Daniel and the Lions

Darius decided to a point 120 Chief administrators throughout the kingdom and to set over them three main officers to whom they would report so that the king wouldn't have to be bothered with too much. One of these men officers was Daniel. Because of his extraordinary Spirit Daniel soon surpassed the other officers and the chief administrators so much so that the king had plans to set him over the entire Kingdom.

As a result the other officers and the chief administrators tried to find some problem with Daniels work for the kingdom, but they couldn't find any problem or corruption at all because Daniel was trustworthy. He wasn't guilty of any negligence or corruption. So these men said we won't find any fault in Daniel unless we can find something to use against him from his religious practice. So these officers and chief administrators gang together and went to the king. They said to him Long Live King Darius. All the officers of the Kingdom The Minister's the chief administrators the Royal Associates and the governor's advised the king to issue an edict and enforce a law that for 30 days anyone who says prayers to any God or human being except you your majesty will be thrown into a pit of lions. Now your majesty issue the law in sign the document so that it cannot be changed as per the law of media and Persia which cannot be annulled.

Because of this King Darius signed the document containing the law. When Daniel learned that the document had been signed he went to his house now his Upper Room had open windows that faced Jerusalem Daniel knelt their praise and praise God three times that day just like he always did. Just then these men all gang together Came Upon Daniel praying and seeking Mercy from his God. They then went and talked to the king about the law your majesty. Didn't you sign a law that for 30 days any person who prays to any God or human being besides you your majesty would be thrown into a pit of lions. The king replied the decision is absolutely firm in accordance with the law of media and Persia which cannot be annulled. So they said to the king one of the Judy and Exiles Daniel has ignored you your majesty as well as the law. You signed. He says his prayers three times a day.

When the king heard this report, he was very unhappy he decided to rescue Daniel and did everything he could to save Daniel before the sun went down. But these men all game together came and said to the king you must realize your majesty that the law of media and Persia including every law and eat it. The King has issued cannot be changed.

The king gave the order and they brought Daniel and hurled him into the pit of lions. The king said to Daniel your God the one you serve so consistently will rescue you.

A single Stone was brought and placed over the entrance to the pit. The king sealed it with his own ring and with those of his princess. So the Daniel situation could not be changed. The king then went home to his Palace and fasted through the night. No Pleasures were brought to him and he couldn't sleep. At dawn at the first sign of light the king Rose and rushed to the Lions pit. At the approach that he called out to Daniel worried Daniel servant of the Living God with your God the one you serve so consistently able to rescue you from the Lions. Then Daniel answer to the king long live the king. My God sent his messenger who shut the lion's mouth. They haven't touched me because I was judged innocent before my God. I haven't done anything wrong to you either your majesty. The King was thrilled. He commanded that Daniel be brought up out of the pit. And Daniel was lifted out not a scratch was found on him because he trusted in his God.

The king then ordered that the men who would accuse Daniel be brought and thrown into the lions pit including their wives and children. They hadn't even reached the bottom of the pit before the Lions overpowered them crushing all their bones. Ben King Darius wrote The Following decree to all the peoples Nations and languages and having the entire Earth. I wish you much. Peace. Inow issue this command in every region of my kingdom all people must fear and Revere Daniels God because he is the Living God. Stand firm forever. His kingship is indestructible God's rule will last until the end of time. He is rescuer and savior God perform signs and miracles in heaven. And on Earth here is the proof. He rescued Daniel from the Lion's power. And so Daniel was made prosperous during the rule of Darius and during the rule of Cyrus the Persian. here ends the reading

I think we often hear about faith in God when we are in difficult situations.

When I have had especially difficult and trying times in my life. I have often thought out. Some sort of secret place to sit then to think and to pray.

This is one thing I really like about the Roman Catholic Church. Actually at the most of their Church buildings are open most of the time and you can go and sit in them and pray and they won't really bother you. This is difficult to do if you don't have somebody who lives on the church grounds and as someone who has been in charge of of a church building and its grounds and its renters in the past. I know that it's difficult always do this, but it's nice if you can have your Sanctuary open so people can come in and sit in a holy place and listen for god. Listen to the holy spirit in them.

