A Land of Images

Southern California is home to Los Angeles, sometimes called the City of Angels. Hollywood makes its home here along with a large portion of the entertainment industry. This is the place for images and image-makers. Some of the local radio stations interject the following quip in between songs, “Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world.” That in itself creates an image of this city in the minds of listeners. Thousands of people flock to Los Angeles for the glitz and the glamour. Of course, glitz and glamour are merely artifacts or side effects of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. It seems to me that I can describe Los Angeles as a city of images.

The reason that I bring this up has to do with something that I read in the Bible. I have been reading through the Old Testament (OT) book of Jeremiah for a one-year, Chronological Bible Reading plan. I came across the following verse: “…For it is a land of images, and they are mad over idols” (Jeremiah 50:38b, ESV). Now, the immediate context of this verse and passage centers on the future judgment coming upon the nation of Babylon. The Spirit of God inspires Jeremiah to characterize this ancient, world empire as a land of images filled with men and women who are mad over idols. I could not help seeing the parallel to Los Angeles.

I live in a city of images filled with people who are mad about them. Billboards line the freeways and streets of Southern California. Everywhere I look I see something vying for my attention. The steady flow of images is like an avalanche upon the soul. I understand the point behind marketing and advertising; however, there is something desensitizing about them. Commercials, television programming, movies, magazines, radio programming and more all have the ability to suck the life out of human beings. The images coming through these various forms of media become idols. These are the men and women to admire and/or to follow. Eat these foods, consume these drinks, and life and energy return to your body.

For the Christian, his life and energy issue from the Lord not the world. In Jeremiah’s day, big bad Babylon set the tone for its citizens and those it conquered. King Nebuchadnezzar and his successors made sure that devotion to Babylon’s ethos remained wholehearted under penalty of death. For example, the famous account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego illustrates this perspective quite clearly, but their miraculous deliverance by the Lord also highlights his ultimate sovereignty over all kings and kingdoms (Daniel 3, ESV). There is relief for God’s people in godless nations, but this is not a principle for living in the kingdom. Sometimes the Lord delivered his people, but other times he did not as in the life of Isaiah, John the Baptist, Stephen, and the apostles Peter and Paul.

I do not bring this up to broach the subject of suffering and the corresponding theological problems that ensue. The key point to remember is that Stephen and John the Baptist enjoyed an earthly, covenant relationship with the Lord like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. All of five of these men enjoy the blessed, heavenly fellowship of the Lord’s presence as I type this up. They are in heaven awaiting their glorification at Christ’s second advent. Most, if not all, of Babylon’s citizens and rulers cannot say the same. The Lord raised up Jeremiah in order to warn this ancient empire about its impending doom. This demonstrated his love, his mercy, his longsuffering, and the certainty of his coming judgment.

If the Lord did not hold back his earthly judgment upon Babylon and its people, there is no reason to expect future relief judgment day. I realize that such rhetoric sounds alarming and harsh, but that day is coming. All of the warnings and admonitions from Christ, the apostles, and Christians throughout human history testify to the absolute certainty of judgment day. When I think of my current city, Los Angeles, I feel the sorrow of the Father’s heart toward this city and its people. Open their eyes and hearts Lord by your Holy Spirit in order to receive your truth and Kiss the Son. Grant your people, Lord, the grace, humility, and boldness to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the message of reconciliation. Amen.

Behind the Scenes of Daniel’s Prayer in Daniel 10:1-14

I’m a movie buff or in elitist terms, a cinephile.  In many ways, I speak and think using images and sounds.  The movie language is my language.  When someone asks me to name my favorite movies, I trip over the answers all the time.  There are too many, and I wind up making a list by genre.  What I find even more fascinating about movies is the behind the scenes footage.  I love seeing how they did it.  One gains a deeper appreciation and understanding for the movie and for those who brought it to life.  It is like being given new eyes and ears.  The passage below could be described as “behind the scenes footage” regarding prayer.  Here it is:

“12. Then he said to me, ‘Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.  13. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,  14. and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days.  For the vision is for days yet to come'” (Daniel 10:12-14, ESV).

