From when I was a little girl, the story of ' Daniel in the lion's den' has always fascinated me.I've loved it every time when, even as a sunday school teacher, I narrated it to my sunday school kids.Well,last week as I was reading through the book again,I realized there was so much more to the old story that just the lion's den.
Daniel was taken as a captive to Babylon when he was just a teenager (12-16 yrs old).Having decided that he will not be defiled by the king's food ,he was eventually given a very high position in the kingdom.As years went by,the successors of king Nebuchadnezzar ignored Daniel and he was shuffled into some obscure office in the Babylonian bureaucracy.But when king Belshazzar found himself in trouble he called for Daniel.Unfortunately,the next king in power, Darius who loved Daniel,was forced to throw Daniel into the den because of Daniel's convictions about his one,true God.Well,we know what happened next.Do you know how old Daniel was when he was thrown into the lions den? He was atleast 80 years old!!Some even say he could have been a 100 years old!Even at that age, chapter 9 tells us that Daniel studied the scriptures and pleaded for his nation.
For about eight odd decades, in a pagan land,Daniel remained faithful to God.Daniel was a man who rose to a position of great power and honor in the secular world but who NEVER compromised on essential biblical principles.Instead,ALL his life,he had an impact on those around him -even the king!It was this godly man to whom God gave the unique opportunity of looking at the world's future.
Regardless of how sheltered our existence has been as children or how often we were taken to Sunday school,there comes a time when we are thrust into a pagan lifestyle that contradicts the Bible. Daniel shows us how to live a life of spiritual integrity in the crush of a secular world.Will we obey God regardless of the consequences?Can God trust us to remain faithful TILL THE END?
