SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/7/2013
12:32 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
Daniel the Prophet PT-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Daniel 8:1-2
Message of the
verses: We begin today looking at
the 8th chapter of the book of Daniel, as this is the chapter that
we will be looking at in the month of October.
Just a bit of review before we begin to look at this
section of Scripture, and that is that from the 2nd chapter of
Daniel and verse four all the way through chapter seven and the last verse of
that chapter Daniel was writing in Aramaic, the language of the Babylonians,
and now in chapter eight and verse one all the way through the end of the book
the language is again Hebrew. Why? Well the subject in these final five
chapters is about the Gentiles and how they will affect the people of God, the
Israelites. The part written in Aramaic
was about the Gentile nations, but not necessarily the way that they treated
the children of Israel. Another thing to
point out is that this chapter was written before the event that took place in
chapter five, which was the conquering of Babylon by the Medes and the
Persians, and the reasons we stated as to why the language was Hebrew probably
is the same reason as to why the order in which Daniel placed the books in his
book. I realize that there were no
chapter and verses at the time of the writing, but the order in which it was
written is the same order that those who put the chapters in found it.
Dr. Wiersbe writes the following at the end of his introductory
message on this chapter: “In this
chapter, five persons move across the great stage of prophecy and history.”
Receiving the vision (Daniel 8:1-2): “1 In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king
a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me
previously. 2 I looked in the vision, and while I was looking I was in the
citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision
and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal.”
It is not know how much diplomatic things that Daniel was
doing for Belshazzar, for when we look at chapter five we see that Belshazzar
did not even really know Daniel, although he had heard of Him. What he was doing at this time we have no
idea, but he was still in Babylon at the time of this vision. Daniel was probably transported in this
vision to the city of Susa a city that was 200 miles southeast of Babylon, and
city that became the capital of the Persian Empire as we see in Nehemiah 1:1
and also Ester 1:2. According to John
MacArthur there is still a small town today near the spot that Susa was during
the time of Daniel. Daniel mentions that
there was a “Canal” that flowed through this city, and in the KJV the word is
translated as river, and this is the only time that this particular word is
used in the Bible. John MacArthur states
that this canal was about 900 feet wide, so it was a pretty big canal.
As far s Daniel being transported to this city in the
vision he had this is not too hard for us to believe, for it has happened in
other places in the Bible: “1 It came
about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting
in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the
Lord GOD fell on me there. 2 Then I
looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from His loins and
downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the
appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. 3 He stretched out the form of a hand and
caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and
heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of
the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy,
which provokes to jealousy, was located (Ezekiel 8:1-4).” “3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into
a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous
names, having seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 17:3).” “10
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God (Rev.
21:10).”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I like the way
that Daniel is written, for we can see that the Holy Spirit put the contents of
this book in the order that He wanted them to be put into so that they would
make the most sense to those who read and study it. God does that in my life too as He brings
things into my life at the exact time and place He wants to so that I can learn
and grow from those these things.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I need to be patient in my trust for the Lord
in a circumstance that I am going through, wait for the Lord. This is not an easy thing to do.
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Peter 1:1-7
1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus
Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours by the
righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the
knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has
granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true
knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He granted to us His precious
and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. 5 Now for this reason also, applying all diligence
in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6 and in your knowledge self-control, and in your self-control perseverance,
and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness brotherly
kindness, and in your brotherly kindness love.
Answer to our last Bible
Question: “The life and teaching of
Jesus Christ.”
Today’s Bible
Question: “When Joseph’s brother’s
returned home from Egypt the first time, what did they find in their sacks?
Answer will be in our next
SD.
10/7/2013 1:20 PM
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