As I conclude my time in the book of Daniel, I must say it has been a delight to study the book. Unlike other times when I have read it, this time among the many points I got from the book, the humility of Daniel and the matchless wisdom of God were by far the points that were highlighted to me. I am excited to see what the Lord will draw my attention to the next time I read it again. Indeed, every time you pick your Bible and submit to its knowledge, the Spirit of God gives you new revelations every time because the wisdom of God is endless and we could never grasp Him in one reading! It is hard and even foolish to think that we often elevate ourselves to the level of God knowing how much it takes for us to understand His word. What’s ironic, if the Lord does not open our eyes or give us understanding, we will never grasp Him. This alone should be sufficient to humble us but alas, that is not always the case. This week, I would like to reflect on the portion of the righteous which is victory and the idea of fighting a battle that has already been won by the Lord as well as reflecting once more on the wisdom of God as highlighted in the end of the book of Daniel.
The last chapters of Daniel relate many events shown through visions. Some of the events that Daniel saw have come to pass already but other are still yet to come. In all those visions, it is clear that the righteous will win. His end is victory. You see many of the righteous being clothed with white garments that have been washed, you see the righteous never falling to the hand of the evil one, you see the righteous always being rescued by the Lord. Even when it seems like it is the end of the righteous, the Lord steps in mightily as we read: “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1). Today, we know that in Christ, we have the ultimate victory over sin and death because of the substitutionary work of Christ on the cross. In Christ, God took the punishment that we deserved and imputed that upon His son on the cross. Yes, Jesus died for our sins, he died in our place, he died to appease the wrath of God that we rightly deserved, he emptied himself and became nothing so that we might become everything. He forsook the fellowship and intimacy he had with his Father for our sake, the beloved son became an enemy of God. Such was our predicament but thanks be to God, those of us who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour have been redeemed, we have been made new, we are reconciled to God, our relationship with the Father has been restored, we can approach the throne of God again, we have become heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), no longer slaves to sin but slaves to freedom, slaves to righteousness, hallelujah!
Much of what Daniel saw has materialized in Jesus but the ultimate victory is still to come as we live in the waiting phase of seeing our master take his rightful place as Judge of all the earth and bridegroom. More wars are coming, more battles are on the way, uncertainty is surely making its way upon us but we who are in Christ already know how it ends, we are victorious! That is why we can certainly act as the Lord Jesus expects of us, to live courageously like what was told Daniel: “…but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action” (Daniel 11:32). This is the portion of the righteous, living courageously in the midst of storms and turbulences. This courageous living involves living righteously, living and upholding the values of Christ, the values he died for. In the context of Daniel, the people who knew their God lived courageously in the midst of confusion, seduction with flattery, violation of the covenant of God, idolatry and more. The same should be true of us today, in the midst of turmoil, we must stand firm because we know our God. Knowing our God means we know His words, we trust in His promises, we believe in the Son, we uphold the truth of His words and live by it. In the words of Jesus, we should take heart because he has overcome the world in the midst of tribulations and hardships (John 16:33). Thanks be to God the tribulations and hardships are only for a little while; they do not last for eternity! Unfortunately, living courageously does not just happen overnight. It is something that has to be exercised again and again and eventually, living courageously becomes second nature. This does not mean it will be easy; however, I am persuaded that the more submerged we are in Christ, the more our passion for him increases. For we then boil within for righteousness and like Jeremiah we say concerning the Word, “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name’, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9). Not standing for righteousness, justice, truth, light and the like will not be an option for us because we would be burning for righteousness because that is who we are in Christ. We are people who love truth, people who love gentleness, people who love forgiveness, people who love submission, people who love peace, people who love the Lord. Therefore, like Daniel, let our strength come from the Lord, let us apply ourselves to knowledge like he did, humbling himself before the Lord. We have this assurance from Daniel that the more we study God’s words, the more our knowledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4).
The final point I wanted to highlight from the closing of the book of Daniel is the fact that God’s wisdom is unfathomable, it is incomprehensible to our human minds. The end times prophecies Daniel received in the last chapters of the book did not make sense to him. More than two thousand years later, we still are not able to grapple with the same prophecies, yet, they were said plainly. Indeed, we are told that Daniel heard what was said but did not understand (Daniel 12:8) simply because the understanding had been sealed for a later time (Daniel 12:4). The things of God are beyond our capacity to process, it is too lofty for us like the psalmist tells us (Psalm 139). Can you imagine just how low Jesus had to stoop to come down to earth? It is incredible that the one in whom wisdom resides, the one who is Wisdom became flesh, subjected himself to our level of intelligence for our sake. Our response should just be to bow down and worship because He deserves all our praise and adoration. I am grateful to the Lord because in His kindness He chose to let us in on what is going to happen in the future before He returns. He did not have to but He did and for that we thank Him. However, this knowledge should cause us to look forward to our everlasting life with Him and not bring us fear. It should cause us to realize that there is nothing this world can offer us because it is coming to pass. It should help us see that in Christ, we have everything.
I don’t know where you stand before this Holy and blameless God; I don’t know if this world is all there is for you; I don’t know if having a relationship with Jesus is something that is on your radar, or better yet being reconciled with God but I do know that today if you are reading this, then the Lord Jesus is calling you to trust in Him. God is extending a very special invitation to you so that you can become a new creature and escape the judgement that is already on your head by virtue of being human. As Ephesians tell us, “By nature, we are children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). There is nothing in us that can make us righteous before a Holy God, no amount of good works can help us, only the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross can. Jesus has already paid the price for your sins and the sins of the world, and by doing that he secured reconciliation with God and eternal life. One of the most courageous things you can do in today’s world is to say “yes” to Jesus. He has promised to be with you, he is Emmanuel, God with us so you have nothing to fear. And if you needed anymore reasons to come to him, he has defeated death, conquered hell, is above all things and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15). Rest assured, you are more than a conqueror in him, you are in good hands with him. Will you trust in him today? I pray you do for time is running out. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 