Daniel 10:19 “Angels”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁹And he said, “Do not fear, man greatly valued. Peace to you. Be strong and be strong.” And as he [was] speaking with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Speak, my lord, because you have made me strong.”

This world we live in can be a very discouraging place. As so many memes attest, everyone we see is dealing with struggles, frustrations, fears, regrets, and uncertainties. Everyone – which includes us. Life is hard. Probably one of the devil’s most effective devices is convincing people that God is unhappy with them, that He easily gives up on them and turns away. Those kinds of thoughts leave us in a very dark and lonely place!

Let us stop today and ponder Daniel 10:19. What I hope we learn from it is first of all, for our own encouragement, to have better thoughts of God, then secondly, to have drunk so deeply of His grace that we ourselves become better encouagers to those we cross paths with each day.

Here is our good friend Daniel, so terrified he stands literally shaking. He says himself, “I can barely breathe!” He says, “All my comeliness became corruption” – “I was suddenly overwhelmed by my failures!” Do you see how we find Daniel exactly where each one of us so often struggles?

Did the Lord give up on him? Did He send an angel with a horse whip to “beat him up”? Please stop and read again what the angel did say: “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed. Peace! Be strong now; be strong!”

What do we learn? First of all, who sent this angel? God did. Who is the angel speaking for? God, of course. What does it tell you and me about the Lord? Is He “unhappy” with Daniel? Is He “disappointed” and irritated by Daniel’s weakness? Is this message not exactly the words you would expect Jesus to speak to Daniel? And who is Jesus? God. My friends, just reading these words, you and I ought to cast away those unkind thoughts of God and instead look into His eyes of compassion and grace and love Him all the more! Do not fall for Satan’s lies and for even one second let your heart see your Father in heaven as anyone less than our wonderful Jesus Himself!

Look again at the angel’s words – coming straight from the heart of God – and really ponder what he’s telling Daniel. “Do not be afraid.” Those are not words of rebuke. They are the same words, spoken with the same tender love, as when you say to your little child in the thunderstorm, “It’s okay. You don’t need to be afraid. Daddy is right here. Mommy is right here.” All of us (hopefully) have known the gentle comfort of a loving parent, and (hopefully) we who are or have been parents have given that love. Notice here, it comes from God. “Don’t be afraid.”

Then the angel calls him, “O man highly esteemed.” We’ve parked on this one before. It could be translated “O precious man.” Notice there is not even a hint of rebuke in this. This angel, with the heart of God, very much wants Daniel to know he’s loved. Notice here, when someone is down, usually the last thing in the world they need is a rebuke. It is far more likely what they need is encouragement. As we’ve said before, life is hard. I think we’d all agree, I don’t need anyone beating me down when I’m struggling. This angel’s words are exactly what we usually need to hear – we need to be reminded we’re loved, even when we’re struggling.

…And just in case someone reading this is having trouble believing they are “precious” to God, like Daniel, may I remind you Jesus died for you? If you were the only human who ever lived, Jesus would have gone to a Cross for you. That’s just how precious you are to Him. As John says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!” (I John 3:1). Like Daniel, cast aside your fears and doubts and let yourself fall into the arms of God’s love.

Then he says, “Peace to you.” Peace. Is not peace one of God’s greatest gifts to us? In this insane, too often hateful world, what more can we sincerely wish for another person than peace? What the angel is saying to Daniel is that, in spite of his struggles, in spite of whatever have been his failures, this angel still wishes only the very best for Daniel!

Then he tells him “Be strong now; be strong!” Have you ever faced a tough struggle, only to have someone say just the right thing that instantly lifted your spirits and made you think, “I can do this!”? What a great feeling to truly be encouraged, to go from scared and confused to suddenly feeling confident and strong! Can we all see, that is exactly what this angel is doing for Daniel? What a wonderful gift! In this world, so often, it feels like too many people will “kick you when you’re down.” Even well-meaning people often say things that simply are not helpful -- then too often, hurtful. How much better to realize what someone else needs is encouragement, not abuse.

