Cm – How to Wait for God 8: 27

How to Wait for God
8: 27

Dani’el’s vision had a profound impact on him, saying: I was worn out and lay sick for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business; but I was overwhelmed by the vision and still couldn’t understand it.

Dani’el 8 is a vision about waiting. It is a vision of an end that is not imminent, at least not for Dani’el and not for many generations of readers since then. But the very act of waiting is given meaning by the certainty that at the right time, the time of God’s choosing, Messiah will come on the clouds to bring history to its conclusion (to see link click Ao – The Times of the Gentiles). Gentile believers have a variety of expectations of when that return will take place. Some teach that we will have to go through the Great Tribulation, some say Yeshua will come back in the middle of the Great Tribulation, while others think it won’t be until after the time of Jacob’s trouble. But when we approach the Scriptures from a Messianic perspective, and look at God’s appointed times, it becomes clear to us.

Each of the festivals of ADONAI point to Yeshua Messiah. The first four festivals point to His First Coming. The Passover points to Messiah’s death (see the commentary on Leviticus Dy – Pesach); Unleavened Bread points to the sinlessness of His sacrifice (see Leviticus Dz – Hag ha’Matzot); the feast of Firstfruits points to His resurrection (see Leviticus Ea – Rasheet); and Pentecost points to the birth of His Church (see Leviticus Ec – Hag Shavu’ot). Then there is a four-month interval in Leviticus 23:22 that pictures a time of labor in the fields in preparation for the final harvest of the summer and before the fall harvest. This verse is not related to any feast, but pictures the Dispensation of Grace that we now live (see my commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace).

The last three festivals in the second cycle of festivals also come close together, even closer than those of the first cycle of feasts. In fact, they all come within two weeks of each other. The last three feasts of the second cycle are to be fulfilled by the program of the Second Coming. As Jesus says Himself at the end of the Bible: Yes, I am coming quickly (Revelation 22:20). Amen. Come, Lord Yeshua. The festival of Trumpets points to the Rapture (see Leviticus Ee – Rosh ha’Shanah); then, after the Rapture, come the Day of Atonement (see Leviticus Ef – Yom Kippur), which points to the Great Tribulation; then, after the last three days of the Great Tribulation, the Lord returns (Hosea 6:1-3); finally, we celebrate the festival of Booths (see Leviticus Eg – Sukkot). Therefore, because Rosh ha’Shanah comes BEFORE Yom Kippur, we can be confident that we will not have to endure the wrath of the Great Tribulation. We will be in heaven with the Lord when that happens.

Dani’el tells us that he could not understand the vision, that he was overpowered and devastated by the vision, and that at the end of a period of sickness for several days he got up and went about the king’s business. Each of these three aspects of Dani’el’s response to his vision should help us shape our waiting for the times of Gentiles to end.

Living with partial understanding: Dani’el tells us that he could not understand the vision. This statement might not seem very surprising. After all, the historical events described in the dream were many years in the future in Dani’el’s day, and interpreters still struggle to comprehend the intricacies of what he saw. Certainly a lack of comprehension is what most readers experience when they first encounter these visions.

However, when we think more deeply about it, it should strike us as noteworthy that Dani’el is unable to comprehend the meaning of his own vision. This is the same Dani’el who alone was able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams in Dani’el 2 and 4, of whom Nebuchadnezzar said: I know that the spirit of the gods [or God] is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you (4:9a). In Chapter 5, when no one else could read the handwriting on the wall, the queen mother said confidently of Dani’el, “He was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Dani’el, and he will tell you what the writing means (5:12). Dani’el read and interpreted without difficulty the mysterious writing that had troubled Belshazzar and his nobles. If anyone could understand those apocalyptic visions, surely it would have been Dani’el!

Yet, in these latter chapters of Dani’el, we are told twice that he was unable to understand the visions (8:27 and 12:8). This is especially remarkable since the visions and their interpretations were explicitly given to Dani’el to understand (7:16-17, 8:15, 9:22, and 10:4). Indeed, we are told that what distinguishes the wicked from the wise is precisely the fact that none of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand (12:10). Since Dani’el is the wisest of the wise, how could he not have understood them?

So which is it? Did Dani’el understand the visions or did he not understand them? I think the answer is “both.” Clearly, there were aspects of the visions that he understood; yet at the same time, no matter how hard he tried, there were also aspects of the visions that he didn’t understand. As Peter put it: The prophets, who prophesied about this gift of deliverance that was meant for you, pondered and inquired diligently about it. They were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of the Messiah in them was referring in predicting the Messiah’s sufferings and the glorious things to follow. It was revealed to them that their service when they spoke about these things was not for their own benefit, but for yours. And these same things have now been proclaimed to you by those who communicated the Good News to you through the Ruach Ha’Kodesh sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things” (1 Peter 1:10-12)! As Peter suggests, some of those things that were mysterious to Dani’el are now clearer to us. However, at the same time, there are aspects of his visions that we should expect to remain mysterious to us still. If, as Peter says, some of these things are mysterious even to angels, then perhaps it should not be surprising if they never become clear to ordinary mortals like us.

