“How can these things be?” This simple question appears twice in the Christmas narrative. The first is in Luke 1:18 when a priest named Zacharias encountered Gabriel while ministering in the Holy Place. Gabriel had just notified Zach that he and his wife would, at long last, be parents and their child would be the herald of the Messiah.
Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.”
This was not the exact wording of our title, but it holds the same meaning. The second time it occurs is later in the same chapter. In verse 34 Gabriel again appears, only to a virgin girl in Nazareth. There Gabriel outlines the amazing story of how the Messiah would be born to her. Besides being “perplexed,” according to Luke, she asked a logical question.
Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
Both questions were essentially the same. They both asked how it could be, followed by a logical extension of the “difficulties” or obstacles confronting the events. What is interesting in our thought today is the response each received.
Look back to Zacharias in v. 19.
The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
Compare that to the response Mary received in v. 35.
The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Was the angel just being “gentle” with this adolescent girl as compared to the wizened old priest? The angel’s explanation continued, even citing the miracle that he had proclaimed to Zacharias about six months earlier.
And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
If an old lady, well past child-bearing days is able to conceive, then you should have no problems. “Oh, yes...” (Jim’s addition here. Hopefully it is not misleading or sacrilegious.) “...the little problem of virginity is just the validation that the Holy Spirit needs to verify the identity of the Coming One. Hang on tight, little lady.”
We find her response in v. 38.
And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”
Zacharias’, “How can these things be?” was a sarcastic, doubt driven response to his limited faith in the ability and power of the angel and of the Lord. “HOW can these things be?” You can almost hear his “under-the-breath mutter,” that this is impossible. And Gabriel challenged him on that very point. “I stand before the One Who created the whole universe.” (See thought on “What is Man?" Of course, Gabriel did not have the internet to convey this note. But you knew that.)
“God created the universe. Causing a conception in the womb of a woman “past childbearing” is a simple thing for Him. Check out Sarah and Rachel. Your own history should overcome your simple, doubting question.” (No offense here, Zacharias. You were probably still reeling from the shock of the angel encounter.) All he had to do was think back to Elisha (2 Kings 4) and see his exact situation. Gabriel was very restrained, if I say so myself.
Mary’s answer was a wondering, amazed declaration of faith. “How can THESE things be?” She did not have the perspective of having seen all this before. It was a first, and only time event. But she immediately and instinctively believed. We can confirm this response in her next utterance in verse 38. (Jim again.) “Wow! What a wonderful thing! I am all in!” And she was. The “rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey used to say, is a thing to behold.
Zecharias has to witness the miracle before his faith was confirmed. And it was spectacularly rewarded. He could see and hear again. We can call his, “Gideon faith.” After the miracle, I will believe.
Mary had “Abraham faith.” She, like Abraham, had not seen the promised miracle or blessing, but believed anyway. “Go, and I will show you....” (Genesis 12) What a witness to a dying world, then and now.
Lord, let that be my question today. How can THESE things be? They are too wonderful to believe. No, they are too wonderful not to believe. Let it begin with me.
Monday, December 9, 2019
Sunday, December 8, 2019
What Is Man?
What interesting thoughts run through the mind at night. And this might possibly be caused by a change in medication or the addition of one. I am extra hungry, one side effect of a new drug, so that may explain the active cogitation. How about attributing this to the work of the Holy Spirit making Himself known? I like that one. Although, He does not do it every night. It often accompanies some change in schedule or routine or, ahem, medication. But He is still the instigator.
A case in point recently kept me awake. I contracted what the doctor thinks is bronchitis and only sleep in spurts. In one of the semi-sleep episodes, my mind wandered to the idea of a Masonic lodge, particularly the ceremony enacted in memory of a departed “lodge brother,” or whatever they call themselves. It is often at a funeral.
I have only seen one such action and was mystified. I do know that some, if not many, or even all Baptist churches, “frown on” such displays, particularly in a church service, the funeral. I questioned someone who knew more about it and received an interesting answer. I do not know if he was a Mason or not, but he offered a suggested explanation or justification for the process.
