In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Gabriel told him, “a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion”, and in chapter eleven and verse six of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel told him, “in the end of years they shall join themselves together” where we read,
And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
The verse reads, “And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement:” Daniel began with the words, “and in the end of the years” or “and within the completion and finish pertaining to the annual sets of days” “they shall join themselves together” which means “they, will unite, be joined with one another and become allies”; “for the king’s daughter” or “on behalf of the royal ruler’s, female offspring and progeny” “of the south” which means “belonging to the southern direction” “shall come to the king of the north” or “will come forth to the royal ruler and leader belonging to the northern direction” “to make an agreement” which means “to accomplish, fashion, make and produce and alliance, evenness, straightness and equity”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him that some “years” later there would exist an alliance between the “king of the north” and the “king of the south”, and the female progeny belonging to the “king of the south” will “marry” the “king of the north” to secure the pact and union between them.
The verse continues, “but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.” Daniel added the words, “but she shall not retain the power” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover she, the daughter of the king of the south, will in no way or manner withhold, stay or be under restraint toward the might, strength and ability” “of the arm” which means “belonging to the forearm, shoulder or force”; “neither shall he stand” or “no and not in any way will he, the official of the king of the north, remain or endure”, “nor his arm” which means “nor his, forearm, shoulder or force”: ”but she shall be given up” or “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover she, the daughter of the king of the south will be yielded, delivered and appointed”, “and they that brought her” which means “and they, the people who carried forth and presented her, the daughter of the king of the south”, “and he that begat her” or “and he, who engendered and birthed her”, “and he that strengthened her” which means “and he, who made her, the daughter of the king of the south, firm, strong and resolute” “in these arms” or “within these forearms, shoulders or forces”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him the alliance would not last between the daughter of the king of the south and the king of the north nor their might and power, however, the one who engendered her, the king of the south, will make her strong during this time.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel about an alliance that was formed between the king of the south and the king of the north, however, this was a weak agreement that did not last. Matthew Henry wrote, "about seventy years after Alexander's death, the Lagidae and the Seleucidae shall associate, but not in sincerity. Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, shall marry his daughter Berenice to Antiochus Theos, king of Syria," who had already a wife called Laodice. "Berenice shall come to the king of the north, to make an agreement, but it shall not hold: She shall not retain the power of the arm; neither she nor her posterity shall establish themselves in the kingdom of the north, neither shall Ptolemy her father, nor Antiochus her husband (between whom there was to be a great alliance), stand, nor their arm, but she shall be given up and those that brought her," all that projected that unhappy marriage between her and Antiochus, which occasioned so much mischief, instead of producing a coalition between the northern and southern crowns, as was hoped. Antiochus divorced Berenice, took his former wife Laodice again, who soon after poisoned him, procured Berenice and her son to be murdered, and set up her own son by Antiochus to be king, who was called Seleucus Callinicus.” In other words, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. God was aware of all these things that were yet to be in Daniel’s time, but because He can speak of the future as though it is now, He could relay this message through Gabriel and to Daniel. In like manner, God wants us to be in a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus, and when we put our faith and trust in Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and teach us through His Holy Spirit to trust Him with our future and with the future of the world.
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel told him, “out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate”, 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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