Daniel 5-6 — Chuck Smith

Daniel 5: Babylonian Succession and Belshazzar's Rule

Daniel, chapter 5, and the year is approximately 536 BC. There's probably 26 years that have elapsed since chapter 4 and chapter 5. King Nebuchadnezzar died in 562, after ruling for about 43 years. He was succeeded by his son, who was known as Evil Muradach, who ruled for only two years, and he was murdered by Negrogelesar, who was Nebuchadnezzar's son-in-law and Evil Muradach's brother-in-law.

Nerogelesar ruled for about four years, and he was killed in 556. He ruled from 560 to 556, and he had an imbecile son, Labashni Marduk, who ruled for about nine months, and he was beaten to death by Nebonidas, who ended up reigning for 17 years.

And so, you say, well then, who is Belshazzar? Belshazzar was the oldest son of Nebonidas, and his father was co-regent. He was co-regent with his father. In other words, they were ruling together. The term father in the Hebrew can also mean ancestor.

So when it says Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, he was actually sort of a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, but he, again, was just a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar. And when it says son, it can mean ancestor of Nebuchadnezzar.

Babylon's Splendor and Belshazzar's Arrogance

King Belshazzar ruled in Babylon, and it was the most beautiful city probably in the world, or ever in the world. Nothing could rival the city of Babylon. It was about 16 miles square. The walls of the city of Babylon were 300 feet high, 80 feet thick.

They could have racehorses along the top of the walls of Babylon, and it had beautiful avenues and parks, and the river Euphrates ran through the middle of the city of Babylon. The hanging gardens of Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

In the city of Babylon was this temple of Bel, who was their chief god, and it was an eight-story structure. And there was also the magnificent palace of the king, and it was actually a complex of buildings that have now been excavated, and a great bridge spanned the river Euphrates, and it connected the eastern section and the western section of the city.

The bridge was later supplanted by a tunnel mentioned by Diodorus. One of the chief attractions of the palace that we mentioned was that it was located in the center of the city. It did not have an average dining room, but the dining room was immense.

The central table in the dining room could seat 1 ,000 lords, wives, and their concubines. It was set to be in a horseshoe shape, and trained peacocks with golden harnesses pulled golden carts loaded with wines and meats up and down the tables in the garden, and there was an orchestra of 32 ,000 players that furnished the music.

Large feasts were common. 10 ,000 were invited to the feast of Alexander the Great there in that palace. Persian kings often had 15 ,000 guests at daily banquets. Belshazzar was cocky because he felt secure behind the walls of this great city, and the double wall surrounded the city, and it was about 87 feet thick.

There was enough room for six chariots to drive side by side, and they were as high as 350 feet high. It had 250 towers that equally went up to 450 feet, and around the walls there was a moat that was fed by the river Euphrates, and food would not be a problem because they could store enough food in the city of Babylon to last for 20 years.

Belshazzar was pompous, he was proud, and his attitude led to his perverseness. So, that gives you a little background to the fifth chapter, the history of Belshazzar. Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords.

The Desecration of Jerusalem's Temple Vessels

He drank wine before the thousand, and Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and the silver vessels, which his father and, as I said, his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple, which was at Jerusalem, that the king and his princes and his wives and concubines might drink therein.

And so they brought in the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem, and the king and his princes, his wives, and his concubines drank in them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron and wood, and of stone.

Rather than praising the true and the living God, drinking out of these vessels that, when the king was a little tipsy, he ordered them brought. They were vessels that were taken by his grandfather Belshazzar from the temple in Jerusalem.

They were the vessels that were used for worship in the temple in Jerusalem, and now he converts them and uses them to, you know, drink at this drunken, kind of debauched situation. You think of, you know, today, a person who is given over to alcohol, we say, well, he has a disease.

You know, we used to just say, well, he's an alcoholic, but that isn't politically correct, so you say, well, he has a disease. If alcoholism is a disease, it's interesting because it's the only disease that can be bottled and sold.

It is the only disease that can be contracted by the will of man, the only disease that requires a license to propagate it, the only disease that requires outlets to spread it, the only disease that produces revenue for the government, and the only disease that provokes crime, the only disease that is habit-forming, the only disease that brings violent death on the highways, and the only disease that spreads by advertising, and the only disease without a germ or a virus cause.

In 2 Chronicles 36, 23, we read of Cyrus, the king of Persia, and so the same hour that it came forth, here he is in this banquet hall, this big, huge banquet hall, a thousand of his lords with their concubines and wives and all, and so in the same hour as they were there drinking and all from these vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem, the same hour came forth the fingers of a man's hand, and it rode over against the candlestick from the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that rode.

Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. I don't know you've ever been so scared that your knees just, you lost control of them, and they began to smite against each other.

I had a very close call with an accident when I was in high school in my dad's car, and I can remember that it was, I don't know how I got out of it except that the Lord just saw me. I thought for sure that was it, but somehow I escaped, even crashing, but my knees didn't escape.

