📖 Utangulizi wa Agano la Kale — Sehemu ya 11: Manabii Wakubwa – Kifungu cha 3 (Ezekieli na Danieli)📖 Old Testament Survey — Unit 11: The Major Prophets – Part 3 (Ezekiel & Daniel)

I. Sauti Mbili katika Uhamisho MmojaI. Two Voices in One Captivity

Wapige picha vijana wawili wamesimama barabarani wakitoka Yerusalemu mwanzoni mwa karne ya sita K.K., wakiutazama ulimwengu wao ukisambaratika. Majeshi ya Babeli yamekuja, hekalu la Sulemani limeporwa, nao wamefungwa kwa kamba pamoja na maelfu ya wengine katika safari ndefu kuelekea mashariki, kwenda nchi ambayo lugha yake hawaijui. Majina yao ni Ezekieli na Danieli. Hakuna kati yao atakayeiona Yerusalemu tena. Lakini kutoka ndani ya uhamisho huo Mungu atainua sauti mbili za kinabii zilizo kuu kuliko zote katika Agano la Kale, zikinena kwa njia zinazoenda sambamba kwa taifa lile lile lililovunjika moyo.Picture two young men standing on the road out of Jerusalem in the early sixth century BC, watching their world come apart. The Babylonian armies have come, the temple of Solomon has been emptied, and they are roped together with thousands of others on the long march east to a country whose language they do not speak. Their names are Ezekiel and Daniel. Neither will ever see Jerusalem again. And yet from inside that exile God will raise up two of the greatest prophetic voices in the Old Testament, speaking on parallel tracks to the same heartbroken nation.

Ezekieli alikuwa kuhani, aliyechukuliwa katika uhamisho wa pili mwaka 597 K.K., akakaa pamoja na wahamishwa kando ya mfereji wa Kebari, na kuitwa kutabiri kutoka huko kwa watu ambao hekalu lao lilikuwa karibu kuanguka. Danieli, kijana wa jamaa ya kifalme, alichukuliwa katika uhamisho wa kwanza mwaka 605 K.K., akaandikishwa kwa nguvu katika shule ya jumba la mfalme, na kuitwa kuiishi imani yake ndani ya baraza lenyewe la milki iliyoiangamiza nchi yake. Wasikilizaji wa Ezekieli walikuwa mateka katika makambi. Wasikilizaji wa Danieli walikuwa wafalme waliokaa kitini. Kwa pamoja vitabu vyao viwili vinajibu swali ambalo kila mhamishwa huuliza mapema au baadaye: Je, Mungu bado ndiye anayetawala?Ezekiel was a priest, taken in the second deportation in 597 BC, settled with the exiles by the Chebar canal, and called to prophesy from there to a people whose temple was about to fall. Daniel, a young nobleman, was taken in the first deportation in 605 BC, conscripted into the king's palace school, and called to live out his faith inside the very court of the empire that had destroyed his country. Ezekiel's audience was the captives in the camps. Daniel's audience was the kings on the throne. Together their two books answer the question every exile asks sooner or later: Is God still in charge?

Ezekieli kwa haki ni nabii wa utukufu wa Mungu. Kuanzia maono yake ya kwanza ya gari la Mungu katika sura ya 1 hadi maono yake ya mwisho ya mji mpya unaoitwa "BWANA Yupo Hapa," Ezekieli hawezi kuacha kuzungumza juu ya utukufu — utukufu unaokuja, utukufu unaoonya, utukufu unaoondoka, utukufu unaorudi. Na Danieli, upande mwingine wa Babeli, hawezi kuacha kuzungumza juu ya falme — falme zinazoinuka, falme zinazoanguka, na Ufalme mmoja unaodumu milele. Vitabu hivi viwili ni kama nguzo mbili za pembeni zinazoshikilia kweli ile ile kuu: Mungu anatawala, hata watu wake wanapokuwa katika minyororo.Ezekiel is rightly the prophet of God's glory. From his opening vision of the divine chariot in chapter 1 to his closing vision of the new city named "The Lord Is There," Ezekiel cannot stop talking about glory — glory that comes, glory that warns, glory that withdraws, glory that returns. And Daniel, on the other side of Babylon, cannot stop talking about kingdoms — kingdoms that rise, kingdoms that fall, and one Kingdom that lasts forever. The two books are bookends propping up the same grand truth: God reigns, even when His people are in chains.

II. Ezekieli: Nabii wa UtukufuII. Ezekiel: The Prophet of the Glory

A. Maono Yaliyobadilisha Kila Kitu (sura ya 1)A. The Vision That Changed Everything (chapter 1)

Maono ya wito wa Ezekieli ni mojawapo ya matukio ya ajabu kuliko yote katika Maandiko yote. Kando ya mto Kebari, mbali na hekalu alimotarajia kutumika kama kuhani, mbingu zinafunguka na Ezekieli anaona dhoruba kubwa ikija kutoka kaskazini. Ndani ya dhoruba hiyo kuna gari — viumbe hai wanne (ambao baadaye wanatambulishwa kuwa makerubi), kila mmoja akiwa na nyuso nne, wakisukumwa na magurudumu ndani ya magurudumu, "na duara zao zilikuwa zimejaa macho pande zote" (Ezekieli 1:18). Juu ya magurudumu kuna anga kama bilauri; juu ya anga hiyo kuna kiti cha enzi cha yakuti samawi; na juu ya kiti cha enzi kuna mfano wenye sura ya mwanadamu (Ezekieli 1:26). Ezekieli anaona upinde wa mvua, naye anaanguka kifudifudi.Ezekiel's call vision is one of the most extraordinary scenes in all Scripture. By the river Chebar, far from the temple where he had expected to serve as a priest, the heavens open and Ezekiel sees a great storm rolling in out of the north. Inside the storm is a chariot — four living creatures (later identified as cherubim), each with four faces, propelled by wheels within wheels, "and their rims were full of eyes all around" (Ezekiel 1:18). Above the wheels is an expanse like crystal; above the expanse is a sapphire throne; and on the throne is a likeness with the appearance of a man (Ezekiel 1:26). Ezekiel sees the rainbow, and falls on his face.

