Daniel 10 Dare to be Enabled

Theological Proposition/Focus: God is the one who enables each of us.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Daniel is touched by God’s servant three times giving him the ability to rise, speak, and be strengthened. The truth of Daniel 10 is the truth that God is the one who enables us.

Introduction:

Setting the Stage: Start by reading verses 1-9

The timing and significance of the Vision (1-4).

Cyrus came to power in 559 BC but did not conquer Babylon until 539 BC. Hence, Daniel 10 takes place in 536 BC. When Daniel came to power in Babylon he issued an edict allowing the Jews to return to their homelands and rebuild the temple. Thousands of Jewish exiles returned to Israel and began the process of rebuilding, not under the authority of a David King but under the rule of Gentiles. Daniel, it appears did not return to the land. Perhaps his age or position prevented him from making the trip. In any case Daniel remained in Babylon and was given a vision. A vision that we are told was true and a vision that was burdensome, or concerned a great deal of conflict. The conflict or burden we are going to see involves the reality facing the people of God that life would be hard. But that is not the focus of today's sermon.

Details do matter as we interpret text and these first 9 verses are full of details. We see that Daniel has been mourning for three weeks and that it is now the 24th day of the first month. Let me do some math. 24th day, three weeks, that puts us at Daniel starting to mourn on the third day of the first month. That is the 3rd of Nisan. Interestingly Passover was celebrated starting on the 14th of Nisan. My speculation (and that of others) is that Daniel may have been mourning the less than ideal second exodus of the people. The people are partaking in a sort of second Exodus back to the land but this exodus is far from the triumphal exodus of Moses.

The identity of the man (5-6).

We really cannot set the stage for what follows without first addressing the identity of the man who stands before Daniel. The description of the man is intended to convey something special. Several interpreters have suggested this might be Gabriel again, but Daniel has already met and named Gabriel so this seems unlikely. Others have argued this is a theophany, the pre-incarnate Christ. The problem with this view is that in verse 13 we see the Prince of Persia was able to withstand this being. Certainly, it is argued, no created being could impede the God of the universe and especially not for 21 days. However, this may be assigning too much weight to theological knowledge. We know that Jacob was able to wrestle with God in Genesis 32. God, for some reason, limited his power. Who is to say something like that has not occurred here.

So what is the conclusion? Some significant figure, perhaps God himself, has come to visit Daniel. Maybe the exact identity is not the point what matters is the message. Look at how Daniel responds.

The impact of the vision (7-9).

Whatever is happening has a profound impact on Daniel. So much so that others who were with Daniel

Body

Today we are going to look carefully at three ways in which God enabled Daniel. Each act of enabling was done through touch but don't get hung up on the touch. The touch, I believe, is intended to communicate personal enabling. God is a God of relationships and desires personal relationships. One key element of a personal relationship is contact. I believe this is what we are supposed to see in the touch. God has likely never physically touched you but that does not mean he has not engaged with you personally.