Text: Daniel chapter 8
Title: Why bad things happen to good people
Introduction
The theme of the entire book of Daniel is the sovereignty of God
Here again in chapter 8 we have more irrefutable evidence that our God is both all-knowing and all powerful.
In Daniel chapter 8 God gives Daniel a vision of a Ram and a vision of a Goat.From now on every time you see a ram or a goat -remember God is all knowing and all powerful! Never mind that the only ram we might see is a ram truck
So here is the evidence in Daniel 8 that our God is all-knowing
1. In V3-8 –The vision of the ram and the goat
“I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as he charged towards the west and the north and the south. No animal could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
“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. He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage. 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. 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.”
The irrefutable evidence that our God is all all-knowing is found in verses 19-22
“He said: I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end. The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.”
Illustration: Daniel received the vision in the 3rd year of Belshazzar (v1)
The 3rd year of Belshazzar was 551BC
There was a king of Greece (Alexander the Great) who defeated the kingdom of Media and Persia. He did this in 331 BC. 220 years after Daniel was told it would happen
Illustration: 220 years ago (1790) George Washington was the president of America
What are the chances of George Washington predicting that 220 years into the future the president would a senator from Illinois?
God knew!
God knows everything!
He knows every thought
He knows the number of hairs on our head
He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground
He knows the answer to every problem
God is all-knowing
Then when we look at v23-25 of Daniel 8 we see the irrefutable evidence that our God is also all-powerful
(V23-25) “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the Holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, BUT NOT BY HUMAN POWER.
This powerful king will be destroyed by a more powerful God!
The power of man is no match for the power of God
Our God is a miracle working God
He heals the sick
He raises the dead
Our God is all knowing and all powerful
Notice the reaction of Daniel to the vision. (v27)
I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
•There was something about this vision that was beyond understanding for Daniel
•There was something about this vision that made Daniel ill
•There was something about this vision that appalled Daniel
What was the problem with the vision?
If God is all knowing and if God is all powerful then why does He allow bad things to happen?
Why does He allow people to suffer and die if He is all knowing and all powerful?
Why does He allow evil to prosper if he has the power to stop it?
This is our Greatest struggle:
How do you make sense of the existence of Satan, evil, sin and death in a world created by an all knowing and all powerful God?
“I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.”
We all identify with Daniel.If God is all powerful and all knowing why am I...sick, depressed, broke, messed up!
One possible answer for the existence of Satan, evil, sin and death is this;
1.God loves us so much that he designed us with the ability to make choices, to choose either good or evil.
Love finds no satisfaction in an involuntary response
In Daniel 8
•The empire of Media-Persia and the empire of Greece are portrayed for us as being like animals
One was like a ram and the other was like a goat and each animal had the ability to make its own choices
V4 “I watched the ram as he charged towards the west and the north and the south.”
•The empire of Media- Persia is not portrayed for us as robot #1 and the empire of Greece is not portrayed for us as being robot #2.
•Repeat: In love God designed us with the ability to make choices; to choose either good or evil.
We don’t hear a lot about the empire of Media-Persia in Daniel chapter 8
But in other parts of the Bible we are told that the empire of Media-Persia made some good choices. By which I mean they treated God’s people well.
God’s people were living in captivity at this time but...
In 458 BC Darius the king of Persia allowed Ezra to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.
In 445 BC the king of Persia allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.
This is the part of the story we all like to hear.When an all-knowing and all-powerful God uses others to take us out of captivity and bring us back to the Promised Land.
When I’m healed! When I’m promoted! When life is good! Praise God for the kingdom of Medes and Persians!
But the kingdom that followed the Medes and the Persians were an entirely different story.
•The empire of Greece did the complete opposite
By which I mean they treated God’s people very badly.
(v24-25) He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the Holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes.
If God is all-knowing and all-powerful why does He allow these terrible things to happen?
•Why do people get sick and die?
•Why do bad things happen to good people?
The amazing thing about Daniel chapter 8
We are never given a direct answer to the question “why do bad things happen to good people?”
Daniel never asks God the question? I am so unlike Daniel. The first and only question I would be asking God is “why me?”
But what we do see in Daniel 8 is this;
Even when bad things happen to people God is still in control.
The first thing we see to show that God is in control is that;
1. He limits how long the suffering lasts
(v13-14) “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled-the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?
“He said to me, “It will take 2300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”
The Bible says in Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may endure for the night but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
On the other side of suffering is joy!
Maybe today is your day to rejoice!
Maybe today is our church’s day to experience revival!
God limits how long the suffering lasts!
We don’t know how long the suffering will last but we do know that God is in control!
The second thing we see in Daniel chapter 8 that shows us that God is in control even when bad things happen is that;
God is able to bring good out of every suffering
Look at verse 14 again
“He said to me, “It will take 2300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”
Again that good may not be evident until after the fact
It’s hard to see the good when you are going through the suffering
And the last thing you want to hear from someone when you are going through a terrible suffering is that- it’s for your own good.
The truth is - You and I are stronger because of suffering
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)
(v14) “He said to me, “It will take 2300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”
Every believer in Jesus is the sanctuary of God’s Spirit.
Even when events around us are out of control God is doing a work inside of us
Making us more like Jesus
Making us more compassionate
Making us more dependant on God
Making us more humble
Making us less dependant on this world
Conclusion
Why does an all-knowing and all powerful God allow bad things to happen?
I don’t have the answer
But I do know that God is still in control.
He limits the suffering
He brings good out of the suffering
