So
the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of
lions. (Dan.6:16a)
One of my favorite parts
of the circus is the lion-tamer act.
What courage it must take to walk into a cage with those powerful
beasts! Yet, those lions are well-fed,
extensively trained, and the lion-tamer has some protection. It took far more courage for Daniel to take a
stand that would cause him to be cast into a den of ravenous lions! Would we dare to be a Daniel?
Scripture is clear: “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim.3:12).
Since the dawn of time, there has been enmity between the seed of the
serpent and the children of God. Daniel
was in that godly line that began with Abel, who Cain killed, and proceeds to
those who take a stand for righteousness today.
Daniel was chosen by King
Darius due to his moral character. He
was a man of integrity. Daniel was godly
and it was a quality the King recognized.
Do people see that in us? That
very nature of godliness, however, is hated by those who are anti-God. They cannot reach up to heaven and assail
Him, so they turn their wrath on His followers.
A plot is hatched to attack Daniel in his devotion to God. If you dare to be a Daniel, people may hate
you, but they won’t be able to ignore you!
Daniel’s foes secure an
edict where only King Darius is to be petitioned for 30 days. Violation of that decree would bring the
sentence of being cast into a den of lions.
They knew Daniel’s habit of prayer, and that would be his downfall. What would you do? It’s hard to get people to come to a prayer
meeting now—I can only imagine how few would show up if it meant a death
sentence! Daniel did what he always
did. He didn’t cave under pressure. He didn’t pray to be seen of men, but he didn’t
mind if he was. I would suggest that
Daniel didn’t compromise his principles because he was consistent in his
prayers!
Even the pagan king
recognized the special qualities Daniel possessed and sought a way to deliver
him. Pride had caused him to sign the
law, and know the monarch has no choice but to honor it. If deliverance is to be found, it will be the
hand of God who secures it. Daniel must
rely on the King of kings. We can
entrust our lives to a faithful God. He
will give us life on earth so long as there is a work for us to do, and when
our mission is complete He will call us to a better land! Notice that Daniel wasn’t delivered from the
dwelling place of the lions, but from the deadly power of the lions. Should God permit us to be devoured by them—as
many Christian martyrs experienced in the Roman Coliseum—only the body of flesh
is destroyed. You cannot enter heaven in
that form. The real you—the person you
are in Christ—cannot be harmed. God
doesn’t exempt us from lions, but delivers us from loss! Heaven is all gain!
Daniel’s enemies reap
what they sowed. Sooner or later, God
exacts justice on the believer’s persecutors.
It may be in this life, or in the world to come. The end result is that God is glorified. This is what can happen if we dare to be a
Daniel!
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