When you face a significant disappointment or roadblock in life, does knowing the “why” behind the waiting help you cope with it? Why or why not?
Daniel 10 — A Brewery Ministries Paraphrase
Daniel was still living as a prisoner of war. He had been taken captive from Jerusalem as a teenager. The Persians had now conquered Babylon, and technically the seventy-year exile God had promised was over — but things hadn’t gone the way anyone expected. The temple rebuilding had stalled. The political situation was hostile. Daniel was old now and still hadn’t gone home.
He was so distressed that he spent three weeks fasting — no fine food, no meat or wine, no grooming at all. He was grieving something deeply, though the passage doesn’t spell out exactly what.
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, Daniel was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris. He looked up and saw a figure unlike anything human.
The man wore linen and a belt of pure gold. His body had the gleam of a precious stone. His face was like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like polished bronze. When he spoke, it sounded like the roar of a crowd.
The men who were with Daniel couldn’t see the figure — but they felt something, and they ran. Daniel stood there alone, watching.
His strength drained out of him. His face turned pale. He had nothing left. When the figure’s voice came, Daniel fell facedown onto the ground in a deep sleep.
A hand touched him and lifted him to his hands and knees, then to his feet.
“Daniel, you are deeply valued. I have been sent to you. Now pay close attention to what I am about to say. Stand up.”
He stood, but he was trembling.
“Don’t be afraid. From the very first day you set your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard. I set out to come to you immediately.
But I was held up. The prince of the kingdom of Persia stood against me for twenty-one days. Then Michael — one of the chief princes — came to help me, and I was finally able to get through.
Now I’ve come to help you understand what will happen to your people in the days ahead.”
Daniel said he couldn’t speak. The vision had taken everything out of him. Something like a human hand touched his lips and he was able to talk again — but he still had no strength left.
The figure touched him again and strengthened him.
“Do you know why I came to you? I have to go back now and fight the prince of Persia. When I leave, the prince of Greece is coming next. But first I want to tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.
No one stands with me against these two except Michael — your prince.”
Note: What the messenger revealed to Daniel about his people’s future is recorded in chapters 11 and 12.
Daniel 10:9 — “I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground”
Read Daniel 10 in: BSB · ESV · NIV · NLT · NASB
All links open Bible Gateway in a new tab.Discussion Questions
The messenger — held up for 21 days, aided by Michael
What kind of conflict was it?
Nobody really knows what this meant for sure, but two possibilities have been suggested.
Some think the angel was delayed because of a fight with the spiritual being over Persia — picture a kind of spiritual standoff, with the prince of Persia blocking the way until Michael came and broke through.
Others think the angel was delayed because of an argument with the spirit over Persia in a Divine Council meeting. Think of it as angel politics. :)
Either way, something was happening in a realm Daniel couldn’t see — and it was directly affecting what he was experiencing on earth.
Although there’s no settled answer, some think this figure is Jesus — or that the passage at least hints at him. Revelation 1:12–17 applies the same description to Jesus, making it seem like they could be the same person. Alternatively, some think it’s the angel Gabriel — the same angel who later appeared to Mary to tell her she would give birth to Jesus.
The Gap Most of Us Actually Live In
Most stories in the Bible don’t show us what’s happening in the spiritual realm that affects humans like this story does. Daniel was dealing with severe disappointment. He had been carried away from his home by the Babylonian army as a teenager. God had promised Daniel and his people that their exile in Babylon would end after 70 years. So Daniel waited. When the 70 years ended, things didn’t look like he expected. Some of Daniel’s people went home to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed, but politics and disagreements caused the construction to stall. Even worse, Daniel himself was never freed — and even those of his people who did go home never got their full independence back. He became so depressed that he didn’t even celebrate their holiday called the Passover, which was their Independence Day celebration.
What this story reveals is the reason behind the delay. The angels assigned over the nations are in some sort of conflict or disagreement. That conflict trickles down to our level and causes major disappointments and discouragement for Daniel.
That’s the gap most of us actually live in. Not “does God exist” but “The thing I was promised was granted, but it looks disappointing.”
Daniel 10 doesn’t just gloss over this by telling him to be patient, and it doesn’t tell him he misheard from God either. It tells him two things. 1. God heard his prayer on day one — the delay was never God’s reluctance. 2. The angel was delayed by the spiritual being over Persia, and needed help to get through.
Daniel asked a question about the political situation he was living through and got a much bigger answer; something was happening on a spiritual level. The political mess causing the rebuilding of the temple had a second layer he couldn’t see. That’s the claim on the table — it doesn’t make our problems and disappointments go away, but it does reveal that the events playing out in the spiritual realm take time. There are spiritual beings fighting both for us and against us. God allows them to exercise their free will too. He’s still in control, but God is “playing the long game.”
The delay isn’t abandonment. Sometimes the answer is already on the way — and something in between is fighting it.
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