As we continue to look at the remarkable life and career of the prophet Daniel, this week we continue with the account in Daniel 6. We saw last week that Daniel did excellent work in Babylon where he was neither "negligent nor corrupt." We learned that God promotes people who have developed their potential and do good work. God's favor, however, does not preclude the jealousy and animosity of others and we will look at that reality in Daniel's life this week.
THE CONSPIRACY
We read that those who could not find fault with Daniel in regards to his work decided to contrive a trap concerning his faith:
So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing (Daniel 6:6-9).
Conspiracy and betrayal are not unheard of where the people of God are concerned, especially those who are anointed and chosen by God to lead. We know that Joseph's brothers conspired against him and sold him into slavery in Egypt. David's son Absalom conspired against his father to capture the throne. And of course six hundred years after Daniel, Judas and the Jewish leadership conspired against Jesus to capture, try, and crucify him, thus fulfilling the prediction in Psalm 2:
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles" (Psalm 2:1-3).
The world and its followers are always trying to undermine or destroy God's people and purpose. When they oppose God's people, they are really opposing God. The opposition we receive should not surprise us, but it usually does because it can be difficult to fathom how hateful and underhanded people can be.
IMPLICATIONS
I always warned my children not to expect Christian behavior from non-Christians. In fact, I taught them that sometimes we encounter non-Christian behavior from Christians! When I taught in a prison setting, I urged those listening not to expect people to celebrate their decisions to do the right things. People were watching them and sometimes those people wanted to cause them to stumble (or at least test how serious they were about following the Lord), but they could not base their behavior on what others did or did not do. They had to learn to do right because it was what God wanted and expected from them.
Let's read what Daniel did when he heard about the king's edict:
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help (Daniel 6:10-11).
Daniel did not back down or compromise. He showed his usual courage by continuing to do what he did for the Lord for all to see. His enemies thought they had him where they wanted him, as we will read next week, but Daniel was right where God wanted him and was at home in his prayer chamber or in the lions' den because he could pray and commune with God in either venue equally well.
How about you? Are you carrying out your purpose and living your values in a public way? Or are you compromising? Are you surprised when others don't celebrate your ethics and perhaps plot against you? Do you put your trust in God to vindicate you? If you are going to thrive in a spiritually-hostile environment, you must learn to expect, well, to expect hostility and animosity. If you can face that and be true to who you claim to be, then the Lord will certainly work on your behalf and eventually, although perhaps not right away, sustain you in the midst of your enemies. Have a blessed week.
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