24 At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

25 Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound. 26 I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:

For He is the living God,
and He endures forever;
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and His dominion will never end.

27 He delivers and rescues;
He performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth,
for He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Matt Radloff

Darius’ declaration of praise for God finds its place at the very end of the first half of the book. Over and over again, God has proved that he is mighty. God has shown that while kingdoms rise and fall, he remains in control. The kingdom of Babylon was crushed by Persia. And Persia too will eventually crumble into dust. Unlike the kings of this world, God endures forever. Unlike the nations that stand strong for a time, God’s dominion will never end. Unlike the gods of the world, Daniel’s God, our God, is the living God. The only right response for all the people of the world is to tremble in fear before him. He is totally unopposed and completely sovereign. 

What’s more, the living, mighty God has shown that he actually cares for his people. Sometimes I think we can forget how amazing that really is. The eternal, all-powerful, fear-inducing God, cares about us. Throughout the book of Daniel, he’s shown that he can and he will save his people from the enemy. He shielded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fire when they refused to bow to idols. He closed the lions' mouths when Daniel refused the king's law and persisted in only praying to God. He delivers and rescues. He performs signs and wonders to save. 

We can have real security knowing that the eternal, living God is with us. He delivered Daniel from the lions, and he has delivered us from sin and death through his son. One day, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that the Son, Jesus Christ, is lord. We can look forward to that day when the whole world will know that God alone saves. That he is the living God who has delivered his people. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt is one of our Student Ministers.