Good Morning! - Daniel 6:19-20 - Darius Rushes tol the Lion's Den - 2009.11.10

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 thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?(Daniel 6:19-20)

Our God IS able! The little chorus says what we MUST believe if we would serve God effectively these days. "He's able! He's able" I know He's able! I know the Lord is able to carry me through. (Repeat that.) He healed the broken hearted, and He set the captive free. He made the lame to walk again and He made the blind to see! He's able! He's able! I know He's able! I know the Lord is able to carry me through."

Try that in the key of E-flat, then F, and then G and then A-flat. Singing through those ascending keys will give everybody a lift.

Confessing God's ability with your mouth is good medicine for discouragement. And if you don't feel like singing, hum or whistle. I don't whistle much but I do hum a lot. Humming is good for you. Sometimes I ask Barbara if she has any special humming requests. I can hum in several languages.Try it! Our God is able.

Darius did no humming. He had dismissed his chamber musicians for the night and he tossed in his bed alone. Came morning and he rushed to the lion's den. He had not yet resigned himself to Daniel's cruel death. He did not approach the lion's den in regal robe and flamboyant entourage of courtly attendants. He looked and behaved like a royal mess.The glimmer of hope still buried deep within him did not stem from the fad of the day or from the encouragement of his family or friends.

King Darius had hope only from what he had observed in Daniel's life. Whatever Daniel believed about his God was real because he practiced it to the point of his own death. He could have laid low for just thirty days—THIRTY DAYS!—set God aside for just thirty days and he would have been safe. But no! Daniel was anchored to the Rock of Ages and it was worth more to him than political correctness.

There was nothing phony about The Prophet Daniel. Some things are not for sale. When there is a conflict between politics and the living God of heaven, there's no making a deal. It has already been decided. No political idolatry. Old Daniel has demonstrated for us what to do when there is a conflict between an unruly government and God. Wicked husbands cannot rent their wives out as prostitutes and wicked political leaders cannot command our allegiance above our allegiance to the God of heaven.

Men will not always applaud you for living for God. It may cost you a job or promotion or entrance into a desired educational pursuit. Some men and women hate God with a passion and if you serve God they will see it clearly and hate you with a passion. They will not say you are wonderful because you are a Christian.

Jesus summarized it like this:

The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. (John 15:20)

Darius did not hate God or hate Daniel. He was a little slow and really not much of a politician or he would not have been so easily duped by his cronies. So don't write off everybody who has been party to penalizing you for your faith. They may realize what they have done and spend a sleepless night and visit you at the lion's den to see if the God you serve continually has been able to deliver you from the jaws of the lions.

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life (Revelation 2:10)

Memory Verse for this week:

(Psalm 103:13-14) Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust (Psalm 103:13-14).

Good Morning! - Daniel 6:16-18 - No Fiddle Plain' Here Tonight - 2009.11.09

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of
lions. Now the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest
continually, he will deliver thee.

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 (Daniel 6:16-18).

The king of the world has a bad night. Even the king of the earth cannot always do what he would like to do. He is, after all, merely a man. He has to take a bath to keep from smelling bad. He has to go to the bath room and has to sleep a certain number of hours—just like the peasants who labor under him.

When trapped by his own laws, he finally gave in and commanded that his friend, old man Daniel, be cast into a den of hungry lions. His only ray of hope was in the fact that Daniel was a praying man. He said to Daniel, "Thy God whom thou servest continually." The people around us know if we are a phony or if we are the genuine article. They can put up with a lot of they are convinced that we are honest and truly believe what we preach and teach.

It is said that "the blood of the martyr's was the life of the church." It is true that the church is holier and more dedicated to the Lord when the bank account is low and when the church is being persecuted. Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? (James 2:5)

God seems to have an affinity for broken things. He takes note of the sparrow that falls and he wept at the tomb of Lazarus even though he knew he was going to raise him from the dead in a few minutes. Jesus' body was broken on the cross in the sense that it was mangled and the blood drained from him. He said to the disciples, "This is my body which is broken for you"(Luke 22:19). Gideon's band of 300 soldiers broke their pitchers to reveal the torches inside them. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18).

And now it appears that Daniel's greatest work may be to be broken to pieces in the mouths of lions. Where is God in all of this? Well, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We may rest assured that one thing that is always the same with God is: 'Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust (Psalm 103:13-14).

We also may rest assured that "… the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…(2Chronicles 16:9)."

