Daniel 6 Devotional

A King Who Could Not Save

“I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.”Daniel 6:26 (BSB)

Daniel's rivals can find no corruption in him, so they target his faithfulness to his God (6:4-5). They persuade King Darius to sign a law that for thirty days no one may pray to anyone but the king. Daniel goes home, kneels by windows open toward Jerusalem, and prays and gives thanks three times a day, just as he always had (6:10).

Darius is distressed and works until sundown to rescue Daniel, but his own unchangeable law has trapped him (6:14-15). The most powerful man in the empire cannot save one servant. He seals the den and spends the night without food or sleep (6:17-18). At dawn he hurries to the den, and Daniel answers that God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths (6:22). The chapter ends grimly, with the accusers and their families thrown to the lions (6:24), and then with Darius declaring that Daniel's God is the living God whose kingdom will never be destroyed (6:26). Kings cannot rescue. God can.

To think about: Where have you been looking to people or systems to rescue you, rather than to the living God?