Before diving into this fascinating text, let me supply the background to it.  In the second and third verses of Daniel chapter ten, the writer records that the prophet had been fasting and mourning for three weeks (Dan. 10:2-3, ESV).  This sort of thing should come as no surprise to anyone who reads the book of Daniel.  The very first chapter records the young, Hebrew prophet leading his three friends into a time of prayer and fasting at the beginning of their captivity (Dan. 1:8, 12-16, ESV).  When King Nebuchadnezzar orders his soldiers to kill all the wise men of the land for their failure at interpreting his dream, it is Daniel who buys some time through prayer and fasting with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Dan. 2:12-19, ESV).

There are two other instances recorded in the book of Daniel about the prophet fasting and praying for God to speak.  One occurs in the sixth chapter and the other in ninth.  The former pertains to Daniel learning about a decree that punishes those who refuse to pray to Darius by casting the offender into the lion’s den (Dan. 6:6-10, ESV).  In the ninth chapter, the prophet’s life is not under any threat as he desires to know the outcome of his nation and people within God’s purposes and plans (Dan. 9:1-3, ESV).  All of these circumstances reveal a man committed to the Lord by submitting himself to a lifestyle of fasting and prayer.  Each time the God of heaven and earth either delivers Daniel from his situation, or grants him divine revelation into the matter at hand.

After reading account after account of God answering Daniel’s prayers, it comes as no surprise to see the same thing take place in Daniel 10:12-14. In fact, I would argue that this is precisely what the reader should expect at this point.  The difference this time around has to do with this particular account portraying demonic opposition toward the angelic messenger (Dan. 10:13, ESV).  What amazes me is that God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer had been given as soon as he began to pray; however, the answer had been delayed twenty-one days (or three weeks) because the prince of Persia fought against the messenger (Dan. 10:12-13, ESV).  This is a vivid depiction of God’s kingdom in direct conflict with Satan’s, who dispatched the prince of Persia after eavesdropping into Daniel’s prayer to the Lord.

What are we to make of this passage?  It is behind the scenes footage (or intel) regarding some prayers and their answers.  In the church, it is often taught that God responds in three ways to the prayers of his people: yes, no, or wait.  Waiting tends to stretch or test the faith of the one praying.  What this passage in Daniel chapter ten seems to teach is that a delayed response is not always God saying “Wait.”  In Daniel’s case, the Lord’s reply was actually an unmistakable yes. The delay had to do with the enemy’s opposition to the answer.  Of course, this raises plenty of questions, but I will not address them for the sake of time and space.  If there is one takeaway about this passage, then let it be persistence. Daniel prayed for three weeks, which was the same amount of time as the enemy’s resistance toward the angelic messenger.

Did Daniel know about this conflict?  The text does not say, but I think not.  Daniel kept fasting and praying right up until the moment the angelic being appeared to him (Dan. 10:4-5, ESV).  The prophet’s persistence in prayer brings to mind Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow in the gospel of Luke, the eighteenth chapter.  I do not have the time and space to unpack this wonderful parable.  I encourage my readers and followers to read that passage side by side with this one in the tenth chapter of Daniel.  Here is the point.  The spiritual principle of persisting or persevering in prayer is found in both testaments.  Prayer is spiritual warfare.  It positions God’s people to see and hear in the midst of a violent conflict.  This reminds me of Jesus’ words in Matthew’s gospel: “…the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12b, ESV).  Prayer is the believer’s battle cry while on earth.  It is a cry heard by his God in his heavenly temple (Revelation 5:8; 8:3-4, ESV).

The Way of Man

King Solomon wrote in the book of Proverbs that “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25, ESV).  There is so much to say about this particular verse; however, I will keep things simple.  When I apply the above quoted text to my own life, it causes me to consider the direction of it.  Another way to say this is that Prov. 14:12 magnifies the condition of my heart and my mind.  Passion comes from the heart and informs the mind.  Passion is the engine that sustains any action, word, or thought.  A problem arises if the passion is a misguided one; consequently, the above text seems to teach that I may not be aware of the danger connected to following my passion.  I may have good intentions about pursuing something or someone.  In fact, it might even feel as if everything inside of me says yes to this endeavor.  This results in believing and acting as if this passion is life-giving, but Prov. 14:12 says that it is a road toward death.