Wahamishwa walidhani Mungu wao alikuwa ameachwa nyuma huko Yerusalemu. Babeli ilikuwa na miungu yake; hakika Yahweh alikuwa amefungamana na hekalu lililokuwa maili mia saba upande wa magharibi. Lakini Mungu huyu anasonga. Kiti chake cha enzi kina magurudumu. Amekuja Babeli. Amekuja kumtafuta Ezekieli. Naye yuko karibu kusema jambo ambalo kila mhamishwa, kila mkimbizi, kila mfungwa wa dhamiri katika kila karne anahitaji kulisikia: Mimi bado nipo hapa. Popote watu wa Mungu wanapotawanyika, gari la Mungu liko juu yao.The exiles thought their God had been left behind in Jerusalem. Babylon had its own gods; surely Yahweh was tied to the temple seven hundred miles to the west. But this God moves. His throne has wheels. He has come to Babylon. He has come to find Ezekiel. And He is about to say something every exile, every refugee, every prisoner of conscience in every century needs to hear: I am still here. Wherever the people of God are scattered, the chariot of God is over them.

B. Utukufu Unaondoka (sura 8–11)B. The Glory Departs (chapters 8–11)

Katika mojawapo ya vifungu vya kusikitisha kuliko vyote katika Agano la Kale, Ezekieli anachukuliwa katika maono kurudi hekaluni Yerusalemu. Huko anaona, nyuma ya milango iliyofungwa, yanayoendelea kwa kweli: sanamu zimesimamishwa ndani ya nyua zenyewe, wanawake wanamlilia mungu wa uongo Tamuzi, wazee ishirini na watano wanainama kuelekea mashariki kuliabudu jua. Hekalu limekuwa danguro la miungu ya kigeni, naye BWANA hatakaa. Hatua kwa hatua, utukufu wa BWANA unainuka kutoka juu ya makerubi, unasimama kwenye kizingiti, unapanda hadi lango la mashariki, na mwishowe unaondoka juu ya Mlima wa Mizeituni (Ezekieli 11:23). Hekalu limeachwa na Mungu wake kabla Nebukadneza hajaweka mkono juu yake. Mungu anapoondoka, huondoka kimya kimya — lakini huondoka.In one of the saddest passages in the Old Testament, Ezekiel is taken in vision back to the temple in Jerusalem. There he sees, behind closed doors, what is really going on: idols set up in the very courts, women weeping for the false god Tammuz, twenty-five elders bowing east to worship the sun. The temple has become a brothel for foreign gods, and the Lord will not stay. Step by step, the glory of the Lord rises from above the cherubim, pauses at the threshold, lifts to the east gate, and at last departs over the Mount of Olives (Ezekiel 11:23). The temple has been abandoned by its God before Nebuchadnezzar ever lays a hand on it. When God leaves, He leaves quietly — but He leaves.

C. Moyo Mpya na Mifupa Mikavu (sura 36–37)C. The New Heart and the Dry Bones (chapters 36–37)

Hata hivyo Ezekieli mwishowe si nabii wa kuondoka bali wa kurudi. Katikati kabisa ya kitabu sauti inabadilika, na ahadi nzuri kuliko zote katika Agano la Kale zinamiminika. "Nami nitawapa moyo mpya, nami nitatia roho mpya ndani yenu; nami nitauondoa moyo wa jiwe katika mwili wenu, nami nitawapa moyo wa nyama" (Ezekieli 36:26). Uhamisho hautazalisha Waisraeli waliorekebishwa tu. Utazalisha Waisraeli waliozaliwa upya — watu ambao mioyo yao imebadilishwa. Hii ni ahadi ya Agano Jipya ya Yeremia 31, ikielezwa upya; na Agano Jipya linatuambia ilitimizwa siku ya Pentekoste Roho alipokuja kukaa ndani ya watu wa Mungu. Ikiwa wewe ni Mkristo usiku huu, moyo unaodunda ndani ya kifua chako ndio moyo ambao Ezekieli aliuona kutoka kilimani huko Babeli miaka elfu mbili na mia tano iliyopita.And yet Ezekiel is not finally a prophet of departure but of return. In the very middle of the book the tone shifts, and the most beautiful promises in the Old Testament come pouring out. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). The captivity will not produce reformed Israelites. It will produce regenerated Israelites — people whose hearts have been replaced. This is the New Covenant promise of Jeremiah 31, restated; and the New Testament tells us it was fulfilled at Pentecost when the Spirit came to live inside the people of God. If you are a Christian tonight, the heart beating inside your chest is the heart Ezekiel saw from a hillside in Babylon two and a half millennia ago.

