Daniel 11:2-27. Trust In The Sovereign Lord. 4-22-19.

Daniel 11:2-27                                                  Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse: 11:27                                               4-22-19

“And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.” (ESV)

Dear Lord, thank you for teaching us what is most important in life. Knowing you and following you and knowing your grace is vitally important. Without this vine and branch relationship our soul withers. Thank you for the life that you give. Plant your words in my heart. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Part 1. The Prophecies Fulfilled (2-4)

Verses 2-4, “2 “And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.” (ESV)

God’s prophecies about Persia and Greece were so accurate that it seemed as if it were written after the incidents. As God foretold, the fourth king of Persia was mighty and tried to invade Greece. But a mighty king, Alexander the Great of Greece defeated Persia. He tried to do as he pleased, but he died at the peak of his power. None of his descendants became king. Instead his four generals divided his empire.

God is in control over kingdoms and kings as the sovereign Lord. His will prevails, and not the great kings. We need to trust in the sovereignty of God. God’s plan is unfolding. We may not like it. We may not agree about it, especially when we see human suffering. But if we step back and see things over the millennia, we can see God’s plan unfolding. There is a plan for all of this craziness we see in the news. There is a plan afoot though the good and the bad.

How depressing we get if we fail to trust in the Lord. Nothing makes sense if we disregard the sovereignty of God. Trusting in the sovereign Lord, keeps me sane and gives me peace.

Young people don’t trust in the Lord. To them all the bad news is causing depression and anxiety. Oh, how they need to know Christ and to trust in the Lord.

People who fail to see the sovereign hand of God at work are actually short sighted. They consider event that occur over a year or five years. But God is eternal. His plan is unfolding over thousands of years. Things are happening just a God planned. A brief look at the Book of Revelation confirms this. We, as God’s people, must see things from God’s point of view.

Part 2. The King of the South and the North (5-27)

Verses 5-27, “5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported[a] her in those times.

7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. 11 Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.

14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siege works and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.

20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 23 And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 24 Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. 26 Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.” (ESV)

Here the detailed prophecies about the two powerful kings of the South and of the North, Egypt and Syria reveal the characters of the earthly kingdoms of the past and the present: The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, sit at the same table. They lie to each other, deceive, betray, attack and retaliate to achieve their selfish desires, but to no avail, because an end will still come at God’s appointed time.

But to no avail, because an end will still come at God’s appointed time. This is a powerful statement. There is so much colluding between worldly governments. Some of it their plans are outright evil and will cause the suffering of so many people. But it is comforting to know that Jesus is in control. All of it is working towards the end, when Jesus will come again to gather up his people to himself.

Prayer:

“Lord, the kings and kingdoms rise and fall according to your will at your appointed time. Grant me greater trust in your sovereignty. Help me not to be so short sighted, but to see what you are accomplishing in the long term and to keep the ultimate prize in sight, the coming of Jesus and the establishing of your kingdom.”

One word:                                                                                                                                   

Trust in God, the Sovereign Lord!