Title: The God Who Comes to Us
Contents
Lesson 101 The God Who Comes to Us (Daniel 10:4-9)
10:4-9
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was by a great river called Hiddekel, and I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, and a belt of gold of Ubas around his waist; His eyes were like torches, his arms and feet were like shiny bronze, and his voice was like the sound of a crowd. I, Daniel, alone saw this vision, and those with me did not see this vision, but they fled and hid with great trembling. When I was alone, when I saw this great vision, my body lost strength, and my beautiful light changed and became rotten, and all my strength was gone. But I heard their voices, and when I heard them, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground.
By God's grace, the Israelites ended their captivity in Babylon and returned to their homeland. However, because of his old age, Daniel could not return to his homeland and stayed in the land of Babylon. However, the news from the country was very tragic. So Daniel fell into sorrow and prayed to God without eating good food for three weeks. God heard Daniel's prayer and came to Daniel. That is what appears in the text we read today.
Please see verse 4. It was said "on the twenty-fourth day of the first month". The "New Year" is called Nisan in the Babylonian language. In Hebrew it is called Abib. The people of Israel experienced a great history in the New Year. It is the Passover. The Passover is a festival to commemorate the time when the people of Israel came out of Egypt from slavery in Egypt by God's grace. Daniel prayed to God for three weeks in the first month of the Passover, thinking about the second Exodus, the liberation from Babylon. "On twenty-four days." So, when did Daniel begin to pray? It must have been the third day of the new month. Daniel decided to pray for three weeks, but God came to him three weeks later.
Where is Daniel now? "I was by a great river called Hiddekel." "Hiddekel" refers to the Tigris River. In Akkadian, "hit" means river. To the south of the Tigris is the Euphrates. Between these two rivers we call the region of Mesopotamia.
Let's look at Genesis 2:14.
"The name of the third river was Hiddekel, which flows east of Assyria, and the fourth river is Euphrates."
The two rivers flowing through the Garden of Eden are named Hiddekel and the other Euphrates. In the old days, God had a deep spiritual fellowship with Adam while walking in the Garden of Eden when it was cool. Likewise, God came to Daniel who is now in Hiddekel. We pray that God will come to us as we pray this morning. May we all meet God. Perhaps at this time, Daniel was praying in silence by going to the Hiddekel River to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city. It is as if we left Seoul to find a quiet prayer center and devote ourselves to prayer.
Please see verse 5. "Then I lifted up my eyes and looked." I raised my eyes and looked up. Daniel probably saw a marvelous sight through the open heavenly gates. The gates of heaven are wide open, revealing an enchanting sight. Let's see what the view is. "One person." Daniel is not revealing who the person is. We can only guess who he is by the clothes he wears or the appearance of him. What clothes did he wear? "I was wearing linen clothes." The linen clothes were white. It means holiness. It symbolizes a flawless and spotless appearance. "He had a belt of Uvas gold around his waist." Ubas is a place name in Arabia. For example, when we hear the word Yugi in Korea, we think of Anseong. Likewise, at that time, when you think of pure gold, you think of Ubas. Around his waist was a girdle of the finest gold of Ubas.
Let's look at verse 6. "Its body is like topaz." His body is golden, splendid, and glorious. "Its face is like lightning." The face is shiny. "Its eyes are like torches." He sees everything brightly. He punishes the righteous and judges the wicked. “His arms and feet are like polished bronze.” Here the bronze symbolizes judgment. He tramples upon the wicked with feet hardened as bronze and judges them. "The sound of his words was like the sound of a crowd." His voice is the voice of power, the voice of majesty. He must have created the heavens and the earth with the same sound. When He comes again, He will awaken the dead from the graves with the voice of His power.
Let's look at the words of Revelation 1:13-16.
“A man like the Son of Man between the candlesticks is clothed with a robe that is drawn to his feet, and has a golden girdle on his chest, and his head and hair are white as white wool, like snow, his eyes are like flames of fire, his feet are like shiny tin refined in a furnace, and his voice is like many It was like the sound of water, and in his right hand he had seven stars, and out of his mouth a two-edged sword went out, and his face was like the powerfully shining sun.
