The light dwells with Him
Daniel 2:22 When we pray, God sheds a bright light on the profound and hidden things in our lives
“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.”
Daniel 2:22 NASB1995
In all the time that we have been writing daily devotionals for Heaven On Wheels, neither Barb or I had touched on the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. I knew of the book through having read it many times, but just hadn’t studied it in detail. Today God pointed me to this specific verse, prompting me to learn more about this book.
Wikipedia has this to say about the Book of Daniel:
The Book of Daniel is a biblical apocalypse authored during the 2nd century BC, and set during the 6th century BC. The work describes "the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon"; in doing so, it interpolates a portrayal of a historical prophecy being fulfilled with a prediction of future cosmic and political upheaval. This eschatology ultimately affirms that the God of Israel's previous deliverance of Daniel from his enemies prefigures his future deliverance of the people of Israel from their present oppression.
By “apocalypse”, the writer means a prophetic revelation. The Book of Daniel is grouped in the Christian Bible with other major prophets including Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. God speaks through Daniel to prophesy not only the future deliverance of the people of Israel from their exile in Babylon, but the deliverance from sin of those who have faith in Jesus.
In Daniel 2, King Nabuchadnezzar has been disturbed by a dream and is seeking someone who can explain it to him. Sometimes our dreams are as confusing and jumbled as the abstract image above, but bring a lot of emotional power with them. God revealed the dream to Daniel, who then plans to explain it to the King in hopes of protection for him and three companions. All of Daniel’s contingent, including Daniel himself, have prayed intently for this revelation. The Book doesn’t explain how God revealed the dream to Daniel, other than to say it was a “night vision”, which could have been another dream… or a supernatural vision in the night.
In many respects, Christianity begins with revelation. All that we know about God consists of what He has revealed to us. We seek Him, but even more we seek what He has revealed to us. We’re not to come up with ideas and interpretations of God; our tasks is to understand what He reveals to us.
Upon receiving the “night vision”, Daniel does the right thing — he immediately praises God for revealing the meaning of the King’s dream. Today’s verse comes from Daniel’s prayer of thanks to God, and while the prophet appears to be referring to the vision, it’s likely that he was also prophesying about the Messiah when he used the words “And the light dwells with Him”.
In the New Testament, written almost 300 years after the Book of Daniel, Jesus is called “the Light” (John 1:7, John 3:19, John 12:35-36, ), “the true Light” (John 1:9), and “the Light of the world” (John 8:12, John 9:5). In John 12:46 Jesus says “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”
God reveals the “profound and hidden things” to His children, when they seek Him. He “knows what is in the darkness” of man’s fallen state, “and the light” — Jesus — “dwells with Him”.
When we pray, God sheds a bright light on the profound and hidden things in our lives, giving us more understanding of Him and how we should live our lives to glorify Him.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we come before You with hearts full of awe and gratitude for Your infinite wisdom and understanding. Guide us with Your light in times of uncertainty, and reveal to us the mysteries we cannot fathom. Help us trust in Your divine insight and follow Your path with faith and humility. May Your truth illuminate our lives and lead us closer to Your presence each day. In Jesus’ holy name we pray, AMEN.