He said that it might help people to have more confidence that they are going to heaven. It was suggested that a justification for membership was to make sure that the person had not “left anything out.” This might be a “final push” to get him over the threshold into heaven.
I immediately wondered, “What then, would be enough?” Would or should everyone join every organization and religion “just to make sure?” I asked the question but did not respond to his answer. But maybe I should have. Here is what he said.
“Jesus is ‘big enough’ to let someone have that little extra boost in confidence that he will make it.” I did not like that response. We do know that if this person has accepted Christ as Savior, he is as good as being in heaven right then. So this little “extra help” will not affect that at all, unless he was not truly sincere and recognized it. This was at a funeral, and I decided not to make a scene. But, the “help” answer is wrong on several levels. He was correct about faith. But the concept of helping Jesus save us is problematic. Here is why.
First, the item in question is not the “bigness” of Jesus. It is the faith of the person in question. The hymn, “In Christ Alone,” sums up the situation. Nothing more than Christ is needed because there is nothing more. Everything else is less. The basis of salvation is not “production” or works. It is the SUBSTITUTION of Christ’s righteousness for our unrighteousness. It has been imputed to us. Accepting Him puts us into the position of being seen by the Father as if we were His Son. And we are. Sons of God is not a euphemism or a platitude. It is a fact. I am God’s son. You are His son or daughter.
Now let’s get into a little science. I am confident that the aforementioned Holy Spirit gave me this insight. It is time to turn our attention to astrophysics. (Spoiler alert. A series is in the offing here.) We recently had an event called the Mercury Transit. On November 11, the planet Mercury passed in front of the sun. It was the same thing as an eclipse by the moon, except that the dimensions and perspectives are far different. For people with proper solar protection and a telescope, Mercury appeared as a small dot passing across the face of the sun. The same thing happens during a solar eclipse, only the body passing in front of the sun is our moon.
The major difference is the proximity between the earth and the “transiting” body. When the moon makes a transit, it, coincidentally appears to be the same size as the sun, and completely blocks our view. Providing, that is, we are in a direct line between the sun, the moon, and our observation location. It took about five and a half hours for Mercury to cross the sun’s face. The moon takes only a few minutes at the most.
Now for my inspiration. Imagine an astronaut standing on the side of the moon facing us during a full eclipse. He will strike a match at the point of full eclipse. (I know, a match would not light on the moon. There is no oxygen. Just humor me for the sake of illustration.) Would an observer on earth be able to see the match burning on the moon?
“How ridiculous!” you can and should retort. Of course we cannot see anything that small from that far away. Now let’s extend our analogy. Put an astronaut on Mercury during its transit and have him strike a match. (Technical impossibilities noted. This is a word picture. Thanks for your understanding and PERMISSION.) With the brilliance of the sun in the background, our ability to observe the flaring match would be even less. Mercury will obscure part of the light, but the match will compensate for some of the lost light. (Smile)
Back to the topic. Theologically, a Masonic rite will have as much impact on a person’s suitability for entry into heaven as the flaring match will add to the visible light from the sun. In fact, the analogy may be even more apt as placing something in place of Christ, then “lighting the match” of ritual will not increase the light observed, but actually less light will reach the observer. (Recall that Jesus’ righteousness is infinite, so that we cannot add to, nor detract from it. But that merely supports our explanation.) We can call this the practical or scientific refutation of the idea.
I already alluded to the paucity of knowledge as to how much or how many such “additions” we need to “complete the work” of Christ. And, yes, I used that term deliberately. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” That can be translated as “Paid in full,” or fully completed. Jesus removed any doubt or question as to the sufficiency of His sacrifice.
But, going farther, Isaiah 42:8 declares:
“I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 48:11 repeats the same phrase. The question is not whether God is big enough to allow us to “add a little security” to our salvation. It is whether we are humble (or wise) enough to recognize the paucity of our ability to increment His glory and work. If we can comprehend the example of Mercury and the astronaut, we can surely understand His direct statement. Just as we cannot receive more light from our astronaut lighting a match on Mercury, we cannot make a better “presentation of brightness” or holiness to God.
