Dan 6:1-28
Key verse 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."
Introduction:
Ch3 told us about Daniel’s three friends’ ordeal in a blazing furnace. They
were put in the furnace because they refused to bow down to the golden statue
that represented the glory of King Nebuchadnezzar. Today’s passage is somewhat similar to that
one. At this time, it was Daniel himself. He was charged for the violation of
the Law of Medes and was put in a den of lions. In both occasions, God of
Daniel and his three friends came and rescued them. Through these two events, God displayed his
power and authority as the Lord of heaven and earth. There are similarities
between these two events. But also there are some differences. First, we will
go through today’s passage and then we will look into God’s message in
conjunction with what God did through Daniel’s three friends (Ch 3).
1.
Daniel’s
life in fear of his God YHWH (1-4)
Daniel came
to Babylon when he was very young, probably in his teens. He became a highly
esteemed authority of the Babylonian kingdom after he interpreted King Nebu’s dream
of the enormous golden statue. He helped King Nebu again when he had another
dream, the dream of a humongous tree in the middle of the plain. King Nebu’s dream came true and he became
like an animal. But when he humbles and acknowledged the authority of the God
of heaven, he was restored to his position. Since this event, the kingdom went
quite changes in power and his son Belshazzar became the king of Babylon. In
between these times, he remained quiescent. But one day King Belshazzar saw a
handwriting, “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN”. e called for a help from Daniel.
Daniel gave the meaning of this writing and that night King Belshazzar was
killed by Medo-Persian king Darius.
Babylonian Kingdom was gone and Medo-Persian kingdom came. Medo-Persian
King Darius honored Daniel for he knew how God demonstrated His power through
Daniel. By this time his age was well over 80’s. Though he lived as one of the top
officials of Babylonian kingdom and then Medo-Persian kingdom, he kept his trust
and fear of the Lord as he had been.
Daniel
distinguish himself: Daniel served, Darius Medo-Persian King as one of the top three
administrators of the kingdom. Power and
riches easily corrupt the minds of people. Esp. when one sees opportunities to
make more money and/or more power, few people remain quiescent. But Daniel was
different; from the beginning when he came to this land as exile, he kept his
fear of the Lord and did not let himself be corrupted by the people surrounded
him; esp. the culture and spirit of Babylonian kingdom. Noticing this exceptional character, King
Darius wanted to set him over the whole kingdom. The reason was clear; the king
may not suffer loss. That is to say that he was honest and no greed on money.
He would not coopt with others for his personal gain. In this way, he
distinguished himself from all others. He was distinguished not because he was
more intelligent or smart or shrewd or more able than others but because he
kept himself uncontaminated by the sinful culture of the society. All the more
so, the king’s recognition was nothing to do his faith in his God, or godly
life such as praying more, or meditating the words of God.
The most pervading culture among all the leaders of the country was to live for
power and money. In other words, power and riches were the driving force for
the life of these leaders. But Daniel was different. The driving force, or
motivation, or his zeal was to fear God and follow His law. King Darius noticed
this and wanted to appoint him as the head of the three administrators. This
meant that he was to be the second in power and authority over the kingdom,
just next to King Darius. The primary reason for
the king to do this was that he might not suffer loss (v2).
The fears
and concerns of the administrators and satraps: What if he becomes the supervisor
over all the governors and satraps? That means that he would be the second in
command of the kingdom. No one is more powerful than Daniel except the King. This
sparked the jealousy and fears: they became jealous because he was a Jew, a
foreigner from a small country Judah. The Medians and Babylonians must hold
such an important position. Second, they became fearful of him. it was a serious matter of life-style and
purpose. For them, bribing, cheating, and extorsion were accepted way of life;
but if Daniel would look over them, then their way of lifestyle would be fully
exposed and pose a serious threat to their position as well. There is a saying
that birds of a feather come together—for cheaters, they get together to cheat
together and this is a norm and does not bother them at all. But if a man of
impeccable purity, like Daniel becomes one of them, then they could not breathe
the normal air that love to breathe. Then
the governors and straps could never embezzle or defraud or swindle any money.
which might be the number one goal to become satraps. By all means, they must
prevent him to become the chief administrator of the nation. For this purpose,
this group of leaders came up together to do one thing; to trap Daniel for
anything wrong. This was far more serious than their jealousy for power.
