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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise Darius said, “I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions” (Dan 6:26–27). Today, I join Darius and praise your name. You are indeed the God who rescues and delivers! Praise the Lord! Today in Your Word Today you told me about the fall of Babylon and the rise of Medo-Persia. The fall of Babylon occurred some 14 years after Daniel’s vision of the four great beasts (Dan 7). At that time, Daniel was in his late 70s or early 80s. The Persian army advanced against Babylon, and the commander, Ugbaru, besieged the city. Yet Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, was not concerned. Babylon’s walls were invincible, the Euphrates River ran through the city giving plenty of water, and there was food to last for many years. To show his confidence in the city’s defenses, Belshazzar held a great feast for his nobles. In his insolence, he called for the gold and silver vessels from your temple and drank wine from them while praising the gods of Babylon. Then the fingers of a hand appeared and wrote on the wall, and Daniel was brought before the king. He rebuked Belshazzar saying, ‘Your father was humbled, and he recognized that the Most High God is ruler of all. Yet you, his son, have not humbled your heart, even though you know the truth, but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You have not glorified the God who has in His control your life-breath and all your ways!’ (cf. Dan 5:18–23). That very night Belshazzar was killed, and the Babylonian empire fell to Darius the Mede. This teaches me the folly of rejecting the godly example of my parents. If I turn from their wisdom and insist on having my own way, disaster will overtake me as surely as it did Belshazzar. You took care of Daniel during the transition of empires, and he distinguished himself among the rulers and leaders because of his “excellent spirit” (Dan 6:3). Darius was so impressed that he planned to appoint Daniel over the entire empire. This led to jealousy from the other officials and satraps, and they conspired to kill Daniel by taking advantage of his devotion to you. Daniel ended up in the den of lions, but you shut the lions’ mouths and they could not harm him. Darius was overjoyed—he killed all the men who had conspired against Daniel, and he issued a decree commanding the entire empire to worship you! This teaches me that trials come to even the most godly of men (cf. Ezek 14:14). Yet you are faithful. If I will trust and obey, you will watch over me and deliver me from the enemy. Reflection The men who conspired against Daniel said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God” (Dan 6:5). Can this be said of me? Request Father, grant me the spirit of Daniel! May my life be so blameless and upright that my enemies will be unable to find any ground for complaint! Thanksgiving Thank you for the godly example of Daniel. He shows me that I can live a holy life even when surrounded by a world of idolatry and perversion. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “More Men Like Daniel” — Civilla D. Martin. Meditation Verse: Daniel 6:27. |