I must say, in all my Christian life, and all my studies of the Bible, I have never realized what incredibly gracious people angels are. They truly are “ministering” spirits! Their very existence is consumed with helping us, encouraging us, protecting us…and strengthening us!

That leads me to two immediate applications. First is to wonder at the grace of our God! How many angels did He create? “Thousands and thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand!” Here we are letting Satan whisper in our ears that God is far away, that He is unconcerned for our sorrows. Just to know there are angels (and SO many of them!) should instantly dispel those lies and make us, like John, lean into Jesus’ breast, to embrace His amazing, miraculous, and even undeserved love. Angels love us, but that love is only an expression of Jesus’ love. They are simply being like Him.

Then let us turn those thoughts on ourselves. Should not you and I be “angels” ourselves in this world? Should we not everyday say, “Lord, may my words all day be Your words. May I sincerely seek to be encouraging to the people around me. May my words actually strengthen them to face their struggles. I see Your angels. Thank you so much for their ministry to me – whether I even realize it or not – then help me to be just like them to others in this world.”

In Daniel chapter 10, we get to see a real angel dealing with a real man – a man just like you and me, and what a heart-warming lesson it is. It can encourage us in our struggles, then make us more like Jesus, like angels to sincerely try to be encouragers to others. May we learn to say to people, “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed. Peace! Be strong now; be strong!”

God does. Jesus does. Angels do. May you and I join them and be angels in our worlds!

 

Daniel 10:16-19 “Strength”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁶And behold! [One] like forms of sons of men one touching upon my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and one saying to one standing before me, “My lord, in the vision, my pains have turned upon me, and I have not retained strength. ¹⁷And how is the servant of this my lord able to speak with this my lord and I from now not is standing in me strength and breath is not left in me. ¹⁸And it was again and [one] as a form of a man touched me and he strengthened me. ¹⁹And he said, “Do not fear, man greatly valued. Peace to you. Be strong and be strong.” And as he [was] speaking with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Speak, my lord, because you have made me strong.”

This chapter of Daniel is such a flood of helpful instruction, I hardly know where to stop! Look back at v.14, then look ahead at v.21. In 14, the angel says, “I have come to explain to you what will happen in the future…”, then in 21, he says, “I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth” and proceeds with the prophecies of chapter 11. Notice that, in between, vv.15-20 are all about how it affected Daniel. Why did the Lord see fit to put in those six verses? Why not just get on with the prophecies? Why would He take up six verses of Scripture to record for us how it all affected Daniel?

I hope at least one answer is obvious to all of us – the Lord wants us to know. And if He wants us to know, it’s because there is something (many things?) He wants us to learn. Remember from I Corinthians 10, “Now these things occurred as examples to us…These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the end of the ages has come…” (vv.6,11).

As I often relate, the Bible is a book of discipleship. If someone is reading or studying but not looking first and foremost for how the Lord wants to change their hearts and lives, they’re missing the point. If it was just a book of facts to be compiled, why take up six verses focused almost entirely on how it all affected Daniel and how he responded? Why would that matter? “Let’s get on with the good stuff,” some Bible fact-finder would say. No. Instead, let’s pause and realize what a jewel this is —to be given this rather extended description of a very godly man’s experience in the very presence of the glorified Jesus and His angels! I am quite sure there is much to learn and I’m also sure, if I live long enough to come back and study this again, I’ll find even more. As the Samaritan woman observed, “The well is deep!” (Jn. 4:11).

Notice what gives Daniel the strength to stand in the Angel’s presence – the Angel touches him; the Angel encourages him; then he can stand and speak. What do we learn from that? That our strength must come from heaven itself! No wonder the Lord tells us, “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10). From heaven -- That is precisely where our “strength” comes from. I personally find a huge part of spiritual growth is simply learning to practice that truth. No matter what the challenge before me, big or small, at work or at home, I must be constantly learning to seek the Lord’s strength and wisdom, and “day by day and with each passing moment, strength I find to meet my trials here.”