Are you in the lion's den? Have you noticed that not everyone is in the lion's den" just you? Do you feel like no one knows or cares that you are in the lion's den? The old Negro Spiritual sings: "Oh nobody knows the trouble I've seen….nobody knows but Jesus. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen…glory hallelujah."

It is good if we can trust God when we are in the lion's den. It is not a cop-out to say: For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's (Romans 14:8). God is not careless or uncaring with His suffering and dying saints. He says: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints (Psalm 116:15).

Daniel may have thought he was all alone there in that stinking lion's den, but he was not alone.

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (Psalm 34:18).

It also helps if we can say that our God is the one we serve continually.

Memory Verse for this week:

(Psalm 103:13-14) Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust (Psalm 103:13-14).

Good Morning! Daniel 6:14-15 - King Darius Labors to Rescue Daniel - 2009.11.06

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 assembledunto 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 establisheth may be changed (Daniel 6:14-15).

Daniel has been registered in the Hungry Lion Motel but he has a friend who is working all day to keep him out—King Darius. Here is the most powerful king in the world, trapped by his political system. Daniel's enemies were full of rage and pushed their agenda against upon the king. They see no danger for themselves or their families. Just one thing matters: getting rid of Old Man Daniel. It never occurs to them that they are tickling the lion with a short straw in pushing Darius against the wall.

Chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel is one of the most familiar chapters of Daniel to the population of the world and is one of the most familiar of all passages of the Bible. This is the stuff good literature is made of. An exciting story of death-defying danger combined with a struggle of good and evil and the triumph of good over evil.

Daniel had spent a lifetime—since he was seventeen until his current age of about ninety—in the palace of pagan kings. There must have been something very special about Daniel that appealed to such a long succession of kings. "The lions could not touch him, but yonder in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus, Belshazzar, Darius the Median, and Cyrus, who were pagan men, Daniel was in constant danger. However, he had the privilege of leading some of these men to a knowledge of the living and true God" (McGee). Someone points out that it was more dangerous to live in the palace than to spend a night with the lions.

This is an interesting story but God's purpose in preserving the story for us is probably not for our entertainment. God's preservation of Daniel from these hungry lions is an adumbration (story that illustrates a larger truth) of God's future preservation of Israel during the seven years of tribulation. The anti-Christ will try to put all the Jews to death along with targeting the new Christians of that time. It illustrates the blindness of men and the futility of playing chess with God.

This chapter concludes the historical section of the Book of Daniel. Chapter 6 is a counterpart of chapter 3 in which God preserved the lives of Daniel's three friends who were preserved in the fiery furnace. They too were a picture of God's future preservation of Israel during the seven years of tribulation. There is a question concerning the whereabouts of Daniel while his friends were in the fiery furnace and there is a question concerning the whereabouts of Daniel's three devout Hebrew friends while Daniel is in the lions' den.

Because of the long lapse of time, they are all dead.

McGee points out that there are two points of interest in the framework of the persecutions of God's remnant in chapters 3 and 6. In chapter 3 the emphasis was on human hatred and persecution. In chapter 6 the emphasis is not only upon human rage but upon satanic hatred and persecution. Yes, Satan is constantly seeking to destroy you if you belong to God through the blood of the Lamb and your embracing Him as your Savior and Lord. You can take that to the bank and it's going to be that way until you get home. Satan wants you and he wants your children. Most Christians seem to live in la-la land because they are ignorant of the Bible they carry back and forth to church every week. Their practical belief is that Bibles are made to carry around but not to be read and studied.

If you think you can be a broadminded buddy with Satan, try this verse: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8).

Daniel is not the only one in the Lion's den. You and I are in the satanic lion's den every day of our lives.

Memory Verse for this week:

Let the word of Christ dwell in richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

Good Morning! - Daniel 6:12-13 - Daniel's Tattle Tale Enemies - 2009.11.05

Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, 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 altereth not.

Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, butmaketh his petition three times a day (Daniel 6:12-13).

Human nature does not change. If a man hates God he will invent engines of war against God and against God's servants to put them down…in Daniel's day…in Jesus' day…in our day.

With one deceptive overture to King Darius, the enemies of Daniel and his God triumphed over Daniel. The vehicle for attacking God was through a political prohibition on prayer. We are seeing a similar vengeance in America by those who want to gag the mouths of people in our courts and military and all public places from praying in Jesus' name.

It is a big mistake to assume that such a political hatred of God is confined to centuries ago in more primitive times. In our day many determined people who hate God and hate the Bible have worked tirelessly for many years to silence the voice and religious practice of God's people in America. It doesn't matter what the Constitution says if there is a political mood for stripping away layer after layer of religious liberty.