Kisha yanakuja maono ya mifupa mikavu (sura ya 37). Ezekieli anawekwa chini katika bonde lililojaa mifupa — ya kale, iliyopauka kwa jua, iliyotawanyika, isiyo na tumaini. "Mwanadamu, je! Mifupa hii yaweza kuishi?" Nabii, kwa hekima, hajifungi kwa jibu: "Ee Bwana MUNGU, wajua wewe." Kisha BWANA anamwamuru aitabirie mifupa, na anapofanya hivyo kunakuwa na mshindo, mifupa inakaribiana, mishipa na nyama vinatokea, na mwishowe pumzi ya Mungu inavuma juu ya bonde na jeshi kubwa mno linasimama kwa miguu yake. Katika ngazi yake ya kwanza maono haya yanamaanisha hivi: taifa la Israeli, lililokufa na kutawanyika uhamishoni, litaishi tena. Na kwa kina zaidi: katika kila kizazi kuna mabonde yaliyojaa mifupa mikavu — makanisa yaliyokufa, mataifa yaliyokufa, familia zilizokufa, maisha yaliyokufa — na Neno la Mungu likihubiriwa katika nguvu ya Roho wa Mungu bado linaweza kuyainua.Then comes the vision of the dry bones (chapter 37). Ezekiel is set down in a valley full of skeletons — ancient, sun-bleached, scattered, hopeless. "Son of man, can these bones live?" The prophet, wisely, will not commit himself: "O Lord God, you know." Then the Lord commands him to prophesy to the bones, and as he does there is a rattling, the bones come together, the sinews and flesh appear, and finally the breath of God blows over the valley and an exceedingly great army stands on its feet. On its first level the vision means this: the nation Israel, dead and scattered in exile, will live again. And deeper still: in every age there are valleys full of dry bones — dead churches, dead nations, dead families, dead lives — and the Word of God preached in the power of the Spirit of God can still bring them up.

D. Utukufu Unarudi (sura 40–48)D. The Glory Returns (chapters 40–48)

Kitabu kinafunga kwa maono marefu ya kina ya hekalu jipya. Vipimo ni sahihi, nyua ni safi, na muhimu kuliko yote, utukufu wa BWANA — utukufu ule ule ulioondoka katika sura ya 11 — unarudi kutoka mashariki na kuijaza nyumba (Ezekieli 43:4). Mto unatiririka kutoka chini ya kizingiti, unazidi kuwa na kina unavyoendelea, na kuleta uhai kwa kila kitu unachokigusa. Na mji una jina jipya, jina zuri kuliko yote katika Agano la Kale lote: Yahweh Shammah, "BWANA Yupo Hapa" (Ezekieli 48:35). Vyovyote utakavyokuwa wakati ujao halisi wa hekalu, hoja yake haiwezi kukosewa. BWANA aliyeondoka atarudi. Na mji wa Mungu hatimaye utatambulishwa si kwa kuta zake wala mahali ulipo bali kwa ukweli rahisi na wa milele kwamba Yeye yupo hapo.The book closes with an elaborate vision of a new temple. The dimensions are precise, the courts are clean, and most importantly, the glory of the Lord — the same glory that withdrew in chapter 11 — comes back from the east and fills the house (Ezekiel 43:4). A river flows from beneath the threshold, deepens as it goes, and brings life to everything it touches. And the city has a new name, the most wonderful name in the whole Old Testament: Yahweh Shammah, "The Lord Is There" (Ezekiel 48:35). Whatever the temple's literal future, the point is unmistakable. The Lord who left will return. And the city of God will at last be defined not by its walls or its location but by the simple, eternal fact that He is there.

III. Danieli: Mwaminifu katika Nchi ya MbaliIII. Daniel: Faithful in a Far Country

Danieli alikuwa na umri wa takriban miaka kumi na saba walipokuja kumchukua. Kijana kutoka familia ya kifahari ya Kiyahudi, alipelekwa kwa nguvu katika shule za Babeli ili afundishwe upya kwa ajili ya utumishi wa mfalme. Walibadilisha chakula chake, walibadilisha jina lake, walibadilisha mtaala wake, nao walifanya kila kitu kilichokuwa katika uwezo wao kuibadilisha nafsi yake. Walishindwa. Sura sita za kwanza za Danieli ni majaribu sita ya imani ya kijana ndani ya utamaduni wenye uadui, nazo zinabaki — karibu miaka elfu tatu baadaye — kuwa sura zenye manufaa zaidi katika Biblia kwa muumini yeyote anayelazimika kufanya kazi ofisini, kusoma chuo kikuu, au kuishi katika mtaa ambamo jina la Mungu husikika mara chache isipokuwa kama laana.Daniel was about seventeen when they came for him. A teenager from a noble Jewish family, he was hauled off to the schools of Babylon to be re-educated for the king's service. They changed his food, they changed his name, they changed his curriculum, and they did everything in their power to change his soul. They failed. The first six chapters of Daniel are six tests of a young man's faith inside a hostile culture, and they remain — almost three thousand years later — the most useful chapters in the Bible for any believer who has to work in an office, study at a university, or live in a neighborhood where the name of God is rarely heard except as a curse.