Adding anything else to His finished work is pride. It is foolish pride, to be precise. Nothing more is needed, and nothing more can be added. And in light of the astronomical illustration, both literal and figurative, we come to David’s declaration in Psalm 144:3.
O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?
Oh, by the way. If we continue to travel “out” from our perspective of observing Mercury, we will pass the edge of the solar system and eventually will leave the Milky Way galaxy. We will get so far away that the galaxy itself will appear as invisible as the planet we “saw” circling the sun. And then, continuing to move away from the group of our “local galaxies,” they will diminish into invisibility.
Space is a big place. And yet, the Creator of this whole thing deigns to notice “man.” That is not the whole of mankind. It is one single person. That is David, and that is you, and that is me. “Stunning or unbelievable” are as inadequate to describe this as “very small or slight” describes the match flare billions of light-years away.
The God Who made the entire universe paid the price for my sin. Incidentally, an offense against such a Person, is a big thing, to understate it a tad. If I were to crawl on my knees in repentance and retribution to the end of the universe, my offense would be as far from being “paid in full” as it is right now. I cannot add anything to what He did.
But, sadly, I can take away from it. Not literally, of course, but in my faith, I am diminishing the sacrifice that He made. And that, I dare not do.
I did not state this, but it seems to be true. Christ plus nothing is everything. Christ plus anything is nothing. I hesitate to declare such flawed thinking as meaning that someone is “lost.” But, thinking that we can or should add anything to what God said is the basis of every cult and false religion. The hisssssss of the serpent in the Garden was, “Did God really say...?” We can reprise it as, “Did God do enough?” He did!
Adding our, or actually, Satan’s, answer to what God said, is the fatal first step of unbelief. Jesus said, “It is finished.” It is complete. It is done.
Is this “extra push” needed? Absolutely not! Should we do it? Probably not. Does it hurt anything? Yes, it diminishes my faith.
It is enough!
A case in point recently kept me awake. I contracted what the doctor thinks is bronchitis and only sleep in spurts. In one of the semi-sleep episodes, my mind wandered to the idea of a Masonic lodge, particularly the ceremony enacted in memory of a departed “lodge brother,” or whatever they call themselves. It is often at a funeral.
I have only seen one such action and was mystified. I do know that some, if not many, or even all Baptist churches, “frown on” such displays, particularly in a church service, the funeral. I questioned someone who knew more about it and received an interesting answer. I do not know if he was a Mason or not, but he offered a suggested explanation or justification for the process.
He said that it might help people to have more confidence that they are going to heaven. It was suggested that a justification for membership was to make sure that the person had not “left anything out.” This might be a “final push” to get him over the threshold into heaven.
I immediately wondered, “What then, would be enough?” Would or should everyone join every organization and religion “just to make sure?” I asked the question but did not respond to his answer. But maybe I should have. Here is what he said.
“Jesus is ‘big enough’ to let someone have that little extra boost in confidence that he will make it.” I did not like that response. We do know that if this person has accepted Christ as Savior, he is as good as being in heaven right then. So this little “extra help” will not affect that at all, unless he was not truly sincere and recognized it. This was at a funeral, and I decided not to make a scene. But, the “help” answer is wrong on several levels. He was correct about faith. But the concept of helping Jesus save us is problematic. Here is why.
First, the item in question is not the “bigness” of Jesus. It is the faith of the person in question. The hymn, “In Christ Alone,” sums up the situation. Nothing more than Christ is needed because there is nothing more. Everything else is less. The basis of salvation is not “production” or works. It is the SUBSTITUTION of Christ’s righteousness for our unrighteousness. It has been imputed to us. Accepting Him puts us into the position of being seen by the Father as if we were His Son. And we are. Sons of God is not a euphemism or a platitude. It is a fact. I am God’s son. You are His son or daughter.
Now let’s get into a little science. I am confident that the aforementioned Holy Spirit gave me this insight. It is time to turn our attention to astrophysics. (Spoiler alert. A series is in the offing here.) We recently had an event called the Mercury Transit. On November 11, the planet Mercury passed in front of the sun. It was the same thing as an eclipse by the moon, except that the dimensions and perspectives are far different. For people with proper solar protection and a telescope, Mercury appeared as a small dot passing across the face of the sun. The same thing happens during a solar eclipse, only the body passing in front of the sun is our moon.
