Tag: Daniel

Bible

Are You High?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 22, 2011

Do you ever wonder what God thinks of you? Unfortunately, I suspect that most people who consider such a question reach the wrong conclusion.

But what if an angel were to show up and provide a supernatural perspective about you?

It’s happened:

An angel tells Daniel that he is “highly esteemed.” This doesn’t just happen once but is said three times on two different occasions. As a result of being highly esteemed, great insight into the future is revealed to Daniel.

A few centuries later, an angel tells a young girl that she is “highly favored”; her name is Mary. As a result of being highly favored, Jesus is born and the world is forever changed.

Although we can’t earn our salvation, we apparently can be esteemed and favored by God for our actions and dedication; implicitly, the opposite must also be true.

While we may never have an angel visit us to say what God thinks of us, the Bible does reveal this truth. But to find out, you can’t read it as a legal document or an instruction manual; embrace the Bible as a narrative, God’s narrative to you.

[See Daniel 9:23 and 10:11&19, and Luke 1:28.]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Tags angel, Daniel, Jesus

Bible

A Curious Thing

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 15, 2011

The ninth chapter of Daniel records a curious prayer of Daniel.

One thing that is strange is Daniel confesses things he never did. He personally accepts the errors of former generations, identifying with the wayward actions of his country.

It is as if Daniel, though innocent in this regard, takes on himself the faults and failures of an entire nation, personally confessing them and seeking God’s deliverance on their behalf.

If that sounds a bit familiar, Jesus did the same thing, but on a much grander scale and with universal and everlasting impact.

Daniel’s humble prayer foreshadows Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.

[See Daniel 9:1-19 and check out 2 Corinthians 5:21.]

Tags Daniel, Jesus

Bible

Free Will and Predestination

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 11, 2011

A theological conundrum is the concept of free will versus predestination. While the Bible teaches that we have the ability to make our own choices (we have free will), it also says that things are predetermined (predestined). Which is it?

It is both, presenting us with a delightful paradox. Though my mind somewhat grasps this as a holistic, unified truth, I am woefully unable to articulate it.

It helps a little to consider that one understanding of “predestined” is to “foreknow.” Another helpful consideration is to realize that God—who created time-space, exists outside of time—likely seeing the past, present, and future as a singular reality.

However, it is the book of Daniel that gives me the most help.

A prophecy is given about evil king Nebuchadnezzar. Because of his prideful arrogance, he will be struck with insanity until he acknowledges God (free will) and for seven years (predestination).

Free will and predestination are not mutually exclusive concepts, but opposite sides of the same coin.

[See Daniel 4:25.]

Tags Daniel, free will, paradox, predestination, timespace

Bible

Where’s Daniel?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 9, 2011

You may know about Daniel, the guy noted for spending the night with a bunch of hungry lions and emerging the next morning unscathed.

The bigger story is that as a youth he was captured by an invading army, forcibly relocated to Babylon, stripped of his culture, indoctrinated with new philosophies, and forced to work for the king.

Through all this, he put God first and acquitted himself well, serving four kings from two kingdoms.

There’s a curious verse about Daniel: “Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”

If he’s not there, where is he?

A clue is that also occur during the first year of Cyrus’s reign, some of the exiles are permitted to return to their homeland. Daniel would have been in his eighties at the time, but he could have made the journey. In fact, both Ezra and Nehemiah list a “Daniel” making the return trip.

Perhaps after years of faithful service to both God and king, Daniel is finally able to go home.

[See Daniel 1:21, 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-2, Ezra 8:2, and Nehemiah 10:6.]

Tags Daniel, faithful

Bible

Fasting for the Right Reasons

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 5, 2009

Although many people ignore its practice, fasting is demonstrated in the Bible and is an encouraged practice. (See the blog entry, “When You Fast…”.)

However, fasting rightly requires fasting for the right reasons. Here are some of them:

To humble ourselves before God (Ezra 8:21).
To prepare for spiritual battle (Matthew 4:1-2).
To ready ourselves to hear God (Acts 13:2-3).
To seek God’s mercy (Matthew 4:1-2).
When praying for others (Daniel 9:3).
When seeking God’s guidance (Ezra 8:21).
When mourning death or loss (2 Samuel 1:12).
To repent from sins (Jonah 3:5).

Wrong reasons for fasting includes to earn God’s attention or favor, out of a sense of duty and obligation, or to gain the respect of others.

Tags Daniel, fasting, Jonah, mercy, prayer