Daniel 7- Day 851 (link to reading)
Scripture: Daniel 7 Commentary (workingpreacher.org): Daniel’s vision in chapter seven reveals that, in time, yet another empire would follow that of Darius, and the Judean people would continue to suffer under foreign rule. The Macedonian general Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, including Judea, in 333-332 BCE. After his death, his successors fought to establish their own kingdoms. His generals Ptolemy and Seleukus each founded an empire, the Ptolemaic empire with its capital in Alexandria, Egypt, and the Seleukid Empire with its capitals in Seleukia in Mesopotamia and Antioch in Syria. Judeans were subject first to Ptolemaic rule, then to Seleukid rule. Between the years 167 and 164 BCE, the Seleukid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes persecuted his Judean subjects, profaned the temple in Jerusalem, halted the regular sacrifices to YHWH, and established a Seleukid military garrison in Jerusalem. The biblical books Daniel and 1 and 2 Maccabees (the latter two books are considered part of the Apocrypha by Protestants and deuterocanonical by Catholics) provide our main literary sources for the persecution. They describe a program of state terror, murder, and enslavement and the outlawing of Jewish identity, scriptures, and worship. Application: over the course of 1000 years, the Israelites experienced the horrific trauma of slavery under Pharaoh, prosperity with God’s chosen leaders, and back to slavery because of their disobedience. This simplistic overview can also describe our walk with our Heavenly Father God. Before Jesus, our lives were fraught with the concerns of this world. Then God opened our eyes and let us experience his glorious grace. However, the difference between them and us is that we get to change our ending by humbling ourselves and repenting of our sins Prayer: Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner... Comments are closed.
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January 2024
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