A. Jaribu la Utii (Danieli 1)A. The Test of Obedience (Daniel 1)

Jaribu la kwanza lilikuwa meza ya chakula. Mfalme alikuwa ameamuru vijana wa Kiyahudi walishwe kutoka jikoni mwake mwenyewe — nyama zilizotolewa kafara kwa sanamu, divai iliyomiminwa kwa miungu ya uongo, chakula kilichokatazwa na sheria ya Musa. Shinikizo lilikuwa kubwa mno: ukiwa Babeli, fanya kama Wababeli wafanyavyo; uko mbali sana na nyumbani; hakuna atakayejua. "Lakini Danieli aliazimia moyoni mwake kwamba hatajitia unajisi" (Danieli 1:8). Haukuwa msimamo wa hadharani wa kishindo. Ulikuwa uamuzi wa kimya ndani ya moyo wa kijana mdogo. Na Mungu aliuheshimu. Baada ya siku kumi wale vijana wanne wa Kiebrania walionekana wenye afya kuliko vijana walioishi kwa chakula cha kifalme, na walipohitimu walipimwa kuwa na hekima mara kumi kuliko kila mnajimu katika milki yote. Hivyo ndivyo uaminifu karibu kila mara unavyoanza. Si katika uwanja wa vita. Bali mezani.The first test was a dinner table. The king had ordered the Jewish boys fed from his own kitchen — meats sacrificed to idols, wine poured to false gods, food forbidden by the law of Moses. The pressure was enormous: when in Babylon, do as the Babylonians do; you are a long way from home; nobody will know. "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" (Daniel 1:8). It was not a thunderous public stand. It was a quiet decision in the heart of a teenage boy. And God honored it. After ten days the four Hebrew young men looked healthier than the boys living on royal food, and at graduation they tested ten times wiser than every astrologer in the empire. That is the way faithfulness almost always begins. Not on a battlefield. At a meal.

B. Jaribu la Kutumaini (Danieli 2)B. The Test of Trust (Daniel 2)

Kisha Nebukadneza aliota ndoto asiyoweza kuikumbuka na akawataka wenye hekima wake wamweleze ndoto hiyo pamoja na maana yake, la sivyo wauawe. Wanajimu walikwisha. Danieli aliwaomba rafiki zake watatu waombe, na usiku ule Mungu akampa ndoto hiyo. Ilikuwa sanamu kubwa: kichwa cha dhahabu, kifua cha fedha, tumbo la shaba, miguu ya chuma, nyayo za chuma kilichochanganyika na udongo — na jiwe, lililochongwa bila kazi ya mikono, likaipiga sanamu, likaivunja kuwa mavumbi, na likakua kuwa mlima ulioijaza dunia yote. Madini hayo manne, Danieli alimwambia mfalme, yalikuwa milki nne za ulimwengu: Babeli, Umedi na Uajemi, Uyunani, Rumi. Jiwe lile lilikuwa Ufalme wa Mungu. Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini, na watu wengine kadhaa wadogo zaidi wamejaribu kuiunganisha tena Milki ya Rumi, na hakuna hata mmoja wao aliyefanikiwa. Jiwe limekuja — Kristo, "lililochongwa bila mikono ya mwanadamu" — na mlima anaoujenga hautaacha kukua mpaka uijaze dunia.Then Nebuchadnezzar had a dream he could not remember and demanded that his wise men tell him both the dream and its meaning, on pain of death. The astrologers were finished. Daniel asked his three friends to pray, and that night God gave him the dream. It was a great image: head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, feet of mingled iron and clay — and a stone, cut without hands, struck the image, broke it to powder, and grew into a mountain that filled the whole earth. The four metals, Daniel told the king, were four world empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. The stone was the Kingdom of God. Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini, and a dozen lesser men have tried to put the Roman Empire back together, and none of them has succeeded. The stone has come — Christ, "cut without human hands" — and the mountain He is building will not stop growing until it fills the earth.

C. Jaribu la Hofu (Danieli 3)C. The Test of Fear (Daniel 3)

Kisha ikaja sanamu ya dhahabu na tanuru ya moto. Shadraka, Meshaki, na Abednego walipewa uchaguzi rahisi: sujudu au uchomwe. Walijibu, "Mungu wetu tunayemtumikia aweza kutuokoa na tanuru ile iliyowaka moto; naye atatuokoa na mkono wako, Ee mfalme. Bali kama sivyo, ujue, Ee mfalme, ya kuwa sisi hatutaitumikia miungu yako, wala hatutaiabudu sanamu ya dhahabu uliyoisimamisha" (Danieli 3:17–18). Kama sivyo. Maneno mawili kati ya madogo kuliko yote katika Biblia na mawili kati ya yenye nguvu kuliko yote. Imani haihitaji uhakikisho wa kuokolewa katika maisha haya; inahitaji tu uhakika wa Mungu katika maisha yajayo. Wale watatu walitupwa ndani. Tanuru iliwaua askari waliowatupa. Na Nebukadneza alipotazama ndani ya miali ya moto aliona watu wanne wakitembea, na yule wa nne "ni kama Mwana wa Mungu" (Danieli 3:25).Then came the golden image and the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were given a simple choice: bow or burn. They answered, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up" (Daniel 3:17–18). If not. Two of the smallest words in the Bible and two of the strongest. Faith does not need a guarantee of rescue in this life; it needs only the certainty of God in the next. The three were thrown in. The furnace killed the soldiers who threw them. And when Nebuchadnezzar looked into the flames he saw four men walking, and the fourth "is like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25).

