I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. (Daniel 6:26)
Daniel was among the four children of Judah whom the king of Babylon had taken to train in matters of the king’s palace so that they could serve him. The Bible says in Daniel 1:20; “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.”
Daniel was found with; “an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts..”(Daniel 5:12). He served different kings and through his wisdom guided them, but his ultimate obedience was always towards God.
When King Darius became the ruler over Babylon. Daniel found favour in his eyes too, and he wanted to make him leader over all the kingdom. Some of the king’s wise men were jealous and thus tricked the king into making a law where in, everyone was to worship the king and not any other person or God, failing to do so would incur punishment. They knew that Daniel was a loyal worshipper of the Lord God of Israel, and wanted him to be punished. Despite the law, Daniel prayed to God as was his daily routine. Therefore, they presented him before the king, and though the king loved Daniel, he couldn’t go against the law he made himself, and hence Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s den as a punishment. The Bible says, the king had a sleepless night and the next morning, the king rushed to the lions’ den. He called to Daniel to see if he was still alive. Daniel called back! He told the king that God sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths. The lions did not hurt him. The king instead punished those wise men who tricked him into making the law, by throwing them into the same den. The king then abolished the law and instead made a remarkable decree: “I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions” (Daniel 6: 26-27).
How powerful is that! One man’s obedience towards God’s Word led a whole kingdom to come to the knowledge of God. This teaches us that no matter the situation, no matter the repercussions; we must always stick to our obedience towards God and His Word. God has never failed anyone who trusted Him, He will never fail anyone who trusts Him. Hallelujah!
Confession:
I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding; in all my ways I submit to him, and he makes my paths straight, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!!