The major difference is the proximity between the earth and the “transiting” body. When the moon makes a transit, it, coincidentally appears to be the same size as the sun, and completely blocks our view. Providing, that is, we are in a direct line between the sun, the moon, and our observation location. It took about five and a half hours for Mercury to cross the sun’s face. The moon takes only a few minutes at the most.
Now for my inspiration. Imagine an astronaut standing on the side of the moon facing us during a full eclipse. He will strike a match at the point of full eclipse. (I know, a match would not light on the moon. There is no oxygen. Just humor me for the sake of illustration.) Would an observer on earth be able to see the match burning on the moon?
“How ridiculous!” you can and should retort. Of course we cannot see anything that small from that far away. Now let’s extend our analogy. Put an astronaut on Mercury during its transit and have him strike a match. (Technical impossibilities noted. This is a word picture. Thanks for your understanding and PERMISSION.) With the brilliance of the sun in the background, our ability to observe the flaring match would be even less. Mercury will obscure part of the light, but the match will compensate for some of the lost light. (Smile)
Back to the topic. Theologically, a Masonic rite will have as much impact on a person’s suitability for entry into heaven as the flaring match will add to the visible light from the sun. In fact, the analogy may be even more apt as placing something in place of Christ, then “lighting the match” of ritual will not increase the light observed, but actually less light will reach the observer. (Recall that Jesus’ righteousness is infinite, so that we cannot add to, nor detract from it. But that merely supports our explanation.) We can call this the practical or scientific refutation of the idea.
I already alluded to the paucity of knowledge as to how much or how many such “additions” we need to “complete the work” of Christ. And, yes, I used that term deliberately. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” That can be translated as “Paid in full,” or fully completed. Jesus removed any doubt or question as to the sufficiency of His sacrifice.
But, going farther, Isaiah 42:8 declares:
“I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 48:11 repeats the same phrase. The question is not whether God is big enough to allow us to “add a little security” to our salvation. It is whether we are humble (or wise) enough to recognize the paucity of our ability to increment His glory and work. If we can comprehend the example of Mercury and the astronaut, we can surely understand His direct statement. Just as we cannot receive more light from our astronaut lighting a match on Mercury, we cannot make a better “presentation of brightness” or holiness to God.
Adding anything else to His finished work is pride. It is foolish pride, to be precise. Nothing more is needed, and nothing more can be added. And in light of the astronomical illustration, both literal and figurative, we come to David’s declaration in Psalm 144:3.
O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?
Oh, by the way. If we continue to travel “out” from our perspective of observing Mercury, we will pass the edge of the solar system and eventually will leave the Milky Way galaxy. We will get so far away that the galaxy itself will appear as invisible as the planet we “saw” circling the sun. And then, continuing to move away from the group of our “local galaxies,” they will diminish into invisibility.
Space is a big place. And yet, the Creator of this whole thing deigns to notice “man.” That is not the whole of mankind. It is one single person. That is David, and that is you, and that is me. “Stunning or unbelievable” are as inadequate to describe this as “very small or slight” describes the match flare billions of light-years away.
The God Who made the entire universe paid the price for my sin. Incidentally, an offense against such a Person, is a big thing, to understate it a tad. If I were to crawl on my knees in repentance and retribution to the end of the universe, my offense would be as far from being “paid in full” as it is right now. I cannot add anything to what He did.
But, sadly, I can take away from it. Not literally, of course, but in my faith, I am diminishing the sacrifice that He made. And that, I dare not do.
I did not state this, but it seems to be true. Christ plus nothing is everything. Christ plus anything is nothing. I hesitate to declare such flawed thinking as meaning that someone is “lost.” But, thinking that we can or should add anything to what God said is the basis of every cult and false religion. The hisssssss of the serpent in the Garden was, “Did God really say...?” We can reprise it as, “Did God do enough?” He did!
Adding our, or actually, Satan’s, answer to what God said, is the fatal first step of unbelief. Jesus said, “It is finished.” It is complete. It is done.
