God Used Daniel - Day 269 Month 9-25 Week 37-3
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
1 Chronicles 1:1-2:8, Ecclesiastes 9, Daniel 6:16-28, Colossians 1
God Used Daniel
I haven’t spoken much about our reading in Daniel, but I must say, Daniel is one of my favourite books in the Bible. Today we read about Daniel being delivered from the lions.
Daniel is serving the third king, Darius, who reigned in Babylon since Judah had been taken captive. Daniel had begun “distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because of his extraordinary spirit.” I believe that spirit was the Holy Spirit. Out of envy and jealousy, the commissioners and satraps came up with a scheme to get Daniel thrown into the den, thinking the lions would instantly eliminate what had become a problem to them. The king had been tricked into writing an injunction that “any man who makes a petition to any god or man beside you (the king)” would be thrown into the lion's den. Of course, they knew Daniel prayed three times daily, so their plan worked. Unfortunately for their plan, Daniel was untouched by the lions. King Darius, after having Daniel taken out of the den, put those who had plotted against Daniel into the den, and they were killed immediately by the lions.
God does not always deliver those who worship Him in this way, but God was using Daniel in an extraordinary way during the exile of Israel in Babylon. I believe God saved Daniel in this circumstance because God had many more things that He wanted Daniel to accomplish. By protecting Daniel, the king, Darius, would recognize how great the God of Daniel was, and it would affect his reign over the kingdom.
“The hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives. Afterwards they go to the dead” (Ecclesiastes 9:3). God knows the heart of a man. God knew Daniel’s heart and He knew the evil hearts of the men who set the trap for King Darius and Daniel. In this case, God dealt immediately with the evil men. Eventually Daniel died too. He was human after all.
Death is in the hand of God. He chose to save Daniel’s life in this case, but eventually Daniel died. We all will eventually die. Daniel used his time to be used by God to explain dreams, and He gave Daniel wisdom to be a leader in the kingdom. We don’t know what God will use us for, but if we are ready and willing, He will use us to build His kingdom. We just need to be open to Him. Then, as Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 9:3, “Afterwards, they go to the dead.”
Have a great day!
Steve
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