In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how the overseers and nobles of the Medo-Persian empire assembled before King Darius and said, “All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of you, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alters not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God”, and in chapter six and verse twelve of his book Daniel shared how the men, “came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree” where we read,
Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree; Have you not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which alters not.
The verse reads, “Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree;” Daniel began with the words, “then they came near” or “at that time they, the overseers and nobles, approached”, “and spoke before the king” which means “and uttered, declared and proclaimed in front and in the presence of the royal ruler and leader, Darius” “concerning the king’s decree” or “about the royal ruler and leader, Darius’, order and command”. Daniel shared how the overseers and nobles approached King Darius and began talking with him about his kingly order.
The verse goes on to say, “Have you not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” Daniel continued with the words, “have you not signed a decree” or “is it not true that you, King Darius, have inscribed an order and command”, “that every man” which means “that each, all, the whole and everyone of the people” “that shall ask a petition” or “who will request, desire, seek and pray” “of any God or man” which means “to a deity or person” “within thirty days” or “in a thirty day time period”, “save of you” which means “except for you, Darius”, “O king” or “O royal ruler and leader”, “shall be cast into the den of lions” which means “will be thrown and hurled in a dug out pit for lions”? Daniel shared how the overseers and lords questioned King Darius about his law concerning people making requests or praying to anyone other than Him for a period of thirty days, and they reminded him that non-compliance would result in being thrown into a pit of lions.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover through Daniel the true motive of these overseers and lords. They wanted to trap Daniel in being non-compliant to the law established by King Darius. They will reveal Daniel’s unwillingness to follow the king’s command in our next verse, but for now let us imagine the extreme jealousy and error these overseers and lords had in their lives. They were attempting to destroy and kill God’s messenger, and because he found favor with King Darius, Daniel was targeted. God knows we will also face testings like this when we surrender our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead after three days (See John 16:33), and He desires to forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and to give us the help of His Holy Spirit to possess the resolve of Daniel whenever we encounter opposition to His laws and ways.
Next time Daniel shares how the men say, “Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regards not you, O king”, 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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