Daniel Cast into the Den of Lions - Daniel 6:16

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”, and in chapter six and verse sixteen of his book Daniel shared how the men, “brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions” where we read,

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 thou serve continually, he will deliver you.

The verse reads, “then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions.” Daniel began with the words, “then the king commanded” or “at that time the royal ruler and leader spoke, said and declared”, “and they brought Daniel” which means “and they, King Darius’ servants, carried in Daniel whose name means God is my judge”, “and cast him” or “and imposed and threw him, Daniel” “into the den of lions” which means “in the pit cut out for lions”. Daniel shared how King Darius spoke an order and Daniel was carried by the king’s  servants and thrown into the pit which was cut out for “lions”. 

The verse goes on to say, “Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.” Daniel continued with the words, “now the king spoke” or “at that time the royal ruler and leader Darius responded and replied” “and said unto Daniel” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed to Daniel whose name means God is my judge”,  “your God” or “your, Daniel’s, Supreme Deity” “whom you serve continually” which means “that you worship, revere, pay reverence and minister to constantly, perpetually and in continuance”, “he will deliver you” or “he, Daniel’s Supreme Deity, shall rescue and save you, Daniel”. Daniel said the royal ruler Darius responded to him and told him that the Supreme Deity whom Daniel constantly worshiped and revered would rescue and save him. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how King Darius was forced to abide by his own law when Daniel was thrown into the “lions’ den”, but he still made a plea to Daniel that his God was able to rescue him. We can imagine how desperate Darius was to save Daniel, but he did not have the power to do so. This is similar to the way we may desire to save others, but God leaves deliverance to Himself. This is why He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead, He made the way for everyone who believe and trusts in Him as their personal “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit who shall help us trust Him always to be our rescuer and deliverer in our times of need. (See Philippians 4:19)

Next time Daniel shares how, “a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den”, 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".