Daniel had acquired the respect of some of the Babylonian kings although he was Hebrew. He had been able to correctly interpret dreams and visions. His prophecies and more can be found in the book of Daniel as well as in some of Ezekial.
After the king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, he chose men in Israel's royalty to be trained in the Babylonian ways. This training took three years and upon completion, they were put in the service of the king.
Daniel was one of those that had been trained. In fact, he was placed in authority over all the wise men of Babylon. He was honest and highly regarded by those he served, but never did he comprise his faith. He always obeyed God first and foremost.
One of the stories I remember so well from my youth is found in Daniel 6. Daniel had won the kings favor and in return, the king was thinking about putting him as head over all the kingdom. There were those that did not like this at all. And so they began to look for a way to bring him down. Being righteous, they could find nothing wrong in Daniel and so they began to pick on his faith. (Ummm, how much of that is done today?) They were able to get King Darius to degree that for the following thirty days, there was to be no praying to any god except the king. Of course, this did not fly with Daniel. He was not going to stop praying to his God, nor was he going to pray to any other god, including the king.
And he did not hide his prayers to God. Thus leading to his arrest. And the punishment for such a thing? He was thrown into a den of lions. King Darius did not like that Daniel was having to be put in with the lions but he said, "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you."
The next morning, Daniel was found alive and well. He told the king that an angel had come down and shut the mouths of the lions. And because of this, King Darius sent out a new decree which stated that all of his subjects were to worship Daniel's God.
Resource: Who was Daniel in the Bible?
Truly Daniel was a man of great courage. And along with that, he was a God-fearing man.No threat of lions was going to make him stop praying to his God. And it was just those kinds of reasons that he prospered in Babylon. Kings had found favor with him. But much better than that, God had.
His stories are included in God's book for a reason. To teach us and help us understand what God expects of us. And when we are obedient, he rewards us. Maybe not always the way we want him to. But, one day it will all come together for us when God decides the time is right. Until then, we are to take heed to his word and take it from many of the special people that God loved.
April 24, 2019 Promise: But whoever listens to me will live in safety and will be at ease without fear of harm. Proverbs 1:33
Hello Friends. Thanks for coming by today. I pray that as you go through the day, God's blessings will be upon you and he will make it possible for you to bless someone else.
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