The God of Deliverance

UV 1041/10,000 The God of Deliverance

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.

Daniel 6 v 16

Whatver the king or the executive commands, his servant or employee does. How much more effectively and decisively God who created the universe and sustains it with His Word is able to execute His will? The king’s or boss’s power can only produce respect and compliance but the Lord’s power will produce jaw-dropping awe, reverence and faith. King Darius knew he was doing an unjust act in yielding to the accusation of his advisers against the upright Daniel. He ordered Daniel to be thrown into the den of lions since he had broken the law of the Medes and Persians in worshipping His God as was his habit even after the promulgation of an edict prohibiting it. But Nebuchadnezzar had a gut feeling that the God of Daniel would deliver him from death in the lions’ den.

The only way we can serve God is by acknowledging, thanking and praising Him for our lives and every aspect of our lives. Daniel’s testimony had reached the king’s ears and had touched him. Daniel had humbled himself from the days of his youth before the God of Israel. He had realized that the nation of Israel was sent into captivity and scattered as they had displeased the Lord who had delivered their ancestors from slavery and misery in Egypt. He knelt three times at the window of his room that faced towards Jerusalem and prayed for Israel. The Lord gave him a spirit of excellence and wisdom. He listened to his every word from the first day he humbled himself and prayed. He gave him gifts of visions, dreams and their interpretation. He made him and his companions Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego outstanding administrators. Darius had developed some faith that God would save Daniel from the lions’ deadly jaws as he had heard of how Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego had come unscathed (with not even a hair singed) out of a fierce furnace into which they had been cast for refusing to worship the image of his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar. He thought that the same God who had delivered those three would possibly deliver Daniel too.

When we serve God continually, wholeheartedly and faithfully, the Lord will deliver us regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Daniel and his friends were ready to stake their lives for their faith. It is an irony that even several millennia later that even today, many men of God in the area of ancient Babylon or modern Middle East are condemned to cruel deaths. It is said that more people are being martyred for their faith in Christ today world-wide from North Korea to Africa than even in Roman times. The question arises as to why does God not deliver them? Many are delivered though many are martyred as it is the Lord’s sovereign will. Their blood would not be shed in vain and the Lord will accomplish His purpose. Just as the deliverance of Daniel and his companions led to even the king realizing the might and power of God and to give Him praise, either way it will lead to more people serving God, more souls being saved. The lions’ den today is also a metaphor for the various threats and dangers, believers face on account of their faith. The Lord the great Deliverer promises that His presence would be closest to us at these times. He will shut the lions’ mouths that it cannot harm or endanger us. Daniel escaped the lions’ jaws, his friends escaped the fiery furnace. I survived a bomb blast and a drowning in the sea. The times had changed, the threats had changed but it is the same God of deliverance at work even today in our midst.

Prateep V Philip