In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how he prayed to God even though a law was made that no one was to pray to any god or man for thirty days, and for this reason he was “cast into the den of lions” and “the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before you, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God”, and in chapter six and verse twenty-four of his book, Daniel shared how, “they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions” where we read,
And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; 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.
The verse reads, “And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, …” Daniel began with the words, “and the king commanded” or “and the royal ruler and leader, Darius, proclaimed and ordered”, “and they brought those men” which means “and the servants of King Darius carried forth the male overseers and lords” “which had accused Daniel” or “who charged, indicted and put on trial Daniel whose name means God is my judge”, “and they cast them” which means “and they, threw the servants of King Darius” “into the den of lions” or “in the pit cut out for lions”. Daniel shared how King Darius gave an order, and his servant carried forth the overseers and lords who put Daniel on trial and threw them into the cut out pit with the lions.
The verse goes on to say, “… them, their children, and their wives; 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.” Daniel continued with the words, “them, their children” or “the men who accused Daniel, the offspring and progeny of the men who accused Daniel”, “and their wives” which means “and their, the men’s female spouses”; “and the lions” or “and the lion animals” “had the mastery of them” which means “ruled over, assaulted, overpowered and dominated them, the men, their children and their spouses”, “and brake all their bones in pieces” or “and shattered and broke into pieces each, every, the whole and everyone of their, the men, their offspring and their spouses bones of the body” “or ever they came at the bottom of the den” which means “before the men, their offspring and their wives ever hit the floor of the den”. Daniel shared how the overseers and lords’ offspring and wives were also thrown into the “lions’ den”, and the lions leaped upon and overpowered them before they reached the floor of the “den”.
When we meditate upon Daniel’s words in this verse, we discover that there were consequences for the overseers and lords as well as their families for bringing a charge against Daniel for praying. What they desired for Daniel, they and their families received. The lions tore them apart. God wants every person to be saved from death which is the penalty for our sins, (See Romans 6:23) and because He loves us, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. 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 to keep us in alignment with His ways and never have need to suffer for rising up against Him or His servants.
Next time Daniel shares how, “king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth”, 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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