Wakati wa Vita Kuu ya Pili ya Dunia, katika kijiji kimoja cha milimani huko Formosa (Taiwan), afisa mmoja wa Kijapani alitangaza kwamba ndani ya siku tatu kila mwanakijiji lazima aje kituo cha polisi na kumkana Kristo, la sivyo afungwe mawe na kutupwa kutoka daraja refu ndani ya mto ulio chini. Wakristo wa kijiji walikutana usiku wa manane. Baadhi walisema watalazimika kuiacha imani; hakika polisi yule angewaua. Kisha mvulana mdogo alisimama akawakumbusha maneno ya Yesu kuhusu kutowaogopa wale wanaoweza kuua mwili tu. Kila mkono chumbani uliinuliwa: wangekubali kufa. Siku iliyofuata yule polisi, alipokuwa akivuka mto kwa miguu, aliteleza juu ya jiwe, akavunjika mguu, na kuzama. Kijiji kilipokuwa kikiomba, mjumbe aliingia mbio. Mtu aliyekusudia kuwaua alikuwa tayari amekufa. Kama sivyo. Mungu bado anaweza. Na asipopendezwa kuokoa, hutoa neema ya kufa vizuri — ambayo, mwishowe, ni jambo lile lile.During the Second World War, in a Formosan mountain village, a Japanese officer announced that within three days every villager must come to the police station and renounce Christ or be tied with stones and thrown from the high bridge into the river below. The village Christians met at midnight. Some said they would have to give it up; the policeman would surely kill them. Then a young boy stood up and reminded them of Jesus' words about not fearing those who can only kill the body. Every hand in the room was raised: they would die. The next day the policeman, while wading in the river, slipped on a rock, broke his leg, and drowned. While the village was praying, the messenger ran in. The man who was to kill them was already dead. If not. God is still able. And when He is not pleased to deliver, He gives grace to die well — which is, in the end, the very same thing.

D. Jaribu la Kiburi (Danieli 4)D. The Test of Pride (Daniel 4)

Danieli sura ya 4 ndiyo sura pekee katika Biblia iliyoandikwa na mfalme wa Mataifa. Nebukadneza anatoa ushuhuda wake mwenyewe. Jioni moja alikuwa akitembea juu ya dari la jumba lake la kifalme, akatazama bustani zinazoning'inia za Babeli, akasema moyoni mwake, "Je! Huu siyo Babeli mkubwa, niliouhimiza kuwa makao ya kifalme, kwa uweza wa nguvu zangu, na kwa utukufu wa enzi yangu?" (Danieli 4:30). Wakati ule ule mbingu zilijibu. Akili ya mfalme mkuu ilivurugika. Kwa nyakati saba aliishi kondeni akila majani kama ng'ombe, nywele zake zikikua kama manyoya ya tai, na kucha zake kama makucha ya ndege. Ni pale tu alipoinua macho yake mbinguni na kukiri kwamba Aliye Juu anatawala katika falme za wanadamu ndipo akili zake zilipomrudia.Daniel chapter 4 is the only chapter in the Bible written by a Gentile king. Nebuchadnezzar gives his own testimony. He had walked one evening on the roof of his palace, looked out over the hanging gardens of Babylon, and said in his heart, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30). At that moment heaven answered. The great king's mind broke. For seven seasons he lived in a field eating grass like an ox, his hair growing like eagles' feathers, his nails like birds' claws. Only when he lifted his eyes to heaven and acknowledged that the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men was his sanity restored.

Kiburi hutembea kando ya karibu kila mmoja wetu, kikitafuta daima nafasi ya kupotosha jinsi tunavyojitathmini. Don Shula, kocha mashuhuri wa timu ya Miami Dolphins, aliwahi kuipeleka familia yake likizoni katika mji mdogo huko Maine na kuingia kujikinga na mvua katika jumba la sinema lililokuwa nusu tupu. Alipoingia, watu wachache waliokuwa wameketi tayari waligeuka na kuanza kupiga makofi. Shula alimwinamia mkewe akasema, "Fikiria — maili elfu moja kutoka nyumbani na bado wananitambua." Alipoketi, mmoja wa wanaume wale alimjia akinyoosha mkono. Shula akasema, "Siamini kwamba unanijua mimi ni nani." Yule mtu akatabasamu. "Sikujui hata kidogo. Mwenye jumba ametuambia tu kwamba hawataionyesha sinema mpaka tiketi kumi ziuzwe. Familia yako inafikisha kumi." Kiburi hufanya hivyo siku zote. Nebukadneza aliinua macho yake kutoka mjini mwake akamsahau Muumba wake. Ndivyo tunavyoweza kufanya mimi na wewe, katika jumba dogo zaidi, kwa sababu ndogo zaidi. Aliye Juu anatawala.Pride walks beside almost all of us, looking constantly for an opening to distort our estimate of ourselves. Don Shula, the legendary coach of the Miami Dolphins, once took his family on vacation to a small town in Maine and ducked in out of the rain to a half-empty movie theater. As he walked in, the few people already seated turned around and began to clap. Shula leaned over to his wife and said, "Imagine — a thousand miles from home and they still recognize me." When he sat down, one of the men came over with his hand out. Shula said, "I can't believe you know who I am." The man smiled. "I don't know you from Adam. The owner just told us they wouldn't show the movie unless ten tickets were sold. Your family makes ten." Pride is always doing that. Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes from his city and forgot his Maker. So can you and I, in a much smaller theater, with much less reason. The Most High rules.

