In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Gabriel told him, “the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand”, and in chapter eleven and verse twelve of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel said, “when he has taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up” where we read,
And when he has taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up;
and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.
The verse reads, “And when he has taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up;” Daniel began with the words, “and when he has taken away the multitude” or “and at the time and moment he, the king of the south, has captured and carried off the massive crowd”, “his heart shall be lifted up” which means “his, the king of the south’, soul and mind will be exalted, raised and extolled”. Daniel shared Gabriel told him, the “king of the south” would be exalted within his heart and mind after he captured the massive crowd who came to fight with him.
The verse continues, “and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.” Daniel added the words, “and he shall cast down” or “and he, the king of the south, will cause to fall” “many ten thousands” which means “tens of thousands”: “but he shall not be strengthened by it” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover will in no way be made hardened, stout and prevailing within his defeat of the tens of thousands”. Daniel shared how Gabriel said “the king of the south” would cause “tens of thousands” to be defeated, however, he would in no way be made hardened by it.
When we think through Daniel’s words in this verse, we discover how Gabriel told him that the “king of the south” would defeat a massive crowd of forces, however, his soul and mind would be exalted about it. He would also make “tens of thousands” to fall, but it would not make him hardened and strong. Matthew Henry wrote, “The king of the south, in this war, shall at first have very great success. Ptolemaeus Philopater, moved with indignation at the indignities done by Antiochus the Great, shall (though otherwise a slothful prince) come forth, and fight with him, and shall bring a vast army into the field of 70,000 foot, and 5000 horse, and seventy-three elephants. And the other multitude (the army of Antiochus, consisting of 62,000 foot, and 6000 horse, and 102 elephants) shall be given into his hand. Polybius, who lived with Scipio, has given a particular account of this battle of Raphia. Ptolemaeus Philopater, having gained this victory, grew very insolent; his heart was lifted up; then he went into the temple of God at Jerusalem, and, in defiance of the law, entered the most holy place, for which God has a controversy with him, so that, though he shall cast down many myriads, yet he shall not be strengthened by it, so as to secure his interest”. This seems to be a pattern for most leaders who have success, and it’s because they forget that God is in control of their place, position and time allowed to rule. God wants us to humble ourselves and receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through belief and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit so we always give Him the glory for the great things He is doing, has done and will do in our lives.
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel told him, “the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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