Here we are
to note two things: power and money come together to serve the desires of men. Not
to have a desire for power and/or money is all too strange esp. in the
political realm.
Jesus warned
his followers on both; 1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. (1Ti 6:10 NIV) Luke 18:24 Jesus looked at him
and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! (Luk
18:24 NIV);
Matthew
20:25 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority
over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you
must be your servant, (Mat 20:25 NIV)
It might
have come from simply jealousy. But the passage speaks more specifically about ‘money’
matters. The primary reason to put Daniel above all was one purpose; the King may not suffer loss (2). In regard to this matter, i.e., handling of King’s
treasury, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges
against Daniel in his conduct of government
affairs (4a). Daniel was neither corrupt nor negligent (4b). The king was to receive taxes and tributes from
all part of the nation and vassal kingdoms. These governors and Satraps were
the direct handlers that came to the king. A number of these people put some of
them in their pockets, Daniel was not. The word ‘corruption’ (v4) comes from a
prepositional word that means ‘put forward’, or ‘in front of’, giving an idea
that there was nothing hidden and all things are handled upfront so that everyone
may be able to see. Simply nothing is hidden. No secrete deal in Daniel!!
If Daniel
would become the supervisor over them for the king’s sake, then all these governors
and satraps would have no chance to do the business as usual, in which cheating
or second-hand deal were considered norm and/or acceptable way of life as the
leaders of the nation. Or, embezzlement was not wrong or evil but well accepted
way of life. In such milieu, Daniel’s upfront handling of all matter put many
of them into trouble and even put them to lose their position and power. In some
sense, Daniel was like Joseph who faithfully worked on behalf of Pharaohs and
for the nation as a whole. Foreseeing
the trouble, these corrupt governors and satraps came up together to plan how
to get rid of Daniel for good.
2. They devised a law to trap
Daniel (5-9)
They all
agreed to trap Daniel. Yet they could not find anything wrong.
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."
They all
knew that he kept an upright lifestyle. His role as administer was an impeccable one.
Then what if they concocted a law that could override the law of God which he
absolutely adhered to? This was a brilliant idea.
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.
Here we are
to note two things: first it was the royal administrators and satraps that
came up together to trap Daniel. Now a group of people moved the minds of all
members of the kingdom; royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and
governors got together to create a new law for the nation. The outward motive
was clear; to show their loyalty to the King. But the real and hidden motive
was to trap Daniel. No one knew except this group of people. The rest of the prefects,
satraps, advisers, and governors and also the king, not knowing the
surreptitious and dubious scheme, were happy to agree with the plan and sent out
a decree in writing. This decree was agreed upon among the entire leaders of
the nation. According to the law of Medes and Persians, this decree could not
be repealed. Simply this became the absolute
law of the land since this
was the law of the land. “king’s decree must be obeyed by all the people of the
land”
The law is
created when there are conflicts of interest among the people; by agreeing on
certain principles, they stay united based on the principles that they had
agreed upon. This is the law at its basic. So the law was the essential element
to govern people of many different ideas and customs and religious convictions.
That is to say that ‘the law’ was the uniting force among many different groups,
peoples, of differing ideas and convictions. Any violators or perpetrators of the
law must be punished or excluded from that society so as to keep the unity of
the kingdom.
Here we are
to note two things in understanding of Medo-Persian kingdom. In the dream given
to King Nebu, Medo-Persian kingdom was inferior to the Nebuchadnezzar,
Babylonian King/Kingdom. Nebu was the holder of absolute power. He did not share
his power with anyone else. Simply he was the supreme authority of the kingdom.
