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Daniel 06: Evil Cats and Holy Men
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The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Well, everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon. Today, daniel chapter 6, and today's title is Evil Cats and Holy Men Evil Cats, holy Men. I have been waiting on this chapter for a long time because I can talk about how evil cats are. No, I'm not going to do that. However, they do play their part. But it's fine. It's absolutely fine. We're going to talk about God's faithfulness in difficult seasons and how God is able to deliver us from literally anything when we honor him. But we'll get into all that in just a second. So get your Bibles open, get your coffee ready as we get ready to dive into Daniel 6. And while we do that, make sure you take just a moment to like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. You guys are my OGs. You'll always be my favorites, and when you do all of that, it doesn't cost you anything and it helps out our community a whole lot. Also, make sure you go into the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook. They're doing a wonderful job over there and the more we dig, the more we find.
Speaker 1:I also want to say a big shout out and a big hello to everybody who has started to watch from New Zealand. So thank you so much for that. I love you guys. I think you have one of the most beautiful countries in the entire world. It is on my bucket list. I want to come see you. I want to come see your country. It just it looks absolutely gorgeous, and it is not only because that is where they shot Lord of the Rings, okay, it just absolutely looks beautiful. But definitely Lord of the Rings puts you on the map for people like me. So thank you for listening and it's great to have you as part of our community. Once again.
Speaker 1:We are in Daniel, chapter six, and don't forget the overall goal of Daniel is Daniel is teaching us through his life and through all of his experiences that God is in control, and this was such a big deal and so very important for these people. Because in the life of Daniel remember when all this started Daniel was being exiled from his homeland. As a teenager, he would have been taken from his family, from his home in Jerusalem, and he has been plopped down into the capital of Babylon. He didn't want to be there, but there he is, and what Daniel is teaching us is. This whole thing's encouraging because he is sending this to the exiles who are struggling with their identity, who are we? Is God going to be faithful to us all this stuff? And so Daniel is writing these stories and he's saying guys, while you have been struggling in all these different areas, god's still been up to something. He's still been doing great things. Let me tell you what's been happening in the capital over the past several years. God is still in control and he's shown it to us through you know Daniel 1, how they honored God. Daniel 2, how God used Daniel to interpret a dream. Daniel 3, how God delivered the three Hebrew teenagers. Daniel 4, god continued to show that he was more powerful than Nebuchadnezzar. And then chapter 5, how God used a hand to write Mene, mene, tekel, farsen, which meant you out of here, joker, and just God is continuing to be in control. Well, today we get to see how God is in control, even over cats. Now we're going to talk about Daniel facing the lion's den, and it's just powerful, and it's one of the most famous scriptures in all of the Bible, and some people know this scripture but they don't really know where it comes from. Well, today's the day. So if you're ready, daniel, chapter six, verse one, says this Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces and he appointed high officers to rule over each province.
Speaker 1:Some of your translations may say sawtraps. Sawtraps were high officers, like governors over these provinces. Okay, verse 2. The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king's interests. So what you had? You had the king, you had Daniel and two others, and then you had 120 officers. So he was like the executive leadership team. All right, verse 3.
Speaker 1:Daniel soon proved himself more capable than the other administrators and the high officers. Because of Daniel's great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire. The other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn't find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible and completely trustworthy. So they concluded our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.
Speaker 1:So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said Long live King Darius. We are all in agreement we administrators, officers, high officials, advisors and governors that the king should make a law that will strictly be enforced. Give orders that for the next 30 days, any person who prays to anyone divine or human except you, your majesty, will be thrown into the lion's den. Now, your majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed an Official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked. So King Darius signed the law and I paused.
Speaker 1:And the reason why there's such a big deal is the way the law went. As soon as it was put into motion, it could not be changed, like, like even the king couldn't overturn. It's just the way it was. And we see this in Esther in how, once the king put something into motion, he couldn't stop it. He could create a new law that would kind of alter it, but he couldn't stop it. So that's why they wanted him to put it into writing, so that even when he figured out what he had done, he couldn't stop it. So verse 10,.
