Daniel 6:3: “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
In Daniel 12 we learn that Daniel was granted privileged information that was to be sealed up until the end of times. What this information was is a matter of debate. One thing is certain, Daniel had some sort of favor or calling from God to have been able receive this information in the first place. What was so special about Daniel that he was entrusted with this information? The Talmud talks of a mythical 36 righteous men who exist in the world at any given time. This is based upon Genesis 18 where God says that he will spare the city for the sake of fifty righteous. Hence there are always 36 righteous in the world called the Tzadikim Nistarim and because of them God spares the world from destruction. Before they die they pass on their hidden knowledge to a successor so that there will always be 36 Tzadikim Nistarim. They are mentioned in the Sanhedrin 97b and Sukkah 45b. When I translate this from the Aramaic, and I could be wrong as the Talmud is couched in a lot of esoteric language, these righteous seem to possess some hidden secret knowledge to the power of God, possibly the knowledge that was sealed up by Daniel and in the last days these 36 will step forward and reveal this knowledge to the saints so they could survive in the last days? I was told by an orthodox rabbi many years ago that it was feared the 36 all perished in the Holocaust and when the survivors were found they revealed their hidden secrets so that knowledge would not be lost if there were another holocaust. So the secrets of Daniel may have been revealed with the founding of Israel in 1948. Then, of course, this is all pure legend anyways and believed by very few Jews except for the more mystical Jews. The point I am trying to make is that the Jews see certain levels of righteousness. Was Daniel entrusted with this knowledge because he was righteous. Was his righteousness on such an advanced level like the mythical 36? Is this what the pagan King of Persia saw in David that Scripture calls an excellent spirit?
First thing we need to realize is that chapters 2 through 7 in Daniel are in Aramaic and the remaining portions are in Hebrew. The Dead Sea Scrolls have uncovered no less than five copies of the Book of Daniel, all perfectly in harmony with each other. The Septuagint does have some extra material not found in our English translations, but that doesn’t apply to this passage.
The word in Aramaic for excellent is yatirai from the root word yatar which is a little different than the Hebrew word. The Hebrew word has more of the idea of an abundance. Yet, the Aramaic word carries the idea of pre-eminence. King Darius was very astute, he had to be in order to survive as a king. He probably noticed something different in Daniel from all the other wise men. Daniel seemed to be more focused on his relationship with God than the other wise men. The others were constantly seeking the favor of the king, yet Daniel would be seeking only the favor of his God. Here was someone whose spirit was pre-eminent over the flesh. He was a man who walked in the spirit or rucha as the Aramaic text gives it. In the Aramaic rucha is often rendered as spirit mind or wind. Well that doesn’t help much but maybe this will. Rucha is spelled Resh, Vav, Chet. The Resh represents something new, the Vav shows a connection between earth and heaven and the Chet represents a transformation.
Where all the other wise men were spouting the party line and the same old same old, Daniel would speak of new things, things of God, things that would bring about a transformation. Perhaps what Darius saw was a man who did not care about making an impression by speaking the party line, but one who would speak the truth of God. He sensed his rucha or spirit or mind. The king recognized that there was something about Daniel that was pure and holy. Daniel had a pure heart.
The legend of the 36 teaches that they possess the knowledge to the power of God. They are unknown to each other and the world. One twist of the legend is that they do not even know who they are. They are so humble that they will not even admit to themselves that they are one of the 36, if they did they would cease to be one of the 36. The idea of 36 comes from Isaiah 30:18 “blessed are those who wait for him.” For Him is Lamed Vav which has a numerical value of 36. These are ones waiting for God. The word wait is chakah which is a longing for Him. It is believed that at a time of great need they will step forward and with the knowledge to the power of God they will save mankind. One of them might be the Messiah, but they and their knowledge remain hidden.
The legend of the 36 gives us some insight into what an excellent spirit or yatirai racha is. It is one who has such a longing for God that the material things of this flesh and the world are of no importance. The spirit becomes prominent and manifest such that people, even unregenerate people take notice and see something special, something different. Eric Hoffer referred to them as the True Believer.
So how do you get this excellent spirit. Look again at the Aramaic word yatirai which not only means excellent but also pre-eminent. When your spirit takes the leadership role over the flesh you have an excellent spirit. In fact the proof that you are walking in the Spirit is that people will recognize this without you having to say: “Well, I don’t do that because I’m church people.” Somehow they will know you don’t, they will sense something different, something that overshadows your outward appearance.
The legend of the 36 is just that, a legend, but a legend to serve as a metaphor as to just what an excellent spirit is. It is living a life where your spirit joined with the spirit of God dominates the flesh. How do you know if you have an excellent spirit. If one of the 36 were to actually perform a sign or wonder, they would tell no one and slip back into obscurity. If you were to pray for a blind man who was instantly healed would you whisper to him like Jesus did, “tell no one about this.” Or would you shout out to the brethren, “Hey look, I prayed for this man he is healed, me, I myself, I was the one who prayed when he got healed, it was me who prayed from him. I get all the movie rights and book deals, I get to travel and speak at conference, I am special I am one of the 36.” Odds are if that is what is in your heart you do not have an excellent spirit. Then again maybe that is why when you pray for a blind man you don’t see him healed.
Recent Comments