But Medo-Persian kingdom, inferior to Babylonian Kingdom, did not have such
king that held ‘absolute authority’. We see this in this story. In addition,
the kingdom was not Medes only or Persians only. They were joined together to
form one; that is to say that there were two different ethnic background, geographical
background, and religious, cultural background. To unity these two, the law was
an essential part.
All the super
kingdoms that followed Medo-Persian kingdom had or shared this element; they
had to formulate a law. The Greek Empire was divided into four when they were
not able to unify into one under the law. The roman Empire started out ‘senate
elected king’. That is to say that senate played an important role in governing
the empire. According to the dream of Nebu, the fourth kingdom would continue
to the end of time. Simply speaking there are two types of kingdoms;
according to the place of authority, one is king, and the other is a group of
people. When a king holds an absolute power, his character, ideology or belief matters.
When a group of people shares the power and authority of the nation, then the
law took the supreme authority.
All the
kingdoms or countries of today share one of these two authorities; the best
example of the absolute authority of the king is King Jung Eun of North Korea.
Some that are close to this are Russia, China, or Iran. The best example of the
nation or countries where absolute authority is vested on people is the United
State of America. Many of European nations have similar characteristics. Far
left end is King Jung Eun, and far right hand is USA. In between these two are
many variations of sharing the authority.
Why does
this matter us so much? We believers have only one authority, the God of
creation, the one who sent his son Jesus to save us from the power of sin and
death. The world that holds authority of their own in these two forms or styles
will inevitably in conflict of the authority of God whom we serve.
Ch 2 God dealt
with the authority of King Nebu. God forced him to say that God of the three friends
of Daniel was the authority over him and no one dare to say anything against
the God of them.
Her in Ch 6,
God was dealing with another form of authority, the collective authority that
was set up in the law. To which all people of the nation must abide by. No one is
exempt. Even the king himself was not exempt. Any violation of the Law of the land
shall suffer.
As we noted,
Nebu the king of Babylon was the head of gold in the statue appeared in his
dream. God used King Nebu as the head of all kingdoms, having authority and
glory like that of God of heaven (2:37 The God of heaven has given you dominion
and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind
and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky). But the next kingdom was
made of silver and weaker than the head; This was Medo-Persian kingdom. It was
inferior to the King Nebu. Because the power was shared among king and all the
governing bodies. The king may initiate a decree but all the leaders of the
nation must agree and then it became the law of the nation. If we put this in other words, the law became
absolute because all agreed upon it. General consensus or majority determined
it to be right and just for the sake of the nation as a whole. But at this
time, this was devised to do one thing; to trap and remove Daniel from the
position of the top administrator of the nation.
In 1774, the leaders of this nation
created a constitution, the supreme law of the nation. The purpose of the law
was to provide the people with freedom and happiness.
3. Inviolable law of Medes
and Persians and the law of God of Daniel (10-17)
A new law
was established; for thirty days, no one should pray to any god or human being
except to the king. But how did Daniel handle the threat? When he faced a
threat to his life in God, Daniel sought God’s help through his prayer. He did
not reason with them and did not fight his way out of this trap and he did not
seek help from the king. Instead, he sought God’s help. He prayed to the God of
Israel.
**Then, what did those people who devised a plan to trap Daniel
do? Those people went as a group to see what Daniel was doing. When
they confirmed Daniel’s prayer as usual, they all together came to the king and
reminded him of his decree.
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."
King’s
decree was set as the law of the nation and it should not be repeal by any
reason. Through the mouth of the king, they confirmed inviolability of the law
of Medes and Persia. Immediately after this, they reported Daniel’s violation
of the law: Daniel still prays three times a day toward the God of Israel. Then what did the group of people who were
determined to depose Daniel do?
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."
