After following the distinction among the people in Ezekiel, I want to return to Daniel and continue examining the power associated with this conflict.
Earlier, we considered what enters the sanctuary and what is displaced. Now another detail comes into view: what the ruler values, where he directs his resources, and what he offers those who acknowledge him.
These details help me look beyond the position he occupies and consider how his influence grows.
Read along: Daniel 11:36–39.
Exalting Himself
Verse 36 describes the king acting according to his own will, elevating himself above every god, and speaking against the God of gods. Yet his success has a limit: the completion of what has been decreed.
This connects with the self-exaltation we considered in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4. There, the man of lawlessness opposes what is called God or worshiped and presents himself as God within the sanctuary.
The shared description draws my attention to authority being claimed for oneself. I am following that correspondence while leaving the fuller question of identity open.
For me, this reaches into the concern that began our study. What happens when something claiming the right to direct the dwelling places itself above the One to whom it belongs?
What Receives His Honor?
Daniel 11:37 continues the description of the ruler’s disregard, including the expression concerning the desire of women. That wording remains a question in my study.
Verse 38 then names what he does honor: a god of fortresses, receiving gold, silver, precious stones, and valuable things.
During our earlier discussion, this brought treasure and the heart together.
In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus connects the location of a person’s treasure with the direction of the heart. He also speaks of the impossibility of serving both God and wealth.
That gives me a way to examine more than someone’s spoken profession. What receives their resources and devotion? What do they protect, and what are they willing to sacrifice to preserve it?
I bring those questions to myself as well. Something can become important enough that I begin arranging other decisions around keeping it. I want to notice when the desire for security, recognition, or control starts directing choices that should belong to Jehovah.
Honor Given in Return
Daniel 11:39 describes honor given to those who acknowledge the ruler, authority over others, and land apportioned for a price.
Here, the discussion extends beyond what one ruler desires. Others receive something through their association with him.
That makes the question of allegiance more searching. A person may have something to gain by supporting an arrangement—and something to lose by questioning it. What happens to discernment when a position, advantage, or sense of belonging depends upon continued approval?
This develops our earlier distinction between outward association and inward faithfulness. The benefits attached to a relationship can become part of what holds it together.
Following the Heart Through the Study
As I read these passages together, I find myself asking where honor is being directed and what that reveals about devotion.
Jesus’ words about treasure keep that examination personal. I cannot measure faithfulness simply by what someone has gained, including what I might gain myself. I need to consider what is being served through the choices that brought it.
The study now moves toward the lands the ruler enters and those who escape his hand. That will bring us back to another question: what can someone seize, and what has Jehovah allotted?
Threads to Follow
Self-exaltation in Daniel and 2 Thessalonians.
What receives treasure, honor, and devotion.
Recognition rewarded with position and authority.
The cost of questioning an arrangement that benefits us.
Possession, allotted inheritance, and the limits of a ruler’s hand.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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