Notice too that Daniel’s strength is supplied by degrees. John Calvin observed, “I am never surprised when God raises us gradually by distinct steps, and cures our infirmity by degrees…” He goes on, “…if even a single drop of His virtue is supplied to us, we should be content with this consolation, until He should complete what He begun within us.” We are, of course, the McDonald’s generation – we want it now. However, it is part of maturity to realize that is rarely ever the Lord’s plan. He grows us just like everything else – slowly and by degrees. Even with Creation itself, He could have done it all in a flash, yet He spent seven days at it, with one in which He did nothing at all! Calvin’s point was that we should not be frustrated when we pray for answers, but they seem to come slowly. That’s just our Lord and we must learn to trust Him and wait on Him. “Wait, I say on the Lord, and He shall strengthen your heart” (Ps. 27:14).

There is soooo much more to observe here, but I’d better stop for today. Oh, may Daniel’s example be my own map and compass! In this great spiritual battle of life, may I learn like him to be humble yet trust the Lord for the great things He would do in me and through me.

And I want it now! …just kidding.

“And as he [was] speaking with me, I was strengthened and I said, ‘Speak, my lord, because you have made me strong.’”

 

 

Daniel 10:15 “Answers?”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁵And in his speaking with me according to the words the these, I set my face earthward and I was made speechless.

In my last post, I was puzzling over how devastating all of this was for Daniel, but that I can’t say the Lord has ever affected me that way. I said there, “… I realize that, if I actually saw a vision of Jesus in His glory and of angels and Seraphim shouting “Holy, holy, holy!”, I’d probably be in a terror too. In a sense I’m being too hard on myself, expecting to respond in faith to what I can’t see with my eyes. However, we walk by faith and not by sight. I don’t want to excuse myself simply because I don’t see something with my eyes. Faith should lift us above physical sight…It bothers me that I see these things in the Bible, but fear I know little of them in reality.”

My mother and I often discuss my studies. We enjoy kicking them around and considering what lessons we might learn. As we were pondering this one, she offered an insight that has actually kept my head sort of reeling ever since. I think it really is at least one answer to my questions.

She said something like, “To see Jesus, to see His great power, that's what gives us the strength to live for Him, to serve Him with more fervor.”

There may be many other lessons to learn, but I think she’s on to one that really helps me. Yes, that is where we all must start with God – on our face. As Paul said, “Then He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in weakness…’” (II Cor. 12:9). It is in being struck by His greatness that gives us the power to literally stand! In this case, I feel free to say it may not all be physical, but it is definitely spiritual. In other words, maybe knowing God doesn’t drive me physically to the ground or leave me barely able to breathe, but still that is where we must start on our way to being "strong" in Him.

Here is what I’m thinking: For myself I can say without any doubt, the biggest hindrance to my faith my entire life has been my arrogance. Jesus clearly warned us, “Without Me, you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). Perhaps it’s true of most people, but for me, being young meant I had the energy and the strength and the health to feel like literally “I can do it all.” While I was very busy “serving the Lord,” I know I never really understood Jesus’ words. I could read it and think that was what I was doing – depending on Him – but at the same time there was something in it that puzzled me. I hope it is a matter of faith that I feel I’ve become profoundly aware of just how true those words are, but the failing health of aging has certainly highlighted the truth. Without Him, I can do nothing. The fact is, I can’t do much anyway! Aging and a lifetime of reality go a long way toward skewering my pride!

I look back now and realize how very little was accomplished for all the time and energy and effort I put into doing what was, in reality, my will, not necessarily His. You see, I wasn’t starting where Daniel did – on my face. I’m sure I still have a lot more to learn, but I do feel like I’ve come a long way since my arrogant youth. Hopefully it is true that I am keenly aware of my utter futility without Him.

