July 9: A BRIGHT LIGHT IN MORAL DARKNESS

Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. Daniel 6:11

Daniel’s habit of praying toward Jerusalem was based upon his knowledge of King Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the completed temple (see 1 Kings 8). This was the high point of Israel’s history as a nation. Part of that prayer applied directly to the situation Daniel was in: “When [Your people] sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near, yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong; we have committed wickedness’; and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause…” (vv.46-49)

Once the trap was set, the conspirators made sure to be outside of Daniel’s home to gather the “damning evidence” of his prayers before God. Three times Daniel prayed the next day, just as before, well aware that there were spies below his window! His words to the LORD God of heaven surely included words on their behalf, in earnest intercession and in keeping with the purpose of God for Israel: that all peoples of the earth may know the LORD. Daniel’s humble prayer was also a declaration that no power on earth has a right to come between an individual’s soul and God. Surrounded by idolators, Daniel’s faithfulness was a bright light in moral darkness.

And they went before the king and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” Daniel 6:12

While it is true that the successful manipulation of the king to sign the decree seemed to rest entirely upon his vanity, the newly conquered empire of former Babylon had actually been expanded by the addition of new territories—victories of Cyrus and his armies. The record-sized realm of the Medes and the Persians was in a state of instability, and King Darius was likely convinced that this thirty-day decree might have a settling effect across the empire.

As a faithful Hebrew awaiting the coming of the Messiah, Daniel, in his heart, understood the ideas expressed by Jesus during His earthly ministry:

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven . . . For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Matthew 5:14,16; Mark 8:38