Let's look at Daniel 10:5-6.
“Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, and a belt of gold of Ubas around his waist, and his body was like topaz, his face the light of lightning, his eyes like torches, his arms and feet like shining bronze. His words were like the sound of a crowd."
We can compare the appearance of the person in the two places as follows.
Revelation 1:13-16 Daniel 10:5-6
"In the midst of the candlesticks, one like a son of man wears clothes that draw his feet." "Wearing linen clothes."
"With a gold belt on your chest." "He wore a belt of Ubas' gold."
"His eyes are like flames." "Like a torch."
So who is the person Daniel is describing? It is Jesus who appeared in the Old Testament. In the future, when our Jesus comes again on the clouds, he will come in the same glorious form.
In verse 5, in what form did our Jesus appear? He said that he appeared in human form. He who is God came to this earth in human form. When He comes again, He will come in human form. But in what form did the kings of the world appear in Daniel's vision? It appeared in the form of a beast. He appeared in the form of a lion-like beast, a bear-like beast, a leopard-like beast, and a terrifying beast from Jurassic Park. But our Jesus appeared in human form. Because our Jesus came in the form of a human like us, he can understand our tribulations, trials, and aching hearts. If Jesus had come in the form of a dinosaur, we would not have dared come close to him because of fear. Our Jesus came in the form of a human just like us. That is why we can come to our Lord even now with a happy heart. We believe that Jesus, who came to Daniel in human form in the old days, will come to us at this time today, hear our prayers, and comfort us.
Let's look at verse 7. "I, Daniel, alone saw this vision, and those with me did not see this vision." Daniel was not alone now, he was with others. Perhaps there were always attendants by Daniel's side. Daniel is now close to 90 years old. I am old enough to need someone to help me. In addition, Daniel served as prime minister in Babylon and Persia. So, there must have been people waiting by his side all the time.
Not long ago, Queen Elizabeth visited Insa-dong, where our church is located. I also went out to say that the historic moment cannot be missed. The Queen arrived about an hour later than the scheduled time. But the only thing I saw that day was the top of the blue hat worn by Queen Elizabeth. Surrounded by bodyguards, what should I see? Daniel was also a high-ranking person in the country, so he must have been by the Hiddekel River while being protected by many people.
But Daniel alone saw more than that. Others said they didn't see more than that. This case occurs again in the Bible. Saul met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Only Saul then saw the resurrected Jesus. Others only heard the sound and did not see it. Likewise, those who are now with Daniel have not seen the vision that Daniel saw. But they could have sensed something peculiar about the presence of God. So they had three reactions. The first is "They tremble greatly." The second is "run away". The third is "He hid". Those who were with Daniel felt the presence of the Most Holy God, and they all trembled and hid from the place.
Let's look at verse 9. "I heard the sound of those words, and when I heard them, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground." Ezekiel also laid his face on the ground when he saw the vision of God's presence. Also, when Saul saw the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, he did not dare raise his eyes to look. I put my face on the ground. Likewise, when Daniel saw the light of the glory of the Most Holy God, he could not look, so he put his face to the ground. And he said he fell into a deep sleep. I was completely exhausted and passed out.
What we can learn from this text today is that God hears our prayers and comes to us in the form of a person we can easily approach. Jesus does not leave us alone. He will hear our prayers and come to us. Although Jesus is the most holy God, He came to us in human form. When Daniel saw the glorious figure of Jesus in the old days, he lost his strength and had no choice but to fall asleep. However, we came boldly before the throne of God's grace in this way because of the merits of our Jesus on the cross. And he is approaching the most holy God, calling him Father. All of these are the merits of our Jesus on the cross and the grace of God. Today, as we are moved by the grace of the Lord, we pray with a happy heart to the Lord who visits us, and I pray in the name of Jesus that all of us who are victorious on this day will be blessed.