Hello hello helloooo.

 

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Daniel over the last two weeks, highly recommend. I looked specifically at Daniel 6, which contains the well-known and amazing story of Daniel in the lion’s den. First!! A little context on the book of Daniel.

 

Jerusalem has been attacked by Babylon and the Israelites are taken into Babylon as exiles, including Daniel (who was given the name Belteshazzar) and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (who were later called Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego). The four friends find themselves in an unfamiliar land and away from home. They were recruited to serve the Babylonian king, and were pressured to bend their beliefs, particularly around Jewish food laws, which happens in chapter 1. Despite the pressure, their belief in God never dwindles, and He shows Himself to be right there with them. Daniel 6 is a great example of this. Let’s get into this by looking at a couple of verses.

 

It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, ² with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. ⁵ Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

⁶ So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! ⁷ The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. ⁸ Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” ⁹ So King Darius put the decree in writing.

¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹ Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹² So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

¹⁵ Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

²¹ Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! ²² My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴ At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

 

“May you prosper greatly!

²⁶ “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

 

 

“For he is the living God
    and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
    his dominion will never end.
²⁷ He rescues and he saves;
    he performs signs and wonders
    in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

 

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus^[b] the Persian.

 

Now, right from verse 3 we see that Daniel is highlighted and noticed, even in this foreign land he has been taken to. The NIV provides the translation ‘distinguished’ which means to make oneself worthy of respect by behaviour or achievement, according to the English dictionary. What it tells me is that Daniel was set apart and seen as special. I think we all know Who makes someone to be distinguished among men. We do not need to look too far back or forward to see this, as it is evident even in the earlier chapters of Daniel. However, what we see is that not everyone is thrilled by this distinguishment.

 

Verse 4 demonstrates how others may feel considering your advancement. Jealousy is powerful, and those who succumb to it may seek the demotion of the one who has been blessed, banding together to make this possible. Apart from the fact that you have people trying to ruin a good thing, it is important to remember that when you are doing well, you are not careless. That could be in the way you treat others, present yourself, who you surround yourself with etc. As we can see, there are people lying in wait to catch one out. As a person though, we are not perfect and will not always be able to clean up every loose end. This is where you must rely solely on God. To cover you and protect you when you are not perfect and make a mistake. You always have a reason to be praying, thanking, and relying on God, as we can see! That’s what this verse brings to mind. Verse 5 highlights how even Daniel’s opposers can verify his faithfulness to God. This is not something that we see once and then disappears. The action Daniel takes in verse 10, despite what has just been declared in verse 9 shows Daniel’s faithfulness yet again.

 

At this point, Daniel’s faithfulness is not just pointed out to us, but it is also demonstrated. As soon as Daniel hears that there’s troubles on the horizon, he goes straight to meet his God. His eyes are fixed on God alone, and it is clear Daniel sees God as His problem-solver, the One to go to in the day of trouble- as he rightfully should. I wanted to add how commendable it is that Daniel decided to stick with Jesus. It’s almost a contradiction of our natural instincts. We have those survival instincts and such that everyone always talks about, where we do anything to survive in a life-or-death situation. Daniel, however, thought it would be much better to go to his God rather than save his physical self. When life got hard, he turned to God, not away. Verse 17 contains something that I also want to draw attention to.

 

Verse 17 ends with the phrase, “so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.” That’s just it!! The situation doesn’t need to be changed for God to work or show His power. God works in it. There’s no promise things won’t happen, in fact they are due to! John 16:33 quite literally says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” So we always knew tribulation was coming, but God makes it so that what was meant for your harm will leave you unscathed (Isiah 43:2).

 

Verse 18 brought a prayer to my mind. May your destiny helpers be unable to rest until they help you IJN. Like the king for Daniel, let those on Earth who have authority be desperate to help you and do everything within their power to.

 

As we know, what others meant for Daniel’s harm, ended up glorifying God greatly and publicly. We see the king issue a decree throughout the kingdom to respect and revere the God of Daniel. Daniel’s faithfulness to God meant God could be glorified in his situation. That eye-catching faith is what really stands out to others. So much so, the king puts out such a decree.

 

You can never regret sticking with God. That’s the overwhelmingly clear takeaway from this story. Miracles take place when your faith is greater than your fear! Keep pushing.

 

Once again, thank you so much for reading!! I deeply appreciate it, and I hope you gained something from this.

Have a blessed week.

I love you with the love of God.

 

Rachel

 

 

xoxo

 

(SOTW- 'No Higher Calling' - Jonathon Butler :))