I've always thought it was interesting.

To see how people especially the u.s. Kind of in modern society treat Christianity.

Isaiah as an intern minister at a church in in Austin, Texas, and then is as an assistant minister of that church. There were two things that I found really interesting. We had a large a larger membership roll. Maybe 500 people. Can I have those 500 people we would have somewhere between 100 250 on a given Sunday and I Chi apart my job was to keep Tabs on who came each week. And the reason for this was with just voices of tools to fold one with so that if folks we're missing for a long time, we could check in with them and we could see what was going on and the second was denominational requirement that had to do with the budget and what how much money the church was required to pay to the larger than nomination. This was in the United Methodist Church and they paid an amount every every year based on their membership rolls. And so it was important that the rules were accurate 600 people didn't come for a couple of years. There was nobody move till I can inactive status. They wouldn't be removed from the world completed. They would be kind of marked as an active and doing that since I was keeping track of who came every week and it was interesting to see the people would come maybe once a month maybe once every other month. And so we have a consists only a hundred do hundred fifty but maybe half of those people would be there every week and then the other half were the throat hitting group including visitors would come once and we would never see them again.

and but what's really amazing is that on two days of the year. This would change at Easter and Christmas on Easter and Christmas. We would be packed to the gills if we would have to bring an extra chairs. We would get 250 or 300 people in the sanctuary. Christmas especially we had two services and they were both packed. Either we had two services but but only had two services but the second service is always much larger than the first. They just so interesting peep people.

Really felt connected to the church, but they didn't come on regular basis. And so they would just come on Easter and Christmas or maybe you found some other people would be family of of active members of the church who are visiting they would come and visit to the other thing that I thought was interesting was Hospital visitation. So one of the my jobs on which I really actually that love to doing was Hospital visitation. So I would go to the hospital to visit members who were currently there for whatever reason and that was a really meaningful not Ministry for me.

But what I found so interesting about that is it people seem to not really? Be all that involved in the church until things were bad. So when when their life with bad and when they had difficulties, then they were very interested in church and in God and being a part of the community and when things were we're going well for them. They they would kind of Wonder off they didn't have time. They were too busy and so on the First on everybody that there is always a group that's really active no matter what but you know the other half of the of the Caucasian

The story we read from Daniel. It's really interesting that the it is a story that but Daniel and the lions den. It's one of those Bible story. They teach kids in in Sunday school and American churches and other places to is it it's one of the ones you always see kind of painted on the wall or in the in the the children's book, you know, dying. Daniel in the Lion's and it was thrown into the lions den and God save him from the Lion. they usually leave out the part where they throw all of Daniel's enemies and their family of their children and wife and children to the lion to be devoured right after that in the children's version of that but it is one of the story on the flood story, you know, Adam and Eve if you know, you know about Samson that you know about David and Goliath and know about Daniel and the lions and It interesting that the book itself. They're not really sure when it was written. If as the book claims, it was written by Daniel then it was probably written in the 7th Century BC during the the reign of the Persian Empire when the Persian Empire had control over Israel. So if you remember our previous week the the Battle of belleau Nyan come in they they capture Judah and take everybody off into Exile in Babylon will soon after the Babylonians are conquered by the Assyrians. And then the Assyrians are conquered by the Persian and when the Persian king comes to power the the Persians make a rule that the people who have been conquered and who have been brought into Exile out of their land can then return to their land and that's when we have the return of a groups of Israelites back to Israel, not immediately, but but it's during the Persian depression rate that happens. during the reign of Cyrus the Great and so Daniel is living through these times. So he's he's coming of age probably during the reign of the Assyrian Empire. And then this living through the the cat the capture of the Assyrian Empire by the Persians and then all of the Bible does it say this? The the tradition is that he is allowed to return to Israel when when the groups are allowed to go back and dies in Israel when the story take place is already quite old probably in his seventies or eighties. I think it's so easy cartoon old man. And at this point he he's he's in control kind of of Babylon. So when the Assyrians came in they they conquered the Babylonian from they puts people in charge of Babylon as a territory of the Assyrian Empire and when the Persians committed the same thing, And so he's been chosen as part of a group of leaders of the Babylonian lands within the Persian Empire at this point in and he is very good at what he does. He's very good way does and he is risen in the ranks and become really the author died in person in charge of this group. So kind of a governor of a region of Avalon very a very important person in for all intents and purposes and IGT in Exile, and so his his

his contemporaries are unhappy. I think with the fact first of all that he's a Judy and Exile who has gained so much power because the judeans were seen as

kind of Lily kind of not not the best people because of their beliefs and and various things and then secondly, he is risen very quickly through the ranks and people are jealous of him and of how he has risen through the ranks and so his his contemporaries decide to to try and get him taken care of and made the first try to find some problem in his work that they can accuse him of and said that that he can they can go to the king if they look you know, Daniel is is cheating or he's you know, he's taking money or are we not doing his job or whatever thing get rid of them, but they find out that he has these has no problems at work. He's is work as Flawless because he is faithful and intelligent and had to work and honest. And I'm by all by all accounts, you know, what an excellent administrator and just doing a great job. And so then they think well, he's one of these Judy and then they have this weird religious practices were there and they're not allowed to worship other gods because of the Persian Empire and in all the way all the way around there are all polytheistic and then so it's unusual for them. I'm not be able to worship multiple gods and it was kind of a general understanding that the King was a deity was or was you know was What's to be worshipped like a God and so they they go to the King on you not bring up Daniel at all. And they're like in the king is so good. It's doing such a great job. You should you should make this law where no one can pray to anybody else but you for 30 days. I'd like a celebration of the king. And he's like that sounds great. And and if you don't put a stamp on the on the law and we see something here that we we see again, in other parts of the Old Testament that are written during the Exile better than the person I marry at work once the law is if put into effect it can't be changed. So

Once once the the King has has made the law even the king can't change the law either comes up again in the Book of Esther when they're when they're talking about.

Pastor in and how and her story and the story of the the persecution of the judeans and the same thing happens if you make trick the king into making a lawn even the king can't break the law and that's a great book and of the Bible we should read separately. But the point is this comes up more than once that the king makes a lawn even the king can't change it once he's made it out to be fair. So He makes a lot but Daniel being a devout worshipper of God is praying and he prayed all the time and all of his enemies know that you pray three times a day and he doesn't facing Jerusalem, which was a common practice during the Exile. And so he he continues to do this. Of course, he's very quiet about it. Then the reading says he goes into his house and into his room, you know, he's humble. He's quiet. He's not praying on the street. He's not making a big scene. He's not you no yelling at the king because the law is unfair. He just goes about his his own his own prayer life the way it was because any praise, but of course, it enemies know he's doing this and so they show up and kind of catch him in in the fact. Though several people go to the king and and instead of saying melee. Hey, we fell down doing this first day of mind that he didn't you make a law saying that people couldn't you had to only worship you and he's like, yeah, that's that's that's a lot and they fit. Well, we found out that Daniel hasn't have not been following your loss. The now they've caught Daniel and in a situation that they can't get out of and even the king can't get him out of it in the king tries until then down. Which is when the when I we throw the Lion King try to get him out of it but is unable to do it. And so finally the king takes Daniel one and take them to the the Lions pit and he tells Daniel don't worry your God who you are. So faithful to will certainly save you and put them in the in the Lion's Den and they put a rock over it and this is like a like a like a cistern like a vertical storage area where the can you lower him down from above? And they put a rock of the top and they they put the the king's seal and wax on the Rock and the reason for that is so that no one can come in and let him out. And the king is back home and is just distraught. You know, he doesn't eat. She doesn't he doesn't do anything fun going to me. I haven't even whatever his regular phone would be on a day. Can I can only sleep he's going to decide himself with worry and so he rushes in the morning as soon as the sun comes up to check on Daniel and to see if he's okay and sure enough to know the okay, and now that the law has been followed and you know that the king of done with the King said he would do then he turns on Daniels accusers and throws them to lie and instead. Which is an only them but their families are wiser than their children and everybody. And so Daniel is not only saved from the lion the immediate threat, but also from the people who were trying to have him killed as well the kind of longer-term threat. And that has the Daniel was prosperous for the rest of the of the reign of the Persian king. So he and this is the kind of famous story, but even interested in the Sunday school class, you don't go to all the details all the time. It's not very long to read the entire story the entire chapter, right?

Now that mentioned either this was written during the Persian Empire in the 7th Century BC, which was the book claims or it may have been written in the second century BC. By some unknown author in in Judea. And the reason people think that might be the case is based on linguistic evidence and historical evidence in the tax and things and I don't think it's really important to the point that the point is just either it was written in in the Persian Empire or it wasn't too much later if it was written much later, then it's one of the newest books in the Old Testament and I were just one of the books It Was Written the latest in the Old Testament before the Old Testament was kind of closed if you will.

and after the story of the lion who this is the six chapters of the Lapidus for the Lions the next 6 chapters are are

Prophecies that the Daniel Vision visions that Daniel had about the future of Israel and the future of the world the end of the world of the coming of the Messiah and very thing and so Daniel is quoted quite a bit in the New Testament text and I talked about at the Prophet this did the Book of Daniel actually was originally in the writing section of the Jewish scriptures that was moved to the prophets section in the Christian scriptures because Jamie was talked about as being a Prophet by the New Testament authors. Anyway, so the point is that this book has a is about faith. It's a bit in it and it's important not only because of the faith of Daniel and how he how he puts his trust completely in God to save him but also because of the prophecies the visions that he makes about what will happen to Israel in the future and about the end of the world in the coming of the Messiah and all these kind of things that are really important to the New Testament authors.

But this reading specifically is about faith and Faith, you know, we have this kind of misconception. I think in in American English the day that I would assume in other and other versions of English as well that faith means belief. It means like to believe in something Victor to believe that something is true. We talked about that a lot with with your face. What do you believe as if those two things are the same but they're not the same faith is not about belief faith is not trust faith in which word comes from the Latin a few days, which is to trust and so but what's really important is is not belief in God's existence in the story so much as trust that God will see you through and will take care of you and Daniel has Faith. He has trust the king also believes in the existence of Daniels. But although he he says surely your God will save you. Nonetheless, he doesn't have as much Faith as Daniel does when he goes home and is beside himself and worry doesn't eat can't sleep get up at the first light of dawn to rush back to to see how Daniel is doing. I mean, he now he's obviously much less sure of the outcome. The Daniel is but Daniel has faith in Daniel says that God sent God's Messengers, which is also a translator to the angels to to close the lion's mouth. And this was done because Daniel had faith in God and because Daniel had not done anything wrong for the king. He had he had done his job. He had done his duty to the king impeccably.

so I think

the space of Daniel's is something that we should all kind of aspire to this is certainly not easy. Daniel was living in Exile in Persian Empire. He'd seen Wars using conquerors coming and and go. His people were dispersed taken away from their homes or Temple destroyed. He was living in the reality of this and so for him.

Life was was difficult mean he even though he beat himself with was in a good position. He was in a position of leadership. He was you know, he's got the ear of the king and he's he's doing real well for himself, but but his people are living in the diaspora living apart live at having to be kind of little live through persecutions and all kinds of things that we're going on in a lot of this literature that comes out of the. Focuses on faith and faith in God away from Jerusalem because before this so much of the Jewish religion was based on the temple in and you know, God being the god of Israel and living in the temple and people going to the temple to pray and then going to the temple for sacrifices, and now that they were in Exile, they couldn't go to the temple to have to rethink what it meant. What does it mean to worship God? If God, if we can't go to God's house. What does that mean? This is certainly something weird. We're struggling with now, right? And so we find in Daniel is that he has total faith in God total trust in God to get him through these hard times in his life. So much so that you know when the king when the caning passes is this new edict Bible doesn't say that he that he second-guess himself that he stopped that he never changed anything. He just continue doing what he had been doing which was to quietly and privately and humbly pray the prayer three times a day facing Jerusalem.

and we see to that because of his faith because of his faith in God and the peace of mind that it gave him. He was able to excel in his career and his social obligations in the end, you know in the the society that he found himself and he was doing really well. He you know, he was a faithful and honest trustworthy servant of the king and that because of that he also had the favor of the king and he had the the trust of the king as well which helped him greatly.