Especially in my morning prayers, looking ahead to another day, it’s almost overwhelming to realize how much I need Him. As Daniel said, “To Him belongs wisdom and power.” Wow is that true. To Him – not to me. I certainly don’t have wisdom – this crazy world and all its twists and turns and everything seemingly happening at once utterly overwhelms me. The fact is I don’t know. I don’t know what to do, how to respond, how to fix this or that, how to deal with this or that, what is the best plan going forward. I don’t know – but He does. I don’t know what He wants to accomplish in my world today – but He does. So sometimes, I can only sit in His presence in the morning, plead my hopeless ignorance and beg Him to let me be a willing participant in whatever it is He’s up to.

That’s the “wisdom” part, then there’s the power. I realize more today just how powerless I am. It’s not only true physically (age does a lot to impress that on me), but I see it spiritually now too. Daniel has really helped me to see that what seems to be going on here in our physical, visual world is really just an expression of that enormous cosmic battle swirling around us in the unseen spirit world. As David prayed, “Deliver me from my enemies, for they are too powerful for me” (Psalm 142:6). The truth is, I can’t make much of anything happen – really. I can’t make one day sunny or the next rain. I really have no control over many (most) of the decisions being made every day, no matter how dramatically they may affect my life. I can’t keep people from dying. I can’t keep my children from getting sick. The only person in our whole universe who can control what does and doesn’t happen is God.

So now, later in life, even as I pray, I guess it is true (hope it is true) that I am spiritually on my face and speechless. More and more often, I just want to sit in His presence in the wonder of who He is, and realize it is Him who is controlling the course of my life. Sometimes I feel even my prayers are just silly, childish babbling, that even my requests are me “darkening counsel without knowledge.” I think I could just sit in His presence and tell Him I trust Him – except that He Himself told me to “Come boldly unto the Throne of Grace,” that “the prayers of the upright are His delight.” And so I babble on.

It is true that the Lord’s presence has never driven me into physical helplessness, but I believe it’s what’s spiritual that matters anyway. “They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24). “My son, give Me your heart” (Prov. 23:26). And the good news is that the Lord doesn’t drive us to our faces, except to then, like Daniel, raise us up. He knows that if we start in our arrogance, nothing we do will really amount to anything, but if we start in humility, looking to Him, trusting Him, and letting Him give us His wisdom and His power, then we can, in fact, move the mountains of our world!

I’m thankful again to my Mom for that insight. I don’t think I’ve ever really thought through the issues of spiritual vs. physical worship. As he has again and again, Daniel leaves me an example that truly opens my eyes. His life is still blessing mine – 2,600 years later! Hmmmm. You’d think he started in humility!

Daniel 10:15 “Questions”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁵And in his speaking with me according to the words the these, I set my face earthward and I was made speechless.

I have been looking forward to studying these next few verses for a very long time. From v.15 to 19, we have recorded Daniel’s response to being in the presence of the pre-incarnate Jesus and these various angels. Frankly, I don’t know what I’m going to learn, but surely the Lord recorded this “for our admonition, upon whom the end of the ages has come” (I Cor. 10:11). Hopefully, as I slow down to really ponder these verses, there are more of what I call the Lord’s atom bombs – truths that will help me see Him more clearly and help me to live a more holy life – truths that “set me free,” as Jesus promised (John 8:32)!

Before I dig in, though, I want to try to record something that has also bothered me for a very long time. I’m recording it in part so, after studying, I can go back and see if, in fact, I’ve learned some things that answered these questions in my mind. On the other hand, I’m recording it in hopes that someone might stumble across this and say, “Yes. I know exactly what you mean. That bothers me too!” Then hopefully we can learn some of the Lord’s lessons together.

Here's my attempt to put my struggle into words: In these verses, we see a truly godly man physically and mentally crushed by his vision of the spirit world. Back earlier here in Daniel chapter 10, such terror filled his friends that they ran away in a fright. Daniel himself lost all strength and his “comeliness became corruption,” and he ended up on the ground himself. There the angel encouraged him and he stood up trembling, and yet here in v.15, he’s back with his face to the ground, and he’s even going to tell the angel in v.17, “I can hardly breathe!”  No Bible student can see this without thinking of Isaiah crying out, Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the Lord!” (6:5).

