Pastor and 1st Lady Mims

Mims Chapel Church

LESSON 13 • Fifth Week

CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE
NORTH AND THE SOUTH
DURING DANIEL'S TIME

Background Reading Devotional Reading
Daniel 11:7-10; Matthew 5:9; Daniel 11:1-6 Romans 12:18

Central Verse
"So, the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand."
Daniel 11:15 KJV

"Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught."
Daniel 11:15 NLT

Key Terms
Onslaught—An especially fierce or violent attack.
Intrinsic—Belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing; occurring as a natural part of something.
Factiousness—The quality or state of being inclined to faction or the formation of factions.
Aggression—Immediate hostile, harmful, or violent actions and behavior

Introduction

It became a time of conflict between the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms. To have conflict means there is variance, discord, strife, contention, or dissension. "Variance" means a state or condition marked by a lack of agreement or harmony. "Discord" implies an intrinsic or essential lack of harmony producing quarreling, factiousness, or antagonism.

Everyone experiences conflict from time to time, whether it be with friends, family, colleagues, or coworkers, but the Lord Jesus encourages believers to become peace-makers. His Word tells the believers to do all that they can to maintain peace.

When conflicts arise, most of the time it is better to try to work out the differences instead of allowing the conflict to cause war or fighting as it did between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.

Discussion

Daniel lived during a very controversial time. He was among the first Jewish captives that were taken to Babylon. The kings of that time were constantly in disagreement with other nations. Disagreements that are not managed correctly will lead to strife, and strife will lead to aggression.

Because he was a leader and a godly man, Daniel was concerned that these conflicts would affect him and the people of God. God allowed the Archangel Michael to speak a word to Daniel to let him know that the conflicts would not stop. In the day that we are now living in, believers cannot be disturbed when they hear of "wars and rumors of wars." They must remember that God is in charge of the nations and there will be no peace until they receive Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

The mighty King Alexander the Great defeated the Persian armies and ruled over them, but his kingdom was divided into four, and the kings of the south became strong and revolted against them.

Wars are never good for commoners, because so many innocent people get hurt and destroyed. The Saints must remember that there is nothing new in Heaven or on Earth. During the time of this writing, there are wars going on with the country of Russia, who invaded Ukraine, a Christian nation. There has been much senseless killing, many lives have been lost, and many families have been displaced. Many homes and buildings have been destroyed, and it seems like there is no end in sight. People have fled to other countries, food and medicine are in short supply, help is lacking, and there is confusion and destruction everywhere.

During Daniel's time there were many consecutive conflicts, so the Northern and Southern Kingdoms continued to fight against each other. Judah,
God's people, found themselves caught between the warring Seleucid and Ptolemaic Kingdoms. Eventually, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid ruler, unleashed his fury by desecrating holy places and persecuting the faithful Jews. One of the sad facts about war is that innocent people get caught up in the fight, through no fault of their own. It is important that God's people pray for Jerusalem and the other nations of the world. The effectual and fervent prayers of the righteous availeth much (James 5:16).

The regular Jewish sacrifices were abolished and replaced with the abomination of desolation: a heathen altar was built atop the Jewish altar of sacrifice. Antiochus was a type of antichrist, who had no care for God's people. God wants His children to know that things will sometimes get bad, but He is always looking out for His children. After all the havoc that the king of the Southern Kingdom had caused, God allowed the Northern Kingdom to become strong and attack them with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. The Northern Kingdom entered the Southern nations, overwhelmed them, and passed through. They received power and received the treasures of gold and silver and all the precious things of Egypt, but in the end, their kingdom was also defeated.

Remember that whatever believers have to endure, God will not forsake them. The mighty Archangel Michael stood up for God's people. God will always have a way for His people to survive and thrive. His people may not understand all that is transpiring, like Daniel, who did not understand what was happening, but he knew that he could trust the God of the heavens, and we can, too.

Conclusion

So, after seeing all the wars and conflicts, Daniel was told to shut up the words and seal the book until the end of time. Daniel looked and there stood two others, one on each side of the banks of the river. One asked the question, "How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?" The other man on the other side lifted up his right and left hands to Heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and said, "It will go on for a time, times and a half time, for when the power of the Holy people has been completely shattered, all these things will have happened" (Daniel 12:7).

Questions

Why were the Northern and Southern nations fighting?
Why was this concerning to Daniel?
Why should believers be concerned about world events, like the war between Russia and Ukraine?
What can believers do to help?
What is God's plan for believers during times of distress?

Essential Thought- "As long as God allows unrighteous men to live, there will be conflicts, but believers should know that righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to any people."