Passionate Punishment
What Happens When Your Purpose Gets You in Trouble?
You have to see with Passionate perception ()
Darius could not have this confidence, but he may have had the feeble hope of the possibility of the deliverance which from his heart he wished, inasmuch as he may have heard of the miracles of the Almighty God whom Daniel served in the days of Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar.
He certainly wanted him spared, for he obviously appreciated his administrative abilities (cf. 6:2–3). Perhaps he had been impressed with Daniel’s confidence in God
The KJV and NASB construe this statement as a prediction that God “will rescue” Daniel, whereas the NIV and NRSV consider the declaration to be a wish on Darius’s part that God “may … rescue” him. The verb (an imperfect form of šêzib) may be translated in either manner.
Nevertheless, the fact that Darius believed it was even possible that Daniel could be saved indicates that the prophet must have been telling the king of the great miracles the God of Israel had performed
an ‘outsider’, a king of the nations, is exercising faith, however dimly, in Daniel’s God, and it is in the interests of fostering that faith that evidence of God’s power can be expected.
This should probably be understood as more than a fond hope or mere wishful thinking. Instead, it is to be seen as a rather firm affirmation of faith.
Darius may have been acquainted with the miracles that God had performed in the days of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.
You have to act with passionate persistence (; cf. )
Daniel was not depending on the king either (Ps. 146:1–6). He had learned long ago to trust the living God. God did not want to save Daniel from the lions’ den; He wanted to deliver him out of it.
Darius characterized Daniel as “serving” his God “continually.” He had noticed Daniel’s lifestyle. In order for believers to impress the world, they must live a consistent Christian life.
Whom you serve continually: the emphasis should be rather on the devotion and faithfulness of Daniel rather than on the continuity of his service. NRSV renders “whom you faithfully serve” (compare also NJB).
Daniel’s piety and devotion was known even to the king.
serve so faithfully. Or, “worship continually,” the participle of pelakh [10586, S6399] (to worship), thereby stressing Daniel’s continued faithful worship of his God.
It was Daniel’s continual service to God that caused him to be cast into the lions’ den; now the king hoped that this devotion would cause God to deliver Daniel.
Daniel made no attempt to hide his devotion to or his dependence on God, even though it now meant disobeying a governmental decree
Daniel would not and could not look to Darius for the guidance and strength he knew God alone could supply
He could have made excuses and compromised. “Everybody was doing it.
No. Daniel refused to compromise. He chose rather to be eaten by lions than to miss one prayer meeting.
God three times a day. When this law was passed, he did not change his religious behavior, nor did he hide it. Daniel was a man of courage and conviction who was willing to stand for God even if it meant death
Daniel chooses to obey God’s command to worship Him alone (see Exod 20:3) over the king’s edict
Daniel prayed not out of rebellion toward the king but out of obedience to the greater command of God. As the apostles would later say, “We must obey God rather than people” (Ac 5:29). So great was Daniel’s reputation for spiritual commitment that even his enemies knew he would obey God rather than bow to the king’s edict.
You have to rely on passionate provisions ()
What a contrast between Darius in his palace and Daniel in the lions’ den. Darius had no peace, yet Daniel was perfectly at peace with himself, the Lord, and the lions. Daniel was in a place of perfect safety, for God was there. Darius could have been slain by some enemy right in his bedroom. Darius had labored all the previous day to save Daniel from judgment, yet he could not break his own laws. Daniel simply talked to the God of the universe and received all the power he needed. In every way, Daniel was reigning as king while Darius was a slave.
It was Daniel’s faith in God that delivered him
His daily fellowship with the Lord was the secret: he had faith, and he was faithful.
To make the miracle of his preservation manifest, and to show the reason of it, v. 24 (23) states that Daniel was found without any injury, because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel replied that God had in fact kept him unharmed because of his flawless life (v. 22) and because he … trusted in … God (v. 23). God’s Angel, Daniel said, had kept the lions’ mouths shut. Perhaps this Angel, like the One in the fiery furnace with the three young men (3:25), was the preincarnate Christ
in other cases the meaning may be translated by “The God I worship,” to avoid the idea of a personal possession of God.
he able to rescue you The king is still unaware of the power of Daniel’s God, who had delivered him from certain death.
Rather, Daniel claimed that his allegiance to God made him guiltless in this matter. It was Daniel’s faith in God, not his works, that brought him deliverance from the lions