Daniel 6:21-22 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me, and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Oh Friends, let’s praise our great God and be exceedingly thankful that we don’t have to suffer the persecution and horrible experiences of those four Jewish youths; Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, whose only crime was that they refused to bow to any other deity but Almighty God. But like everything the Lord does, there’s a purpose, a master plan that’s designed to show His unlimited power and glorify His Holy Name. First, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were bound and thrown into an overheated furnace. But what happened? The furnace was so hot, it burnt up the men who threw them in. Then king Nebuchadnezzar claimed to see four people walking loose, unhurt in the fire; ‘and the fourth is like the Son of God.’ (Dan.3:25) Then the king came as close as he could to the furnace and called them out, and all the king’s court witnessed the three coming out; ‘upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.’ (Dan.3:27) Wow! What a mighty God we serve people! Praise His Holy Name! Then the king said; ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God except their own God.’ (Dan.3:28) Ah my Friends, great faith is surely an awesome thing. It’s not easy to come by, but when we do reach that state where we’re even ready to die for our beliefs, the Lord often steps in and thwarts the efforts of the enemy. In this case, He had a pagan king singing His glorious praises. Later on, our God did the same for Daniel; when, as a high ranking official and a favourite of king Darius, his enemies wanted to bring him down, but could find no fault re his work or loyalty to the king. ‘Then said these men, we shall not find any occasion against Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.’ (Dan.6:5) So they hatched a plot and talked the king into signing a decree, ‘that whosoever shall ask petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.’ (Dan.6:7) The trick in that was the law of the Medes and Persians could not be altered once the king signed it. Obviously when Daniel heard that the decree had been signed into law; ‘he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.’ (Dan.6: 10) His enemies found him praying and reported him to the king. I guess the king then realized that Daniel had been set up and ‘he was sore displeased with himself, and 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 Friends, yuh know how sharks behave when they smell blood, so did Daniel’s foes. They pestered the king until he had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den. And I particularly like this next part, cause it shows what a master planner our God truly is. ‘Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.’ (Dan.6:16) Oh Friends, can you imagine the extra encouragement that must have given poor Daniel; the king showing faith in his God and also letting him know that he was rooting for him. Then a stone was placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his signet and that of his princes so that no skulduggery could ensue during the night, then he went home and fasted but couldn’t sleep. Early the next morning he was back at the lions den, and ‘he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel:…O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions den?’ (Dan.6:20) Oh my people, imagine the joy, the LOVE, the glorification for our God that must have passed through Darius’ heart and soul when he heard Daniel reply: ‘O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then the king was exceedingly glad for him…’ and ordered him taken out. And lo and behold my Friends, ‘no manner of hurt was found upon him…’ Why? ‘…because he believed in his God.’ (Dan.6:23) Yes mih breddren, our God never ceases to amaze! And they rounded up all the plotters against Daniel and threw them, their wives and children into the same den, ‘and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.’ (Dan.6:24) Wow! Before they even reached the bottom they were torn up. Shows you not to mess with our God! And what did all this do? ‘Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.’ (Dan.6:25-27) Oh Friends what an awesome testimony, from a pagan king to boot! The whole thing worked to the glorification of our God and the spreading of His Holy Name and Word amongst the heathen. It would certainly be nice if that kind of awakening happened more often, but it takes, requires such a high level of faith that most of us don’t possess. Note, it’s not the only time that the Lord sent His angels to protect the faithful in trying times, and I planned to mention some, but I got so fascinated with Daniel’s story that I ran out of time and space. But we’ll look at some tomorrow. Till then my people, let’s use the story of those four Jewish youngsters as a rallying cry, as a serious encouragement to our faith. Let their stories reach into our hearts and make them strong; impervious to the wiles and worldly lusts of the evil one; so strong that we’re prepared to go through fire and any other danger in His Holy Name. It’s not easy, but with His help, we can do all things. Much LOVE!…through the fire…through the danger…anything for Him…