How do I avoid these roads that end in death, which look and feel life-giving?  I will answer that question a little later in the post.  King Solomon’s Proverbs is not the only book in the Old Testament to address this subject.  The book of Jeremiah contains the following passage:

^“23 I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.  ²⁴ Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing” (Jeremiah 10:23-24, ESV).

At first glance, Jeremiah’s words and King Solomon’s seem to deal with different issues and contexts.  Upon closer examination, both passages shine a light onto the governing principle of life for mankind or humanity.  I will phrase it as a question.  Are human beings the final arbiter for life and living?  Is a person able to self-govern himself or herself to such an extent that it leads to life?  According to Prov. 14:12, human beings lack the ability to self-govern themselves on roads or paths that lead to life.  It seems to me that Jeremiah 10:23 teaches the same thing by the clause, “the way of man is not in himself.” Let me state this in plainer words.  Human beings lack something intrinsic to their nature in order to govern themselves in life, so that it leads to life.  If the ability to live life in a way that leads to life is foreign to human beings, then they must rely on this knowledge or guidance coming from outside of them.

Earlier I posed the question, how do I avoid taking false roads?  The larger context of Jeremiah’s tenth chapter is rather enlightening in this regard.  According to Jeremiah the prophet, God pronounced judgment upon the city and people of Jerusalem due to following the false gods of the surrounding nations.  Instead of seeking the one, true God for his life-giving, counsel, the people, the prophets, and the leaders of Jerusalem seek it from false gods made of wood, stone, and precious metals; consequently, they become stupid, foolish, vain, and subject to God’s wrath (Jeremiah 10:2-3, 8, 14-15, 21, 25, ESV).  If the people of Jerusalem had turned from their idolatry in order to seek after God, their lives and the city would have continued rather than come to an end in 586 B.C. by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 39:1-10, ESV).  The point behind all of this is that in Jeremiah chapter ten, the false road is idolatry whereas the true road requires one to worship God.

There is something else to mention here, too.  It requires that I widen out the lesson of the false road being idolatry.  Some who travel down the false road of life toward death are not worshiping idols in the strictest sense of the word.  Their form of idolatry comes in the guise of leaning on their own understanding rather than God’s (Prov. 3:5-6, ESV).  Basically, this means that mankind is the one who determines the course of his life, or “that the way of man [is in himself]…to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23, ESV).  This view runs contrary to the plain teaching of scripture.  The people of Jerusalem experienced judgment and exile precisely because they saw themselves as the determiners of their fate.  In Jeremiah 10:24, the prophet conveys a much different attitude by humbly offering up a prayer to God for his correction and guidance.  He sees his need, and knows that God is the one to provide for it.  Jeremiah’s words and actions bring to mind those of Moses who wrote that “…man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3, ESV).

We know that these words of Moses convey a principle of living for God’s people that transcends all ages.  Jesus uses them to rebuke the enemy in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-4; Luke 4:1-4, ESV).  The Son of Man relies on God and his word to sustain him during this time of testing in the wilderness.  Jesus models for his people trust and dependency upon the Father for provision and protection in the harshest of circumstances.  The Father’s provision for his own is limitless.  This was not the case with the people in Jeremiah’s day.  They believed that they were walking along a road toward life by forsaking God for the false gods of the surrounding nations.  Instead, the people of Jerusalem met death at the end of the road.  Nebuchadnezzar’s armies decimated the city and the temple while taking those who remained alive into exile for the next seventy years (Jeremiah 52:4-30, ESV).  It was a devastating reality and lesson for the ancient Israelites, but it pertains to us, too.

What this means is that what took place thousands of years ago in Jerusalem can happen today.  God’s people must order their lives by his word, or something or someone else will take that place.  All of creation came into being by God’s spoken word, and all of creation remains in existence by his spoken word (Genesis 1:1-31; 8:21-22; 9:9-17, ESV).  Given the power of his word displayed through creation, it should not surprise us when Moses writes in Deuteronomy that “…man lives by very word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3, ESV).  In many ways, the apostle Peter echoes Moses’ words when he tells Jesus that “…you have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68, ESV).  Both testaments, Old and New, convey the life-sustaining power of God’s word.  We must read it, memorize it, study it, and live it in order to avoid the false road called the way of man.