The Reward of Faithfulness

                                     The Reward of Faithfulness       

There was nothing he could do. King Darius placed his trembling hand on Daniel’s shoulder and said sorrowfully, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” Daniel solemnly nodded. Then, husky soldiers marched over to Daniel and, with no resistance, threw him into a deep, dark abyss of certain doom, filled with the roars of hungry beasts. But because of this experience, Daniel would have an amazing testimony to give: God always protects and rewards those who are faithful to Him.

Daniel, a Jew in a foreign land, was highly valued by the king of the Persian Empire and was the head of the three governors who ruled over the kingdom. However, the three governors were jealous of Daniel and sought to eliminate him. First, the governors tried to catch Daniel doing something wrong. They assumed that Daniel must have some fault in him. Maybe Daniel slipped some money into his pocket for himself or took more breaks than he was supposed to. But they could not find fault with Daniel. The only thing that could be used against Daniel was his religion. So they formulated a plan. They came to King Darius and said, “King Darius, live forever! The supervisors, assistant governors, governors, the people who advise you and the captains of the soldiers have all agreed on something. We think the king should make this law that everyone would have to obey: No one should pray to any god or man except to you, our king. This should be done for the next 30 days. Anyone who doesn’t obey will be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, our king, make the law. Write it down so it cannot be changed. The laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled” (Daniel 6:6-8, ICB). This inflated King Darius’s pride by a significant amount and, without thinking about Daniel, proudly signed the foolish decree.

Daniel soon learned of the decree, but it did not change his decision: he would pray to God no matter what. Daniel prayed facing Jerusalem three times a day with his window wide open. To the governors’ delight, they caught Daniel praying and immediately told the king. They said, “Didn’t you write a law that says no one may pray to any god or man except you, our king? Doesn’t it say that anyone who disobeys during the next 30 days will be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “Yes, I wrote that law. And the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled.”

Then those men spoke to the king. They said, “Daniel is one of the captives from Judah. And he is not paying attention to the law you wrote. Daniel still prays to his God three times every day” (Daniel 6:12-13, ICB).

King Darius was devastated. He had been tricked into having his best employee killed. He paced around in his palace until sunset, trying to think of a way to save Daniel from the unmerciful jaws of the lions, but to no avail. With a heavy pain in his heart, King Darius gave the order. Unexpressive soldiers brought Daniel to the lions’ den. Daniel calmly cooperated and was thrown into the pit of darkness and certain death. The saddened king, along with the satisfied governors, sealed the stone with their signet rings so that no one could move it.  Afterward, King Darius sorrowfully plodded toward his palace and did not eat or sleep that night, for he was strangled with worry and guilt throughout the moonlit night. 

Early the next morning, with fear and hope, King Darius rushed to the lions’ den and called out to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God that you always worship been able to save you from the lions?” 

 Daniel answered, “My king, live forever! My God sent his angel to close the lions’ mouths. They have not hurt me, because my God knows I am innocent. I never did anything wrong to you, my king” (Daniel 6:20-22, ICB).

King Darius was ecstatic! He commanded his servants to lift Daniel out of the lions’ den, and Daniel did not sustain any injuries because he had faith in God. Suddenly, King Darius whirled around in anger and shouted at the soldiers to throw the corrupt governors and their families into the lions’ den instead. Their inhumane shrieks were barely heard when the lions had grabbed them and crushed their bones before they even reached the bottom of the pit. King Darius then established a new decree: 

I am making a new law. This law is for people in every part of my kingdom. All of you must fear and respect the God of Daniel.

Daniel’s God is the living God.
    He lives forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed.
  His rule will never end. 

God rescues and saves people.
    God does mighty miracles
    in heaven and on earth.
God saved Daniel
    from the power of the lions (Daniel 6:26-27, ICB).

Because he trusted God, Daniel was able to give an amazing testimony and, through King Darius, spread the message of Jehovah to the whole Persian Empire, proving that God always protects and rewards those who are faithful to Him.

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The Reward of Faithfulness