In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how Gabriel told him about battles between the king of the north and the king of the south, and he said of the king of the north, “At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter”, and in chapter eleven and verse thirty of his book Daniel shared how Gabriel said, “the ships of Chittim shall come against him” where we read,
For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
The verse reads, “For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant:” Daniel began with the words, “for the ships of Chittim” or “because, since and on account that the large sailing vessels or boats belonging to Chittim or Kittim whose name means ‘bruisers’ and was a general term for all islanders of the Mediterranean Sea” “shall come against him” which means “will rise up in opposition to him, the flattering king”: “therefore he shall be grieved” or “then, wherefore and on account that he, the flattering king, will exist as disheartened, cowed and sad”, “and return” which means “and go back”, “and have indignation” or “and be angrily defiant, abhorrent and cursing” “against the holy covenant” which means “in opposition to the sacred, pure and set apart agreement, alliance, pledge and treaty”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him the large sailing vessels which belonged to “Chittim” will set themselves in opposition to the flattering “king” and would cause him to be disheartened and sad so that he goes back with an angry defiance toward the sacred pledge which was made.
The verse goes on to say, “he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.” Daniel continued with the words, “he shall even return” or “he, the flattering king, will indeed and also go back”, “and have intelligence” which means “and possess discernment, instruction and understanding” “with them that forsake the holy covenant” or “alongside the people who leave, abandon and neglect the sacred, pure and righteous treaty, pledge and alliance”. Daniel shared how Gabriel told him the flattering royal ruler would go back to his own country and possess an understanding with the people who abandon and neglect the sacred alliance and agreement.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how the flattering ruler will rise up against the kingdom of the south once again, however he will not be as successful as previous times because mighty sailing vessels belonging to “Chittim” will rise in opposition to him. Matthew Henry wrote, “the ships of Chittim shall come against him, that is, the navy of the Romans, or only ambassadors from the Roman senate, who came in ships. Ptolemaeus Philometer, king of Egypt, being now in a strict alliance with the Romans, craved their aid against Antiochus, who had besieged him and his mother Cleopatra in the city of Alexandria. The Roman senate thereupon sent an embassy to Antiochus, to command him to raise the siege, and, when he desired some time to consider of it and consult with his friends about it, Popilius, one of the ambassadors, with his staff drew a circle about him, and told him, as one having authority, he should give a positive answer before he came out of that circle; whereupon, fearing the Roman power, he was forced immediately to give orders for the raising of the siege and the retreat of his army out of Egypt. So Livy and others relate the story which this prophecy refers to. He shall be grieved, and return; for it was a great vexation to him to be forced to yield thus.” God was aware of the thoughts, actions, deeds and emotions of this flattering “king”, and because He rules over all kingdoms and leaders, God could affect Him in any manner He desired. God knows us as well, and because we have sin in our lives that separates us from a personal relationship with Him, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and lead and guide us by His Holy Spirit to fully trust Him with the leaders in the world regardless of their behavior and actions among people.
Next time Daniel shares how Gabriel says the king of the north, “shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate”, 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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