Is this “extra push” needed? Absolutely not! Should we do it? Probably not. Does it hurt anything? Yes, it diminishes my faith.
It is enough!
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
The Words Help Understand the Word
There is a misconception that Charles Dickens got paid by the word. Therefore, his novels seemed to have an inordinate length. That idea turns out to be untrue. He wrote many serialized novels for weekly or periodic publication and was paid for them by the chapter. But many treatises, by many authors, appear to have the “paid by the word” length through extension of the basic, fundamental thoughts and conversations, and multiplied modifiers, adjectives, and explanations. And maybe run-on sentences. (Get the pun?) Sometimes we treat the Bible as if it were written on a “paid by the word” format. We just skip or skim over parts. For instance, I have read quickly past Daniel 11:1 many times. Check it out.
“In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.
Daniel was talking to an angel, the “I,” in chapter 10 and after a chapter of introduction, the angel began to speak. Normally I race past this sentence to get to the “good stuff.” This time it arrested me. Think back, or turn a couple of pages to chapter 5:30, 31.
That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. 31 So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.
We are not following the Babylonian (Chaldean) story here. It had just fallen and the king who conquered it is introduced. Darius became the king. So in his very first year, an angel took a personal interest and role in the reign. And now our two stories coalesce. (Chapter 6)
It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom, 2 and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss.
“It seemed good to Darius....” He had no idea that his “good idea” was not his own. This angel had instigated the action and, as we read the rest of the story, this divine intervention becomes a crucial part of the story. As you recall, 119 of the satraps conspired against Daniel and that led to the famous episode in a lions’ den. And now the story becomes very personal to Darius. We can infer that the nefarious 119 had some dastardly plans, especially for Darius’ and the kingdom’s resources. (Sorry, got infected again.) Glance back to verse 2 of chapter 6. They were supposed to protect the king’s interests.
Why would they band together against an honest man? I’m trying to avoid being a conspiracy buff here, but a bunch of innocent, honest men would not mind being overseen by another man with integrity. But they did mind. Hummmm....
And, taking the story along the trail, this honest monitor was “cast into the lions’ den.” Where they intended to murder him by leonine proxy. (Don’t you love that kind of talk?) The king was unaware of his danger and peril, so the angel overtly intervened to preserve the king’s man and thereby interests. And that great story resulted.
I am confident that Darius’ proclamation was reflective of his personal conversion, if, indeed he was not already a believer in Daniel’s God. 6:26
“I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever. 27 “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Hebrews 13:2 tells us...
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Darius was rescued by angels without knowing it. And, as we move into the Advent season culminating with the birth of our Lord, there is a portion of the story that I have adopted as a personal crusade. “Where did the wise men come from?” They came from “the east” which we know to be the general area of ancient Babylon. But why and how did they know about a “king of the Jews?”
I have an extended explanation which I will post later, but the “nutshell” version is that after the 119 were dispatched into the lions’ stomachs, Darius logically turned to the guy he could trust to assemble a reliable “watch team.” (Darius’ own was a little flawed.) So who would be more appropriately designated as the replacement satraps than Daniel’s friends and countrymen?
If he appointed a team of financial guardians would he not also monitor their activities? He would focus both on the prevention of fraud and training them in the tasks of financial management. While he was at it, he would also share and explain the “strange visions” that he had been given. (An angel is the source of them, as well, including the famous 70 weeks prophecy. We will incorporate that in a few minutes–or words.)
If Daniel had introduced them to prophecy, both personally and through his written memoirs, this little cadre of “wise men” could have traced and even foretold some of the events as they occurred. And as they followed the progression of the prophetic statements turning into recorded history their wonder, amazement, and excitement would have grown.
Can’t you imagine his introduction? “I saw that Babylon would be overthrown. And that the victors would be...ta da! the Medes and the Persians, our present rulers.” And the excitement must have grown exponentially as he continued with the exposition of Jeremiah’s prediction as to how the overthrow would be accomplished.