The all went
as a group to the king. three times they acted together. V6 when they came to
the king to issue a decree, v11 as a group they went together to see Daniel’s
prayer. V15 as a group they went to the King and brought the charges against
Daniel. Some say that they behaved like a mob. These were a small number of
conspirators. They moved the hearts of all to trap Daniel under the authority
of the Law of Medes and Persia.
When King
heard this, he was greatly distressed for he loved him and cared for him because he saw
in Daniel ‘godly purity’ that he desired for and wished to have it. In addition,
he knew that that Daniel did not do anything wrong not only to others but also to
him. All the more, he knew that it was an evil scheme of those few who did not
want Daniel as their supervisor. But once the law was installed and it could
not be repealed.
The king
made every effort until sundown but his effort was futile. Even the king of the
land could not rescue him. In some sense He was forced to put in a lion’s den
for he had no choice to keep the law of the land high above all.
The society
as a whole was gang up Daniel because he was good and godly and would not tolerate
any evils or ungodliness. Under the umbrella of good for the nation, they
formulated an evil and ungodly law and trapped Daniel to be punishes in a lion’s
den.
It is
interesting that those people who conspired against Daniel were like fierce
lions who preyed on Daniel. But could they their prey?
Greed and power: embezzlement
4. I was found innocent in
his sight (18-24)
In fears,
uncertainties and worries, he woke up and went to the den of lions. And shouted;
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?"
King Darius
knew that Daniel was serving God and he had faith in this God; and he prayed to
Him. But could this God save him from the ferocious animal, 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."
God sent his
angel to save Daniel. It was not because He favored Daniel over others or just because
he was the God of Daniel or God of the people of Israel. God did this because Daniel was found innocent in His
sight and nor did he do any thing wrong before King Darius.
It’s all centered
on one thing, “who was right and just”. God favors who is right and just. God
proved his innocence. Those who accused Daniel was wrong. God demonstrated that
he would and could save those who are right and just in His eyes. Lions did not
care about who’s right and just. Lion’s only concern is whether his prey is good
to fill his stomach and delicious. All animals do not have any concept on what
is right and just; only man has it for God gave them; because he created them
to be like him in the image of God.
The garden
of Eden was the place where Adam lived in peace and joy with all the animals,
including lions, crocodile, bears, eagles; But when Adam failed to keep himself
innocent before the Lord, the land was cursed and these animals became carnivores
and ate any other animals as they desired.
Sin is
injustice in the eyes of the Lord. Sin incurs God’s righteous judgment. The root
of sin was rebellion against the God of creation and declaration of his or her
independence. As long as anyone is not willing
to acknowledge and honor the Lord, he or she will retain carnivores-like characters.
That is to say that the behave like the beasts in the field. Any kingdoms
of the world that failed to honor the Lord by and large share the distinctive
characteristics of carnivores. Only when there is a genuine fear of God, carnivorous
nature can be changed. This theme is further expressed and explored in Ch 7 where
the four succeeding kingdoms of the world were pictures as four vicious animals.
When the
group of leaders set up the law in order to put Daniel in the den of lions, it
reflected their hearts. Their hearts were filled with the desires of lions.
They wanted to crash Daniel with their teeth and tear apart his flesh and
swallow up to satisfy their desires and hungers for meat. These animals are there
to deter sins and wickedness and to remind of the world that God’s judgment is
at bay.
The next
chapter is about Daniel’s dream of four carnivorous animals. They pictured symbolically
the world kingdoms. They were Lion,
Bear, leopard, and a very powerful animal that looked like fusion of all these three
animals. Its carnivorous nature was depicted very well in its description of
its teeth.
Such understanding
is clearer when we see the structure of the following content of the chapter
2-7.
