GOD'S KEY MAN

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Vol. 18, No. 6, Nov. - Dec. 1989

GOD'S KEY MAN (3)

Harry Foster

"There is a man in your kingdom" Daniel 5:11

Chapter 10 to 12.

WE now come to the final stages of Daniel's life and ministry. These last chapters are dated after the released captives were back in Jerusalem. Daniel was still praying, perhaps even more earnestly than ever. Was this because he had received news of the problems of the pioneer party? Even so he would not have been surprised, for he had already been warned by the Lord that the work of rebuilding would take place "in troubled times" (9:25), and would know that every venture which represents real values for God is bound to be contested. It was logical for Daniel to keep on praying, but why did he fast?

And why did he mourn? The three weeks included the eight days of the Passover, so naturally he abstained from rich foods then. But why the prolonged fast and why the mourning? Was it a matter of personal depression? I have read suggestions that during the three weeks he was sharing with friends in a spiritual retreat by the Tigris. There is, however, no mention of the fasting by others. Why was he by the Tigris and not in the court? Was his active life now over? Might he have been on the shelf as far as public affairs were concerned? Could it be that this behaviour was not so much part of his spiritual ministry as a personal period of unhappiness due to his new circumstances? Old age, with its inevitable accompaniment of inactivity, can be hard to bear. If he were feeling rather depressed I, for one, would not blame him.

He could well have felt disappointment at not having been one of the pioneer party which had set off on its exciting journey back to Judea with the sacred vessels which for so long had been his concern. We presume that he stayed, not because he so chose, as many prosperous Jews did, but by reason of the overruling providence of God. What was to become of him now? We will have to wait until the end of the book to have the answer to that question, but meanwhile there are some more revelations for him. These chapters stress three new discoveries now given to Daniel with regard to his life as a key man for God.

1. His Spiritual Warfare
"The thing was true, even a great warfare" (10:1).

Whatever else was puzzling to Daniel, one thing was made strikingly plain, and that was that the earthly struggles so graphically described throughout the book are reflections of a great spiritual conflict in that realm which the New Testament calls "The heavenly places". Daniel was given understanding of this most important truth that we who are captives and ambassadors must also be warriors. He was shown the significance of what happens when men of faith pray.

The prophet was shown that his prayers set in motion such forces in the unseen realm that God's emissary speaks of being withstood there by evil forces as a direct result of his prayers (10:13). He was encouraged to go on praying, as the angel spoke of returning to resume the battle in that hidden sphere (v.20). We ask ourselves, is it possible that our feeble intercessions can have such resounding impact upon the powers of darkness? Is this what is involved in the prayer of the Church?

It is indeed. As Daniel reports, "The thing is true". John Bunyan describes "All-Prayer" as another weapon used by Christian in addition to his sword, but to me it seems clearer that in fact "All-prayer" (Ephesians 6:18) is the battlefield where the sword of the Spirit is used. It certainly was for Daniel. Until now he may have known little or nothing of this, although he found, as we all do, that prayer is a costly matter. Now, however, he was given insight into the real issues involved. We are only dimly aware of them, and it is possibly safer for us not to become mentally involved with the unseen rulers of this darkness, but clearly our prayers are meant to strike powerful blows against them. [117/118] They mean more than we realise, as Daniel was shown there by the Tigris.

We could argue that it was Christ who won the victory, settling the whole issue of the triumph of God's kingdom at Calvary, but the fact remains that Paul was inspired to call our attention to the spiritual conflict between the two kingdoms which still persists and in which we have a part (Ephesians 6:11-17). We have been used to the idea that God works in answer to our prayers, but we may be as surprised as perhaps Daniel was, to hear of struggles in the heavenly realms and the part which our prayers play in the cosmic conflict.

I feel it reasonable to remark that Daniel did not seem aware of what was going on at the time. His was not a special type of combative prayer. It is noteworthy, however, that at the end of that long session of confession and intercession described in chapter 9, he was told that "war will continue till the end" (9:26). This was in keeping with God's word to Joshua, spoken after there had been a conflict fought at two levels. Moses on the mountain top and Joshua on the plain. "The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Exodus 17:16). It may be that the reference to "The Scripture of truth" in Daniel 10:21 connects Daniel's experience with that Exodus story. Daniel's vision gave him an explanation of the nature of his past service, and also provided a call to keep at it. It can serve the same purpose for all of us.

2. His Spiritual Value
"Thou art greatly beloved" (9:23; 10:11, 19).

As we may expect, when Daniel found himself in the presence of the Most High, he felt crushed and unworthy. When grace had lifted and strengthened him he heard himself described as highly favoured. This phrase, "greatly beloved" was three times used to describe how God felt about him (9:23; 10:11 & 19). The actual word used is not directly concerned with love, but the R. V. margin tells us that the Hebrew is literally, "precious things". It is used to describe the rich food as "pleasant" in 10:3. The N.I.V. translates the word when used to Daniel as "highly esteemed" and calls the food "choice". This merits closer attention.

In common with all other believers, Daniel could well believe that he was greatly loved. From the first moment of our vital relationship with God we are assured that we are loved with a perfect and everlasting love. This seemed almost too good to be true and it seems increasingly amazing as we continue our history with Him, but we know and believe that in spite of our total unworthiness we are indeed "greatly beloved". For this reason it is not possible that God can come to love us more, or that He picks and chooses among His redeemed people to love some more than others. It must have been comforting to Daniel, as it always is to us, to have fresh reminders of His infinitely great love. This is all very wonderful.

