Title: Let's live lowly (Daniel 11:10-14)
Contents
Lesson 109 Let's live by humble ourselves (Daniel 11:10-14)
11:10-14
His sons will prepare for war, gather an army of great numbers, and come forth like a flood, and he will come and strike the strong city of the king of the south; will be given into his hand. After he has captured a great crowd, his spirit will be exalted, and he will overthrow tens of thousands of men, but his power will not be increased. The king of the north will return and prepare a great army again. Later, he will come with a great army and many things, and many will rise up against the king of the south, and the fierce among your people will exalt himself to achieve a vision, but they will fall.
After Alexander the Great died, Greece was divided into four kingdoms. But there was constant war between two of those four countries. On the one hand, the Pholemi dynasty centered on Egypt, the king of the south. The other was the Seleucid dynasty centered on Syria, the king of the north. There has always been a constant war between the two. The Jews living in Palestine in the midst of that gap had no choice but to suffer a lot.
Let's look at verse 9. "The king of the north will invade the kingdom of the king of the south." The king of the north raised a large army to avenge his mother. However, his army encountered a great storm as they sailed across the Mediterranean Sea and marched into Egypt. So, he could not fight properly and had no choice but to retreat to his home country. It was one day after that. The king of the north was riding on his horse and he rolled over. Because of his wounds, the king of the north did not live long and died shortly thereafter. He had two sons.
Please see verse 10. "His sons will prepare for war, gather an exceedingly great army, and come forth like a flood of waters." The two sons of the king of the north invade the south in place of their father. “I will gather an army of great numbers and come forth like a flood of water.” They led a great army and continued to attack south like a tide. They occupied Palestine, which was then ruled by the King of the South. They continued to march south.
Of the two sons of the king of the north, the eldest reigned four years. But generals who hated his rule poisoned him. Instead, a second son ascended the throne. So, in the second half of verse 10, “he” is said. At first, "their sons" is plural, but here "he" is used in the singular. This is because it was his second son who played a decisive role in attacking the south. “He will come again and strike against the strong city of the king of the south.” The king of the north invaded the Gaza region in the south of Palestine.
The king of the south at that time hated war. So I was patient for a while. But what did the king of the north do when he came down to the strong city of the south, that is, the region of Gaza? Please see verse 11. "The king of the south will come out in great wrath and fight the king of the north." He came down from the north with a large army, but the king of the south also raised a large army. A big fight ensued. According to the historian Polybius, at this time both sides mobilized 70,000 infantry, 5,000 horses, and 100 elephants each. What role did elephants play in those days? It would have been used like a modern tank. However, the soldiers in the north were already strong because of several battles. However, the soldiers of the king of the south were new, so they were full of morale. What was the result? “The crowd will be given into his hand.” The army of the king of the north was given into the hand of the king of the south. A great battle broke out near Gaza, and the victory was won by the king of the south.
What did the king of the north do during those fifteen years? Let's look at verse 13. "The king of the north will return and prepare a larger army than before, and after some time or years he will come with a large army and many things." As a result, war broke out again between the north and the south.
Let's look at verse 14. “At that time many will rise up against the king of the south.” The king of the north took advantage of the fact that the king of the south was only five years old and attacked the south. There have also been several revolts in the south. "He who is fierce among your people." "Your people" here refers to the Jews. It is said that among the Jews, "the ferocious one" appears. Meanwhile, the Jews were under the rule of the king of the south. Some fierce men of the Jews sided with the king of the north to escape from the rule of the king of the south. So they rebelled against the king of the south. They fought the armies of the south with violence.
But let's see how it turned out. “They will exalt themselves to achieve their ideals, but they will fall.” They didn't realize their dream. On the contrary, I fell. The Jews do not know if they were freed from the south. But instead of gaining true freedom, they came under the rule of the king of the north. They did not know that the tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes, the shadow of the Antichrist, would come from the roots of the king of the north. The Jews could not have dreamed that they would face terrible persecution from him in the future. In other words, while trying to avoid a lion, he met a bear, and while trying to avoid the bear, he was bitten by a snake and died.
Today we have a lesson to learn through the words of the text. Please see verse 12. "That heart is raised by itself." What was the result? "That power will not increase." Let's look at verse 14. "Being elevated by yourself." What was the result? "On the contrary, I will fall." Those who seek to be exalted are being humbled. This is Proverbs 16:18.
"Pride is the forerunner of destruction, and a haughty heart is the forerunner of falling."