It Starts Small

Daniel’s story begins in the first chapter of Daniel.

⁸ But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

Daniel 1:8

King Nebuchadnezzar had besieged Jerusalem. Daniel was among a few boys taken captive and sent to the house of the King. He was treated well, renamed, and expected to teach the King. We see early on that Daniel made a purposeful intent to not be defiled of his Host’s traditions and ceremonial paganism.

Daniel teaches us that righteousness is not communal, it is individualistic. Daniel expressed what was in him. He did not consult with the others and his righteousness was dependent upon what the other Hebrew children thought or did. Daniel purposed in His heart to remain undefiled. These children had been selected to be trained for intelligence and were given the King’s special food (Daniel 1:1-7)

What was it about this special food that would defile Daniel? It was tradition among the pagan people to chant over the sacrifice of the animal “The gods we worship sanctify this thing and let your name be upon it.” The offered to their gods the animal and then ate it. Daniel did not want to consume an animal given to anything other than the Lord God Almighty. The meat coming from the king was first sacrificed to an idol. So Daniel said I will not eat them. He is saying I will not play allegiance to demons and satanism or eat freely that which is offered to the enemy of Jehovah God.
 
He knows this will defile him and weaken his faith. That was a very risky decision for Daniel to make, but he never counted the cost because his relationship with God was more important than starving or even death. We learn that Daniel as a young boy had already purposed in his heart to obey God.

This leads us to this mornings scripture. This is the story of Daniel we all know. The events that lead up to him spending a few nights in the lion hotel.

⁶ Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸ Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.
¹⁰ When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 

Daniel 6: 6-10

Daniel was defiant to the evil decree. Just like he had decided that eating meat offered to idols would defile him, obeying the king’s orders would defile him. Notice this was an individual choice. He did not run to the Jewish neighbor. He did not seek counsel of anyone. He made an individual choice to remain in obedience and he did by getting on His knees three times a day, where all could see!

He did not hide! He worse his righteousness, faith, and obedience to God on his sleeves. He could have gone into a closet to pray. He could have hid what he was doing, but he did it for all to see.

When we choose to pursue righteousness, no matter what lion den we are thrown into, God is with us and will use it for His glory. The king was distraught over Daniel being thrown in the lions den. To the point he could not eat or sleep. Early the next morning he rushes to the den.

 ²⁰ As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! ²² My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” ²³ Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. ²⁴ And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

Daniel 6:20-24

Then the king does something absolutely astonishing.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. ²⁶ 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.
²⁷ 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.”

Daniel 6:25-28

We sometimes do not understand how God will use a weapon of the enemy for His glory. This is one of those examples. Wicked people stood to see Daniel killed and in the end the very weapon they used not only killed them, but their entire families. The consequence was not just held to them only, their entire family was thrown in the lion den. Before they ever hit the bottom they were torn to pieces.

The King saw the power and might, the glory of God through Daniel. His words are so beautiful and powerful! SO what happen to Daniel after this experience?

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel 6:28

It all started with the choice to pursue righteousness. The righteousness of God over the world. To take a bold stand for God, no matter what the cost could have been.

This leads us to ponder our own lives.

Are we truly pursuing the righteousness of God? DO we understand that it is an individual choice to pursue daily?

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