In the book of Daniel, Daniel said, “I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever”, and in chapter seven and verse nineteen of his book Daniel said, “then I would know the truth of the fourth beast” where we read,
Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
The verse reads, “Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, …” Daniel began with the words, “then I would know the truth” or “at that time I, Daniel, desired to gain the certainty concerning that which is true, faithful and may be relied upon” “of the fourth beast” which means “pertaining to the fourth large animal”, “which was diverse from all the others” or “that was altered, changed and different from each and every one of the other three large animals”, “exceeding dreadful” which means “surpassingly, extremely and extraordinarily formidable and terrifying”. Daniel shared how he desired to have reliable knowledge concerning the “fourth large creature” which was different from the other three large animals.
The verse gone on to say “… whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stomped the residue with his feet;” Daniel continued with the words, “whose teeth” or “that possessed teeth in it’s mouth” “were of iron” which means “that were composed of iron metal”, “and his nails” or “and his, the fourth beast’s, fingernails or claws” “of brass” which means “made with bronze or copper metal”; “which devoured” or “that ate and consumed”, “broke in pieces” which means “shattered into particles”, “and stamped the residue” or “and trampled the remainder and rest of the beasts” “with his feet” which means “by the use of his, the fourth beast’s, physical feet”. Daniel continued to describe this “fourth beast” that had “iron” metal “teeth” and fingernails or claws made with bronze, and he recalled how the “fourth beast” shattered into pieces and trampled the other three “beasts” with it’s physical feet.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how Daniel continued to desire reliable information concerning the “fourth beast” that was different from all the others. With it’s “iron metal teeth” and “fingernails” of bronze and the way it shattered into pieces and trampled the other three “beasts”, Daniel was curious as to what this meant. We shall see what he is told by the “one who was standing by” in our next few verses, but for now let us consider how this “fourth beast” troubled Daniel greatly. We can relate to difficult and hard to understand circumstances in our own lives, and when we yield ourselves to God’s Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected from the dead after three days, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide us into all “truth” and reveal what we need to know according to His Divine purpose and will.
Next time Daniel shares how he wanted to know about, “the ten horns that were in his head”, 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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