influence” in God’s hands. Our job is to love God and love people the best way can, whatever that means on any given day, in any given situation, with the gifts (however seemingly few) God gives us. His job is to take our feeble efforts and actually touch people’s hearts. Naomi’s quiet love produced a Ruth – that produced a David! So then, “… none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Rom. 14:7,8).

All of this is why it is true that “we are more than conquerors.” The worst the world can throw at us is to kill us. However, because we are the Lord’s, He overrides their evil and instead uses even our death to touch this world for all eternity!

That then leads us back to the larger context of what we’re studying. What is our hope in suffering? And in Romans 8, when we say suffering, we’re not just talking about dying a martyr’s death. We’re talking about the everyday miseries of life in this cruel world. With all creation, our Bible itself says we’re “groaning.” What is our hope? That we are the Lord’s and He will use it all for His glory, even to the point of our death. Once again, you and I have no idea whose heart He is touching as we simply try to rise above our own miseries and go on loving the people around us.

In this world’s eyes, you and I may just be “sheep for the slaughter.” … but they don’t know who our Father is! Who but Him could ever take the curse of sin, even death itself, turn it around and use it for eternal good?

What a mighty God we serve!