Remember that Daniel was in Babylon for nearly 70 years at this point. He was in his late eighties or early nineties. He has had a little time to pore over the books of Jeremiah and Isaiah. And look at what he found. Jeremiah 50:9, 10
“For behold, I am going to arouse and bring up against Babylon A horde of great nation from the land of the north, And they will draw up their battle lines against her; From there she will be taken captive. Their arrows will be like an expert warrior Who does not return empty-handed. (Read carefully here:) 10 “Chaldea will become plunder; All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord. V. 13 “Because of the indignation of the Lord she will not be inhabited, But she will be completely desolate; Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified And will hiss because of all her wounds.
It would be a worthy enterprise to read the entire chapter. Daniel continued, ( v. 39)
“Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it, And it will never again be inhabited Or dwelt in from generation to generation.
Even Saddam Hussein was not able to rebuild Babylon. But that is not all. I skipped v. 38.
“A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up! For it is a land of idols, And they are mad over fearsome idols.”
In case you do not know this bit of history, Darius dammed the Euphrates River upstream from the city and his soldiers walked under the walls in the empty riverbed and overcame the guards. Daniel possibly knew about that even as he talked to Belshazzar on the fateful night when it happened. (Daniel 5) Oh! Oh! Oh! Look at Jeremiah 51:56 and 57. (If you haven’t read Daniel 5 yet, do it.)
For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, And her mighty men will be captured, Their bows are shattered; For the Lord is a God of recompense, He will fully repay. 57 “I will make her princes and her wise men drunk, Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men, That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,” Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
Prophecy not only told what was going to happen, but how. Think the 119 are all ears? Daniel would have gone on with his own revealed prophecies and ended with the promise of the Jews returning home. (Cyrus will do that in a short time. 2 Chronicles 36:22 and Ezra 1:1)
Then Daniel turned to his favorite, my guess here, prophecy. That is the time leading up to the return of the Messiah in chapter 9 of his own book. (Our chapter and verse divisions, not his.) There will be seventy, sevens of years until He comes. (490 for the math-challenged.) He may not have understood all of the details, but the overall focus was clear. The Messiah is coming!
The 70 weeks began when Cyrus sent the Jews back to their land. He would not know exactly when that would happen, but he did know that a king named Cyrus would arise. This time he appealed to the prophet Isaiah who was active during the final stages of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion and victory, over 70 years before. (Isaiah 44:28) He named the king over 100 years before said king was even born. Quite a feat. Are you starting to get as excited as his little cadre of wise men? Boy, I am!
Astute students have been able to reconstruct the events and times from the somewhat sporadic history accounts we have available. As our “wise men” watched the events unfold, “in real-time,” they could precisely and accurately deduce the time that the Messiah would appear and then be “cut off.”
They must have calculated the time of the “cutting off” and worked backward to find an estimated birth date for the Messiah. As the years ticked off the clock, and they recognized that they were about 50 years from the “time,” their search for signs became quite thorough. And, many experts postulate that the “star” was a special revelation to these seekers from the Lord. Maybe it was even the same angel. Who knows? Angels can look like stars, and no “natural” star would behave like the one in Matthew did. (Matthew 2)
And when it occurred, the little remnant band that was over 400 years removed from their originators and Daniel, urgently saddled up their camels and headed west. And, as they say, “Now you know the rest of the story.”
This verse was not a filler. The angel was not getting “paid by the word.” It was filled with instruction and invitation for us to “dig deeper.” The angel in Daniel 11 was involved in providing the message and guiding faithful followers to their date with destiny. Or better yet, their date with the Messiah. We are likewise offered the opportunity to “watch” for the Messiah as we near the end of the “cut off” period.
We can learn and perhaps intuit a lot from reading the words of the Word. Don’t skip over anything. You will miss a blessing.
Followup thought. The set of wise men traditionally is considered to be three individual wise men, along with a contingent of aids, etc. But we do not know, because we are not told how many there were. Here is a wild idea. What if the contemporary “satraps” sent three, not to carry three gifts, but to symbolize the three kings who were converted under Daniel’s “ministry” in Babylon and Persia? I am confident that Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus were all believers. Their testimonies indicate as much.
