Pastor Jon Burnham explores Scripture, spiritual formation, and authentic community, moving beyond surface inspiration.
02 May 2009
How to Face a Monster
Daniel 6:16-28
16Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!" 17A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.
19Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?" 21Daniel then said to the king, "O king, live forever! 22My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong." 23Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions - they, their dren, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.
25Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: "May you have abundant prosperity! 26I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should 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 has no end. 27He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; for he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions." 28So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
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Wow. I've seen lions at the zoo. They are separated from the spectators by a high fence and a deep ditch filled with water. Imagine being dropped down into the lion's cage ... and the lions haven't eaten for a few days ... and ... you get the picture. We aren't likely to get eaten by lions (as did some early Christians in Rome's Colisseum) but we do face our own monsters such as addictions (TV, Web, alcohol, prescription drugs, sex, etc.). When we find the courage to face them down we may find such monsters lose their bite. Until then, we run away in the terror of denial, busyness, or mindless that is called "culture" in the grand ole USA. Here's a man who faced his monster -->
01 May 2009
You Gonna Have to Serve Somebody
1It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, 2and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. 4So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. 5The men said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."
6So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever! 7All the presidents 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 interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. 8Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked." 9Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.
10Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously. 11The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. 12Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, "O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?" The king answered, "The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked." 13Then they responded to the king, "Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day."
14When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. 15Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, "Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed."
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Notice how the law is used against Daniel. Law is power on paper. Those who have the power write on paper. Their writings become law. There is a higher law. It is called "God's law." Sometimes God's law and human law come into conflict. When that happens, we have a choice to make. Will we follow God's law as Daniel did even when that means personal inconvenience? Or will we will follow the "law of the land" even when it goes against the law of God?
This is not just as ancient dilemma faced by Daniel in the Babylonian court thousands of years ago. Reformed Pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, faced the same quandary in Nazi Germany during WWII. Bonhoeffer chose to follow the law of God rather than the law of the land. He was murdered for making that choice. Perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind when he challenged his disciples to "count the cost" before they signed on to follow him. Bottom line: You're gonna have to serve somebody.
More about Dietrich Bonhoeffer here.