KNOWING GOD, CON’T with notes by Lynne Farrow

Daniel is one of those books of the Bible that no matter how many times you read it you always come away knowing more about God than you did when you started. Daniel truly and almost completely, knew his God! In this book you will find the most vivid and sustained presentation of the many-sided reality of God’s sovereignty  in the whole Bible.

The Babylonian empire had swallowed up Palestine, and in thinking of the great world-empires to follow, dwarfing little Israel by any means of calculation, the book as a whole forms a dramatic reminder that the God of Israel is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that the heavens do rule, (4:6) that God’s hand is on history at every point, that history, indeed, is no more than ‘His story’, the unfolding of His eternal plan, and that the kingdom which will triumph in the end…is God’s. I personally feel compelled to say here, in light of our present day circumstances, that the same God of Daniel’s life and time is the same God that oversees our world today…we have so very much trauma and horror going on all around us, it is easy to lose sight of that fact! When the government is so completely corrupt, the church is not what it should be and people tend to constantly do whatever they please, never giving a thought to what God may think or want in our lives. But, that does not have anything to do with His sovereignty…He still is over and controls it all, including the persons and happenings of the US government, the Jewish nation, the Arabs or anybody else, He rules, raises, and puts down at His good pleasure. Therefore, we should not fret…we will…but we shouldn’t, knowing Who is in control of it all! This is the central truth Daniel taught Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, all kings of some of the nations that Daniel served. Daniel’s prayers and confidence in defying authority, his friends confidence also defying authority,…”the Most High ruleth  in the affairs of men.” He knows and He foreknows all things…His foreknowledge is foreordination; He therefore will have the last word in world history and  the destiny of every man. His kingdom and righteousness will triumph in the end, for neither men nor angels  shall be able to thwart Him!

These were the thoughts of god which filled Daniel’s mind, as witnessed by his prayers…the best evidence of a man’s view of God: “Blessed b the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. He changeth the times and the seasons, He sets up and removeth kings, He gives wisdom, He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him. The LORD our God is righteous in all His works which He doeth.” Is this how YOU view God???? Is this what we say to God in our own personal prayers? Do we express these kind of ‘feelings’ to God as we pray? Do we thank Him for His moral perfections, His gracious faithfulness, graciousness that keeps us humble and dependent, awed and obedient, ad it did Daniel? By this standard we may measure how much or how little, we know God!

KNOWING GOD, CON’T

Now that I am fairly settled in my new home It’s time to get back to my blog. Forgive me friends for being away so long, but I’m finding EVERYTHING takes me longer to do than it use to…such is life, am just glad I will be celebrating my 75th years in a couple of days and I’m still ambulatory, lol!

I picked up the book again yesterday, read through my recent blogs and found some interesting new things in the next section, so here goes…

Dr Packer makes a very valid point concerning knowing God and Godliness, and knowing about God. I think we all as believers understand there is a difference and may even think we know what it is, including me…however, there is more to it than what is on the surface. This is what I discovered, for me if for no one else. He goes back to a portion of Scripture in Daniel, 11:32, “they that know their God shall be strong and do exploits” and rendered this way in the RSV, “the people who know their God will stand firm and take action.” The context is this…contrasted to the vile person, whose action is abominable, and who corrupts by smooth and flattering talk the conduct of those who have no viable relation-ship to God. This contrast speaks very loudly to the fact that action taken by those who do know their God is really their reaction to the ungodly trends they see going on around them. While their God is being defied and disregarded, they cannot rest; they feel they must DO something! The dishonor done to God goads them to action.

To really get the flavor, you should sit down and re-read the book of Daniel, it’s not very long, but note the places where Daniel will not bow to the worldly things that were going on around him and in some cases, being required of him…he stood against them. These were his “exploits” and his statement for Godliness in his day and in his own personal life. He and his three friends stood against the corruption of Darius’ kingdom. And two additional kings after Darius’ death. Daniel KNEW his God and lived what he knew to be true. He was willing to pay the price, did pay it and was rescued, very obviously rescued, by God Himself! Does all of this sound familiar????? It should, it is very similar to the day we are living in! Daniel stood for his God, was well known for that also and in some cases it was used against him. He lived a very long life and served many kings of differing kingdoms because he was so wise and trustworthy. Next time we will talk more about this subject.