Oh Friends, let’s praise our great God and be exceedingly thankful that we don’t have to suffer the persecution and horrible experiences of those four Jewish youths; Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, whose only crime was that they refused to bow to any other deity but Almighty God. But like everything the Lord does, there’s a purpose, a master plan that’s designed to show His unlimited power and glorify His Holy Name. First, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were bound and thrown into an overheated furnace. But what happened? The furnace was so hot, it burnt up the men who threw them in. Then king Nebuchadnezzar claimed to see four people walking loose, unhurt in the fire; ‘and the fourth is like the Son of God.’ (Dan.3:25) Then the king came as close as he could to the furnace and called them out, and all the king’s court witnessed the three coming out; ‘upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.’ (Dan.3:27) Wow! What a mighty God we serve people! Praise His Holy Name! Then the king said; ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any God except their own God.’ (Dan.3:28) Ah my Friends, great faith is surely an awesome thing. It’s not easy to come by, but when we do reach that state where we’re even ready to die for our beliefs, the Lord often steps in and thwarts the efforts of the enemy. In this case, He had a pagan king singing His glorious praises. Later on, our God did the same for Daniel; when, as a high ranking official and a favourite of king Darius, his enemies wanted to bring him down, but could find no fault re his work or loyalty to the king. ‘Then said these men, we shall not find any occasion against Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.’ (Dan.6:5) So they hatched a plot and talked the king into signing a decree, ‘that whosoever shall ask petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.’ (Dan.6:7) The trick in that was the law of the Medes and Persians could not be altered once the king signed it. Obviously when Daniel heard that the decree had been signed into law; ‘he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.’ (Dan.6: 10) His enemies found him praying and reported him to the king. I guess the king then realized that Daniel had been set up and ‘he was sore displeased with himself, and 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 Friends, yuh know how sharks behave when they smell blood, so did Daniel’s foes. They pestered the king until he had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den. And I particularly like this next part, cause it shows what a master planner our God truly is. ‘Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.’ (Dan.6:16) Oh Friends, can you imagine the extra encouragement that must have given poor Daniel; the king showing faith in his God and also letting him know that he was rooting for him. Then a stone was placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his signet and that of his princes so that no skulduggery could ensue during the night, then he went home and fasted but couldn’t sleep. Early the next morning he was back at the lions den, and ‘he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel:…O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions den?’ (Dan.6:20) Oh my people, imagine the joy, the LOVE, the glorification for our God that must have passed through Darius’ heart and soul when he heard Daniel reply: ‘O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then the king was exceedingly glad for him…’ and ordered him taken out. And lo and behold my Friends, ‘no manner of hurt was found upon him…’ Why? ‘…because he believed in his God.’ (Dan.6:23) Yes mih breddren, our God never ceases to amaze! And they rounded up all the plotters against Daniel and threw them, their wives and children into the same den, ‘and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.’ (Dan.6:24) Wow! Before they even reached the bottom they were torn up. Shows you not to mess with our God! And what did all this do? ‘Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.’ (Dan.6:25-27) Oh Friends what an awesome testimony, from a pagan king to boot! The whole thing worked to the glorification of our God and the spreading of His Holy Name and Word amongst the heathen. It would certainly be nice if that kind of awakening happened more often, but it takes, requires such a high level of faith that most of us don’t possess. Note, it’s not the only time that the Lord sent His angels to protect the faithful in trying times, and I planned to mention some, but I got so fascinated with Daniel’s story that I ran out of time and space. But we’ll look at some tomorrow. Till then my people, let’s use the story of those four Jewish youngsters as a rallying cry, as a serious encouragement to our faith. Let their stories reach into our hearts and make them strong; impervious to the wiles and worldly lusts of the evil one; so strong that we’re prepared to go through fire and any other danger in His Holy Name. It’s not easy, but with His help, we can do all things. Much LOVE!…through the fire…through the danger…anything for Him…
SCRIP-BITS 