November 24, 2021 – Wednesday
Daniel 6:10 NIV
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Comment.
If you go to Biblegateway.com and look up thanksgiving you will find 30 links in the NIV, 13 Old Testament and 17 New Testament. However, I wondered what would show up for giving thanks and found there were only 6 links in the NIV, 1 in the Old Testament and 6 in the New Testament. But what about give thanks as well as giving thanks? Well there I found 54 total links in the NIV, with 31 in the Old Testament and 23 in the New Testament. As you can read above I chose the one Old Testament verse with giving thanks for our verse of the day for Thanksgiving Eve.
It was normal for Daniel to be giving thanks to his God as this was his usual practice. But this time was unusual as the beginning of verse 10 indicates, Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home and did what he usually did, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
What made this unusual was that there were many who opposed Daniel and the position of trust he had with King Darius so they set a trap for him. The trap was one they conceived of by getting King Darius to make a law you could only pray to the king for the next 30 days under penalty of being thrown into the lion’s den and had him put it in writing (verses 1-9). Daniel learned of this and continued giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Daniel was trapped or so those who had opposed him believed. They took news to the king that Daniel was not obeying his edict. King Darius tried to avoid punishing Daniel but the laws of the land said he had to follow any written law. So he finally gave the order and had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den while saying v16, May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you! After a sleepless night the king hurried to the lion’s den and called out to Daniel v20, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions? He must have been shocked when Daniel replied v21-22, May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.
I share this with you on Thanksgiving Eve not to say this is what God will do when you face such trials, but that He can if He so chooses. Daniel made it a point to obey God and worship Him alone. We would be wise to do the same. This is not so different when Jesus’ Apostles continued to preach the Good News of Jesus when forbidden to do so by the Sanhedrin (Act 5:28). Peter and the Apostles replied v29, We must obey God rather than human beings! At first, the Sanhedrin sought to put the Apostles to death but were persuaded not to do so. Instead, they flogged all of them and ordered once again not to speak in the name of Jesus (v40) and let them go.
Another shocker, v41-42, The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. Be aware, this is not just history, but it continues to this day. In Finland a Pastor is on trial for hate crimes for simply preaching what the Bible says about marriage. Yet he continues saying he must obey God rather than men.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I give thanks that there are so many who stand by You and Your Word and the Grace offered through Your Son. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton in Beavercreek