The Brown Bible

Posted By Jane Harvester on October 12, 2009

Many times I hear people say that they believe the Bible and they trust in what He says, and immediately follow that up with negatives.  “I know God will take care of me, but flu season is here and all of my coworkers are sick” or “I know God says to take no thought of what we eat or wear, He’s clothed the lilies of the field and all that, but I just lost my job”.

Well, to my recollection, “flu season” or losing a job or having a sickness that the world says is terminal is not powerful enough to stop God working in your life.  This is the same God that merely spoke and light appeared; He spoke and water parted from land; He spoke and creatures came into being.  Remember Genesis chapter 1?
 

Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

“And it was so”.  He created much more but the point is it didn’t stop to think about it, it didn’t hesitate, it didn’t question, it didn’t argue, it didn’t say “well, I’m out of a job” or “it’s really not the right condition for this kind of thing” or “I’ll try and see if that happens, maybe if I’m lucky it will” – IT WAS SO.  When God speaks, things absolutely happen.

The same Creator who spoke things into being is the same Creator who is your Heavenly Father.  (If you are not part of our family, I invite you to join us by reading and believing Romans 10:9 and 10.  Go ahead, I’ll wait here for you.  There are a lot of perks in this family.)

One of my favorite records of deliverance is in the book of Daniel.  He was a Godly man who was recognized for his wisdom and placed as one of the main heads of the kingdom he was in.  He so distinguished himself that the king sought to put him in charge of the whole of the kingdom.  However, his coworkers were not happy at this idea and tried to find fault in him to make charges against him, but were unsuccessful.  The plot thickens:

Daniel 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

They knew he prayed three times a day to God and thought if they could trap him doing this, they could bring him down.  So they tricked King Darius into signing a decree.

Daniel 6:7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

I don’t know why Darius signed the decree; perhaps he had a moment of vanity, or maybe he was thinking “ok, whatever, just get out of here so I can get back to that great feast and watch the cute belly dancers” or whatever kings did back then for entertainment.

After this, Daniel went crazy with fear and left the kingdom.  NO!  Did he say “Hey God, my coworkers are causing problems for me so if You don’t mind, I will stop worshipping You this month until this silly decree is over and we’ll pick up where we left off”?  NO again!  He and God were still tight.

Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, [in full defiance of this law - he knew what he was doing] he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

Let me point out that Daniel “gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime”.  He didn’t start complaining about how his coworkers were treating him, he didn’t start doubting God’s power to deliver, he didn’t even start asking for vengeance against his enemies because he was right and they were wrong – the record says he was GIVING THANKS, just as he did prior to this situation.  He didn’t fear what man could do to him because he had a constant relationship with God.

So naturally, the bad guys ran back to King Darius just waiting to tattle on Daniel.

Daniel 6:12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?  The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.

Darius knew he’d been foolish.  To his credit, he tried to fix it.

Daniel 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.

Kings didn’t have to do anything but what they wanted to do.  He could’ve gone “oh well, Daniel was a good guy, I guess I’ll need to search for another one like him” or promoted one of those other men to his position and had that be the end of things.  But he cared enough for Daniel that he worked long and hard to try to find a loophole to get him out of this mess.  He was unsuccessful.  The bad guys reminded the king that any decree or statute the king pronounced couldn’t be changed.

Meanwhile, the Bible doesn’t record that Daniel went around very sad and upset with the hand that had been dealt to him, although he had every right to be.  It doesn’t say what he did during this time, but I would guess he was still talking with God.  I  know I would sure be talking with God if my life was in danger!

So the time came for the sentence to be carried out:

Daniel 6:16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions.  Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

I don’t know if the king really believed Daniel’s God was this big, or if he was just trying to be comforting to him, or hinting to whatever god Daniel served that “hey, this guy is always serving you, maybe you owe him a favor”, but I always thought it was interesting that he did bother to say this.  Some people would just go “nice knowing you” or “good luck” or some such.  He did know that Daniel “servest (God) continually” – whether through his lifestyle, confessions or what, I don’t know, because the Bible says he prayed in his chamber rather than making a public spectacle of it, but I would think that there would be other outward indications that Daniel believed God, else how would the king know about this?

Daniel 6:17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

The king was not happy and was restless that night, and as soon as he had the legal opportunity to do so, he went to check on Daniel.

Daniel 6:19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
23 Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den.  So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

Why was no manner of hurt found on Daniel?  Because he believed in his God.  He knew how big his God was, and he believed and trusted that God would take care of him, even when faced with what seemed to be certain death.  And just in case anyone thinks the lions simply weren’t hungry:

Daniel 6:24 A nd the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.

Going from not being hurt at all to lions having the mastery over men before they even hit the bottom of the pit is pretty amazing.  His deliverance was so impressive to the king that he made another, more sensible decree:

Daniel 6:26 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

This king recognized the awesome power and majesty of God working on Daniel’s behalf, to “delivereth and rescueth”.  Daniel recognized that he worshipped a mighty God and went to Him with his thanksgiving, on a daily basis.  That same God, who spoke the universe into being, as well as cared enough to rescue this single man from death, is the same God who is our Father.  Daniel knew God as, at best, a servant could know a faithful master, but we have the incomprehensible blessing of having that mighty Creator as our Father through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice!  How thankful we should be!

So if your confessions tend to be “God is great, but (fill in the blank with whatever negative circumstance is applicable)”, work to change your mind and fill it with the thankful attitude that Daniel showed.  Our God is not limited by man’s decrees, injustices, physical ailments or even death – He is a God who commands things into being, whose very words work with power.  When He is believed, things change.  Believing God’s Word about Christ gave us eternal life and acceptance with God, just as believing on the rest of His Word will teach of His goodness and miracles and provide an escape from whatever ails you.  Don’t limit God by circumstances that appear hopeless and how you think things will wind up; dare to believe that our God is big enough to provide your answers and rescue!

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