Daniel 6

 

 So we move on today in the story of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar has gone. His Son Nabonidus

 slipped off to live away in the East while Belshazzar Nebs. grandson ruled in Babylon itself. Last week we saw how he failed to run the empire and indulged himself, abused God’s name and was found wanting.

 

The Chaldean Empire has crumbled into the sands although Babylon is a key city. The head of gold has gone.  Enter Darius or Cyrus, Emperor of the Medes and the Persians. This document is about him offering rights to the people of Babylon. If you had the stomach to watch the film ‘Alexander’ the other night you will know the end of this empire. In a devastating battle where he outnumbered the Greeks he crumbled away. The chest and arms of silver was replaced by the belly and thighs of  bronze. But that comes next week.

READ DANIEL 6:1-5

Daniel survived the sack of Babylon. Darius probably had spies who reported the intelligence about the writing on the wall. Darius appointed Daniel senior administrator over Babylon. But that upset the rest, probably because Daniel was not bribe-able and his integrity would get in the way of their conspiracies. This is the same world that we see in our Parliament today. We all show a united front until it suits us and then it is lots of backstabbing and dog eat dog. If we have a hung parliament David Cameron will suddenly think coalition with Nick Clegg. But for now David thinks hung parliaments are a bad thing and you should not vote Lib. Dem. Nick Clegg won’t let Gordon be Prime Minister. The Celtic pact isolates the Welsh and Scottish Nationalists but we will see. Power is far too attractive for these people and we may see some strange deals in the coming weeks. So we need to be asking much more about the integrity of our prospective MPs than their policies. Are they still going to be concerned with your interests? Or are they going to bought and sell out for a place in the next government? Are they actually going to limit their expenses and wages or will, once elected, they become convinced that they are entitled to the same considerations as Bankers and oil Executives?

It seems that the main parties believe our MP’s election is a formality. Uxbridge and South Ruislip; Northwood, Ruislip and Pinner are reckoned to be solid Conservative constituencies so hardly worth asking you to vote. So much for democracy!

 

While we are examining the integrity of our MPs, ask this question. Are you a person of integrity? If someone wanted to bring you down are their things they could bring as charges against you?  You see the point we have got to in the story is that Daniel was trustworthy, neither corrupt nor negligent.

 If someone wanted to bring you down would I have to be because you wore a cross or you refused to have homosexuals in your house or you would not do a civil partnership service for them? These Christians in this country today who have been sacked for those very reasons or threatened with prosecutions.  

So what is in the Law of God that could be used to bring you down?  What do you do that you would not give up even if there was a death penalty? Your brothers and sisters in Christ is many parts of the world face a real threat of imprisonment, beatings and death for going to church, being known as a Christian, converting someone else to Christianity. MPs are debating laws that would make it an offence to speak of Jesus, to criticize Islam, under the guise of liberalism and secularism. So what law of God will you obey before the law of the land?

 

READ Daniel 6:6-10

 

 Why didn’t Daniel shut the blinds, hide away, skip the prayer time for a month. He could pray in his heart, and keep up appearances. Why not? Because prayer was more important than life. He trusted God enough to lay his life on the line rather than give up his ‘quiet times’.

 

Hold on though, Daniel prayed three times a day! Was that not a bit over the top? Mohammed the prophet heard of this and raised the stakes even higher. A Muslim is meant to pray five times a day. To do religion better than Daniel, better than you. If religion was to save you, be a Muslim. But Islam does not save, nor does the Christian religion save. Only Jesus can save and he does it not because you pray three or five or a hundred times a day but because you believe him, repent of your sin and trust him, receiving his salvation as a gift.

But is your response to the love of God in Christ Jesus casual or life-changing? How sincere are you about a relationship with God? DO you spend time in his presence, formally, daily? Daniel clearly had a real relationship with God but it did not mean he rejected good habits. He was so grateful to God that he was loved and cared for that three times a day he was known to stop and pray. In the Middle eastern culture this made sense. At break of day, during the midday siesta and in the cool of the evening as the sun went down.  You don’t need a clock and it fits with your lifestyle.

Not so easy in the western maritime culture but there are natural points in the day we can find, if we want to, to spend time thanking God for his salvation, his Holy Spirit, our hope and to ask for forgiveness and guidance and help.

Good habits are Good for you. Unless you have young children, waking up time, with or without an alarm is a good time to talk to Father. Set your mind on things above at the beginning of the day, it will help the day to be in perspective. And what about the end of the day?  Are you just lounging in front of the TV? Or do you end the day in thanksgiving and prayer?  IT is a good thing to turn off the TV half an hour before you sleep, so there is half an hour in which to fit in time with God.

I mentioned young children because I know that young children start the day before you. One of my grandchildren has a digital clock in his bedroom and he knows not to disturb his parents before the 7 appears on the display! You have a battle to find any time to pray and read and meditate. But move the quiet time to where you can, like after the kids have gone to bed, when you have done the morning school run, in your lunch hour at work. Once you have a suitable time or times, be disciplined. It will take about three months of grafting before you are firmly fixed in the habit. For a relationship with God this may seem rather unnecessary but this is not a casual friend you are ringing to ‘keep up with the news’, this is the living God from whom you have received grace upon grace. The Holy Spirit is your mentor, your guide, Jesus the one to follow. So until prayer becomes habitual, work out on making it a habit.

I want to speak of family prayers. I believe that family prayers are where you as parents teach your children that you depend on God. They are vital for your family wellbeing. My parents nearly always had one before we started breakfast but we all started the day at different times so we have ours at the end of the evening meal time.  Its not when that matters but whether. Daniel was caught, not because he prayed three times a day but because he prayed. And he set out a formal framework. Upper room, windows open, praying towards Jerusalem. Where is your Upper Room? Your open window?  Away from distractions, to be alone with God. Yours may be an armchair, with a coffee and of course, your Bible. Or it could be a walk you take with Jesus or in the car on arrival at work.

Here’s a taster of a prayer of his day:

Read Psalm 137

So now you know why he prayed to Jerusalem.

That he was easy to catch.

READ Daniel6:11-16

 

I think that is why Daniel was saved. Darius is not Nebuchadnezzar so he does not know about Daniel’s God. Maybe he is just being desperate and thinking of something nice to say but we will see in verse 20 that he thought Daniel’s God  might actually do something. But here is the opportunity for God to speak loud and clear to Darius.

 

 READ Daniel 6:17-23

 

Can you trust God?

 

READ Daniel 6: 24

 

Great reading when you are around 10 but a bit unnerving and unpleasant when you are older!

 

READ Daniel 6:25-28

 

 So we had Nebuchadnezzar writing the other week, now we have Darius’ contribution to the Holy Scriptures. There is no evidence that this proclamation made  a significant difference in the Persian Empire. Formal proclamations have to be followed up by sincere action and change of thinking and action.

 

Verse 28 probably should read that is the reign of Cyrus because we think that Darius and Cyrus were the same person. Daniel lived out the rest of his life in Persia. What we will read of next week is how he understood the rise and fall of empires and how God revealed his sovereignty over the nations and the peoples of the earth.

 Do something about your times with God. Set out to spend time formally in prayer with this great King, Jesus who rules the nations and brings salvation. It will bless you and your family, even if it costs you your life!

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