When it comes to the blessings of God many often think of fame, health, wealth, luxuries and so on. It is good to know, though, that satan {1} can duplicate all of that and when he does it leads to spiritual bondage and destruction. Far too many are focusing upon the material realm in regard to God’s blessings. Far more important are His spiritual blessings.
We see numerous blessings of God in the highly prophetic and highly spiritually edifying book of Daniel. Yes, it will be a great blessing when the final stage of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2 is fulfilled,
when the Kingdom of Messiah (Christ) fills the earth. However, each person must be ready for that, otherwise eternal darkness awaits them.It is recorded in chapter 2 that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that bothered him. We can grasp from the account he sensed that he had been warned that the reign of Babylon would end some day, but wanted to know for sure. He had hoped that his magicians, wise men, and others would know what the dream meant, but the account infers he knew that they might tell him an answer he might like, but not the truth.
In order to get to the truth, he figured (and wisely so) that if these men were as spiritually savvy as they made themselves out to be, if they were able to know what “the gods” were up to, they would be enabled by these higher entities to not only give an interpretation of the dream but would be able to say what was in the dream without the king saying a word.
They could not. So Nebuchadnezzar ordered them all to be killed. As the executions began, Daniel, a young Jewish captive and who was placed into Nebuchadnezzar’s group of knowing ones, was approached by an executioner who was ready to kill him. By the grace of God Daniel wisely spoke with him to find out why the executions were taking place. Daniel then went to the king to ask for a space of time to come up with the answer.
Let us continue by reading verses 17 to 24 (NASB) {2}:
“Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18 so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20 Daniel said,
‘Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
21 It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
22 It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king's matter.”
24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king."
It was certainly a blessing that Daniel and his friends, along with the other wise men of Babylon that remained were spared from death. And it was a great miracle to discover the king’s secret and give to him the proper interpretation. Looking solely at verse 22 we will see three power blessings that each person should seek from God.
I. Revelation 22a
“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things . . .”
First, because of the sin nature of man, a person must receive revelation from God about salvation. Facts are all around them. The Holy Bible is readily available in many countries and true Christians can be found in various ways in many nations. Nonetheless, salvation remains hidden to most because of many reasons, like religions or upbringing. But it is still essentially the sin nature of people that hinders them from making a true commitment to God through Christ.
It takes the person accepting the move of the Holy Spirit upon them, a revelation. Until then most of the Kingdom of God remains a mystery to an individual. The spirit realm is darkened and a person’s assessment of it is twisted. As it is written in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
Now, if someone receives the moving of the Holy Spirit upon them and they surrender to God through Christ they are then made spiritually alive. They then have a new spiritual orientation. The Father is now King, the Son within is the ability of the new redeemed child of God to do the will of God, and they are to be led by the Holy Spirit just as Christ was. They grow in Christ as they remain in Him.
Staying true to God through Christ as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego) did spiritually strengthens the true child of God. Of course, those four were Jews but they had fully trusted and relied upon YHVH (The Existing One), the only true God. They chose to adhere to the Jewish Law in regard to what foods to eat and were sharper and healthier than their Gentile peers.
They had heard the facts about the Torah, read it, and had seen God’s hand in creation. At some point these young men accepted the moving of God’s Spirit upon them, permitting the personal revelation of God to them to some measure. They remained in God, and when Nebuchadnezzar made his seemingly impossible demand they turned to God for further revelation (verses 17 and 18).
Notice well that they did not rely upon their own wisdom nor did they tell God how good they were. They sought His unmerited mercy. When we think of it, even receiving revelation from Him in regard to salvation is an expression of His mercy. But here was an impossible situation. How could any human know what the king’s dream was? Apart from Nebuchadnezzar only God knew it. Nebuchadnezzar did not know what the dream meant, but God certainly did.
However, most important is salvation. Knowing spiritual mysteries and secrets does no one hardly any good if they are not right with God. The deepness of salvation is unknown to those who are not redeemed. Aspects of the spiritual growth of a real Christian are a mystery to the lost, but once someone who is lost becomes redeemed they realize the deepness of that growth and more so as they continue in Him.
Before we move on to the next point and before any might misunderstand, there is that aspect that God’s revelation of Himself and of His salvation for mankind is constantly present in ways such as we have already stated. The moving of the Holy Spirit upon a person is needed and I am of the opinion that moving often occurs. What is needed is that more people be receptive to the revelation of God. Ask God to help you to desire to seek Him and His Kingdom and to be serious about your salvation.
II. Examination 22b
“. . . He knows what is in the darkness, . . .”
