Daniel 6:20 “Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee?”. All will have to face that question sooner or later! It was asked of one of the “greatest secretaries of state”, who ever lived — 2,500 years ago! The greatest empire of that time! Darius – King of Medes & Persians, sovereign of the world-empire, divided into 120 provinces, each with an administrator, responsible to him. The 120 supervised by the council; of three; The first and the Chief of the council was Daniel a Jew! Daniel discharged the duties of the office with consummate wisdom and absolute fidelity and honesty that he won the confidence and love of the king, who resolved to advance him to still higher honors. The politicians envied and hated Daniel. They decided to smear him, if possible? Daniel’s public-life and record were so immaculate, they found nothing to smear. Finally, they attacked his religion! They rigged a 30-day law, bothered the king to whiplash the fraudulent legislation through government bodies and had the king sign it. They made the king the sole object of worship for 30 days. Prayer towards any other would be punished by death. They thought they had Daniel where they wanted him – Death Sentence!
Everything for Daniel focused on one question: to pray or not to pray? Could not such a man as he was, with all the spiritual capital which he had laid up in 60 years of communion with God, live 30 days without prayer? Was he so weak after more than half a century of victorious wrestling with sin and temptation that he could not exist 4 weeks if he did not pray? Daniel did not hesitate, his instant answer was, ‘Continue my praying; morning, noon and night as before’. Why could he not pray silently in a closet? No! Daniel would not compromise his testimony! He stood before all as a believer, he must continue to stand that way! If we deny Him before men, He’ll deny us before His Father. To pray would only be to lose his life! Not to pray would be to lose his soul. He opened the windows towards the Holy City and unburdened his soul. His Father heard him and his enemies too. Darius was called upon to implement the law. Daniel must be executed: we have found a man that regardeth not thee, or the decree which thou hast signed, but prayeth 3 times a day! The king blamed himself for his folly. He refused to sign the death warrant. He drove the politicians from his presence. He felt trapped. He spent the entire day with lawyers, seeking a way to extricate Daniel; the best and wisest on earth! There was no way. The law of the Medes and Persians changeth not! The pit was black; the white-haired servant of God was lowered, the slab was replaced and sealed in the king’s name. The awful deed was perpetuated. Daniel is sealed in like a corpse in a tomb. The floor is strewn with human bones. But now, in that place, eternal light brightens the death chamber like dawn! Lions are like lambs! The night Daniel spent in the death chamber must have been the highlight of his eventful life! The consciousness of having done right; the approval of God, the presence of Heaven, must have made the dreadful den, where so many wretched men had been torn to pieces and devoured, like paradise. He who wrestled with Jacob one night had now come to lock the lions’ mouths; He who had appeared to General Joshua, had come to direct Daniel; He who had walked in the fiery furnace, had come to spend the night with the statesman! What words passed between them? Ask him when you see him! Daniel enjoyed a better night than Darius. The king was tortured with remorse; His silly vanity had brought ruin and death to his closest and most trusted friend and counsellor! Marble and ivory statues and velvet hangings seemed to point and scowl and say, “You are a murderer.”! If there ever was a heaven on earth, it was the night Daniel spent in the pit. And if there was ever a hell on earth, it was the night that Darius spent in the palace. Darius clung to one hope; Daniel’s God! He had no faith in the gods of the kingdom. At break of day, the king determined to discover where the final authority lay. The answer, “My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me; for as much as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.” If any man felt the resurrection, Daniel felt it that morning. Satan’s den of roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour. Enemies are always on the trail of the believers! Den of doubt; God loves others but doesn’t love me. Another is tempted to lust and passion, another to vanity and ambition, etc.. Oh yes, good men and women are placed in jeopardy: “Is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee?”. In each case, may we experience, “My God hath sent his angel…”. Den of affliction; contemplate injury, disease for which there is no cure. You see leukemia, arthritis, crouched, ready to spring at you. So many pits, dens of death. No one escapes; awful for the unsaved and unprepared. Who can say at this moment; “For as before Him innocence was found in me?” For the believer, death has no sting! No bite! How can we survive? First, we must serve God continually, never on a part-time basis. The man who dies well, is the man who lives well, the man who loses well, is the man who has spent well. If we want God with us in the den, we must invite Him with us into the palace! If Daniel had been a corrupt politician, no amount of praying would have saved him from the lions!. Second, we must believe in our God. “So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”! Faith moved him… Hebrews 11:33, “who through faith stopped the mouth of lions’ At evening time it shall be light. Lord give us such a faith as this and then, whatever may come, we’ll taste the bliss of an eternal home! The test comes. With God’s help we shall win, following Daniel’s example …. Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose and dare to make it known.
Truth Archive 