Theological Commentary: Click Here
This chapter
of Daniel reveals two major players and God.
The ram, typically interpreted as the Persian Empire, is strong. The goat, typically referred to as the Greek
Empire, is stronger and more dominant but ultimately fractures because of its
strength. In the end, though, God wins.
From the ram,
learn this lesson. We can be strong and
unified when we stay within our reach. Before
the goat came, the ram had things in control.
Its kingdom was just fine. It was
strong and healthy. The ram didn’t
overextend and it had a great existence.
Then the
goat comes along. The ram cannot win, so
even though it is doing things right, it still loses. The greed of the goat is too much for the ram
to take. What do we learn from the
interaction of the two? Sometimes people
who ae doing things the right way get swallowed up by those who are lusting
after what lies in their heart. The ram
is having a fine existence until the goat imposes its will upon the ram.
From the
goat, learn this lesson. When we pursue the
lust of our heart, we might get what we want for a time but it will ultimately
destroy us. The goat looks strong and
indestructible. Then, its power
fragments. Its power fragments because it
has overextended itself through its lust after power. The goat begins to challenge God for His
place. This causes God to step in and
cast it out in judgment. Pursuing the
lusts in our hearts always puts us as risk of challenging God’s place in our
life.
There is a
lesson to learn from Daniel. Actually, I
believe there are two. First, notice
that once ore this great wise man cannot understand God’s vision. He needs help. Daniel is great because he continues to
understand that it is God who makes him great.
Rather than overextending himself like the goat, Daniel humbles himself
and gains wisdom.
The second
lesson is that Daniel is sick after the vision.
Seeing the truth about the human lust for power makes him ill. Having an interaction with something that is
so central to his being that it requires intervention by God makes him
ill. Often, it hurts to see the truth. Once Daniel sees the truth about humanity, it
takes him a few days to get his head right again. It takes Daniel a while to process what is
going on.
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