7And I, Daniel, alone saw
the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great
trembling fell on them and they fled in hiding themselves. 8And I
was left alone and I saw the vision the great the this and no strength remained
in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I kept no strength. 9And
I heard the sound of His words and as I [was] hearing the sound of His words,
and I was one being dropped into deep sleep upon my face and my face earthward.
10And behold! A hand touched me and set me trembling on my knees and
the palms of my hands, 11and he said to me, “Daniel, man greatly
valued, understand in the words which I [am] speaking to you and stand on your
place, because now I am sent to you,” And in his speaking with me the word the
this, I stood up trembling.
These verses are so full of practical jewels, it’s hard to zero in on any one of them! I think I’ll just dive in. No particular order – just the things I think I see and learn from the passage. First of all, and for whatever it’s worth – it’s interesting how Daniel records the response of the men who were with him. They didn’t see the vision, yet we’re told, “Such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.” The same thing happened to Saul of Tarsus when he met Jesus. We’re told, “The men traveling with Saul stood speechless; they heard the sound, but did not see anyone” (Acts 9:7).
In a sense, in both cases, the other men are witnesses. Someone could say of both Daniel and Saul, “Nothing really happened. They just made up their stories of these incredible visions.” Yet, how would anyone explain away these other men’s responses? Even though they didn’t hear or see the visions, in both cases they would all testify that “something happened.” I would bet, if you could ask them about it, they would all assert that whatever it was, it was something other-worldly, something supernatural.
You and I believe our Bibles, so we don’t need to be convinced the visions were true, yet, in both cases the Lord saw fit to confirm His truth with some witnesses.
That makes me wonder how often the same thing happens to us, whether we know it or not. What I mean is that, everywhere we go as believers, the Lord is doing His amazing supernatural work through us. I wonder how often someone else senses that supernatural presence, even if we were totally unaware of their reaction? I think we’ve all experienced that ourselves – where someone said something or did something and we just knew in our hearts it was way bigger than simply what we saw or heard. For those around us, could that be something the Lord is using to melt another person’s heart, to in some way “crack their armor,” to create even a tiny opening for grace to shine into their hearts?
He says He draws us with “the cords of His love.” Would that not be the effect both of these visions had on those around our friends? In the case before us, they knew Daniel and we can be sure they knew of his faith and his excellent character. Now add to that this “supernatural” experience and how do you suppose it affected them? Could it not have moved them to think seriously about this God of Daniel? May the Lord do the same in the hearts of people around us who need to know Him – in our case, even if we often don’t even realize just how much our Lord is up to.
Then we need to wade into the whole subject of how all of this affects Daniel. I think there is a part of all of us that would say, “I wish I could see angels. I wish I could see visions of heaven and what is going on in the spirit world around me.” Yet, as we’ve noted before, we’d better be careful what we wish for. Daniel has already recorded several visions in the first nine chapters and here we are in the tenth, and what has been his experience? Remember in 7:15 when he said, “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me,” then in v. 28, he concludes, “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
Then in chapter 8, the first time Gabriel appears to him, he says, “As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate,” (v.17) then he concludes, “I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days…I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.” The next time Gabriel appears to him in chapter 9, he doesn’t record such an adverse reaction, but here we are in chapter 10 and he’s telling us, “And I was left alone and I saw the great vision, and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I retained no strength…And as he spoke with me this message, I stood up trembling” (vv. 8,11).
As we said, perhaps we’d better be careful what we wish for! Maybe we should all count it a blessing our God doesn’t allow us to see into the spirit world! As we grow in our knowledge of the Lord, we learn to thank Him not only for the gifts He gives but also for those He withholds. There is a grace in receiving, but also in withholding, and it would seem this is one.
And why is that? Hmmmm. How easily we forget that we’re sinners! Oh, yeah. Although I am born again, I am still a child of Adam and always will be until Jesus Himself “transforms our lowly bodies so that they be like His glorious body!” (Phil. 3:21). I know I quickly forget that my heart is “desperately wicked and deceitful above all things,” (Jer. 17:9) and that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). Even our friend Daniel, as godly as he seems to us, is still one of us – born rebels, prone to wander, broken images of the people God created us to be.
Although it can be variously translated, in v. 8 of our passage Daniel says, upon seeing the vision of the glorified Jesus, “all my comeliness became corruption,” or “all my glory became corruption.” It isn’t just simple fear that drives Daniel to the ground. It is the sudden realization of his horrific sinfulness. Can we imagine what it must really be like as sinners to suddenly be in the presence of pure holiness? It isn’t even close, but I’m reminded of times where I was working outside getting very hot, dirty, and sweaty, then having to step into an office full of well-dressed pretty secretaries, men in office attire, the smell of the ladies’ perfumes, and spotlessly clean furniture and carpets. When I was outside, I didn’t notice how disgusting I was, but suddenly I did and I felt so completely out of place. I was quite happy to get back out into my dirty, stinky world!
That must be about one millionth the horror we would feel to suddenly be in the presence of holy angels! I would suggest that’s just another one of the Lord’s graces to us – not allowing us to really comprehend who we are. He probably allows us just enough of a sense of our sin to keep us humble (if we’ll let Him), but hides most of it, lest we be driven to despair. Thank God for Jesus! As the song says, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus…” “By His will we have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ…” (Heb. 10:10).
The day will come for all of us, either through our death or the Coming of Jesus, when “this robe of flesh we’ll drop and rise, to gain the everlasting prize.” It will be that day when “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed…Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 15:51,57). However, until then, it is a mercy of God that He doesn’t allow us to see the full enormity of this awful sinfulness, and He Himself chooses to see us through the blood of His Son – as “dearly loved children.”
Perhaps Daniel’s example would teach us to be thankful for what we don’t see with our eyes -- that our Father “knows our frame, that we are but dust,” and in mercy instead makes us live by faith and not sight! I believe Daniel does teach us to in fact “see” the spirit world, but then to be content that we must, in this world, see it by faith.
Let us then go forward in faith and see what else Daniel does teach us about that spirit world swirling around us, yet out of our sight!
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