E. Jaribu la Hukumu (Danieli 5)E. The Test of Judgment (Daniel 5)

Miaka inapita. Belshaza, mjukuu wa Nebukadneza, anafanya karamu ya ulevi kwa wakuu wake elfu moja usiku ule ule ambao majeshi ya Uajemi yanaugeuza mkondo wa mto Frati na kupenya chini ya ukuta. Anaagiza vikombe vya dhahabu vilivyochukuliwa kutoka hekalu la Yerusalemu na kunywa kwa heshima ya miungu ya Babeli kwa kutumia vyombo vitakatifu. Wakati ule ule vidole vya mkono wa mtu vinatokea na kuandika juu ya chokaa ya ukuta: MENE, MENE, TEKELI, NA PERESI. Hakuna anayeweza kusoma maandishi hayo isipokuwa yule nabii mzee, sasa akiwa na umri wa miaka themanini na zaidi, aliyeitwa kutoka katika kustaafu kwake kulikosahauliwa. "Umepimwa katika mizani, nawe umeonekana kuwa umepunguka" (Danieli 5:27). Usiku ule ule mfalme aliuawa. Babeli ikaanguka.Years pass. Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, is throwing a drunken banquet for a thousand of his lords on the very night the Persian armies are diverting the Euphrates and slipping under the wall. He calls for the gold cups taken from the temple in Jerusalem and toasts the gods of Babylon out of the holy vessels. At that moment fingers of a man's hand appear and write on the plaster of the wall: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. No one can read it but the old prophet, now in his eighties, summoned out of forgotten retirement. "You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting" (Daniel 5:27). That night the king was slain. Babylon fell.

Biblia inasema Mungu bado anatumia mizani. "kwa sababu wote wamefanya dhambi, na kupungukiwa na utukufu wa Mungu" (Warumi 3:23). Haki yetu, kama Isaya alivyosema, ni nguo iliyotiwa unajisi; hatufikii uzito kamili unaotakiwa. Msiba wa Belshaza haukuwa kwamba alishindwa katika kipimo — kila mmoja wetu hushindwa katika kipimo — bali kwamba hakupewa nafasi ya kupimwa mara ya pili. Msalaba wa Kristo ni riziki ya neema ya Mungu ya mizani nyingine. Hapo uzito wetu unahesabiwa katika haki yake kamilifu, na hukumu kwa kila mtu anayemtumaini ni kinyume cha ile ya Belshaza: nikaonekane katika yeye, nisiwe na haki yangu mwenyewe (Wafilipi 3:9).The Bible says God still uses scales. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Our righteousness, as Isaiah said, is filthy rags; we do not weigh sixteen ounces to the pound. Belshazzar's tragedy was not that he failed the test — every one of us fails the test — but that he was offered no second weighing. The cross of Christ is God's gracious provision of another set of scales. There our weight is reckoned in His perfect righteousness, and the verdict for everyone who trusts in Him is the opposite of Belshazzar's: found in Him, not having my own righteousness (Philippians 3:9).

F. Jaribu la Ibada (Danieli 6)F. The Test of Worship (Daniel 6)

Sasa Danieli ni mzee, mwenye umri wa miaka themanini na zaidi, waziri mkuu chini ya Dario Mmedi. Maadui zake, wasipoweza kupata kosa lolote ndani yake, wanaweka mtego unaotumia jambo moja wanalojua hatawahi kuliacha: maisha yake ya maombi. Wanamfanya mfalme atie sahihi amri ya siku thelathini inayokataza kuomba kwa mtu yeyote isipokuwa Dario mwenyewe, la sivyo mtu atupwe kwa simba. Danieli anarudi nyumbani, anafungua dirisha lake kuelekea Yerusalemu, na kuomba kama alivyozoea kuomba siku zote, mara tatu kwa siku. Simba wanampata. Mungu anafunga vinywa vyao.Daniel is now an old man, well into his eighties, prime minister under Darius the Mede. His enemies, unable to find any fault in him, set a trap that exploits the one thing they know he will never give up: his prayer life. They get the king to sign a thirty-day decree forbidding prayer to anyone but Darius himself, on pain of the lions. Daniel goes home, opens his window toward Jerusalem, and prays as he has always prayed, three times a day. The lions get him. God shuts their mouths.

Mwanamke kijana aitwaye Karen Watson aliacha kazi yenye starehe nchini Marekani ili afanye kazi ya umisionari huko Iraki. Kabla hajaondoka, alifunga barua akawapa wachungaji wake akiwaagiza, "Ifungueni nikifa." Tarehe 15 Machi 2004, aliuawa na watu wenye bunduki barabarani nje ya Mosul. Barua hiyo, iliyofunguliwa usiku ule, ilikuwa na mistari hii: "Mungu anapoita hakuna majuto… Sikuitwa mahali fulani; niliitwa kwake Yeye. Kutii lilikuwa lengo langu, kuteseka kulitarajiwa, utukufu wake ndio thawabu yangu." Danieli angeweza kuandika barua hiyo. Karen Watson, miaka elfu mbili na mia tano baadaye na nusu ya dunia mbali, aliiandika kweli. Simba hawapati kamwe neno la mwisho.A young woman named Karen Watson left a comfortable job in the United States to work as a missionary in Iraq. Before she left, she sealed a letter and gave it to her pastors with the instruction, "Open in the event of my death." On March 15, 2004, she was killed by gunmen on a road outside Mosul. The letter, opened that night, contained these lines: "When God calls there are no regrets… I wasn't called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward." Daniel could have written that letter. Karen Watson, two and a half millennia later and half a world away, did write it. The lions never get the last word.