This balance between what may confidently be understood and what must remain for now somewhat hazy is important to maintain. There are some things that ADONAI has revealed clearly in His Word, and other things that remain concealed from us. Things which are hidden belong to ADONAI our God. But the things that have been revealed belong to us and our children forever, so that we observe all of His Word (Deuteronomy 29:29). We should take comfort in God’s sure and certain control of each day of history, all the way to His return. Yet, we should be properly humble in our ability to predict when that will happen.

Overwhelmed by the coming judgment: Next, Dani’el said that he was overwhelmed by the vision for several days. This is similar to his response to the other visions he received (7:15 and 28, 10:16). Why did he feel so overwhelmed by the visions he received? It wasn’t simply by their breathtaking scope and dizzying scale; rather, it was their message of coming judgment and destruction on God’s own people by Antiochus Epiphanes in the near historical future and by the antichrist in the far eschatological future. The prophet identified with his people as well as with ADONAI, and even though the judgment that Dani’el saw lay many years in the future, he could not simply pronounce it upon them from a comfortable distance. On the contrary, he physically identified with his people in their future suffering so much so, that it actually made him sick.

The prophet’s identification with those for whom his message was intended is an important model for us as we wait for the Messiah’s return. In view of our expectation of the Second Coming, it can be easy for us to become isolated from the society around us. In fact, the more convinced we are of the imminence of our Lord’s return, the more isolated we become. Our friends become a “holy huddle,” excluding the lost. But Dani’el calls us not merely to condemn the lost world around us, but to be personally devastated by the prospect that they may spend all eternity in hell. Compassion for lost souls demands nothing less from us. If we have Dani’el’s heart for his people, we can never be content with our own salvation. Instead, we need to have a passion that our unsaved family members, our neighbors, our friends, the prodigals and the wanderers, and indeed the whole world should come to know and worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Busy about the King’s business: Finally, Dani’el wasn’t simply devastated at the prospect of the coming judgment of his people. At the end of his time of sickness, he got up and went about the king’s business. This is a remarkable statement, given the fact that the king at the time was Belshazzar. In spite of the wickedness of the civil authorities of the day, Dani’el did not isolate himself from the culture around him, but continued faithfully in his service to the pagan Babylonian society. His vision that the future belonged to the Kingdom of God (see Cf – The Kingdom of Messiah) did not send him off to hide in a corner, but continued to drive him out in the service of his community.

Dani’el’s quiet commitment to do the work of the king, even in a pagan culture, shows the value of the work that we must do for our King, while we wait (Matthew 25:14-30). Here on earth we find ourselves perpetually in exile. This is not our ultimate home (Hebrews 13:14-16); nonetheless, this is the culture in which God has placed us, so that we can be light and salt in a rotting, dark world (Matthew 5:13-16). Perhaps we should recognize that even as Dani’el served his earthly master, King Belshazzar, he understood that at the same time he was about the business of his heavenly Master, ADONAI Himself. It is no coincidence that having warned His apostles that the day and hour of His return were unknown, Yeshua went on to tell a parable about the master who went away for a long time and then returned unexpectedly, only to find his servants slack in their duties (Matthew 24:45-51). We need to be busy about the King’s business, which means serving our culture with all the gifts and abilities that God has given us.²⁴⁵

Dear heavenly Father, praise you that you are so infinitinally wise and that your timing for events is always perfect! Waiting for humans often causes frustration and impatience; but that is not how you feel. You see the end from the beginning, you see things that are still future to humans, as if they have already happened. Becoming mature and growing in faith is very important in the life of a believer. Waiting is a tool you use (Romans 5:4) to perfect me to become more mature in You. These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua (1 Peter 1:7). What comfort it is to know that waiting is not because of Your inability, for You are always totally capable and always sovereign; waiting is due to Your wisdom to better prepare me for the circumstances that You have for me in the future.

You know the future and You give me many choices, including learning to rely closely on You while waiting. Then I will be fully equipped and able to handle whatever lies ahead of me. You use Your Word to teach and to train me. So that the person belonging to God may be capable, fully equipped for every good deed (Second Timothy 3:17). Help me to wait patiently for Your perfect timing and grow in maturity. Now may the God of shalom . . . make you complete in every good thing to do His will, accomplishing in us what is pleasing in His sight, through Messiah Yeshua. To Him be the glory forever and ever (Hebrews 13:20a-21). In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen