Dare to be a Daniel
Dan. 6; 1-16
Here's another story that you have probably heard since you were a small child; Daniel and the loin's den! What a wonderful story to know and read to your kids and even to know for yourself no matter how old you are! It's a wonderful story indeed because we see not only God being what he is naturally; which is faithful to one of his children and sticking up for them. But we see Daniel put in hot water as often as the case is and guess what comes out?
Faithfulness!
We as a society think highly about being gifted, talented, educated, skilled and trained. But what about being faithful? What about just being where you should be, when you ought to be there and be there in the right spirit?
Did you know that 85% of being successful in whatever is just that! Being where you ought to be, when you ought to be there and being there in the right spirit!
That's what being faithful is all about!
That's an old fashioned concept today isn't it? Being faithful?
If you were to ask me what is the best but least thing that you as a Christian could do for your lord; I would have to say; "Strive to be faithful as a Christian!
The gifted, talented, educated, skilled people don't get the job done for God! They are out there chasing their dreams, chasing money, chasing what they think will bring them happiness in this life! The work of God gets done by faithful ordinarily people who love God enough to be what they should be and that's being in their place at the right time and in the right spirit!
Faithfulness!
Listen I would rather take faithful people over gifted and talented folks in a heart beat; because I know if your faithful to God and his church then God has your heart!
But when your faithfulness can be broken like a tread that tells me, that your heart isn't in this! It is somewhere else wishing the rest of you was there!
Your faithfulness is what drives the church of God; humanly speaking! And when your faithfulness is not what it should to be; no wonder why church isn't as sweet as it used to be!
Let's set the scene of how Daniel dared to be faithful!
I. Daniel's Faithfulness was sought for. Vl-4
Here again we are faced with a totally new kingdom!
Chapter five was more than just the end of a chapter it was the end of a nation; the Babylonian nation! The head of Gold was replaced by the belly and arms of silver, representing the Medo-Persian Empire! Darius and Cyrus had came in under the walls of Babylon and conquered the strongest nation of their times!
When they came to power it seems that the infer structure was left whole, all those under the king remained in their place, just an new president came in. Remember, Daniel was pretty high up when the other administration went under so he's right here in his same old office!
Darius was in a jam though; here he is coming in to be king and he probably doesn't trust anyone and knows that they aren't what they should be; so guess who Darius goes looking for? He goes looking for someone who is faithful! Someone who's probably not like him and the rest! Someone who's not caught up in games and petty pursuits of that day!
Notice v3 “Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm”.
You can't read about the life of Daniel and miss the concept of faithfulness in this man's life! There were times when he could have kept his mouth closed and just went with the rest of the crowd; but he didn't! He chose to stand out and be faithful to his God! And that's why we are reading about his life! I wonder if anyone will read or speak of our faithfulness in years to come?
I wonder if your children or grand children will speak of your faithfulness while you are in heaven? They just might if you dare to be faithful instead of just going the way of least resistance.
We must dare to be a Daniel in our days! Faithfulness is needed now more than ever!
Even lost people who are CEO's, heads of departments, and their like prefers faithful people to be under them. They want people with integrity, fortitude, moral strength, common sense, a sense of faithfulness about them! They just want people to be what they ought to be when they are at work!
I can't help but remember that the administrator of our school was phoned one day from a freight company asking for more of these "preacher boys" for their shifts. The guy said these were the best workers he had even seen. They work and don't complain they are happy to be here and get along with everyone else. They don't steal from the company or lie, they don't cuss the supervisors out like the rest. Where do these guys come from? He asked. The administrator, said; Sir, these men are just being faithful Christians first and good employees second; that's all. There's nothing magical about them!
Do lost people expect faithfulness from say, policemen, doctors, lawyers, CPA's, firemen, school teachers? You bet they do! They count on their faithfulness being there! And oh my when their faithfulness isn't there, you here about it!
Darius was no dumbie, he knows that there is corruption in the leaders under him and sets out to find the one man that isn't corrupted like the rest! Someone who's different in their life and who's going to be different at their job.
How do you get picked out of the crowd like Daniel was? The Faithfulness that he had with God, naturally just spilled over into his professional life and if he would have had a family that too would have be influenced also!
Getting right with God does more than just saving you from hell; it puts you in a position where you can really start to living without any guilt!
Being saved isn't the end to what God can do with you, so many think it is. But truly being saved is just the beginning to a life like Daniel's if you dare to try and that's all that God expects!
Daniel was preferred because he had what was called an excellent spirit in him, v3.
That speaks of his attitude, his performance, his purity, his over all character! Who wouldn't want to have such a bright example like Daniel around them?
II. The Plot to Stain Daniel's Faithfulness v4-5
These other guys apparently wanted this position that was given to Daniel! In a private, carefully guarded room of the Median palace in Babylon, the governors of more than a hundred provinces gathered secretly. The heads of states pulled their beards and shook their heads. They had not been able to bring any charges against their opponent. He wasn't a womanizer. He didn't have any vested interests in a Persian Savings and Loan. And he had too many friends in high places. Even Darius the Mede, whom Cyrus had put in charge of the conquered Babylonian territories, favored him.
They checked all of the things he had done, every single memo he had ever written. They dogged him, bugged his rooms, and had the Medo-Persian FBI follow every lead. They were burning with rage and envy.
Finally one of the conspirators came up with a brilliant idea. "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." (Dan. 6:5).
Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the reason why someone gives you such a hard time at work or else where, just might be because they are envious and jealous of who you are?
It wouldn't be the first time that a purer life brought conviction to those who were living in disobedience.
They can't find anything on Daniel, so they get him where they think they can, and that's in his walk with God! They must have noticed that Daniel didn't accompany them into the idols' temple and such!
III. The Subtle Snare v6-9
There is confusion inside the throne room. The governors troop in, all talking noisily and catching the king off guard. First of all, they begin with a lie. They state that all of the leaders in the kingdom have consulted together, and yet they know that Daniel was never involved. The next thing they do is use flattery to get the king's attention. They rushed into the presence of the king and said, "Your highness, we've been thinking, and we've decided we are going to make you god for a month. "
They bowed before the king and with inward smugness said: (read) Daniel 6:6-8
Darius thought that sounded pretty good. In Proverbs 27:4 (KJV) it says, "Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?" These men were so filled with envy they tricked their own king into signing something they knew in their hearts he didn't want to sign. The carefully strategized plot was built upon the vanity of the king.
Darius signed the decree, which was established according to the law of the Medes and the Persians. In that culture, they believed their monarchs were infallible; therefore, they could never make a mistake. The king himself could not change what he had written, because that would be admitting his fallibility, so the law of the Medes and the Persians came to be a law that could never be changed. Darius put the decree in writing, and he was bound to it.
When Daniel heard about the decree he went home and did exactly what he was accustomed to doing. He got down on his knees and prayed. "He went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, as he did aforetime" (Dan. 6: 10). Daniel was like David in this respect. In Psalm 55:17, we read of David, Ps 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. The exciting thing about Daniel is that he didn't change when the pressure was on. I believe that is one of the greatest characteristics of godliness in people's lives; they can move through the vicissitudes of life, untouched by the circumstances, because of the consistency of their example and the godliness of their walk.
Psalm 46:1-2 says:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
That's it. No matter what happens, just go forward.
Daniel probably had a prayer chamber on the top level of his house where he prayed while he faced Jerusalem. It was an act of faith on the part of an exiled Jew to pray toward the land from which he had been taken captive. It was a way to say by one's very posture, "God, I believe Your promise that You will someday return us to our land." In spite of the decree banning all prayer except to Darius, Daniel quietly carried on his activity. Like the super sleuth who hides in the bushes or who lingers across the street by the lamppost, the jealous politicians watched Daniel praying. What a bunch of tattlers! They hurried back to the palace and said, with all piety and pomp:
Daniel 6:12
Darius was "was sore displeased with himself," because he truly respected Daniel, and he "set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him." (Dan. 6:14). But the trap had been sprung. Daniel and the king were both caught in it, and there wasn't anything that could be done. [1]
Imagine that, convicted with his own faithfulness unto God! Oh how fast laws can change? We live in a day when the very law that was given to protect us can be used against us! It's not fair, but1hat's just the way the world and devil work! They use every advantage they have, pull every string they can and get their agenda passed! Listen, with the advent of email, you ought to email your representatives and tell them like it is. Tell them, I voted for you so that you could stand for what I believed in not what you believed it! Tell them you won't vote for them ever again! You voted them in! If they won't hear from the very ones that voted them in, who will they hear from?
What can Christians do when the ungodly get control of our courts and legislation? And we find that our liberties have been stripped away? And they tell us that we can't pray, or assemble or teach our children the bible? I don't know about you, but you have to go on nevertheless. The day will come, when the government says to the church that there will be no more exemption on your giving. What do you do? Stop giving to God because you can't get the tax break? That reveals why you gave in the first place!
We've snared him now, the informers smirked to themselves. Daniel's goose is cooked. The king doesn't dare reverse his order. The lions will have a tasty feast tonight! And so they told the king about Daniel's praying.
Laws change but the expectations of our Lord doesn't!
IV. Daniel in the Loin's Den v16
Though the king didn't want too, Daniel at the ripe old age of 82-88 was placed in den of hungry loins.
I believe that Darius didn't want to put Daniel in their; maybe he came to know Daniel's God and that he was tricked into doing it. Yet; Isa 59: 1 "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear ... JJ
God knew what was going on down there in the life of Daniel, why Because Daniel was important to him just like you are! God cares about you and your family more than you do! That's why God helps Daniel out!
An angel came down and gave them loins' lockjaw! Daniel when the whole night without even being licked!
I like what Darius did the next morning, he came running to the den and kneeling down so as to hear better he said, V20-22 ( read)
Daniel came out and those that accused him went in and they weren't so blessed! They were dinner!
Closing:
What an amazing story about how that faithfulness pays off! Ah, yes you may never get surprised with a check in the mail ! But maybe the next time someone throws you into some den of loins and you endure it and come out unscathed, just wait they wont be so watched over as you were!
I can't help but think that Daniel could have yielded to the peer pressure that was there in his day, he like some many today would have just pleased the crowd while knowing that it displeased God! Well, I didn't want to make a fuss or make a scene. They say and they are sucked into the lost crowd's disobedience!
That's right where the devil wants you, Christian! Because if he can keep you there then he has robbed God of glory that would come from your life!
When you are in hot water what comes out of you?
The same fifth that come out of the world, and it can! More of Jesus or more of yourself? When you are backed up against a wall, do you lean more upon your God!
Or do you just avoid the hot water altogether thinking that's the way Jesus would do it? That's right where the devil wants you to do; just avoid being faithful and displaying the faith that you have in God! Go hide your light under a bed or bushel, instead of letting in shine in a dark and needy world!
What's more important than our happiness is God getting glory from our lives, so that might mean walking through a den of troubles and trails.
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[1] Jeremiah, D.,& Carlson, C. C. 1992. The handwriting on the wall. "Secrets from the prophecies of Daniel"--Cover. Word Pub.: Dallas