IV. Maono ya Kiapokaliptiki na Mwana wa AdamuIV. The Apocalyptic Visions and the Son of Man

Nusu ya pili ya kitabu cha Danieli inageuka kutoka wasifu hadi unabii. Katika sura ya 7, milki zile zile nne zinatokea tena, lakini safari hii kama wanyama wakali wanne wanaoinuka kutoka bahari yenye dhoruba. Kisha mandhari inahamia mbinguni. "Nikatazama hata viti vya enzi vikawekwa, naye Mzee wa Siku ameketi; mavazi yake yalikuwa meupe kama theluji, na nywele za kichwa chake kama sufu safi; kiti chake cha enzi kilikuwa miali ya moto, na magurudumu yake moto uwakao" (Danieli 7:9). Mzee wa Siku ni Mungu mwenyewe; vazi jeupe, utakatifu wake; kiti cha enzi kinachowaka, hukumu yake. Kisha mtu wa pili anakaribia. "Nikaona katika njozi za usiku, na tazama, mmoja aliye mfano wa Mwana wa Adamu akaja pamoja na mawingu ya mbinguni! Akamkaribia huyo Mzee wa Siku, wakamleta karibu naye. Naye akapewa mamlaka, na utukufu, na ufalme, ili watu wa kabila zote, na mataifa, na lugha, wamtumikie; mamlaka yake ni mamlaka ya milele, yasiyopita kamwe, na ufalme wake ni ufalme usioweza kuangamizwa" (Danieli 7:13–14).The second half of Daniel's book turns from biography to prophecy. In chapter 7, the same four empires appear again, but this time as four wild beasts rising from a stormy sea. Then the scene shifts to heaven. "I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire" (Daniel 7:9). The Ancient of Days is God Himself; the white garment, His holiness; the burning throne, His judgment. And then a second figure approaches. "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13–14).

Miaka mia sita baadaye, mbele ya Baraza Kuu (Sanhedrini), usiku uliotangulia kusulibiwa kwake, Yesu wa Nazareti aliwekwa chini ya kiapo na kuulizwa kama yeye ndiye Kristo, Mwana wa Mbarikiwa. Alijibu kwa vifungu viwili, cha pili kikiwa kimechukuliwa moja kwa moja kutoka Danieli 7: "Mimi ndiye; nanyi mtamwona Mwana wa Adamu ameketi mkono wa kuume wa Nguvu, akija pamoja na mawingu ya mbinguni" (Marko 14:62). Kuhani mkuu alirarua mavazi yake. Aliielewa sawasawa hoja iliyokuwa ikitolewa. Yesu alikuwa akiwaambia, kwa lugha ya maono ya Danieli, kwamba Yeye ndiye Mfalme wa milele anayepokea Ufalme wa milele. Msalaba, saa chache baadaye, haukuwa mwisho wa dai hilo bali mwanzo wa kutimizwa kwake.Six hundred years later, in front of the Sanhedrin, on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus of Nazareth was put under oath and asked whether He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed. He answered with two clauses, the second of them taken straight out of Daniel 7: "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:62). The high priest tore his robes. He understood exactly the claim being made. Jesus was telling them, in the language of Daniel's vision, that He was the eternal King receiving the everlasting Kingdom. The cross, three hours later, was not the end of that claim but the beginning of its fulfillment.

Danieli 9 ina unabii mwingine wa ajabu: majuma sabini. Danieli anasoma Yeremia, akihesabu kwamba miaka sabini ya uhamisho inakaribia kwisha, na kuwaombea watu wake, malaika Gabrieli anapofika na ratiba ndefu zaidi. Tangu amri ya kuijenga upya Yerusalemu hadi Masihi (Mpakwa Mafuta) "atakapokatiliwa mbali" kutakuwa na majuma sitini na tisa ya miaka (Danieli 9:25–26). Chukua kikokotoo na uanzie kwenye amri ya Artashasta mwaka 445 K.K.; hesabu inafika sawasawa kwenye juma sahihi la mwaka sahihi wa msalaba. Danieli alipewa, karne sita kabla, tarehe ya Kalvari. Mungu anayewaongoza watu wake katika historia ndiye Mungu anayeongoza kalenda ya ukombozi.Daniel 9 contains another remarkable prophecy: the seventy weeks. Daniel is reading Jeremiah, calculating that the seventy years of exile are nearly up, and praying for his people, when the angel Gabriel arrives with a longer timeline. From the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One is "cut off" will be sixty-nine weeks of years (Daniel 9:25–26). Take a calculator and start at the decree of Artaxerxes in 445 BC; the math lands at exactly the right week of the right year for the cross. Daniel was given, six centuries in advance, the date of Calvary. The God who walks His people through history is the God who walks the calendar of redemption.

V. Mpira wa Kuviringisha juu ya Behewa — na Kristo katika Vitabu Vyote ViwiliV. The Bowling Ball on the Boxcar — and Christ in Both Books

Fikiria mtu aliye ndani ya treni ya mizigo inayokwenda mbele kwa mwendo wa maili ishirini kwa saa. Anaweka mpira mzito wa kuviringisha (wa mchezo wa bowling) sakafuni mwa behewa na kuuviringisha taratibu kutoka mbele ya behewa kuelekea nyuma. Kwa mtazamo wake, mpira unakwenda maili ishirini kwa saa kutoka mbele kwenda nyuma. Kwa mtazamo wa mtu aliyesimama kando ya reli, treni inakwenda mbele kwa ishirini na mpira unakwenda nyuma kwa ishirini: mpira umesimama tuli kabisa. Sasa fikiria mwanaanga anayetazama kutoka angani katika mzunguko wa dunia. Dunia yenyewe inazunguka kwa maili elfu moja kwa saa, na kutoka mahali alipoketi mpira unakimbia kuizunguka sayari kwa maili elfu moja kwa saa, treni iwepo au isiwepo.Imagine a man on a freight train rolling forward at twenty miles an hour. He sets a bowling ball on the floor of the boxcar and rolls it gently from the front of the car toward the back. From his point of view, the ball moves at twenty miles an hour from front to back. From the point of view of a man standing beside the tracks, the train is moving forward at twenty and the ball is moving backward at twenty: the ball is standing perfectly still. Now imagine an astronaut watching from orbit. The earth itself is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and from where he sits the ball is hurtling around the planet at a thousand miles an hour, train or no train.

