318: Daniel 9-10; Isaiah 26:20-27:13; 2 Corinthians 8

DANIEL 9-10:Yesterday in Daniel, we heard of the vision of four beasts representing four kingdoms. After the fourth would be the start of the rule of One whose kingdom would last forever. This vision was explained, then Daniel had a second and more detailed vision. It is a major amazing sign of God’s sovereignty over human governments that Alexander the Great is so clearly portrayed, and after that the iron kingdom of Rome. Just as certain as these things happened, our Savior’s reign will one day come to earth.

I have been referring to Daniel 7 all year, to the section where he saw ‘someone like a son of man’ surrounded by clouds. Chapter 7 of Daniel happens to be one of the few Old Testament passages written in Aramaic. The words ‘son of man’ form a common idiom which simply means a normal-looking human being. In Hebrew, God called Ezekiel ‘son of man’ 93 times in Ezekiel’s book, and an angel calls Daniel ‘son of man’ in chapter 8:17. In all those cases, the Hebrew words ‘son of man’ can also be translated as ‘son of Adam’. The thing that sets the ‘Son of Man’ apart in Daniel 7 is what is prophesied about Him:  

Dan. 7:14 NLT He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

ISAIAH 26:20-21 and Isaiah 27:There were beautiful verses in yesterday’s reading, too many to review. I choose to highlight verses 2-4:

Is. 26:2 NLT Open the gates to all who are righteous;    allow the faithful to enter.3 You will keep in perfect peace    all who trust in you,    all whose thoughts are fixed on you!4 Trust in the Lord always,    for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

I found it interesting that Israel’s suffering was compared to a woman in childbirth, but unlike a childbirth, Israel produced nothing:

Is. 26:18 NLT We, too, writhe in agony,    but nothing comes of our suffering.We have not given salvation to the earth,    nor brought life into the world.

Israel was supposed to share the knowledge of the Lord with other peoples, but they neglected to do that.

In the NLT, the last two verses of chapter 26 start a new section which extends through all of chapter 27. The section is entitled Restoration for Israel. We’ll start there today, at verse 20.

2CORINTHIANS 8:Yesterday we heard of the terrible time of suffering Paul and his companions faced in Macedonia, where he had gone to find Titus. But when Titus came, it brought wonderful joy, because he brought such encouraging news about the Corinthian believers.

NLT Translation notes:Dan. 9:10 We have not obeyed [you, O//the] LORD our God, for we have not followed the instructions [you/he] gave us through his servants the prophets. (Similarly in 13-14.)13 Every curse written against us in the Law of Moses has come true. Yet we have refused to seek mercy from [you, O//the] LORD our God by turning from our sins and recognizing [your/his] truth.14 Therefore, [you, Lord have//the LORD has] brought upon us the disaster [you/he] prepared. [You Lord have been//The LORD our God was] right to do all of these things, for we did not obey [you/him].19 “O Lord, [please hear us//hear]. O Lord, forgive. O Lord, [please] listen and act! For your own sake, do not delay, O my God, for your people and your city bear your name.”10:1 In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, [I] Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. [I/He] understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.====2Cor. 8:20 We are [going to be] traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.

Unle