Concerned for You

Daniel 8:5-8, 21 As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. 6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. 7 I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power. 8 The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven…21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. 
 
AS the third vision represented Greece in the previous two dreams in Daniel 2 & 7, the goat represents Greece led by Alexander the Great. The vision describes the goat coming from the west to violently destroy the ram. Some 200 years after the vision, Alexander attacked Persia from the west. In three short years, Alexander’s tactical skills devastated Persia.
    The vision also points to Alexander’s pride and sudden death. In response to his success, Alexander required his men to bow before him as to a god. But the powerful, prideful Alexander suddenly broken off at his sudden death. Then his kingdom was divided into the rule of four generals. The vision was a true preview of events to come.
    Amid the violence, though, do you see these visions as a sign of God’s love for his people? Consider this: God is using Daniel to prepare Israel for their future. True, in these visions, Israel is not named. But as Israel was in exile under God’s judgment, they needed to know their LORD God was the same God Moses met in the Sinai desert: Exodus 3:6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” … 7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”
    Do you see? Many years later, through the visions’ accurate details, the Jews would know Almighty, Eternal God is concerned for his people’s suffering – in Egypt, in Babylon and amid other rulers who would oppress them. The faithful would live in expectation of God’s deliverance.
    This is the Bible’s testimony. As we live amid sin’s oppression, we know God is the living, loving God. We know he is so concerned with our suffering, he came to suffer and die to redeem us. Can we ever fully understand the love, the sacrifice and the cross?   
 
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.