When Jesus passed through Jericho, moving toward Jerusalem, he encountered the little Jewish tax collector, Zaacheus . He had climbed up a tree to see Jesus because he could not see over the crowd. Jesus bid him to come down and you know the story.

But Jesus told a story that related to the people who expected the promised Messiah to stage a revolution and throw the Roman army out of the nation of Israel. It was not going to unfold that way because Israel needed to repent of their rebellion against God, which they did not intend to do.

So the story was about a nobleman who left to go into a far country for a while and then to return. The story was actually about Jesus, himself, and Israel. His trial would come up soon and the fickle masses of people who had gathered around him for three years to be entertained by his miracles, these people did not want any part of his ruling over him. Jesus had not come to earth to soothe and stroke hard-hearted rebels who did not want God the Father nor God the Son to rule over them. So he told them the story. The heart of the story was:

But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us (Luke 19:14). When he returned from his journey, there came the day of reckoning: But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me (Luke 19:27).

This actually took place. Archelaus went to Rome to obtain from Augustus a confirmation of his title to reign over that part of Judea which had been left him by his father, Herod the Great. The Jews, knowing his character (compare Mat_2:22), sent an embassy of 50 men to Rome, to prevail on Augustus "not" to confer the title on him, but they could not succeed. He "received" the kingdom, and reigned in Judea in the place of his father. As this fact was "fresh" in the memory of the Jews, it makes this parable much more striking. By this part of it Christ designed to denote that the Jews would reject "him" - the Messiah, and would say that they did not desire him to reign over them. See Joh_1:11. So it is true of all sinners that they do not "wish" Jesus to reign over them, and, if it were possible, would cast him off, and never submit to his reign.

Memory Verse for this week:

Let the word of Christ dwell in richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

Good Morning! - Daniel 6:10 - Daniel the Faithful Prayer Warrior - 2009.11.04

Good Morning!

 

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 formerly (Daniel 6:10).

 

Daniel did not put on a show to draw attention to himself. Once in a while in a restaurant somebody will pray like they were on a street corner. I have never been induced to prayer by that kind of display nor have I been persuaded that the prayer was intended for the God of Heaven.  The text above does not indicate that Daniel yelled at God and made a great deal of noise.

 

Elijah and Elisha are two of my favorite characters in the Bible. Elisha told a destitute woman:

 

And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out (2Kings 4:4-5).

 

Here as well as in the case of Daniel, God met with His own in secret, away from the eyes of the public. There is a place for praying in public and praying loud enough for everyone to be directed and encouraged to pray. But public prayer is not the place to have one's private devotions or to show off a peculiar talent for addressing Heaven.

 

We love the old hymn by Fannie Crosby: I Am Thine O Lord. Verse three says: Oh, the pure delight of a single hour That before Thy throne I spend, When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend.  If I had been privileged to attend the funeral of Fannie Crosby, I think I would have been asking myself "Who is going to take her place in the prayer closet? The prayers of Fannie Crosby are going to be sorely missed."

 

It has been my privilege to pray privately with some saints of God who I believe, were anchored in the word of God and experienced in the furnace of life's trials. Rex Crawford supposedly died in the Bristol Hospital but someone raised the sheet for a last look on the elevator and Rex twitched his eyelids. Within an hour Rex was sitting up in his hospital bed easting a bowl of soup. When he was called on to pray in church, I almost held my breath so as not to miss a word he said. He must have prayed like Daniel the Prophet and like Elijah and Elisha.

 

Daniel was in a tight spot and it is worth noting that he did not  have to invent a new way of going about his prayer time. He just prayed like he always did. And when his enemies were able to use the power of King Darius to sentence him to death for praying to his God, Daniel's well established prayer habits took over.

 

We note that Daniel kneeled before God three times a day. Ninety years old and he is still kneeling before God three times a day. My damaged legs will not allow me to do much kneeling but sometimes I go ahead and kneel until the thigh muscles go into a spasm and the pain forces me up. A lot of people in church cannot kneel.  The Bible does not require us to kneel in prayer but it does say: For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God (Romans 14:11).

 

"Victor Hugo said that the soul is on its knees many times regardless of the position of the body. The posture of the spirit of the man is what is important. However, if you want to select a posture for prayer, it is kneeling, and that is set before us here (McGee).

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John_4:24).

 

Memory Verse for this week:

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in

 

Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

 

(Colossians 3:16)

 

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G00d Morning! - Daniel 6: 6-9 Getting Read for the Lions.

 

Good Morning!

