Shut Your Mouth!

 In Daniel 6, there is a story that most people have heard about.  A man named Daniel, well up in years since being brought to Babylon as a teen, is about to be promoted to a high position in the kingdom. As a result, there are some people who feel they are more deserving because they were "nationals". They are jealous of Daniel, and they devise a plan to take him out of the picture. There is only one way to do that, turn the King against him because of the God he serves.

So, these men, go to the king and say, 

“O King Darius, live forever! All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction."

Why the king would make sure a injunction is strange to me. He knew Daniel, he was his friend. He liked him and he knew Daniel would not abide by this injunction. 

So, Daniel being the man he is and serving the God he serves straight away goes to his upper room, in front of a window that faced Jerusalem, and prayed were he could be seen. He was not afraid of man's law or petty jealousy. The men who had invented the plan to "get" Daniel watched, surveilled, and took notes as Daniel everyday prayed to God for guidance in this matter. 

These men went to the king, they told him Daniel had broken the law. They showed him evidence and demanded Daniel be thrown in the lion's den. Darius was worried and tried to think of a way to get Daniel out of this. He fretted over it all day but in the end there was nothing he could do. 

Daniel was brought to the lion's den and as he was lowered inside the king said...

“May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

That night the king could not sleep for he was worried that Daniel was being mauled by the lions. At the break of day, he hurried to see what had become of Daniel. He yelled...

“O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"

Daniel answered back, very calm and confident... 

 “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 

God sent and angel to tell the lions to shut their mouths. I image that the lions were very hungry by now. They hadn't eating in a while.  The men who were jealous of Daniel should have kept their mouths shut also. As a result of their wanting to get Daniel out of the way, they condemned their whole families to death. They were all thrown in the lion's den and the lions started mauling them before they even hit the floor. Then Darius makes this proclamation!

"I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God, enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

What is the moral of this story? Just so you know I believe it is truth, an account that happened, but that question seemed to be a good one!  We need to look at our lives and take the lions as an example. God told them to shut their mouths. Maybe we should think before we speak. 

Do I as a human being get jealous of other people? Do I wish harm on people who are perceived to be better than me? Do I gossip and tell untruths just to put them in a bad light? I think you see where I am going. God has told us to shut our mouths! As a fleshly person, it is hard to keep my mouth shut. I strive to pray for and wish good on those I am jealous or bitter toward. I want to be like Daniel. Bringing my petition to God instead of taking my jealousy and hurt out on the person who probably doesn't even know I feel that way. 

If God can shut the mouths of lions, He can help me keep my mouth shut when I need to! I am not perfect; I do keep a lot of hurt and jealousy bottled up inside. I try very hard to deal with it in an appropriate way and remember that God wants me to be like Daniel. He felt the pressure of these men, and he brought them to God. God did exactly what he always does, He took care of the situation. 

Let's learn to be like Daniel! We are all human and get hurt feelings but there is no reason we should talk badly or against those people. A wise bunny once said 

" If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all"

Thanks for reading! I pray that you have a blessed life!