SATURDAY, MAY 26
Daniel 8:5-7, 21
1 Peter 1:24-25

“… The grass withereth, and the
flower thereof falleth away.”

AN HE GOAT WITH A NOTABLE HORN

In this fast moving vision, and even as Daniel was contemplating the meaning of the powerful ram with two horns, there appeared a male goat from the west with a prominent horn between his eyes. Gabriel explained later: “the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king” (Dan 8:21).

The exploits of Alexander the Great stand unique in history. Taking off from the west in 334 BC, Alexander swept into Asia Minor with 40,000 men, overran the entire Persian Empire, crushing everything in his path and pressed on to the east, up to the borders of India. The speed of his advance is expressed in four words in Daniel 8:5: “touched not the ground.” It was so rapid that it appeared to be airborne! History records the unparalleled prowess of this military genius. “Alexander’s first victory against the Persians was at the Granicus river near the Hellespont (334 B.C.). After taking all of Asia Minor, he crushed the army of Darius III of Medo-Persia in northern Syria (the Battle of Issus, 333 B.C.). The island fortress of Tyre fell after a remarkable seven-month siege, and in 332 he conquered Egypt without a battle. Acclaimed as a deity, he founded Alexandria and moved on to Mesopotamia where he met Darius III again and defeated him (Gaugamela, 331 BC). Babylon, Susa, Persepolis, and Ecbatana fell before him (330). By now Darius III had been murdered, and Alexander pushed his armies into Bactria and Sogdiana, down through what is modern Afghanistan to the borders of India. There, in his final great victory, he overcame the war elephants of King Porus (Battle of the Jhelum, 326 BC) and led his exhausted and discontented troops back to Susa (324 B.C.). Truly, he was one of the greatest military leaders of all time.” (Whitcomb)

1 Peter 1:24-25 passes judgment on men’s achievements and accomplishments. The empires of men do not endure. And so with Alexander’s vast empire. It soon vanished away.

THOUGHT: Hitler declared that his empire would last 1,000 years. How many did it last?
PRAYER: I thank Thee, Lord, that Thy Word endureth for ever.