God’s Word for You
Daniel 11:27-28 Plunder
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, January 18, 2026
27 The two kings, their hearts bent on evil, will sit at one table and lie to each other. But it will not succeed, for the end will still come at the appointed time. 28 The king of North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will act, and then return to his own land.
After the invasion of Egypt, which did not end the way that either king wanted—Antiochus Epiphanes had not totally conquered Egypt, but on the other hand the Egyptians were so very nearly conquered that they dethroned their young King Ptolemy Philometor—but then these same two men met (“at one table”), although the historical records do not name a place or a time of this meeting. But it’s clear that they did in fact deceive each other. For his part, the dethroned Ptolemy seemed to have lied primarily in pretending to believe anything that Antiochus said.
On the way home, Antiochus entered Jerusalem. The battles had taken place in July or August, 169 BC. Now, around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, Antiochus plundered everything of real value in the temple. He “took the golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. He took also the table for the bread of the Presence…” (1 Maccabees 1:21-22). He took every coin of money, gold, silver, and copper, that he could find, and he even took the temple curtain! This is what the Angel meant when he said that “he set his heart against the holy covenant.”
This was all done with the treacherous cooperation of the new high priest, a man named Menelaus. He bought his way into the position, and did whatever he could to support the Seleucid king. There is no doubt that it was Menelaus who made sure that Antiochus got all of the best golden items from the temple. Who better than the high priest to have an inventory of everything of value? Whose betraying fingers were nimble enough to remove the curtain from the Holy of Holies, ring by ring by silver ring? None of these things meant anything to Menalaus, a rank unbeliever, who had his own heart set on converting the temple, Zerubbabel’s temple, where Ezra and Nehemiah, and Haggai and Zechariah, had all worshiped, and convert it into a pagan temple dedicated to the Greek gods. The Jews began to grumble and mutter, they began to talk behind closed doors and sometimes more openly, about this violation and about this high priest whose fingerprints were on everything handed over to the king.
The following summer, in a village twenty miles northwest of Jerusalem, a retired priest named Mattathias gathered his five sons around him and made certain that they knew the Law of Moses and the faith of the prophets of Israel. It would be some months before an opportunity would come for them to act, but for the moment they waited and prayed. The eldest son of Mattathias was a young man named Judas, known to history as Judas Maccabeus.
Remember that this chapter is a single, long, very highly-detailed prophecy about what was in the immediate future for Israel. The word of God proclaims law and gospel, and warns about coming dangers, tests, and challenges to our faith. This is all for our eternal good. Preaching on a text from Daniel forty years ago, my late father-in-law, Pastor John Meyer, said:
“God’s Word is true and sure—when God lets us know that something is going to take place in this world, we can be sure that it will take place. So what should we be doing with our lives as God’s people? We should be strengthening them through the Word for that day when Satan will be set loose and all hell will break forth upon the world. For only those who are strong in faith will be ready for that time and will faithfully cling to the Lord Jesus and work for him in spite of it. Strengthen your faith through the Word today. Be willing and ready to give witness of your faith every day. For the last times could come upon us at any time, in fact some people believe we are in them right now. Well, whether we are or not isn’t all that important. The important thing is that you and I take Jesus by the hand of faith each day and live our lives for him—that we give witness every day that we are his people, shining lights in this world darkened by sin. Then, when Jesus comes in glory, we will be taken by him into eternal life to live in his glory forever. May God grant this to all of us.” (Sermon December 9, 1984).
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.