Verse of the Day 12-15-22

The Wise will Shine: Daniel 12:3

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (NIV)

            In Daniel 10-12 Daniel is given a vision of what is to come for both the world and the people of Israel. With that in mind let’s come to dealing with our verse for today. Daniel chapter 12 is dealing with the time of the end. In verse 1 Daniel is told “there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time” (NASB). In other words, during the end times things are going to be much worse than they have ever been. Daniel is also told in verse 1, “at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued” (NASB). Essentially Daniel is told in verse 1 that the end times is going to much worse than we can image but that God’s people are going to be rescued from this “time of distress.”

            In verse 2 Daniel is told “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (NASB). Daniel is essentially told here that at the end of times there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked, with the righteous being those who have followed the one true God and the wicked being those who have rejected the one true God. Essentially Daniel is being told here that our choices here on earth have eternal consequences, which leads us directly into the third verse of Daniel 12 (today’s verse).

            In verse 3 Daniel is told, “And those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (NASB). “Those who have insight” are the “wise.” And when the Old Testament refers to the “wise,” it usually means the Godly. These are the people who show their wisdom not only by how they live but by how their lives and testimonies influence others to follow God. The fact that these people “will shine” means their lives will be spiritually transformed, and God’s glory (i.e., greatness, uniqueness and/or power) will be reflected in and through their lives.

            What then should we take away from this one verse stuck in the middle of a prophecy concerning a time that may or may not have come yet? Very simply this: The lives of all who follow Jesus should light the way for others to come to Christ.

Today’s Bible Readings:

Micah 1-4, Revelation 6, Psalm 134:1-3 and Proverbs 30:1-4