Daniel was probably around 18 years old when he was transported as a captive to the land of Babylon. He so impressed his captors that he was put in charge of much that had to do with Babylon. Even when Babylon was conquered by the Medes and the Persians, he found favor in their eyes, too. By now he was an old man, somewhere around 80 to 90 years old.
Darius chose three presidents to be over the kingdom. The first and most favored president was Daniel. There were also 120 princes who reported to the presidents. This captive taken from Judah was the president over everything. The other two presidents and the 120 princes were angry.
The princes and the two presidents were the establishment. Why in the world would Darius the king choose such an ingrate? He wasn't a part of their group. He was an outsider. He didn't belong here ruling the country. They had to get rid of him. So they began to conspire against Daniel.
Time and energy was spent looking for fault in Daniel. This group would try anything to get rid of him. But few they could find who believed all the untruths and fabrications they launched in Daniel's direction. No fault was found in Daniel and this just worked to make the establishment even more irate. They had to get rid of this interloper.
A daring plan was afoot. They gathered together and wrote a law. It stated that a royal statute would be built and for 30 days no one could make a request of anyone other than the king. This also included making any requests to any God, aka praying. Once the king signed it, and he did, it became law and could not be rescinded even by the king himself. It also meant that whoever broke this law would be thrown to the lions.
A short history lesson here: about 450 years earlier, Solomon had made a prayer to God when he dedicated the temple at Jerusalem to God. It is a now-famous prayer and can be found in I Kings 8. In it Solomon asked God to hear the prayers of captives who wound up in other lands. While praying, no matter where they were, they were to face toward the temple and make their prayers. In chapter 9 it says that God appeared to Solomon and told him that he had heard his prayer.
Daniel heard the new law. But his habit was to pray toward Jerusalem daily and he continued to do so. This was the incident they needed to be rid of him once and for all. Immediately they reported it to the king. Their was no choice. Daniel had to go. But before he went, the king told Daniel, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee."
Daniel was delivered to the lions' den. The king passed the night fasting. When it was morning, he went to the lions' den and yelled for Daniel. Daniel's reply was, "O king, live for ever."
Now the king was mad. He had been duped into signing a law that had been designed to get rid of Daniel. The demise of the conspirators was the one they planned for Daniel.
Has mankind changed? Not very much, I suppose. Do people still hate others enough to try any means possible to rid themselves of them? Watch the news, pick up the newspaper, read a current events magazine, then you decide.
Darius chose three presidents to be over the kingdom. The first and most favored president was Daniel. There were also 120 princes who reported to the presidents. This captive taken from Judah was the president over everything. The other two presidents and the 120 princes were angry.
The princes and the two presidents were the establishment. Why in the world would Darius the king choose such an ingrate? He wasn't a part of their group. He was an outsider. He didn't belong here ruling the country. They had to get rid of him. So they began to conspire against Daniel.
Time and energy was spent looking for fault in Daniel. This group would try anything to get rid of him. But few they could find who believed all the untruths and fabrications they launched in Daniel's direction. No fault was found in Daniel and this just worked to make the establishment even more irate. They had to get rid of this interloper.
A daring plan was afoot. They gathered together and wrote a law. It stated that a royal statute would be built and for 30 days no one could make a request of anyone other than the king. This also included making any requests to any God, aka praying. Once the king signed it, and he did, it became law and could not be rescinded even by the king himself. It also meant that whoever broke this law would be thrown to the lions.
A short history lesson here: about 450 years earlier, Solomon had made a prayer to God when he dedicated the temple at Jerusalem to God. It is a now-famous prayer and can be found in I Kings 8. In it Solomon asked God to hear the prayers of captives who wound up in other lands. While praying, no matter where they were, they were to face toward the temple and make their prayers. In chapter 9 it says that God appeared to Solomon and told him that he had heard his prayer.
Daniel heard the new law. But his habit was to pray toward Jerusalem daily and he continued to do so. This was the incident they needed to be rid of him once and for all. Immediately they reported it to the king. Their was no choice. Daniel had to go. But before he went, the king told Daniel, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee."
Daniel was delivered to the lions' den. The king passed the night fasting. When it was morning, he went to the lions' den and yelled for Daniel. Daniel's reply was, "O king, live for ever."
Now the king was mad. He had been duped into signing a law that had been designed to get rid of Daniel. The demise of the conspirators was the one they planned for Daniel.
Has mankind changed? Not very much, I suppose. Do people still hate others enough to try any means possible to rid themselves of them? Watch the news, pick up the newspaper, read a current events magazine, then you decide.