Mankind has certainly increased in knowledge over the centuries but there is very much we do not know, and in regard to many things we do know our knowledge is often incomplete and imperfect. It is very good to acknowledge and know that God knows all things. He knows the answers to the enigmas of science and other studies. He knows what we do not know.
Of course that includes the future. Since God is omnipresent He is already there. He has already revealed numerous events in His Word many of which have come to pass. A most potent example of this is the need for two entities for Armageddon, viz., “all nations” and Israel, as stated in Joel 3:2.
The United Nations was formed in 1945 and, after almost two thousand years of non-existence the state of Israel returned in 1948. There will come a time when 1 Thessalonians 5:3 will be fulfilled, “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.” Very often do we hear certain leaders speak about “peace and security” in the Middle East, especially in regard to Israel.When someone truly comes to God through Christ they instantly and instinctively know more than many world leaders in regard to God’s prophetic moving. As they continue in Christ, studying His Word, they gain more knowledge of things to come, but with that knowledge comes the assurance that God is in control and Christ has promised to be with the true disciple to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20). No preparation for any prophetic event and no prophetic event should be a surprise to them. Neither should they bring fear, only joyful expectation with rejoicing. It is also recorded in John 16:13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” I feel such “things to come” include not only worldwide prophetic happenings but also personal events to the disciple.
God's Spirit examines all things. He knows all the details about the mystery of lawlessness (“iniquity" in some versions) spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:7. Most, if not all times, “lawlessness" in the written Word of God means being without God's law. God knows every evil secret and conspiracy. He knows the crimes done that mankind does not know about. And, there is no “unsolved crime" to God. There are times that I imagine on Judgment Day there will be an unrepentant murderer who will be confronted by his victim in front of God.
While all of this and more is for sure, the true disciple of Christ should read the words “He knows what is in the darkness" and apply it to our own life. Though we are saved and truly crucified with Christ we must learn to keep our self under that death and let Christ live through us. Sometimes we know we are covering things up that need to be dealt with. Other times we are truly unaware of an aspect of lawlessness until we grow more in Christ. With that, let us consider well these prayers of David and by the Holy Spirit pray along with him:
III. Illumination 22c
“. . . And the light dwells with Him.”
And, note what 1 Timothy 6:16 says about that light: “Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” Unapproachable light! And, it is further written in 1 John 1:5, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." Surely, then, it is by His loving mercy that He sheds any light upon sinful man!
God dwelling in light, and being light in which there is no darkness at all speaks of His holiness which is His main moral attribute. That is why many of us describe God’s love, and He is also love (1 John 4:8, 16), as His holy love. It will not tolerate sin. So, indeed it is by His grace and loving mercy He brings us measures of light and beckons the lost into His light.
With the Hebrew and Aramaic there are around fourteen words that may be translated as “light.” The Aramaic word used in Daniel 2:22 is very interesting, meaning {3}, “To flow as waters in a full large river; to flow as light from the sun". And let us also look at the word for “dwell” in this verse, which means {4}, “dwell to loose; to put up for the night; to lodge, to dwell."
When I think of “to put up for the night” I must think of the protection the light of God gives from the evil throughout the world. His light shows the dangers of the world system. We can also look at it on a “smaller scale”. Most times in an operating room doctors would prefer to have plenty of light though they might be working on just a small spot of a person’s body. And, so, there are many times that God will take a disciple into His operating room, and His loving light will expose what needs to be removed or healed.
However, God’s light also reveals blessings, especially those of the written Word of God. I remember that after I first surrendered to God through Christ the Holy Bible “lit up.” Suddenly many of its passages were very understandable. Those that remain in Christ eventually see many things in the Holy Word of God. One passage, and even one verse, may abound with many truths. This gives the true disciple spiritual nutrition that they may grow spiritually.
Notes:
{1} Not capitalized on purpose. Experts Column gives me the freedom to express myself in that way.
{2} Daniel’s words in verses 20 to 23 appear to me in the text I have as being poetic to a degree, and perhaps he was praising God in song. This occurs quite often in the Old Testament when there is an indicator that the speaker seems to be receiving a very powerful touch from God. It occurs in a number of prophetic portions of Holy Scripture.
{3} Wilson, William: Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies (MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, VA) p253
{4} Wilson . . . p138
This article was written in the form of a sermon (message) outline with comments. God willing by January 12, 2018 (hopefully much sooner), you should be able to hear the actual message (sermon) by selecting a link at http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/audioM.html#M480 .
Unless otherwise noted all Holy Scripture is from the New American Standard Bible changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates and adding “(The Existing One)” to readily express the meaning of His Name without making repeated explanations in articles. * = For other versions the spelling of some words is updated for our time in addition to changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates.
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