Ch 2: Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the kingdoms of the world
–Gentile perspective
Ch 3: image
of gold /Nebuchadnezzar vs. 3 friends : Furnace
Ch 4:
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of tree
Ch 5:
Belshazzar’s banquet and writing on the wall
Ch 6: the Law
of Mede- Persia vs. Daniel : lions’ den
Ch 7: Daniel’s dream of the kingdoms of the world –Israel’s
perspective
Ch 2 and Ch 7 are the dreams that God gave, one to King Nebu
and the other to Daniel. Both describes the kingdoms of the world; ch 2 in perspective
of the kings of the world, i.e., gentile perspective. Ch 7 in the perspective
of Jews or Daniel of the same kingdoms as the kingdoms in ch 2. As these two
chapters speak of the kingdoms of the world, so the inner two chapters (ch 3,
6) speaks about how the men of God(God’s chosen people) would be used for God’s
purpose.
In Ch 3, King Nebu put Daniel’s three friends in a furnace because
they refused to honor the glory of King Nebu and his statue. That is a
violation against the glory of the king in order to uphold the glory of God of
creation. The fire in furnace represented
ultimate judgment that was to come at the end of age for the judgment of all the
ungodly. But God saved the three by sending and accompanying them with a man like
a son of God. This gave a clear message that when one chose to serve the glory
of the God of creation, he would be saved from the judgment from the world
kings. This rescue will be afforded to them by the accompaniment of the son of
man.
Similarly, ch 6 speaks about salvation of godly man from the
world powers. The power that threatened Daniel was of a law made by men against
the law of God and of beastly character, like lions. As was noted previously,
the law created by men worked as the supreme authority and no one was allowed
to violate. If one does so, then he would face death by lions. This law worked
as the supreme authority over human life by displacing the Law of God as the
supreme authority. This law, that works as supreme authority of the kingdom, is
tainted grossly by sinfulness of men as we have seen in the law of Medo-Persia.
In general, laws of the kingdom are intended for the good of all. But the creators
as well as executors of the law are sinners and in them there are selfishness,
greed, and desire to have power and authority. In ch 2, the violation of the
glory of the king was death in a furnace. The violation of the law in ch 6 was death
by ferocious animal, more specifically carnivores, that live by the flesh of other
animals. Both threat death. But death by
lions is much different from death by fire in the furnace. When a man is put in
a den of lions, he has to fight a fierce battle by the strength of flesh, i.e.,
flesh against flesh, and eventually his flesh was eaten by a group of lions, mainly
made up of a family of lions. It seems to indicate the fight that we/God’s
chosen are to engage among the people of carnivorous nature. The prime example
is the investigation of Pres. Trump’s Russian collaboration. After a long investigation,
no one could substantiate ‘Russian collaboration’. This investigation was set
up by a group of people for their own purpose, selfish gain with ungodly
intent. This was proven to be a hoax. I am saying this not to say that Pres.
Trump was good like Daniel. I am saying that in the Russian hoax, how the
creators and executors of a law are driven by their sinful motives and desires.
Then, what was the reason why God sent His angels to protect
Daniel?
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."
Daniel was innocent in God’s sight. Was he saying that he was
sinless in God’s eyes? Not at all. He was innocent in what he did, praying to
the Lord during the thirty days when the law of Medes forbade praying or
worshiping to any gods other than King Darius. Not only the God of heaven
considered it to be good and just but also, he did not do anything wrong by
praying to the God of heaven. Quite often, this was taken to say that Daniel
was perfectly good in God’s eyes and God rewarded him with salvation from lions.
He was innocent on this matter and God exonerated Daniel by sending his angel
and shut the mouth of lions. God spoke powerfully, “Lions shall not eat or was
not allowed to eat the flesh of the innocent!”
In human society, greed of money and power drives the hearts of many. That
greed expresses itself like that of carnivores. God will surely send his angels
to protect and to preserve those who are innocent in His eyes. Further, God will
let these carnivores eaten by other carnivores as this story end.
It is about our live now in our society. We are to be pure in
the matter of all human affairs, not greedy, not cheating, no bribes, no embezzlement,
no partaking in any racketeering. How can this be possible while we are living
in a jungle where carnivores are rampant?
