Tues.’s Devo - The Lion’s Den

Read: Daniel 6:1-28; 2 Peter 3:1-18; Psalm 119:129-152; Provers 28:21-22 When Darius took the kingdom he decided to divide it up into 120 provinces and to appoint officers to rule each province. He chose Daniel and two others to administer his personal interests. Daniel soon proved himself to be greater than the others so Darius was planning to put Daniel over his entire empire. The other officers were jealous of Daniel and met to plan his fall. They examined all his dealings to find something to find fault with and couldn’t find anything. Daniel was honest and conscientious in everything he did. The only thing they could use against him was his religion. They went to Darius with their plot. They used flattery to make Darius proclaim that for the next thirty days any one who prayed to anyone except to Darius would be thrown into the den of lions. They had it signed and sealed so it couldn’t be revoked. Daniel heard of the decree and didn’t change anything he was doing. He went home and opened the window like before and knelt and prayed to God. The officials went to his house and found him praying and went straight to the king to tell him. They reminded him of his law and the consequence he had signed. Darius was caught in their trap and couldn’t come up with a plan to save Daniel though he sincerely wanted to. He thought about it all day but that night they pressured him to carry out his promise. Darius gave the command to arrest Daniel. When they took him to the lion’s den, Darius told him that he prayed that his God would rescue him. Darius spent the night praying and fasting. Early the next morning, Darius ran to the lion’s den and called down to Daniel asking him if his God would able to rescue him. Daniel answered that God had sent angels to shut the lion’s mouth and God had found him innocent. He also had not wronged the king. Darius was overjoyed and ordered Daniel to be taken out of the den. The men who had maliciously accused Daniel were then thrown into the lion’s den and were torn apart by the lions before they hit the floor. Darius made a proclamation that everyone in his kingdom should fear the god of Daniel. He is the living God who will never die and his kingdom will never end. Daniel prospered during Darius’ reign and through Cyrus’ reign. Peter sent a second letter to his churches scattered across the land into Asia. He wrote to stimulate them towards holiness and remind them of what the prophet had said about the Lord and what Jesus had taught his disciples. In the last days there will be those who mock the truth and follow after their own desires. They will mock us for still believing that Christ will come agains since he hadn’t come yet. At creation, God had called the earth to come forth out of water, then surrounded it with water. He used the water to destroy the earth. In the same way he will destroy the ungodly people by fire along with the earth and the heavens. As far as the Lord coming back, a day is as a thousand years and vice versa. When Jesus said that these were the last days he meant that these were the last thousands of years. He is giving man a long time to repent and choose life, over destruction. He has promised us a world filled with God’s righteousness. Peter’s warning was so that none of them fall into the category of the ones judged for destruction. Lord, thank you for your wonderful promises. We look forward to a world filled with your righteousness.