Daniel 10:4-8 (ESV)
[4]
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of
the great river ( that is, the Tigris) [5] I lifted up my eyes and looked, and
behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his
waist. [6] His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning,
his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished
bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. [7] And I,
Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the
vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves.
[8] So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in
me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength.
Throughout the
book of Daniel, he has seen some pretty overwhelming visions and dreams. In
this particular vision Daniel is not overwhelmed by the message of the vision,
but by the communicator of the vision. As he is listening to this Angel, he
says in verses 16-17, Daniel 10:16 "I am filled with anguish because of
the vision I have seen, my lord, and I am very weak. How can someone like me,
your servant, talk to you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly
breathe." This appears to be an angel, not the Lord himself since the
Prince of Persia was able to withstand him for 21 days according to verse 13.
Daniel is overwhelmed by the vision of an angel to such an extent that he has
no strength and no breath. Imagine how he might have responded if he actually
saw God.
Thinking about
Daniel’s reaction to the vision, Moses reaction to seeing the backside of God’s
glory, Ezekiel’s reaction to his visions, and John’s reaction to see Jesus at
the beginning of Revelation, it makes me wonder about our own sense of wonder
and awe. How do we come into the presence of God? Do we realize what it means
to come into the presence of the King on his throne? Do we truly fear God in
this way? I don’t mean, I am afraid of God in the sense that I think he will
maliciously harm me. Certainly, the words of Mr. Beaver speaking of Aslan in
the Chronicles of Narnia are appropriate. “If there's anyone who can appear
before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or
else just silly." Lucy says, “Then he isn’t safe? To which Beaver replies,
“Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe, but he’s good. He’s
the king, I tell you.” How might it change our perspective of God when we come
to his Word and to prayer if we had that mentality.
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