I consider that Daniel’s prayer was pictured as
the source of strength to keep himself pure and innocent of all wrong doings in the eyes of
God. To understand his prayer, we will look at v 10.
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.
How and what he prayed give us a great insight on how we can
get such power and strength to keep ourselves pure and innocent. How and for what
did he pray? And why was it so important for him to pray? We see three things
from how he prayed; first he prayed as he had
been doing. Second, he prayed toward Jerusalem, and third he
opened the window toward Jerusalem while he was praying.
First,
he prayed to the Lord in seeking His grace and mercy. Prayer was the essential
part of his life since he came to this land as an exile and made a resolution
not to defile himself.
Daniel and
his three friends came to this land when they were just in a teenage. Since
then, they resolved not to defile themselves with the things of this foreign
land. In other words, they decided to follow the Law of God; in fear of him.
They feared the Lord than any men or anything on this earth. They depended
their lives on the Lord’s grace and mercy. The
essential expression of this fear and dependence was his prayer;
everyday he prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day. Jerusalem was the city
of God. In it was His temple. Even though it might be destroyed or disrepair,
God promised to hear the prayers offered toward this place. Based on His promise
Second,
he prayed toward Jerusalem where God’s temple was.
2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked
ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I
will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2Ch 7:14 NIV)
1 Kings 8:29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night
and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you
will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. (1Ki 8:29 NIV)
1 Kings 8:48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart
and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you
toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and
the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven, your dwelling
place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. (1Ki 8:48 NIV)
1 Kings 9:3 The LORD said to him: “I have heard the
prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which
you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will
always be there.
Daniel was
the remnant who repented and was searching for God’s forgiveness. God promised
that He would listen to such prayer. Jerusalem was gone and the temple was destroyed,
yet he trusted the Lord and believed His promise. So he prayed toward the
temple in Jerusalem. Simply he was looking intently toward the Lord who gave a
promise to hear and to restore the nation.
Third,
he opened the window toward Jerusalem while
he was praying. This was an expression of his whole-hearted commitment
to the Lord. This was not to show his devout life-style toward the Lord but to
show the Lord of his unbridled commitment to Him. My life and my heart are all
for you, you only! He is the first priority for Daniel long before any concerns
for the king, for the people of the nation or any colleagues. What was he seeking from the Lord? What did he
pray for?
Dan 10:12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain
understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian
kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to
your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to
come.(Dan 10)
His mind was focused on when and how God would restore the
nation Israel including restoration of the temple of the Lord. Simply his prayer was of two important
themes; salvation of his people and restoration of the glory of God in and
among His people. He was seeking God’s mercy for the nation Israel (ch 9). At
the same time, he wanted to know when God would restore the kingdom of God that
he had established through his people Israel. Simply he longed for the
salvation and restoration of his people back to the Lord. This was the main
theme and main force at his heart that drove him to pray. We can take three
times of prayer every day as a formality. But that is to overlook or to neglect
the force behind this prayer; intensity and undying passion in seeking God’s grace
and mercy for his nation. This was
starkly revealed during these thirty days. Daniel simply could have stopped
praying to God of Israel during the third day. If he did so, then he could
escape the trap. But he would not and actually he could not because his compassion
for his people and his reverence for God’s authority and power were all too
great to do so. Furthermore, the restoration of Israel was really an urgent matter for he would not
or could not endure the fact that the temple of the Lord remained destroyed.
Fourth, his prayer was the vital part of God’s will to reveal
His plan for His people. The answer to his prayer was delayed by the prince of Persia. What does
this tell us? Daniel’s prayer was important and was heard by God. His angel
wanted to deliver God’s message soon. But he was deterred by the prince of
Persia. If he had stopped praying during this period, what would happen? This
tells us that it was not just a matter of his integrity as a man of God but
more important in getting God’s answer to his
prayer. God hears the prayer of the righteous. God senses the urgency
and passion, stress of our prayers and responds accordingly. On the other hand,
the world would do anything to deter us to pray and seek His will/his answer. But
God hears our prayers. Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Rev 6:10 reveals us
the power of the prayer of the martyred.
