Thought for the Week

One more “Thought” about Daniel, my hero. He is living under the reign of King Darius. He is now an old man. He has been a faithful servant to God and to the king who was sovereign in the land. Several times and in various ways he has helped his kings. He is doing so again. The king has appointed 120 men to serve as overseers in his kingdom. These men were charged with doing whatever would be good for the king and kingdom, to protect it and him from harm and danger. Over these 120, three men were to provide leadership and accountability. King Darius was considering giving Daniel leadership of the three. I don’t know what else to call it but ‘jealousy’ that brought the other 122 together to prevent Daniel from becoming leader. We can be assured Daniel would do his job faithfully and well. Even these 122 admitted they could find no justification for preventing Daniel from this leadership position. They said among themselves, “We shall find no charge to bring against Daniel unless it be something to do with his worship of his God.” He is faithful, nor is there any error or fault found in him. Here was their plan: They flatteringly approached the king and proposed he write a decree (law) that no one dare ask a petition of any god or man except the king for thirty days, punishable by death in the lions’ den. Of course this might make the king feel all-important, but, it seems to me he could be overwhelmed with requests, just as easily handled but someone else. The king signed the decree. We should also consider that once a law was signed, it could not be changed. That also seems to me to be illogical but it was so. As we might expect of our hero, his worship of Almighty God included opening his windows, facing Jerusalem, and praying three times a day. (I say “three”) but I assume there were times Daniel prayed more than three times in a day. Daniel understood all of this but it did not deter him from praying to and worshiping his God. These 122 set themselves up to listen outside Daniel’s window. Sure enough, they heard him pray to God. They immediately went to the king and informed against Daniel. The king was now really distressed because he understood he had been duped by the 122. He was powerless to do anything about it even though he tried. The time came for sentence to be carried out. Daniel was taken to the lions’ den and put inside. The last words of the king were: “Daniel, the God whom you serve continually, will deliver you.” For the king it may simply have been wishful talk but I am confident, Daniel had faith in God. The entrance was closed with a large rock and secured by the king’s seal. The king spent a restless, sleepless night. At first light, he went to the den and cried out lamentingly, “O Daniel, has your God, Whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” A strong voice responded, “O king, live forever. My God has sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths because I have done no wrong…” Immediately the 122 and all theirs were thrown into the lions’ den. The lions’ destroyed them. The king then wrote a new decree promoting the worship of Daniel’s God, Who rescues and delivers those who worship Him. I think Darius came to worship Him too as we should today.

Scriptures to Read

Daniel 6:1-4

Daniel 6:5-7

Daniel 6:8-9

Daniel 6:10-13

Daniel 6:14-17

Daniel 6:18-23

Daniel 6:24-28