Add to this, from Isaiah 6, how the Seraphim cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory!” We could remember others all through the Bible profoundly moved by visions of the Lord and the spirit world.

What bothers me is that knowing Jesus doesn’t affect me that way. I’ve certainly enjoyed many times when the Lord has revealed Himself to me in very personal and impactful ways, however, it’s never driven me to the ground. Add to that, I don’t believe anyone today even knows what holiness is. Here are these angelic beings in the presence of God, crying out, “Holy, holy, holy!” Even these sinless, perfect creatures who live in the very presence of God, are so overwhelmed by this thing called holiness, they are moved to cry out in worship...and we don’t even know what it is!

Most people think holiness is God’s sinless perfection -- in a sense, His righteousness. However, I see several objections to that understanding. First of all, if that is true, why don’t the Seraphim cry out, “Righteous, righteous, righteous?” Add to that, if holiness is sinless perfection, why would it so move angelic beings who are themselves sinless and perfect? No. It is something much more than that.

Also, the word itself in Hebrew means something like “set apart.” People say it refers to the fact that God is “wholly other” – totally different than anything in all His creation. That is all true, but I’d still ask why the Seraphim are so moved by it, as to be crying out in worship?

So here we are, supposedly worshiping God’s holiness, singing about it, and longing to be “holy” ourselves, when the truth is, we don’t even know what it means! That to me is serious, especially when we read, “And without holiness, no one shall see God!” (Heb. 12:14). The Lord said at least three times to Israel, “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” then repeated it for us in 1 Peter 1:16: “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Apparently the Israelites and the early Christians knew what it meant. How do we apply that to our lives today, when we can’t even tell each other what it means?

We must be fallen much, much, much further from grace than we even begin to realize, when we don’t understand one of the most basic qualities the Lord possesses or what exactly that really means for us. No wonder we’re never driven to the ground in worship!

All of this was captured in a song performed by a contemporary Christian group who call themselves Addison Road. Their song went in part,

I guess I thought I had figured You out…

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be.

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees.

What do I know of You..?

What do I know?

What do I know of holy?

“What do I know of holy?”

I have to answer, apparently not much! That song, for me, seems to capture exactly what I can’t seem to figure out.

Back to our text here, I realize that, if I actually saw a vision of Jesus in His glory and of angels and Seraphim shouting “Holy, holy, holy!”, I’d probably be in a terror too. In a sense I’m being too hard on myself, expecting to respond in faith to what I can’t see with my eyes. However, we walk by faith and not by sight. I don’t want to excuse myself simply because I don’t see something with my eyes. Faith should lift us above physical sight.

It is possible all of this is just a kindness of the Lord – to hide from us what we are not ready to see. However, if these are things He does want us to see (by faith), then may He open our eyes. I wish I could cry out, “Holy, holy, holy!” and really know intimately what it means. I wish there was some sense of being overwhelmed by His presence. It bothers me that I see these things in the Bible, but fear I know little of them in reality.

Well, there it is. All questions. No answers.

This is exactly why I study the Bible. I want to be set free. Maybe as I study on in Daniel, He will answer some of these questions. It is literally a thrill when He does!

In the meantime, it is wonderful to know what (little) I do know of Him, to know His grace and kindness, to know Jesus went to the Cross for me and you, to know He cares and that even our questions are part of whatever it is He’s doing in our lives. “My heart is secure, I will have no fear; in the end I will look in triumph on my foes!” (Ps. 112:8).

Study on. “Lead on, O King eternal!”

Daniel 10:14,15 “The Wonder”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁴And I have come to cause you to understand what will happen to your people in the latter of the days because yet the vision to days. ¹⁵And in his speaking with me according to the words the these, I set my face earthward and I was made speechless.

Notice in v.14 that the angel tells Daniel, “Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” Reading that verse over and over and thinking about it, I am afraid it is true that, in a sense, I’ve grown to the place where I take prophecy for granted. What I mean is, stop and realize – this angel is saying he’s going to tell Daniel things that will happen in the future.

