Daniel 10
COMMENTARY:
: 2 When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks.
: 3 All that time I had eaten no pleasant food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. (2531 “pleasant” [chemed] means desirable, delight, beauty, the best or most valuable things available, precious things, or treasure.)
DEVOTION: As a young believer you might not understand the importance of fasting and prayer. The book of Daniel emphasizes the importance of communication with the LORD. HE wants us to realize that we have total access to HIM every moment of every day. HE wants to hear from us to show our dependence on HIM. It is one of the most important disciplines of the Christian faith.
Daniel was praying for something he really wanted an answer to in his life and ministry with those who were in captivity. The seventy years that the prophet Jeremiah had spoken of for the term of the captivity were almost over and Daniel wanted to know the future of Israel.
The LORD didn’t send an answer right away but Daniel had to wait twenty-one days for an answer to a prayer he was praying all that time. God sometimes makes us wait for an answer to prayer. We should be willing to wait for HIM. Sometimes HE wants to know how serious we are to get an answer. Fasting or skipping a meal or a day of meal or as Daniel did here he skipped twenty- one days of meals. That is a long time but if we need a serious answer to a serious question we need to think about prayer and fasting for more than one day.
It even sounds like he would have gone longer. The LORD went forty days without food before HE faced the devil in the wilderness. HE set the example for us.
CHALLENGE: Challenges are part of life and sometimes if we are looking for answers from the LORD we need to fast for longer periods of time. Are you willing to do this to receive an answer to prayer?
: 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words. (6031 “chasten” [‘anah] means humble, afflict, exercised, be bowed down, humble oneself by fasting, abase self or to submit oneself.)
DEVOTION: When a servant of God wants to understand what is happening in his life and in the lives of other he sometimes needs to do it with fasting and prayer.
Daniel wanted to know more information regarding the future. He prayed and waited for the LORD to respond to his prayer. It took twenty-one days of prayer and fasting for the answer to arrive.
We need to understand that there is fighting going on all around us that we never see. The angel Gabriel gives us this insight by informing Daniel that he was fighting with the evil angels of Persia before he could come with an answer to the prayer. He needed the help of Michael the archangel in that battle.
Daniel was told to not fear. We are told throughout the Bible not to fear. God loves HIS children and cares for them. There is nothing to fear. We are to reverence the LORD but to be afraid of the works of the devil should not be in our vocabulary. We need to tell Satan to get behind us.
Our prayer life is key to having the strength to fight off the fears and worries of this life. In the strength of the LORD we can face any enemy and have victory.
CHALLENGE: If we are to have victory we need to practice fasting and prayer at times in our life. God might allow the answer to be delayed but it is coming.
: 18 Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. (5060 “touched” [naga] means to reach, to afflict, strike, to touch the heart, to make physical contact with, come in contact with, or to be stricken.)
DEVOTION: We all like to have someone love us. We all need a hug once in a while. Even a hearty handshake can encourage our spirit. Today we have many people who have very few real friends or family member who care to encourage. It can be a very discouraging world we live in.
God through HIS prophets and the disciples of the New Testament informs HIS children that HE loves them. “God is love” is the statement we read in a few places in the New Testament.
Here we find that Daniel needed strengthening and the LORD had someone touch him three times. Each time Daniel was strengthened. The LORD want to strengthen us on a regular basis. HE can do it through reading HIS Word the Bible. HE can do it through HIS angels. But most of the time HE uses a fellow human being to encourage us.
Maybe you are one of those HE can use to encourage others through a smile, a warm handshake or a hug. I am a hugger. Some appreciate it and others don’t but the Holy Spirit will give me wisdom regarding who needs a hug and who doesn’t.
Sometime a note in the mail or a phone call with prayer can be just what the Holy Spirit can us to encourage others. One of the ministries that each of us who are believers should have is that of encouragement.
CHALLENGE: Be an encourager to others.
: 21 But I will show thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince. (3791 “scripture” [kathab] means writing, edit, document, or register.)
DEVOTION: Daniel had been reading the prophecies of Jeremiah. This is a reliable book. It is said to be a book of the decrees of God.
Remember the LORD has a plan for the future and that plan is going to happen. Why? Because it is a statement of TRUTH. The Bible is TRUTH. Today we have many telling us that there is no such thing as truth. Everything we say is just our opinion. They say everything is relative nothing is absolute. That is not what the Bible teaches.
Our Bible is absolute truth. Our Bible is inerrant. There is only one way to come to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ HIS son who died on the cross for our sins. Our beliefs are exclusive! They are based on the Word of God alone.
The prophecy regarding the seventy years was going be fulfilled. The truth of the Word of God is stated here. The angel was delivering a message from God to Daniel.
He told Daniel about the fighting that goes on behind the scenes. Good angels fighting bad angels. Each nation has an angel assigned to it. The angel that was to deliver a message to Daniel was prevented for twenty-one days because of the fighting the evil angel over the Persian nation. This could be a good reason not to think that this messenger is a theophany. Christ would not have needed the help of Michael. Michael came to the aid of this messenger. Michael seems to be stronger than just a regular angel. He is the prince of Israel. He is also described as a chief angel. Remember that there seem to be at least twenty-two types of angels revealed in the Word of God. Also, remember that they are always referred to as masculine.
The message is that there is a future hope for Israel. If there is a future hope for Israel, than there is a future hope for us as well. If there is an angel for the nations of Israel, Persia and Greece than there must be an angel for the nation of America.
Do we realize that there is fighting going on between the good angels and the evil angels over the nation of America? We don’t think that there is a lot of demon activity here in America but if we really look around we will find it going on all around us.
Which angel is winning regarding our nation? Remember the LORD rises up leaders and takes them down. That means nations too. Prepare to see the word of God fulfilled. We have the Document of TRUTH!!! Let us share these truths with others.
CHALLENGE: We say that we believe the Bible. Is it absolute truth in our eyes? If so, we need to practice what we learn from the Word of God.
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