So how better to honor Daniel and his work than to send three surrogates for the long since departed kings? That would make a perfect culmination and tribute to the time that he spent working for, and with, each of the individual kings. And for them to bring offerings to the new-born Messiah would be perfectly fitting for three men who literally owed their eternal destiny to this One Who sent His agent, Daniel, into their lives.
To follow our topic, we may be “reading a little into the text,” but I am confident that we are doing no violence to the message. Read on.
“In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.
Daniel was talking to an angel, the “I,” in chapter 10 and after a chapter of introduction, the angel began to speak. Normally I race past this sentence to get to the “good stuff.” This time it arrested me. Think back, or turn a couple of pages to chapter 5:30, 31.
That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. 31 So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.
We are not following the Babylonian (Chaldean) story here. It had just fallen and the king who conquered it is introduced. Darius became the king. So in his very first year, an angel took a personal interest and role in the reign. And now our two stories coalesce. (Chapter 6)
It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom, 2 and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss.
“It seemed good to Darius....” He had no idea that his “good idea” was not his own. This angel had instigated the action and, as we read the rest of the story, this divine intervention becomes a crucial part of the story. As you recall, 119 of the satraps conspired against Daniel and that led to the famous episode in a lions’ den. And now the story becomes very personal to Darius. We can infer that the nefarious 119 had some dastardly plans, especially for Darius’ and the kingdom’s resources. (Sorry, got infected again.) Glance back to verse 2 of chapter 6. They were supposed to protect the king’s interests.
Why would they band together against an honest man? I’m trying to avoid being a conspiracy buff here, but a bunch of innocent, honest men would not mind being overseen by another man with integrity. But they did mind. Hummmm....
And, taking the story along the trail, this honest monitor was “cast into the lions’ den.” Where they intended to murder him by leonine proxy. (Don’t you love that kind of talk?) The king was unaware of his danger and peril, so the angel overtly intervened to preserve the king’s man and thereby interests. And that great story resulted.
I am confident that Darius’ proclamation was reflective of his personal conversion, if, indeed he was not already a believer in Daniel’s God. 6:26
“I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever. 27 “He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Hebrews 13:2 tells us...
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Darius was rescued by angels without knowing it. And, as we move into the Advent season culminating with the birth of our Lord, there is a portion of the story that I have adopted as a personal crusade. “Where did the wise men come from?” They came from “the east” which we know to be the general area of ancient Babylon. But why and how did they know about a “king of the Jews?”
I have an extended explanation which I will post later, but the “nutshell” version is that after the 119 were dispatched into the lions’ stomachs, Darius logically turned to the guy he could trust to assemble a reliable “watch team.” (Darius’ own was a little flawed.) So who would be more appropriately designated as the replacement satraps than Daniel’s friends and countrymen?
If he appointed a team of financial guardians would he not also monitor their activities? He would focus both on the prevention of fraud and training them in the tasks of financial management. While he was at it, he would also share and explain the “strange visions” that he had been given. (An angel is the source of them, as well, including the famous 70 weeks prophecy. We will incorporate that in a few minutes–or words.)
If Daniel had introduced them to prophecy, both personally and through his written memoirs, this little cadre of “wise men” could have traced and even foretold some of the events as they occurred. And as they followed the progression of the prophetic statements turning into recorded history their wonder, amazement, and excitement would have grown.
Can’t you imagine his introduction? “I saw that Babylon would be overthrown. And that the victors would be...ta da! the Medes and the Persians, our present rulers.” And the excitement must have grown exponentially as he continued with the exposition of Jeremiah’s prediction as to how the overthrow would be accomplished.
Remember that Daniel was in Babylon for nearly 70 years at this point. He was in his late eighties or early nineties. He has had a little time to pore over the books of Jeremiah and Isaiah. And look at what he found. Jeremiah 50:9, 10
“For behold, I am going to arouse and bring up against Babylon A horde of great nation from the land of the north, And they will draw up their battle lines against her; From there she will be taken captive. Their arrows will be like an expert warrior Who does not return empty-handed. (Read carefully here:) 10 “Chaldea will become plunder; All who plunder her will have enough,” declares the Lord. V. 13 “Because of the indignation of the Lord she will not be inhabited, But she will be completely desolate; Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified And will hiss because of all her wounds.
