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. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you. 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. Then 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 in chapter six and verse twenty of his book Daniel shared how King Darius, “cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel” where we read,
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?
The verse reads, “And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spoke and said to Daniel, …” Daniel began with the words, “and when he came” or “and at the time and moment he, King Darius, approached and drew near” “to the den” which means “to the cut out pit”, “he cried with a lamentable voice” or “he, King Darius, called out by the use of a pained, grieved and afflicted sound of words” “unto Daniel” which means “toward Daniel whose name means God is my judge". Daniel said at the time and moment King Darius approached the “lions’ den”, he began to cry aloud to Daniel with a grieved and afflicted “voice” with the following words.
The verse goes on to say, “… O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel continued with the words, “O Daniel” or “O Daniel whose name means God is my judge”, “servant of the living God” which means “slave, bondman and minister belonging to the Supreme Deity who is alive”, “is your God” or “is your, Daniel’s, Supreme Deity”, “whom you serve continually” which means “that you, Daniel, minister to constantly, perpetually and permanently”, “able to deliver you” or “capable and with the ability to rescue and save you, Daniel” “from the lions” which means “separate and apart for the lions”? Daniel shared how King Darius asked him whether his living Supreme Deity to whom Daniel perpetually served was capable of saving him.
When we consider Daniel’s words in this verse, we discover what King Darius said to him in his “lamentable voice”. He asked Daniel whether the “living” Supreme Deity that he “served” was capable of saving him. We shall see that God was indeed able in our next verses, but for now, let us think about the wonder that was in King Darius’ mind. The idea was, “is God able to save?”, and He is. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of everyone, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, save us from the penalty of death for sins and grant us everlasting life with Him forever.
Next time Daniel shares how he responds to King Darius, “O King, live for ever”, 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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