- No fault in him. What twist of events has government officials wracking their brains to find fault with Daniel? How successful are they? And, by the way, who is Darius?
- Jealous souls. Have you ever felt the sting of jealousy aimed at you? What was there about Daniel that aroused the sense of jealousy in the officers of the king’s court where Daniel was working? Wait a minute. If Daniel was careful in all that he did, why would any of his fellow
workers be jealous of that? What did they want from Daniel? How did they propose to achieve their goal and get rid of Daniel? - The plot against Daniel. How would a new law proposed to defer all petitions to the king for thirty days affect the standing of Darius before the people? What was the real purpose of this new law? How would the den of hungry lions contribute to the elimination of Daniel? What was there about this law that made it especially difficult even to imagine Daniel’s release from the execution?
- Daniel’s prayer. Daniel’s habit was to pray three times every day standing and facing in the direction of the temple of God. Now he faces a dilemma. The decree forbids prayer or petition to any person except to the one chosen by the government as the king. But Daniel is not about to pay heavenly tribute to a human being. His prayer is one of loyalty and surrender to the God who is above all. His worship is of Divinity.
- The lions’ den. Those with a burden to eliminate Daniel from the earth haven’t given up. The lions, the lions. We can depend on the lions, they must have said, to give Daniel the punishment he so richly deserves. We can’t allow insubordination like this. But at the site of execution, what do the royal onlookers see? Some might have snarled, “We promised to put them in the lion’s den. We did that. But their God rescued them.”
Amen!
(0)
(0)
