Read Daniel 6:1-10
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Cyrus is now building his new empire. We all know how important it is to put the right people into positions of power. You want people you can both work with and trust. Cyrus appoints 120 satraps or princes to rule across the land. Then he narrows down the position of president to just three, one of which is Daniel.
Daniel is now pushing close to 90 and he is still as valuable to God as ever if anything the anointing of God is on Daniel even more. Because of this favor of God, Daniel was naturally preferred over all the other presidents and princes. King Cyrus knew he could trust Daniel, they’ve had many conversations and dare I say he would have heard all about his reputation and his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar, he knew was a Jew and that he served the God of Heaven.
It seems like anytime God’s favor is upon you, that the enemy wants to try and take it from you, and he uses anyone he can to do just that. In this case the other two presidents and the princes started watching Daniel closely, expecting for him to be corrupt. As you know most politicians are corrupt, very few rises above the temptation to make lots of money and gain lots of power. Except for Daniel, that is, when it came to Daniel they found that not only was he faithful, but he was also not corrupt. There was no error or fault found in him. They were trying to impeach him, but legally they had nothing to go on.
We witness almost daily politicians manufacturing lies in hopes to remove presidents from power. Currently we have an entire government filled with rage that a non-politician, an outsider was positioned by God to run this nation. Daniel was over the wise men, now he is over the government as well.
I have to give them props though; they didn’t manufacture a lie. They didn’t just lie and say Daniel was corrupt. No, they were much to clever for that, instead they created a royal statute and made a firm decree that if anyone petitions or prays to any god or man except for the king for thirty days they will be cast into the den of lions. They knew Daniel prayed daily, multiple times a day, to God. They knew he would not, under any circumstances miss his time with his God. They also knew he petitioned God for various things. This is all they had to go on.
The only thing they had against Daniel was that he was completely sold out and loyal to God. Imagine if the only thing you could be faulted for was being totally, completely sold out for Jesus.
The plan is set in motion, it was brought to the king, now all they need to do is convince the king to establish the decree and to sign the executive order. Once the order was signed the law would be established, it would also never be altered. Not even the king could or would go back on the laws he established.
The Medo-Persian spirit is evident in our government today. Once passed our laws are set in stone and cannot be altered. It is also apparent in that the laws they set do contradict the written word of God. I’m sure you could think of a dozen laws that prove this to be true.
When the presidents and the princes went to King Cyrus, they really laid it on thick. They said, “all the presidents”, now this is a lie because Daniel did not agree. They said all the presidents, the governors, the princes, the counsellors, and the captains. They literally told the king that the entire government was unanimous with this decree. The king made a huge mistake though, he went along with what he was told. He believed these men were looking out for the best interest for the empire, he put his trust in them and what they had to say, and it backfired. They put a lot of pressure on him to agree with what they were saying is the majority.
The worst part about this “law” not only does it prohibit petitioning God, but no citizen would also be able to ask for anything from any other person except the king during these 30 days. No asking grandma to keep the kids, no asking your boss for a day off, no asking your husband to pick up a pizza for dinner. I wonder how seriously this was taken.
When Daniel heard the executive order was signed, he went back to his home and straight into his “war room”. The bible doesn’t say who shared the news with Daniel, I imagine the other presidents and princes couldn’t wait to give him the news, to rub his face in it. It doesn’t really matter because, as we know once Daniel makes up his mind he does not change it.
He decided years ago that he would follow God and obey his laws. He followed the laws of Persia if they did not contradict God’s law. This absolutely goes against the word of God. We have the same responsibility today. Just because the government says two men can marry does not mean that a minister of God should do it. Just because abortion is legal, doesn’t mean you should do it.
Daniel goes into his home to his prayer room, where he has a window that faces Jerusalem, it’s his home place, it represents God to him, so he likes to face it while praying. Vs. 10 with his windows open, he kneeled three times that day. Just like he did every other day of his long life he prayed and worshipped God.
Now, Daniel could have been a “secret worshipper”. He didn’t need to pray with his window open for all the world to see and hear. He could have closed the lattice and just paced around his room acting like he was cleaning or something, he didn’t need to bow down. He could have found alternative ways to “comply” with the mandates.
Over the past nine months Evangelical Christians have been put under pressure to comply with a government “mandate” to muzzle our praise and worship. We are mandated to worship God in a way that contradicts with our traditions. Can we worship God with a mask on, yes? Could Daniel worship God with his window closed yes. The point isn’t how you worship, it’s how easily you can be persuaded to compromise our convictions.
Most of us would agree that praise and worship is a required part of our faith, yet we find it perfectly ok to muzzle those voices, to diminish the intensity, to allow a mask to compromise that belief. Of course, some of you are ok with being muzzled because you don’t cry out to God in a public setting to begin with. Wearing a mask during church is not a problem if you are just there for the show. It is only a problem when you try to call out to Jesus.
You see compromises are for your benefit, not God’s. Compromises make us feel better, they don’t lift God. When you shift your prayer time to meet a friend, that compromise is for you, it makes you feel better, not God. You’re putting God on the back burner and that is something he will not tolerate.