I tried to stand up, and they began to smite against each other, so I understand what this is talking about when it says his knees were smiting against each other. He was very troubled, and so the king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, the soothsayers.

The king spoke and said unto the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me in the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be a third ruler in the kingdom.

Because he was co-regent with his father, the best he could offer would be third in the kingdom. He and his father sort of shared the kingdom, but he is offering now a third of the kingdom to whoever could interpret the writing that was there on the wall.

The king, Belshazzar, was greatly troubled. His countenance was changed, and the lords were astonished. Now the queen, that would be the wife of Belshazzar, I mean the wife of Nebuchadnezzar, and she was still alive at this time.

She came in and was brought in, actually, to the banquet house, and she spoke and said, O king, live forever. Don't let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance be changed. There is a man in the kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and in the days of your father, that is your grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him, whom the king, Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers.

For as much as an excellent spirit and knowledge and understanding, the interpreting of dreams, the showing of hard sentences, and the dissolving of doubts, were found in this same Daniel, whom the king named Belshazzar.

Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. So then Daniel was brought in before the king, and the king spake and said to Daniel, Are you that Daniel, which are of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king, my father, brought out of Jewry?

I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. And now the wise men, the astrologers, they have been brought, and this writing, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof, but they could not show the interpretation of the thing.

And I've heard of thee, that you can make interpretations and dissolve doubts, and now if thou canst read the writing and make known to me the interpretation thereof, you will be clothed with scarlet, have a chain of gold around your neck, and you shall be third ruler in the kingdom.

And so then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to thyself, give your rewards to another, yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. So Daniel is offered this great reward if he would just read to the king the writing that was on the wall, but he said, No, you can keep your rewards, but I'll go ahead and tell you what it says anyhow.

So Daniel answered and said to the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, give your rewards to someone else, I'll read the writing to the king, and make him know the interpretation. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor.

And the majesty that he gave him, all of the people and nations and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would he slew, whom he would he kept alive. Whom he would he set up, whom he would he put down.

But when his heart was lifted up, his mind was hardened in pride. He was deposed from the kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. And he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beast in his dwelling with the wild donkeys, and they fed him with grass like oxen.

His body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and he appointed over it whomsoever he would. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though you knew all of this.

But you have lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee. And you and your lords and your wives and your concubines have drunk wine in them.

And you have praised the gods of silver and gold and brass, iron, wood, stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know. And the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all thy ways, have you not glorified?".

So, it's interesting, Daniel is brought in to interpret this writing on the wall for the king, but he takes the opportunity to first of all sort of rebuke the king for his prolific life style that he had.

And so, he is telling him that, you know, you profaned these vessels that were used in the temple of God brought by Belshazzar, or brought by your uncle Nebuchadnezzar, your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem, and you've drunk your wine out of them, and you were praising the gods of gold and silver, but the God in whose hand your very breath is.

God Holds Every Breath

They tell us that our lungs are an involuntary muscle in your body. We do have certain voluntary muscles in our body. They are attached to the skeleton of the body, and they are controlled by your mind.

You can, you know, say, you know, you can order your hand to, you know, move out, and your fist to double up, and you have control over these muscles that are in your arm, in your hand, and in your feet, legs, and so forth.

As your moms used to tell you, you know, you know, go get that, you know, and just, you know, you have the control of those muscles and can, you know, order them, and they will obey. But you also have what they call involuntary muscles.

One of the involuntary muscles, of course, is your heart, and you don't have to tell your heart, beat, beat, beat. You know, think how long you would live if you had to control your heart with your brain, you know.

It's interesting to me that those muscles in your body that have to do with the preservation of your life, God doesn't give you the control of those. He keeps the control of those muscles. He only lets you control those muscles that can help you facilitate picking up a pencil off the table and writing a note and so forth.

But the muscles upon which your life really depends, you don't have any control over those. So with the lungs, you don't have to think to breathe. Now, there are some people that have some kind of a problem, and they do have to think to breathe.

And so they can only sleep in about 21 seconds, and they have to wake up, and they take a breath, and then go back to sleep. I forget what the thing is called, narcolepsy or something like that. But it's a sad thing when you don't have control of the lung muscles.

But God has control, and you can be thankful for that. And here he is saying, the God in whose hand your very breath is. God is controlling our breath. And what is it? We're breathing some 60, 70 times a minute and so forth.

But the God in whose hand your very breath is. I guess from 20 to 60 times a minute, you can breathe. But God is controlling the breath, the God in whose hand your very breath is. You have not glorified.

The Writing on the Wall and God's Judgment

And so it was a part of the hand that was sent from him, and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written. And so he's interpreting it for him. And the meaning is, God has numbered thy kingdom and finished it.

In other words, your number's up, buddy. It's over. And Tekel, you are weighed in the balance and found wanting. It's interesting. It's talking about balance or scales, where they use the balances for the weighing.