It would be a worthy enterprise to read the entire chapter. Daniel continued, ( v. 39)
“Therefore the desert creatures will live there along with the jackals; The ostriches also will live in it, And it will never again be inhabited Or dwelt in from generation to generation.
Even Saddam Hussein was not able to rebuild Babylon. But that is not all. I skipped v. 38.
“A drought on her waters, and they will be dried up! For it is a land of idols, And they are mad over fearsome idols.”
In case you do not know this bit of history, Darius dammed the Euphrates River upstream from the city and his soldiers walked under the walls in the empty riverbed and overcame the guards. Daniel possibly knew about that even as he talked to Belshazzar on the fateful night when it happened. (Daniel 5) Oh! Oh! Oh! Look at Jeremiah 51:56 and 57. (If you haven’t read Daniel 5 yet, do it.)
For the destroyer is coming against her, against Babylon, And her mighty men will be captured, Their bows are shattered; For the Lord is a God of recompense, He will fully repay. 57 “I will make her princes and her wise men drunk, Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men, That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,” Declares the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
Prophecy not only told what was going to happen, but how. Think the 119 are all ears? Daniel would have gone on with his own revealed prophecies and ended with the promise of the Jews returning home. (Cyrus will do that in a short time. 2 Chronicles 36:22 and Ezra 1:1)
Then Daniel turned to his favorite, my guess here, prophecy. That is the time leading up to the return of the Messiah in chapter 9 of his own book. (Our chapter and verse divisions, not his.) There will be seventy, sevens of years until He comes. (490 for the math-challenged.) He may not have understood all of the details, but the overall focus was clear. The Messiah is coming!
The 70 weeks began when Cyrus sent the Jews back to their land. He would not know exactly when that would happen, but he did know that a king named Cyrus would arise. This time he appealed to the prophet Isaiah who was active during the final stages of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion and victory, over 70 years before. (Isaiah 44:28) He named the king over 100 years before said king was even born. Quite a feat. Are you starting to get as excited as his little cadre of wise men? Boy, I am!
Astute students have been able to reconstruct the events and times from the somewhat sporadic history accounts we have available. As our “wise men” watched the events unfold, “in real-time,” they could precisely and accurately deduce the time that the Messiah would appear and then be “cut off.”
They must have calculated the time of the “cutting off” and worked backward to find an estimated birth date for the Messiah. As the years ticked off the clock, and they recognized that they were about 50 years from the “time,” their search for signs became quite thorough. And, many experts postulate that the “star” was a special revelation to these seekers from the Lord. Maybe it was even the same angel. Who knows? Angels can look like stars, and no “natural” star would behave like the one in Matthew did. (Matthew 2)
And when it occurred, the little remnant band that was over 400 years removed from their originators and Daniel, urgently saddled up their camels and headed west. And, as they say, “Now you know the rest of the story.”
This verse was not a filler. The angel was not getting “paid by the word.” It was filled with instruction and invitation for us to “dig deeper.” The angel in Daniel 11 was involved in providing the message and guiding faithful followers to their date with destiny. Or better yet, their date with the Messiah. We are likewise offered the opportunity to “watch” for the Messiah as we near the end of the “cut off” period.
We can learn and perhaps intuit a lot from reading the words of the Word. Don’t skip over anything. You will miss a blessing.
Followup thought. The set of wise men traditionally is considered to be three individual wise men, along with a contingent of aids, etc. But we do not know, because we are not told how many there were. Here is a wild idea. What if the contemporary “satraps” sent three, not to carry three gifts, but to symbolize the three kings who were converted under Daniel’s “ministry” in Babylon and Persia? I am confident that Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, and Cyrus were all believers. Their testimonies indicate as much.
So how better to honor Daniel and his work than to send three surrogates for the long since departed kings? That would make a perfect culmination and tribute to the time that he spent working for, and with, each of the individual kings. And for them to bring offerings to the new-born Messiah would be perfectly fitting for three men who literally owed their eternal destiny to this One Who sent His agent, Daniel, into their lives.
To follow our topic, we may be “reading a little into the text,” but I am confident that we are doing no violence to the message. Read on.
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