But to Daniel God said more than this. He told Daniel that he was a man of special worth -- if you like, a "choice" man -- and He told him this when the prophet was prostrate or at best on his knees (10:10). To one all too conscious of his own failures and shortcomings it seems incredible that God may call us "highly esteemed", yet this is a spiritual truth which came to Daniel by revelation.

He was in touch with the sovereign Lord, an experience which to us sinners can be quite overwhelming. In that connection Abraham confessed "I am nothing but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27) and Moses himself said, "I exceedingly fear and quake" (Hebrews 12:21). In such a situation, Isaiah ejaculated, "Woe is me! for I am undone ..." (Isaiah 6:5). And now Daniel is so overcome there alone in the holy presence of God that his response to the great vision is that "there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned to corruption in me" (lO.8) and "I set my face to the ground and was dumb" (10:15). Those of us who have had some vital experience of personal confrontation with our glorious Lord will agree that a deep humbling is the inevitable result.

But listen to the Lord's reaction to this in Daniel's case: it is as though He told Daniel that far from being a failure in His sight, he was a most valued servant. As though He said, "You may be despised in your own eyes but you are highly exalted in the opinion of heaven". No doubt Daniel was surprised to hear this thrice-repeated commendation, but time has confirmed this verdict on God's servant Daniel. The person who stands true to God in a sordid world, the person who perseveres in prayer until God's will is effected, the person who conquers all personal disappointments and still worships, is precious to God and highly esteemed by Him.

This, then, was the second consolation which [118/119] came to Daniel in his old age and it is recorded to encourage us always to be ambitious to bring pleasure to our God as Daniel surely did. We are certainly "greatly beloved" but will we be "highly esteemed"? In a sense, it is up to us.

3. His Eternal Significance
"They that be wise shall shine ... as the stars for ever and ever " (12:3)

The third element in the comfort given to Daniel was the realisation of the eternal values bound up with his life there in Babylon, and the final assurance that when it was all over, and indeed the whole history of this age completed, he would be found in resurrection glory, "standing in his lot".

What do these final visions suggest to us? What did they mean to Daniel? I suggest that they stress the fact that in all our experiences, God has eternity in view. Towards the end of his eighty years, my dear friend George Taylor used both to check and also to encourage me with the reminder that for us all, God is dealing with us in the light of eternity. This meant for him, as it should for all of us and certainly did for Daniel, that relative inactivity does not mean that we have gone beyond our divinely appointed span of life, for there are still lessons to be learned. That had been true all his life for Daniel and is true for us. We need to be wise.

Daniel, as we read in Chapter 11, was shown a bewildering succession of rising and falling empires, not to make him especially informed about future events but rather to underline that in every case the last word is with the Lord. Evil men will triumph temporarily but will come to an inglorious end and ultimately awake "to shame and everlasting contempt" (12:2). What fools they will all prove to have been! God's servants, however, enlightened by His divine wisdom, are destined for surpassing glory. They may "fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder for some days, but their stumbling and trials will be used to refine and cleanse them and make them white until the time of the end" (11:33-35). Both Daniel and those who read his book find it difficult to identify the kaleidoscopic succession of events as this chapter deals with varying expressions of the kingdom of this world. In some way it was perhaps easier to grasp the first and simpler revelation of that kingdom in the image descried in the vision of chapter 2. But in any case the finality of that kingdom is made very clear and equally clear is the fact that the whole programme of world events is already appointed by God. "... it is yet for the time appointed". This is confirmed in 11:27 & 29; 12:1, 4, 7 & 9. The times are settled; the days are numbered; the saints can confidently wait. They may be stretched for an unexplained extra forty five days but they will be blessed as they do so (12:12). The finality of it all is made very plain in the solemn words at the end of Chapter 11: "Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him".

But there is always help for those who belong to God's kingdom, as Daniel himself had already experienced throughout his long captive life. The men of this world are foolish, none of them can understand: the wise, however, can wait patiently for God's time, their wisdom consisting not in knowing all the answers but in total committal to Him who is the Most High. Once again, then, the prophet is told to "go his way", reassured that God is busy with the purifying and refining of those whose destiny is involved with His own eternal kingdom.

Despite every time of trouble there will always be safety for those whose name is "found written in the book" (12:1). During all the vicissitudes of the ages, a book of life is being written in heaven, and every single saint whose name is written in that book will share in the awakening to everlasting life and glory. As Peter later affirmed, the inheritance is being kept for us and we are being kept for the inheritance, if our names are written in that book (1 Peter 1:4-5).

Daniel's last word to us is to be patient and faithful in the sure knowledge that we, as well as he, will stand in our lot at the end of the days. It seems that he wanted to know what it was all about: "I heard, but I understood not; then I said, O my Lord, what will be the issue of these things" (12:8). He was told that the issue was that the Lord who had preserved him during the long and arduous years of life would go on preserving him right through to the end of time, and that he would then receive his full inheritance. In this he could rest, and so can we. There will always be what seem to us like extra days, but blessed are those who wait. By God's infinite grace we are being prepared in Christ to be part of that stone cut out of the mountain without hands which will come into its own when the kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and for ever. That is what it is all about. [119/120]