August 30: THE PENETRATING GAZE OF JESUS
Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! Daniel 10:4-5
Daniel, only this once, specifies an exact day. It must have been the third day of that month that the disheartening news reached him of the concerted efforts to trouble and discourage the Jews in Jerusalem. His prayers these past three weeks on behalf of his brethren had rendered Daniel himself more open, ready, and receptive to the LORD than ever before. This was a red-letter day for Daniel!
Note: we are not sure whether Daniel’s day/month specification here is according to the Persian or the Hebrew reckoning of the calendar. If the Persian, this time would be around March/April 536BC and if by the Hebrew, then March/April 535BC. Either way, His intense prayer and fasting for his people coincided with the Passover season. Our world, in its fallen state, has sadness and mourning that exists side-by-side with seasons of celebration. Only a close relationship with the LORD maintains the perspective necessary to be spiritually and mentally healthy.
It was a stunningly beautiful setting by the side of the [Tigris] river. Daniel was in a frame of mind to receive whatever his God had for him. But the beauty of nature here was far outshone by what he saw when he lifted [his] eyes and looked . . . Daniel beheld a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. (v.6)
The Holy Scriptures give us two descriptions of Christ in His full glory.: this one, and the other following His resurrection and ascension into heaven (see Revelation 1:12-15). Both descriptions emphasize the intensity of His gaze and His purity that withstood every test. Eyes like torches of fire indeed! Have you ever “locked eyes” with Jesus? You know that He sees you, but do you pause long enough to absorb His gaze? Do you perceive the power of His love? Or the loving corrections He has for you in order to build your character into His likeness? The Lord’s penetrating gaze is like nothing else. He has experienced the furnace of affliction for us!
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. Psalm 34:15
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8
Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10
The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. Psalm 29:4,5
For further study: Genesis 16:13; John 10:27; 12:27-30; Revelation 2:18