«Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever». Daniel 12:3
I HAVE often been given plaques of recognition in the various places where I have served in some capacity. Since the space on my walls is reserved for bookshelves, all my plaques are stored away in a box inside a closet in my library. All of them except one.
In December 2005, theology students at Dominican Adventist University gave me a plaque in which they expressed their appreciation for me and the teachings I had shared with them. After their words of gratitude, they gave me the plaque, which included a verse that has since become my favorite verse in the Bible: «Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever» (Daniel 12:3). «Those who are wise shall shine»—isn’t that a great and beautiful promise?
In the book of Daniel, those who are «wise» or have understanding play a very important role, so much so, that in the Hebrew Bible Daniel’s writings are not part of the prophets, but part of the same section in which we find the books of wisdom, such as Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
We first come across those who are «wise» (maskilim, in Hebrew) in chapter 1.
King Nebuchadnezzar asked that young men «possessing understanding» be sought. According to what we read in Daniel 1:17, those possessing wisdom and understanding were Daniel and his three friends; in other words, four Hebrew young men who were uprooted from the comfort of their homeland and taken to experience harsh Babylonian captivity.
Then, in Daniel 11:33, those «who understand [maskilim]» are the ones that «shall fall by sword,» those who «shall be aided» when they fall (verse 34). Verse 35 adds that those who understand «shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end.» In the book of Daniel, those who are wise tend to be in the furnace of affliction!
It’s true that «those who are wise shall shine,» but that brightness will come after having lived through situations that refined and purified them. Perhaps now is a time of chaos, of refinement, of falling; but night is lifting, and the glorious morning is approaching, the day in which you and I will be a light that will shine in the skies for all eternity.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernández
