Devotional on Daniel

2011 – Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France

At least they know what Daniel stands for
Daniel 6: We’re never going to find anything against this Daniel unless we can cook up something religious.
At the end of chapter five we find a simple statement that Darius the Mede is made king. Apparently, there’s a lot of history loaded into that statement. The handwriting on the wall informed the now dead Belshazzar that his kingdom was going to be handed over to the “Medes and Persians,” a confederacy that rose to challenge the power of Babylonia. Apparently, there’s a lot of historical push and shove concerning all that happened in that takeover. Daniel spares us all that, barely mentioning his own rise to authority in the reorganized kingdom, now under the rule of Darius. This king recognizes leadership capability when he sees it and makes Daniel, first, one of his three vice-regents, and then moves to make Daniel the man in charge. Of course, there are those who oppose this elevation of Daniel and they scramble to find some way to discredit him. When they can’t come up with anything bad about him they focus in on his religion. They conclude that his devotion to his God is his weakest point and decide to attack there. I know it isn’t intended, but what a compliment to Daniel! After living among the Babylonians for many years he’s still known for his devotion to the Lord. It all started many years earlier when he decided to keep the dietary laws of his religion. Now, we see him untouched by the pagan culture. Things are about to get dicey for Daniel, but for now, he can say “thanks” to his enemies for the compliment.
Take Away: Live in such a way even our enemies recognize our devotion and commitment to the Lord.