In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how King Darius signed a decree that no one was to pray to anyone but him for thirty days, and afterward the men who convinced him to give this command saw Daniel praying and told Darius, “Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regards not you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establishes may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you”, and in chapter six and verse seventeen of his book Daniel shared how, “a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den” where we read,
And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
The verse reads, “And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; Daniel began with the words, “and a stone was brought” or “and a huge rock was carried forth”, “and laid upon the mouth” which means “and set, fixed and put in place upon the opening” “of the den” or “pertaining to the cut open pit”; “and the king sealed it” which means “and the royal ruler and leader put his signet upon it, the stone” “with his own signet” or “by the use of his, King Darius’, own personal signet ring”, “and with the signet of his lords” which means “and by the use of the signet ring belonging to his, King Darius’ nobles”. Daniel said a large rock was carried in and set in place on the opening of the cut open pit for the lions, and the royal ruler and leader “sealed” the “stone” with his own personal “signet-ring” and the “signet-ring” belonging to his nobles.
The verse continues, “that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.” Daniel added the words, “that the purpose” or “so the matter of determination” “might not be changed” which means “would in no way or manner exist as altered” “concerning Daniel” or “about Daniel whose name means God is my judge”. Daniel shared how the signet-ring on the “stone” covering the opening of the “lions’ den” would insure that the matter of determination about him would in no way be altered.
When we consider the words in this verse, we discover through Daniel how leaving him in the “lions’ den” was to continue and assurances were made that he stayed within the pit. King Darius “sealed” a “stone” set over the opening to the lions’ den with his signet-ring which would insure that the resolve about “Daniel” would not be altered. We must remember that God was aware of all these things, and they would lead to the sending of His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the grave after three days. Jesus was placed in a sepulcher, a stone was rolled over the tomb and the royal leader ordered that the tomb be sealed similar to Daniel’s experience. (See Matthew 27:62-66) Death could not hold Jesus because God delivered Him, and when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth regardless of the “pit” or “sepulcher” like circumstances we may encounter.
Next time Daniel shares how, “the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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