Rev 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar
the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the
testimony they had maintained. 10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long,
Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and
avenge our blood?" (Rev 6:9 NIV)
These were
the martyrs and they cried out to the Lord how long He would let these evil
forces of the world go in their killing spree. In an answer to their prayers,
God opened the sixth seal judgment on the earth. Simply Daniel’s prayer should
not be halted. There are quite number of people who are suffering even now because
of COVID 19. But there are so many who are going through intense sufferings. We
are to have compassion on them and pray for them. By so doing, we share their
sufferings and earn the heart of the Lord who gave us His son Jesus.
Today’s
passage is speaking of how godly man can survive from those carnivores. This is
a preparation of Daniel for the coming dreams of the so vicious and carnivorous
kingdoms of the world. What does it mean? In addition to the revelation of the
power of God in rescuing Daniel, this story gives an insight on the true nature
of the kingdoms of the world that are operating with carnivorous nature to devour
godly and righteous people.
God of
Daniel can save the righteous and He will save the righteous, no matter how
vicious they /carnivorous animal could be.
In the den
of lion, how many lions were there? One
is too many. But there might have been several or even ten or more. Actually,
Daniel was surrounded by many, far more than ten ‘administrators and satraps’
who conspired against one righteous man Daniel. They had neither power nor authority
to destroy Daniel. But they conjured up all the officials of the nation and
concocted a law that defies God’s justice. The law a tool or the teeth of these
carnivores to eat alive the one who was righteous in the eyes of the Lord.
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.
Have you
seen lions’ eating his prey? It crashed bones and tears apart flesh. This is
fullest sense of being beast. The people of the world without God live and
behave exactly like these lions. This is evil for evil.
Why or what did they do wrong? In the USA, there are 10 steps to create a law.
A bill was drafted, introduced and sent to the committee, and reviewed by a subcommittee,
mark up of the bill by the committee, voting by the full chamber on the bill,
refer the bill to other chamber, and then goes to the president. This is a rigorous
process to make sure that all are greed and it was for the purpose of the good
of the nation. As we know there are constant conflict between the Rep and Dems because
of their difference in view and purpose. After all the majority decide what the
law should look like. Ultimately the power rest on the people as a whole who
chooses all the representatives.
Luckily the spirit
and mind of most representatives who make laws of the nation are to be framed
under the constitution. The preamble speaks of its purpose.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common defense,
promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America. -- US Constitution preamble
I like to
highlight few phrases: perfect union, establish justice, domestic tranquility,
general welfare, secure Blessing of liberty. Unity, common good for blessing of
liberty to the people were the focus. This law is the best among all the law
that man made in the sense that it promotes a very close idea to the law of
God. Nevertheless, every states and cities make their own laws, some are quite
openly hostile to those who fear the Lord of all creation. Some laws are specifically
aimed against the fundamental beliefs of Christians.
This is because
the constitution presumes that there is the Sovereign God and to him the people/nation
USA stands. What about other nations and kingdoms such as North Korea, Japan,
India, or Iran?
But here those
who decided to get rid of Daniel had only one goal in devising a law. To do so
they kept the rest of the leaders of the nation, including king, under darkness
under the premise of promoting ‘king’s authority’, they created a law that
defied the God of the whole world and His law. It was created by men, men of evil
and ungodly intent. It was created in deception. It was created for the benefit
of those few to gratify their greed for power and money. It was created in
defiance of God’s authority.
Almost all
the laws made by men are tainted by these kinds of flaws. Law was necessary
element to keep the unity of the nation; but the law controlled and manipulated
by few to promote their causes and their ideals. Simply speaking, in the eyes of
God, all man-made laws are flawed because they are invariably skewed by human
desires either by purpose or by its implementation.
