Read the Word:
Daniel 6:1-28
Meditate on the Word:
As a young child, I was taught to love this story as it showed God’s protection to one who was faithful to Him. Some of the artwork from when I was a child showed Daniel sleeping while the lions just laid there. I always figured that Daniel could rest, trusting God who had been so faithful to him. We don’t often think of it, but Daniel was an old man when this incident happened. He was about 15 when he was taken to Babylon and it was 70 years later when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. It was after all this that Darius was king and this occurred.
Of course, it is also easy to take pleasure in the part of the narrative when the ones who wanted Daniel killed get thrown into the lion’s den. Reading this now, I feel bad that their wives and children were thrown in as well. Of course, King Darius ordered this, not God, but it still feels harsh. This punishment illustrates a great point, however. Those who work against God not only find themselves in peril, but they take others down with them.
Pray the Word:
Ask the Lord to give you courage to do the right thing no matter the consequences.
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