Daniel 6:5, 10, 26

I was thinking last night of how much we miss from the Bible because we don’t read it as if the people in it were true and real people. Ideally, as we read, we can see the change of expression on the face of David as Nathan confronts him; we can see the tears in Jesus’ eyes as he weeps after Lazarus’ death. But in practise we generally read as if we are looking for some little spiritual input, a nice thought, or as if those people had control of everything (because we know the end from the start) and didn’t feel anything.

Now to continue with Daniel with chapter 6. This is one of the most famous stories in the whole Bible – Daniel in the lion’s den. One thing I’ve never noticed is in verse 5:

‘Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."’ (Daniel 6:5)

The satraps and governors and various other leaders of the people were trying to pick Daniel up on some flaw because otherwise he would be made leader of them all by Darius. Notice that even they knew that the only way they could get him to go against the law of the land was to set a law directly against God’s laws and precepts. This tells us that we should be obeying the laws of our own land equally as stringently – unless they go against the higher laws of God. But it also makes us think how good it would be to have it known by all around us that we serve God with that amount of dedication!

Now we read verse 10:

‘Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.’ (Daniel 6:10)

I was struck that Daniel gave thanks. Now, it is true that he had risen high in Babylonian society through the will of God – but in all honesty could we say we would be giving thanks at that point? He had been taken out of the nation of his birth against his will, had seen the death of his king whom he had many dealings with, seen the mocking of God by Belshazzar and endured the plottings of his peers. Who knows what other sadness had invaded his life – perhaps he longed for a wife, perhaps he had never seen his family since coming to Babylon, perhaps he was distressed by many of his fellow Jews turning to Babylonian ways. We can never know all the things that were going on in his life at that point – perhaps he was extraordinarily happy at that point. But it says that he gave thanks as a custom. That means he did it everyday. What an example!

Secondly, we read the phrase ‘as was his custom since early days’. Many people have different ideas on the importance of tradition and ritual. I believe that it can very easily get in the way of a true sight of God’s glory, and get in the way of a genuine relationship with Him. However, as is made clear here, there is definitely a place for custom and ritual. For it is obvious that we as humans are built to remember things as they are done several times over or daily, and that ritual and repetition always aide in organisation and learning. For example, cleaning your teeth everyday as a ritual after dinner, say, is much easier and practicable than cleaning them whenever you remember them, or feel like it. The same way with God – to set up a ‘customary habit’ as it were, for daily dealings with God is I think a very important thing, so long as the heart of the dealings is there – rather than doing it ‘because you always have’. So we see in Daniel that a custom that he had set up when he was young, and done ever since, was still important to him and helped him daily – he would not have kept doing it with the pressure he was facing if it was merely a tradition.

Finally I would like to mention the effect of Daniel’s faith and devotion on Darius. Darius, upon seeing that Daniel had not died in the lion’s den, says this:

‘I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom [men must] tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He [is] the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom [is the one] which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion [shall endure] to the end.’ (Daniel 6:26)

This is very reminiscent of Nebuchadnezzar and highlights the incredible impact Daniel had on the rulers of the known world in those times. A little faith, a little devotion to God, some endurance to withstand pressure and temptation, and God can use you for the most amazing things.