Speaker 1:But when Daniel learned of the law that had been signed, he went home, knelt down I love this right here, as usual, in his upstairs room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. Then the officials went together to Daniel's house and found him praying and asking God for help. So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. Did you not sign a law that for the next 30 days, any person who prays to anyone divine or human except you, your majesty, will be thrown into the lion's den? Yes, the king replied. That decision stands. It is an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked. Then they told the king Well, that man, daniel, one of the captives from Judah. He is ignoring your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.
Speaker 1:Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled. He tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. In the evening the men went together to the king and said "'Your Majesty, you know that, according to the law "'of Medes and Persians went together to the king and said your Majesty, you know that, according to the law of Medes and Persians, no law the king has signed can be changed. So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you. The stone was placed, was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles so that no one could rescue Daniel.
Speaker 1:The king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn't sleep at all that night. Very early the next morning the king got up and hurried out to the lion's den. When he got there, he called out in anguish Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered long live the king. My God sent his angel to shut the lion's mouth so they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. I have not wronged you, your majesty. This joker ain't no saint, all right. He had them thrown into the lion's den along with their oh goodness, along with their wives and children. This joker ain't no saint, all right. The lions leaped upon them, tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.
Speaker 1:Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world, peace and prosperity to you. I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the god of daniel. He is the living god and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed. His rule will never end. He rescues and saves his people, he performs miraculous signs and wonders, and the heavens and on earth he rescued daniel from the power of the, and that just blows my mind. And so there's so many things we can get out of this, but here's the one.
Speaker 1:Now. First of all, did you know, did you realize, that after they got Daniel out, he went and threw the other guys and their families into the lion's den? We preachers kind of leave that one out. I know I do, and that's not because it's just because it's just terrible. But here's the thing they knew where to find Daniel, daniel, and they knew what Daniel was going to do. And so when they went to his house, after they had had the king sign the decree that if anyone worships anything other than him they'll be put to death, they went in to catch Daniel when he was supposed to be alone. Here's the question for us today what are people going to catch you doing when you think you're alone? May we always be caught serving the Lord when nobody's looking, no one's supposed to care. May we always be caught serving the Lord when the pressure is on and we know it's going to cost us. May we always be caught serving the Lord. Daniel knew that if he was caught he was going to have to pay the price, and the Bible said. He went up as he normally did and he opened the doors. He opened the windows. He said I am not ashamed of my pursuit of God. God has been with me up to this far. He will be with me the rest of the way.
Speaker 1:It reminds me of a story of a guy named Polycarp. Have you ever heard of him before? He was one of the direct disciples of the apostle John. So you had Jesus. John followed Jesus. Polycarp followed John and learned from the feet of John about the stories of Jesus and all that. And he actually even wrote some letters to some of the churches like Philippi and stuff like that, but not considered inspired because it didn't come from one of the apostles. But he lived to be like 90 years old and it was during a time of great persecution for the church and they had been looking for Polycarp. And finally, one day, these Roman soldiers showed up at Polycarp's house and they said hey, is that who you are? He said yes, sir, I am.
Speaker 1:And because he was an old man and he seemed like a very sweet man, they wanted to give Polycarp the opportunity to renounce God. And there's this famous phrase when he said up to this point, god has done me no harm and I can't do him any harm in return. And so he ended up going with them, and he was such a man of God and such a gentle, humble man that he actually they let him stop along the way and talk to some of the different churches that had been planted. And then, when he actually made it to the Roman Colosseum, they were going to tie him up and he cause, they were going to set him on fire, and they said he said, you don't have to do that, I'm not going to run, I couldn't go anywhere, god has never done me any harm and I am not going to do him any harm. And according to legend, as they lit the fire, that he didn't make a sound until finally he went to sleep.
Speaker 1:And it was this amazing moment where he said I am going to serve God, so you can catch me, but it's not going to change my pursuit of God, and so my question for you is what are people going to catch you doing?
Speaker 1:May we always be caught serving the Lord. Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, god, that you're with us and you're for us and all things, and that God, there's no telling what the future holds. There's going to be good moments, there's going to be challenges, there's going to be everything in between, but one of the things I do know is I know, god, that you're faithful and I pray that we will always be caught following you, serving you in all things. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen. But don't forget what the three Hebrew teenagers said to Nebuchadnezzar back in chapter three, daniel three. They said God is able to save us, but even if he doesn't, we will never serve your gods. My prayer is that you will realize that God is in control and it will give you and me both courage to live every day faithfully. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Daniel, chapter seven.
