Balancing Ministry N' Work

Chapter ten is not the last chapter of the Book of Daniel, but it does bring us to the beginning of the last vision. What we start here will carry us through wrapping up the book of Daniel over the next several weeks. This fourth vision is a deep dive into the vision of chapter eight. In chapter we saw a ram who ruled for a period of time, which was the Mede and Persian empire. Then an amazingly fast and very strong goat arrived and knocked the ram out of commission. The goat was Greece under Alexander the Great. He ended up dying at a young age and his kingdom was split into four. Many years later when the people of Israel had turned their back on God, one of the kings from one of the four kingdoms conquered the Israelites. The king set himself up as a god and stopped all worship to the One True God. Eventually after the kings death the people turned back to god and rededicated the temple.   As we get into the Word over the next couple of weeks, we will see a lot more detail that

So far in this chapter we have seen that Daniel had studied the prophesies given by Jeremiah. Daniel had read that the nation was sent out for a 70-year exile due to their turning their back on God, and Daniel realized that he was living in year 69. Understanding how Holy and righteous God is and how many of his people have not repented and turned back to God, Daniel began to intercede for the people. Daniel’s faith was strong, and he trusted that God would follow through with the prophecy that had been given to Jeremiah. Daniel believed that God would honor His word and pleaded for mercy for him and the people of Israel. As we looked at more of Daniel’s prayer last week, it was obvious that he understood that the people deserved the judgement they had received. They did not listen to God, they did not listen to the prophets God sent, and continued to ignore the commands that had been given. They had been warned, they did not listen, so they were judged. The warning was followed

Chapter 9 has shown us that Daniel was studying the prophesies given by Jeremiah prior to the exile. He has seen that the time of exile will come to an end, and that time is coming close as the people are in the 69 th year of a 70-year exile. As Daniel studies the prophesies he sees that his people deserved the judgement they received, but he also knows that the prophecy says that God will deliver the people if they turn back to God. Understanding the reality of things, Daniel prayed. He recognized that he was not perfect, and neither are the rest of the people. He understood who God is and that they can count on Him. So, Daniel began his prayer praising God for who He is and pleading with God to hear him, confessing of his sins, and the sins of the people. Daniel’s prayer is a reminder to trust in the promises of God. Trust that He will always be with us. Trust that through our faith in Jesus, we have received the most amazing gift of all, an eternity in Glory. Daniel 9:7-8 “

We have looked at the first two of four apocalyptic visions and chapter 9 brings us the third. The first two visions happened during the early portion of Belshazzar’s reign, and this one came during the first year of Darius’ reign after the Mede and Persian Empire conquered Babylon. The year was 537 BC, which was 69 years after Daniel had been taken into captivity by king Nebuchadnezzar.   Let’s see what God has in-store for us today.   Daniel 9:1   “ 9  In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, a Mede by birth, who was made king over the Chaldean kingdom—”   Verse one is setting the stage for us. What we read in chapter nine happens shortly after the events of chapter five. You might recall that King Belshazzar had taken the holy artifacts from the temple of God and was using them to worship pagan gods. A large hand appeared and wrote on the wall but none of the king’s men could interpret it so reluctantly the king called in Daniel. Daniel told the king that the writi