More Studies in Daniel.

 More Studies in Daniel.

 

Two problems currently—as nearly always—seem to appear in our day to day lives. Whose laws should we obey? Is it permissible to worship someone who was a man?

 

Now should we go looking for trouble or martyrdom? Of course not. We should all seek peaceful lives and to live harmoniously with our neighbors and communities wherever possible. But when a government decides as Germany did recently that circumcision, for instance, is now deemed to be mutilation and thus illegal in all its forms, such a thing cannot be allowed to stand nor can it be obeyed, because its intent is obvious. Nor will we at Seed of Abraham Ministries ever stop preaching and teaching God’s Word concerning all forms of immoral sex, abortion, the sacred rights and duties of families to make moral decisions concerning our minor children, and that we are never to allow our Judeo-Christian faith to be intruded upon and suffer dilution by pagan, Muslim, Wiccan, or any other faith system because in our government’s eyes it is needed for tolerance’s sake. Whatever happens as a result of that position, happens. And I hope that is an attitude that will permeate the thoughts and lives of all who are listening to this message because day by day the government intrusion into our faith becomes deeper and wider; and biblical prophecy says it will get worse as we get nearer to the return of our King and Messiah. We have choices to make just as Daniel had.

 

Verse 19 explains that King Darius was most upset at this and couldn’t sleep all night, nor could he eat. Thus in the morning he hurried to the lion’s den in slim hope that somehow Daniel had survived. His voice full of anxiety he calls for Daniel to reply if he can, wondering if Daniel’s god had been able to deliver him from sure death. Daniel hollers in response to the king, “Oh king, live forever!” That he was alive is one thing, but to show such respect to the king in this circumstance was another. And Daniel tells the king that indeed Yehoveh sent an angel that shut up the lion’s mouths and he is thus unharmed. Further that he is innocent in God’s eyes, and so should be innocent in the King’s eyes. How can Daniel claim innocence to the king when he knowingly broke his government’s law? I think this falls right back to our discussion of civil disobedience not to unjust laws, but rather to immoral laws. An immoral law is not a legitimate law at all as far as a worshipper of God is concerned. I can come to no other conclusion than in God’s eyes His Believers are innocent when we refuse for the reason of righteousness, to obey a law of human government that amounts to an obvious and serious trespass against God’s moral laws.

 

Daniel was given a divine prophetic vision that was of profound progressive revelation. It was earth shattering and history changing. He received a vision of a future divine Messiah, but didn’t realize it. A whole new theological concept was born here in Daniel in Israelite religious understanding; a theological concept that had been gestating in Hebrew culture for centuries but had only at this moment reached a major milestone: the theological concept of a human-appearing deity, who is given the title of the Son of Man, who is directly associated with Yehoveh, the God of Israel. Such a concept wouldn’t have raised so much as an eyebrow of any gentile, because all gentiles saw their gods and goddesses as human-appearing deities. But the Israelites had spent centuries being punished in the most terrible ways by the God of Israel for harboring those kinds of thoughts because they manifested themselves in idolatry. And now, in what Daniel knew for sure was a vision from God, God crosses over an uncrossable line He seems to have set long ago. And as we read a little later in this chapter (starting with verse 15), Daniel knew what he saw, but didn’t know what it could mean; he couldn’t even wrap his mind around it when one of the holy servants of God in his vision told him what it meant.

 

So basically, we are given the basis for obedience when man’s laws conflict with those of God. Then we are shown that Jesus was the human manifestation of God—someone who we could actually worship without fear of being accused of idolatry.

 

Yes, this is so much to read and absorb. Pardon me for dropping this much into your laps, but these lessons have been fascinating.

 

Oh, and Judie reminded me that it was not she who was to have surgery Monday. Oh blitz! However, we can still pray for Bruce Goolsby that his neck will heal completely, and join those prayers with those for Tami Yonts who is slowly healing from several surgeries. Praise God that He hears our prayers!

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.