The Kings And Their Successors

Daniel 11:1–9
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Chapter 11 is set around the same time as the events of Chapter 6. Daniel made a choice to support and strengthen King Darius the Mede in the first year of his reign (v. 1). This chapter contains detailed prophecy of events that were to take place in Israel for the next three hundred years. The prophecies in this chapter line up with Daniel 2 (Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of an image), Daniel 7 (the four beasts), and Daniel 8 (the Ram (Media & Persia) and the Goat (Greece). Persia would have three more kings (Cambyses, Pseudo-Smerdis, and Darius Hystaspes) (v. 2) followed by a fourth king (Xerxes, also known as Ahasuerus) who would be far richer and far more powerful than his predecessors. Xerxes attacked Greece in 480 B.C. with an enormous army, but they were defeated. This campaign probably happened in-between chapters 1 and 2 of the book of Esther. 

A mighty king (Alexander the Great) would conquer Persia (v. 3). At the height of his power, his kingdom would be broken, “divided toward the four winds of heaven and not to his heirs” (v. 4).  Alexander’s kingdom was divided between his four leading generals: Cassander ruled Greece-Macedonia, Lysimachus ruled Thrace-Asia Minor, Seleucus ruled the rest of Asia, and Ptolemy ruled Egypt-Palestine. The Seleucids were thus “the kings in the north”, and the Ptolemies were “the kings in the south”. What follows is a brief description of the conflict between Syria and Egypt. Daniel doesn’t give all the details, instead choosing to focus on how it all relates to the people of Israel (vv. 5-9). 

Application

God is sovereign over all history. He knows exactly what’s going to happen because he decided it all. I want to be available to do whatever He wants to do with my life as long as I have the strength and mind to do things for Him.