Daniel (Greek) 11:25-30: a reflection

25“He will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south will wage war in battle with an exceedingly great and mighty army; but he won’t stand, for they will devise plans against him. 26Yes, those who eat of his delicacies will destroy him, and his army will be swept away. Many will fall down slain. 27As for both these kings, their hearts will be to do mischief, and they will speak lies at one table; but it won’t prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 28Then he will return into his land with great wealth. His heart will be against the holy covenant. He will take action and return to his own land. 29“He will return at the appointed time and come into the south; but it won’t be in the latter time as it was in the former. 30For ships of Kittim will come against him. Therefore he will be grieved, and will return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and will take action. He will even return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.

This passage foretells, in detail, the scheming of rival kings, their wars, their treachery, and their lies. Two kings, it says, will sit at one table speaking lies to each other, each plotting the other's harm. Yet amid all this scheming, one phrase steadies the whole: it will not succeed, for the end will still come at the appointed time. However these kings scheme and deceive, they cannot control the outcome or hasten the end; God has set an appointed time, and it stands over all their plotting.

Notice the assurance amid the scheming: the end will come at the appointed time. The passage is full of the deceit and intrigue of those in power, kings lying to one another, plotting harm, maneuvering for advantage. But over all of it stands God's appointed time, which their scheming cannot alter. Their lies and plots do not finally control events, nor can they hasten or delay what God has appointed; the end comes at the time God has set, regardless of all their maneuvering.

That is a steadying truth when we watch the scheming and deceit of those in power in our own day. It can seem that the plots and lies and maneuvering of those in power control the course of events, that everything is at the mercy of their scheming. But over all their plotting stands God's appointed time, which they cannot alter. The schemes of those in power do not finally control history, nor outrun God's timing; his appointed time stands sovereign over all their maneuvering. When you are troubled by the scheming and deceit of those in power, remember that their plots do not control the outcome. God's appointed time stands over all of it; his purposes will come to pass at the time he has set, and no amount of human scheming can finally alter it. Trust the God whose appointed time is sovereign over every scheme.

Lord, this passage foretells the scheming, treachery, and lies of rival kings, yet steadies it all with one phrase: it will not succeed, for the end will still come at the appointed time. Steady me with that truth when I watch the scheming and deceit of those in power in my own day. It can seem that the plots and lies and maneuvering of those in power control the course of events, that everything is at the mercy of their scheming. But over all their plotting stands your appointed time, which they cannot alter. The schemes of those in power do not finally control history, nor outrun your timing; your appointed time stands sovereign over all their maneuvering. When I am troubled by the scheming and deceit of those in power, help me remember that their plots do not control the outcome. Your appointed time stands over all of it; your purposes will come to pass at the time you have set, and no amount of human scheming can finally alter it. Help me trust you, whose appointed time is sovereign over every scheme.