 

Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus

 

unto him, King Darius, live forever.  All the residents 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 thee, 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 altereth not. Wherefore king

 

Darius signed the writing and the decree (Daniel 6:6-9).

 

Daniel, Old Man….they're coming after you! They've counted the lions in the palace dens and they think your best place of service would be in the belly of hungry lions. The greatest danger to Daniel the Prophet of God was flattery. Oh, he was not subject to flattery, but his new king, King Darius, had a weak place in his makeup for flattery. McGee comments on this:

"The plot of these princes and presidents and petty politicians was very subtle. King Darius was a good man. That is obvious from secular history, and I think it is certainly the implication of the Book of Daniel. But Darius had a vulnerable spot (many of us have it), and that was his vanity—he yielded to flattery".

I've heard it said many times that we should not listen much to what people say to us or about us. I'm not nearly as good as my friends say I am and I am probably not as bad as my enemies say I am. There is always a great danger of being carried away by flattery and a great danger of being beat down by the tongues of our enemies and even by well-meaning but misguided individuals who think we are wonderful or wretched.

McGee comments further about the scene: "These men flattered Darius, and he yielded to it. He thought, My, this is great! So he drafted a bill, and it was made a statute. He thus elevated himself to the position of deity, and prayer was to be offered only to him."

Neither flattery nor undue criticism is effective upon its victim unless it is swallowed. We don't have to swallow it. Spit it out! Like you, I have seen flattery make fools of some people as they snuggle up to the person who is stroking them to use them or to extract a sum of money from them. And there are not a people who have committed suicide or left home in the night never to return because of an angry, sharp tongue. I've wondered many times if a wicked tongue has not destroyed more homes than alcohol and drugs. Flattery is sweet like honey, so how could it be evil?

There is such a thing as legitimate honor.  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor (Romans 13:7). For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death (Matthew 15:4). 

 

But honor can be misapplied and become crippling.Jesus said How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only? (John 5:44)

 

When Daniel knew that the awesome invisible God had spoken and that he was alive and well in Babylon, he was encouraged  to stand with God and His word.

Do you think God has died? Do you think He can't manage the world He has created??? Daniel is in good hands.

Consider this: For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. (2Chronicles 16:9)

 

 

Memory Verse for this week:

 

Let the word of Christ dwell in richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in

 

Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

 

(Colossians 3:16)

 

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Good Morning! - Daniel 6:4-5 - Daniel's Bible - 2009.10.02

Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault;forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God (Daniel 6:4-5).

Two presidents and a hundred and twenty princes could find no fault with Belteshazzar whom we know as Daniel the Prophet. That's a pretty good track record. Daniel is ninety years old and no political opponents can pick his bones. Wouldn't you love to have his autograph and have your picture taken with him? I would.

No matter how well you live, the political arena may try to take off your head. We have the same old corrupt human nature strutting itself today and elections don't do away with corrupt human nature. You can depend on many politicians to do one thing: to look out for number one. Not all are like that but many are.

All of these men were in agreement and all were against him. Unless they could contrive some charge against him concerning the law of his God, they would have to put up with him until he died of "much older age." Although that might not be long, another week of this despicable Jew was more than they could bear. Rage is hard to deal with and collective rage is almost impossible to deal with.

Please don't check me out as close as they checked out Daniel the Prophet. Although my grandmother named me after this man, I'm afraid I could not begin to walk in his shadow. When people resort to taking you down because you live for God and try to go by His book, count on them to twist the titles they apply to you and to exaggerate how "unreasonable" you are. Just make sure they cannot charge you with real wrong doing.

Paul said to Timothy: Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity (1Timothy 4:12).

Peter said: Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may be your good works, which they shall behold, gloryify God in the day of visitation (1Peter 2:12).

Nevertheless, there is no ironclad guarantee from God that men will always judge you righteously or will always be ashamed when they are confronted with righteousness. Stephen concludes his address to the Sanhedrin and sealed his own doom: Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers;(Acts 7:52).

Foxes Book of Martyrs marshals the multiple accounts of godly Christians sealing their witness with their death at the hands of their accusers.

The account of Daniel's life in this situation makes for fruitful study. It is an introduction to the subject and not a full treatment. When people stand for God in trying circumstances, some live and are promoted and some pay the price of imprisonment and death. God uses either outcome for His glory and to further his purposes.

Are you living for God in such a way that men would have to attack your God and your God's Word to put you down?

Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you, falsely. (Matthew 5:11)

Memory Verse for this week:

Let the word of Christ dwell in richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.(Colossians 3:16)