There's a famous story of the monks in Ireland in the 7th or 8th Century a d I forget exactly when during what we often called the dark ages of the the britons. There was a Roman conquering of Britain and suffer a long time than the main part of of England was Roman and of course at that time that the Romans brought Christianity and so they were Christian monks and such in in Britain and one of one of these monks was Spirited Away to Ireland and we became known later on in St. Patrick and it said that he brought Christianity to Ireland and then Christianity flourish in Ireland in the meantime. The Romans retreated from Britain in the the britons maintain a Roman lifestyle for a long time, but eventually they were they were conquered right now.

Rule by the Angles and the Saxons and the Jews were Germanic peoples brought in their own religious traditions and the info a large part of England kind of thief to be Christian. And then later on the Irish monks where you went on Ireland Christianity was flourishing the Irish monks brought Christianity kind of back to England in a very real way. It also came back from Rome to separate traditions in the Irish tradition was separated from the Roman tradition for a long time to religion story. But what is fastening about this in my point here is the Irish monks. There is the story about the Irish monks and not like one particular month, but like a group of them who would go down to the ocean and inboard a boat oar. Something smaller, you know something some kind of floating thing and they would let the ocean take them wherever it would take them. And when they arrived wherever God was sending them they would preach the Gospel wherever that was. And so they had to just had this deep faith that that God wanted them to do this to the preach the gospel to the world and then God would take care of them and send them to where God one of them until they just got in these boats and and floated away and let the let the ocean take them with God take them where they would go that's the kind of face that we see and Daniel and that's it's difficult. That's a difficult face to have it's very easy to second-guess God, especially when things go bad. And this is kind of the interesting part. I was getting at the beginning it is that in times when things go bad. That's when I think we we can doubt God the most. Because we have bad things happen to us. And we think how could God allow these bad things to happen and yet those are the times when we find that our faith is the strongest when we find that the strongest reasons to come back to Faith to be engaged in the community in an our prayer practice. become closer to God and it you're kind of. Surprisingly, it's the time of Good Fortune when we tend to move away from God when we are doing well. When we have everything we ask for when the world is good to us. Then we we just kind of forget about God we forget about the church. We Wander Way We we don't have time for that. We have too many things to do it Sunday morning. It's the only day I get to sleep in. And so on and so forth. And that's certainly been true for me in the past. And this is no this is this is my own experience. And then when things are bad again, then then you turn back to God looking for a place of peace and love and and Security in an insecure world and you turned back to those traditions and those rituals that that I'm grounded you and your faith.

And I think that we would do a lot better as a people engine roll if we tried to remember how that felt when we weren't in a bad place now, we we tried to remember how it felt to go into that church when the world seems to be falling apart and to sit and to pray earnestly to God with no mask on nothing hiding your true feelings.

And to hear the the music or the church bells or nature or whatever it was that was meaningful to you in that place. The field with that felt what that felt like if we could hold onto that feeling when things aren't so bad when the world is is doing much better when we're feeling like everything is going right in our life if we could take back remember how good it felt or how important it was to us to make that connection with God in our times of difficulty then perhaps we wouldn't we wouldn't float away so much. We wouldn't abandon the church so much. But instead, it's just the Human Condition. I think instead we get complacent and we forget and we put it off and then when things go bad again, we find ourselves back there.

Tell me about the faith of Daniel.

I hope that you will take some time this week to think about. faith in your faith in God We are many so many of us are in these places of uncertainty and doubt this year if your has just been a roller coaster. between the pandemic political uncertainty and riots and just everything everything in the world and not just in the u.s. And all over the world and you can reply brexit and in Asia, we've had political difficulties between various Nations rising and attention and you know that concern of repression of democratic movements and the concern of the possibility of war in the future. Just every all over the world there. This has been a year of uncertainty and doubt and fear. and I think that it's important for us as Christians to remember that we need to put our faith in God that God will see us through this that this is only temporary and that we will find a way forward.

I hope that this week you all take time to pray on that to meditate on that to think about your faith and to think about.