So we continue our look at Daniel by checking out chapter 6. Ah chapter 6 – the story of Daniel in the lions den – a story which I am sure all of us have probably heard at some point in our lives. I think for me that it doesn’t matter how often you have heard a story like this, as it still has punch and a kick on every read…
So chapter 5 saw the slaying of yet another King of Babylon and so chapter 6 finds Darius the Mede at the throne. Interestingly there are many arguments about the legitimacy of this story because there appears to be no historical backing for anyone by that name. However, it is thought that either Darius the Mede was another name for a chap called Gubaru who was mentioned in ancient Babylonian inscriptions or it was King Cyrus’ “throne name” in Babylon. Either way, Babylon has a new King and the first task undertaken is the appointment of 120 satraps to rule the Kingdom. Three administrators oversaw their work, one of which was our good friend Daniel.
The story tells us how the other administrators and satraps were jealous of Daniel – he was exceptional at his job and the King planned for the whole Kingdom to be run by him eventually – and the others didn’t like the prospect of Daniel being incharge of them. They tried to find fault with him, but when they came up with nothing they hatched a genius plan:
The plan was to get Darius to decree that for the next thirty days no Gods would be worshipped – they all must worship the King. Darius likes the sound of this and gives the order and puts it in writing which meant that ‘it could not be altered – in accordance with the laws of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be repealed’. The penalty for anyone who does not do this is for them to be thrown to the lions. Daniel still prays to God and the satraps haul him in front of the King, who reluctantly admits that there is no way to get around the fact that Daniel must now be thrown into the lions den. Dairus is pretty upset about this and ‘made every effort’ to save Daniel but could not. Daniel is thrown into the lions den but is not killed by them – when the King goes down to the den the next morning he finds Daniel alive. Daniel tells the King that an angel shut the mouths of lions and King Darius can do nothing but praise God for saving Him.
The first thing that strikes me about this passage is the way Daniel lived his life. Verse 3 states that he “…distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities…”. This is mirrored in the new testament in Titus 2 where we are commanded to live so that anyone who opposes us will have nothing bad to say about us. This for me is a life of worship, where every second we are alive we are living for God and for His glory. This is how I believe we were created to live.
Living like this is also a great way for us to show God to people who don’t know Him. No where in this passage does it say how Daniel preached to the King or the other satraps – but they still saw God through him because of the way he lived. I personally believe that this is perhaps the only way some people are going to know about Gods love – as the world these days seems to switch off the moment anyone tries any ‘classic’ evangelism.
The final thing I want to pick up on is the final words of this chapter. The bible says that because of this ‘Daniel prospered’ during the Kings reign. I take that to mean that Daniel excelled at his work, had enough food to eat, had many friends etc. I think this is great – God rewarded Daniel for his commitment and his faith and his reward was in the physical. So often in church life we can actually be made to feel guilty if we have more money than our neighbour when actually it is God who gives us everything we have in the first place. The love of money is a bad thing yes, but I believe God gives us everything with an eye for us using it for His kingdom. So rather than feeling guilty because we earn more money than our neighbour let us rejoice for it and thank God that we can use that money to help our neighbour as well as living our own lives. Let us follow the example of Jabez and pray each day for prosperity on our lives so that we can bless others.
Christians are strange animals. You are right Gaz, often people who appear more affluent are left feeling on the fringes because ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Â¦surely they should be giving their wealth to the poor..ââ?¬Â. While if you are from a slightly different Christian persuasion, if you are not wealthy then you are seen to be unspiritual or whatever because clearly God is not blessing you.
Paul said that he knew what it was like to live in plenty and poverty. And he found a place of praise in both. Whatever our circumstances we need to be able to find a place of praise. We need to make sure that out hearts are right. Whether we are in poverty or plenty, or maybe somewhere in between.
Daniel seemed to live his life in this way. He knew they his judge was God so in all things he did the best he could to make sure he was blameless. Even in a hostel place where he was a captive he worked hard and was able to ââ?¬Å?..distinguished himself ââ?¬Â¦ by his exceptional qualities..ââ?¬Â
That is a challenge
When i was a fledgling Christian, the verse people kept pointing me towards was Jeremiah 29:11-13, about God promise to prosper and not harm…etc. I took that to mean that prosperity was being used in the financial context, and that this would mean that as long as i was doing God’s will, he would bless me financially and materially. Of course i know now that this is definitely NOT the context of prosperity, rather it is the kind of character that Titus is talking about that i need to be aiming for. Personally i want to be a man of integrity and soundness before God, so that prosperity in a spiritual sense might come. But as always, His will be done.
As for the money side of things, i have to believe that God takes us through seasons of ‘plenty’ and seasons of ‘not so plenty’. I totally agree that we need to be praiseful in both, because there are valuable lessons to be learned in each. Generosity and thankfulness in one, trusting and thankfulness in the other, for example. I’m like Paul and millions of other peple, i have experienced both, and i have to admit that in times of not so plenty, it can be easy to ask God why, rather than praising Him for the things we do have.
Exceptional qualities, huh? Big challenge, indeed…