Things that haven’t happened yet. Involving people who haven’t even been born yet. In the future. Now remember that angels are not omniscient. They live in time and space just like you and me. They do not, in and of themselves, know the future anymore than you and me. So how can this angel tell Daniel “what will happen in the future?” Well, obviously, God told him. And how does God know? Because He is the eternal I AM. He knows no past, present, or future. He exists above time in an eternal NOW.

That is totally beyond our comprehension. He created time and space for us to live in, so it is all we know. We exist in a world where we (might) remember the past, we are here in the present, but we have no clue what will happen in the next ten seconds, much less in thousands of years! However, God does.

The wonder of all that is what I am afraid I’ve come to take for granted. I pick up my Bible and read prophecies and just say, “Oh.” I forget that prophecy is impossible for anyone or anything in the universe – except our Lord! For myself, I just want to stop and praise Him, worship Him. He truly is our great God! “For thus saith the high and lofty One, who inhabits eternity, ‘I dwell in a high and holy place – and with him who is poor and of a contrite spirit…’” (Isa. 57:15).

It would probably be enough for our feeble souls to stop there, but there is more – so much more! Remember that, just like angels in the beginning, and just like Adam and Eve, every single human being is created with the dignity of choice. All day every day you and I are making choices. Will I go here or will I go there? Will I respond graciously to that guy or punch him in the face? Will I vote for this one or that one? Will I be faithful to my wife or let my heart (and eyes) wander? Will I turn right or left? Just think about it – even now, right now at this minute, if in fact there are eight billion people on earth, you have eight billion intelligent, capable creatures making choices – seemingly totally independent choices. Some of those choices are irrelevant to you and me and some will be momentous.

We don’t know what they’re all choosing, yet the Lord can tell us exactly what will happen in the future. On the one hand, as we said above, that’s because He simply knows. He exists in an eternal present, high above us ants scurrying around our tiny anthills. However, then note, it isn’t just that He knows. It is also true it will all work out perfectly according to His plan. People think, because they have this power of choice, that they are the masters of their own destiny. They may be choosing – and that sometimes good and sometimes bad – yet they are not the masters. God is. Regardless of how they choose, this world will end up exactly where the Lord intends it to go.

Once again, this is totally beyond our understanding, but think of what a wonder it is! At the same time, our God can grant to us the dignity of complete freedom to be constantly choosing, yet, no matter what choices we make, we’ll all end up exactly where He wants us. No doubt, non-believers will scoff and chafe at such truth, but those of us who do believe can actually take that as both an honor and a comfort! That dignity of choice is an enormous honor He bestows on us, but then, knowing what an idiot I am, I can take great comfort in knowing my destiny is ever in His hands! “They (or I) might mean it for evil, but God means it for good.” “All things (including my bad choices!) work together for good.”

Are not the Jewish people (“your people” – the focus of this angel’s words!) the case in point? Their track record, sadly, has been to make bad choices ever since the Lord led them out of Egypt. If ever there was a people who seemed to completely frustrate God’s plans, is it not them? Yet prophecy is still prophecy and the Lord assures us, “And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written…” (Romans 11:26). “As it is written…” It was their choice whether or not to worship that golden calf. It was their choice whether to go into Canaan and conquer or turn away in fear. It was their choice whether to truly study God’s Word and understand the times. Because they did not, they didn’t even recognize their own Messiah and instead murdered Him! It was all their choice – and yet the Lord can still tell Daniel “what will happen to your people in the end times.”

Of course, not one of us has any room to criticize the Jewish people. We are no better. We just didn’t get our bad choices written down in the Bible for people to read about for literally centuries!

I don’t know about you, but sitting here pondering these things, I definitely think I’ve let my heart grow too accustomed to the wonder of prophecy and our great God who provided it to us. I’m going to try, every time I read or think of prophecies to pause and worship God that, while He grants us the dignity of making our own choices all day every day, even the course of human events (and my life), regardless of how we (I) choose, always has been, still is, and always will be in His wise, just, and gracious hands!