Huo ndio hasa ujumbe wa kitabu cha Danieli, na wa Ezekieli. Mimi na wewe tunapoyatazama maisha yetu wenyewe, tunachoweza kuona ni mpira ukiviringika kurudi nyuma tu — ugonjwa, uhamisho, simba, matanuru, wachungaji waliofukuzwa kazi, ndoa zilizovunjika, mataifa yaliyotekwa. Lakini toka nje ya behewa usimame kando ya reli, nawe utagundua kwamba kile kinachoonekana kuwa hasara kwa kweli kinabebwa kwenda mbele. Nenda mbali zaidi, hadi angani, nawe utaona mpango mkubwa unaosonga kwa kasi ambayo mtazamo wetu usingeweza kamwe kuipima. Lengo zima la vitabu hivi viwili ni kuwainua watu wa Mungu kutoka ndani ya behewa kwa muda wa kutosha kuona kwamba Mungu ndiye anayeiongoza treni. Ezekieli analiona gari. Danieli anakiona kiti cha enzi. Wote wawili wanamwona Mwana wa Adamu. Wote wawili wanatuachia habari ile ile: Mungu anatawala juu ya utumwa wetu.That is exactly the message of Daniel's book, and of Ezekiel's. When you and I look at our own lives, all we can see is the bowling ball rolling backward — illness, exile, lions, furnaces, fired pastors, broken marriages, captive nations. But step out of the boxcar and stand by the tracks, and you discover that what looks like loss is actually being carried forward. Step further still, into orbit, and you see a vast plan moving at a speed our perspective could never measure. The whole point of these two books is to lift the people of God out of the boxcar long enough to see that God is in charge of the train. Ezekiel sees the chariot. Daniel sees the throne. Both see the Son of Man. Both leave us with the same news: God reigns over our captivities.

Kristo anasimama katika kila ukurasa. Katika Ezekieli yeye ndiye Mchungaji Mwema anayewatafuta kondoo wake waliotawanyika (Ezekieli 34:11–16); Chemchemi Inayotakasa anayetunyunyizia maji safi na kutupa moyo mpya (36:25–26); Pumzi katika Mifupa anayeliinua taifa lililokufa kuwa hai (37:9–10); Utukufu Unaorudi kuijaza nyumba mpya (43:4); na Yahweh Shammah, Uwepo ambao jina lake ndilo jina la mji (48:35). Katika Danieli yeye ndiye Jiwe Lililochongwa Bila Mikono linalovunja kila milki (2:34); Mtu wa Nne ndani ya tanuru (3:25); Mwana wa Adamu anayepokea Ufalme wa milele (7:13–14); na Masihi (Mpakwa Mafuta) anayekatiliwa mbali — si kwa ajili yake mwenyewe, bali kwa ajili ya wengi (9:26).Christ stands on every page. In Ezekiel He is the Good Shepherd who searches out His scattered sheep (Ezekiel 34:11–16); the Cleansing Fountain who sprinkles clean water on us and gives a new heart (36:25–26); the Breath in the Bones who raises a dead nation to life (37:9–10); the Glory that Returns to fill the new house (43:4); and Yahweh Shammah, the Presence whose name is the city's name (48:35). In Daniel He is the Stone Cut Without Hands that breaks every empire (2:34); the Fourth Man in the furnace (3:25); the Son of Man who receives an everlasting Kingdom (7:13–14); and the Anointed One who is cut off — not for Himself, but for many (9:26).

Mateka wawili, katika sehemu mbili tofauti za Babeli, wakishikilia Biblia moja mbele ya milki za ulimwengu, na kumtumaini Bwana mmoja. Kutoka kambini kando ya mfereji wa Kebari Ezekieli analiona gari la utukufu likisonga. Kutoka jumba la kifalme la Nebukadneza Danieli anatazama falme zikija na kupita. Wote wawili wanaishia mahali pamoja: Mwana wa Adamu akipokea Ufalme wa milele, mji ambao jina lake ni BWANA Yupo Hapa. Yeye ndiye Bwana anayetawala juu ya magari na viti vya enzi, simba na matanuru, mifupa mikavu na mto wa uzima. Bwana yule yule, hata leo.Two captives, in two different parts of Babylon, holding one Bible against the empires of the world, and trusting one Lord. From the camp by the Chebar canal Ezekiel sees the chariot of glory move. From the palace of Nebuchadnezzar Daniel watches kingdoms come and go. Both end in the same place: a Son of Man receiving an everlasting Kingdom, a city whose name is The Lord Is There. He is the Lord who reigns over chariots and thrones, lions and furnaces, dry bones and the river of life. The same Lord, still, today.

Tuma MtihaniSubmit Exam Anza UpyaReset