Can any man-made
laws stand absolute? Can a gang of evil intent take away the life of those who
abide by the law of God? Can the law of the land override the law of God?
God applied
His law to His chosen people Israel. As the result, Israel was judged
inadequate and wrong and was punished for their sins. Their country was taken
away and became exile. Having applied His law on His first son Israel, would he
not apply His law the rest of His children? Surely he will do so. Daniel was
the one repented of his sin and followed the law of God so diligently. Can the
violators of the law of God do any harm to the one who feared the Lord, and
kept the absolute law of the entire world?
God spoke powerfully
what he would do for all those who fear the Lord and keep himself/herself pure
in His eyes. What are the most common detractors or temptations to do away with
the Law of God? The law of men looks and controls actions and behaviors of men
only. They cannot discern and judge what is inside of men. But God deals with
what is in the depth of one’s heart through His law, for He only can see and
understand the depth of men’s heart.
Who knew
among the people of Medo-persian kingdom what went on in the depth of the hearts
of those schemers? It would have left undisclosed if God did not save Daniel.
God spoke powerfully and resoundingly that He would save those who fear Him
more than his own life or the law of the land and keeps His law.
Also, some think
that Daniel was ‘fully righteous’ by keeping the law of Moses. Though such deduction
may not be wrong, the passage itself does not reveal this as the primary theme
of this passage. Instead, the main forces of ‘his impeccability’ was his exceptional
qualities assessed by the king and other colleges of him, particularly in the
matter of ‘government affairs’. There are no words such as right or
righteousness at all in denoting Daniel’s. So was true in Daniel’s confession, “because
I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you,
Your Majesty." (22) NAS is more revealing on this aspect, “inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have
committed no crime." This
passage has no concern on the righteousness of Daniel in view of God of
holiness.
Money and
power are the main causes of men’s corruption. When God is not at the heart of
man, it is replaced by these two. When they pursue these two, their hearts are
driven by ‘ungodly means and ways’ to achieve their purpose.
But God is
the ultimate judge and he would not let the righteous be prey of these beasts. He
rescues protects and rescues and eventually gives immortality. He issued a decree
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
This is a
remarkable progress from King Nebu’s decree. He told that the people of any
nation or language who say anything against
the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of
rubble (3:29). Because no other god can save in this way. But King Darius went
beyond King nebu’s call for fear of the God of Daniel.
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom
people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
He called
for fear and reverence to this God. Why did he call for reverence to this God?
"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."
Frist, he is
living God; he existed long before him and endures to eternity.
Second, He
is the king and runs His kingdom and that kingdom is everlasting
Third, he
rescues and saves; by performing signs and wonders in the heavens and on the
earth. He has no limit in his power and authority; the only thing that controls
the whole world is His will.
It was not
enough not to say anything against the God of Daniel. All must give Him the
proper reverence. ; reverence call for submission and compliance to His authority,
His will and His glory.
God of
Daniel was and is sovereign God of the whole world. His sovereignty is expressed
in two ways; first is salvation; God saves! He is the only one can and will
save human race from sin and judgment. The ultimate and utmost expression of this
will was expressed in Jesus, the true savior for all human being, regardless of
their sins. They had and even now have chance to be saved by the grace that He
wanted to impart to all sinners like us. Second, he judges. His judgment is on
each individual is final. His judgment on the world makes the finality of the
world we live. His judgement makes the finality of all human beings. He is the
only one who holds the finality of our lives and of the whole world; all nations
and kingdoms of the world must fear him and must give him proper honor and
respect to him.
Do any of us
think, even in the depth of us heart, that he or she can evade His judging
hand? The outcome will be tragic. But
when we fear him and give him proper honor and respect, surely we will be
saved. How much could he say more of his will to save sinners like us than by letting
his own son suffer on behalf of us?
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