You've been weighed in the balances and found wanting. There's probably a truth about all of us. If God is weighing us in the balances, and, you know, what is the weight that we are being weighed against?

Well, righteousness. But whose righteousness sits on the scales over here? The righteousness of God. And, of course, if you compare your righteousness to the righteousness of God, you are, along with Belshazzar, going to find yourself wanting.

I mean, how can we possibly hope to be as righteous as Jesus Christ? And that's the righteousness that we're going to be measured by if we are going to want entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Now, there are a lot of people that are trying to use their own righteousness as the basis of being accepted by God.

Well, if that is your position, I feel sorry for you. God help you. You don't have a chance. And so that is why it is so foolish for man to think that somehow I can be righteous enough, I can be good enough, that God will accept my righteousness.

The Bible tells us that our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in the sight of God. And it is not by the works of righteousness but by the righteousness which is of Christ through faith that God has justified us.

And so the importance of being weighed in those balances, the importance is that I am not depending upon my righteousness to give me an entrance into heaven. But the righteousness which is of Christ that has been offered to me through faith in Jesus Christ.

So this is the interpretation. You've been weighed in the balances. You've found wanting. And Paris, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. And then commanded Belshazzar that they clothe Daniel with scarlet, put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be a third ruler in the kingdom.

And that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom being about three score and two years old or 62 years old. So the transition from the head of gold, the Babylonian kingdom, to the Medo-Persian kingdom.

And so we are moving now into the chest of silver, the Medo-Persian empire that replaced the Babylonian empire. The conquering of the city of Babylon as we read earlier the size of the city and the size of the walls and so forth.

We realize that, you know, how difficult it would be to take a city of that size with walls that high, 350 feet high and 87 feet thick with a moat around it. And how in the world could you possibly conquer a city of that kind of defenses of walls that are that big and that tall.

And so it's interesting to note in history how that Cyrus was the general who was in charge of the Medo-Persian army that took the city of Babylon. Cyrus became the king of the Medo-Persian empire some three years later.

But Darius was the king at the time that the Medo-Persian empire conquered the Babylonian empire. And he only ruled for three years until he died. And then Cyrus, king of Persia, took over. So it's interesting history to look at.

Daniel's Promotion and the Envy of Officials

And as we get into chapter 6, we find the history of Daniel to the ascension of Cyrus the king. So through the three years of Darius, the king of the Medo-Persians. So it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 princes, which should be over the whole kingdom.

And over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was the first, that the prince might be given account to them and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and the princes because of an excellent spirit that was in him.

And the king thought to set him over the whole realm. And so Daniel was just accepted immediately by Darius and made the ruler over the three major presidents that the king had set up over the whole kingdom.

But that created a jealousy among the other princes and so they conspired against Daniel to try to bring him down. And so they were jealous of Daniel and the promotion under Darius. So jealousy is a horrible thing.

And of course it's manifested in these fellows that were jealous of Daniel. It robs a person of joy. It makes you angry. It makes you unreasonable. And it causes you to magnify your malice and magnify the menial problems.

Little problems become huge when jealousy gets involved. It disqualifies the deeds and the accomplishments of others. You can't rejoice in their successes and in things that you should be able to say well that was a great job or my that was wonderful the way they were able to handle that.

It causes you to want to falsify the facts of the situation to alter and to change the facts. It gives you a desire for greed and for revenge and to try and get revenge against them. It identifies the imperfections of the other person.

And it justifies your jeering and your jealousy of them. And it petrifies your passion and your concern for people. It vilifies the victories and the veneration of the people of whom you are jealous. Solomon warned of the ruthlessness of jealousy.

In Proverbs 6 .34 he said for jealousy is the rage of a man. Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. So here are the men who are jealous over the promotion of Daniel. Interesting here is a changing now of kingdoms.

The Medo-Persian kingdom has supplanted the Babylonian kingdom. But Daniel immediately is placed, he is recognized as a leader and he is placed over the three men who were chosen as the ones that were to oversee the kingdom and to keep the Darius from any damages.

And so they were there as governors, as men running the kingdom. So these presidents and princes, verse 4, sought to find an occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom. But they could find no occasion nor fault.

For as much as he was a faithful man, neither was there any error or fault found in him. It's interesting in the Bible there are heroes and men that are, you know, you read of their exploits and all for the Lord.

But, you know, the Bible is very straightforward. I mean it doesn't try to paint a rosy picture of everybody. And where there are problems, where there are failures, it tells you of their pimples and the things that are not perfect in the person.

In other words, it doesn't gloss everyone as just perfect. David, a great man, but boy, he wasn't a perfect man by a long shot. And the Bible tells you of the problems of David. And so you'll find with most of those in the Bible, Gideon.

You know, God used him in a mighty way, but he had some real problems. And the Bible tells you of the problems of Gideon. And so what is in the Bible, it doesn't try to gloss over the problems that exist in people.

But with Daniel, you don't find anything negative about Daniel in the Scriptures. And he's about the only one that was used mightily of God. And we don't read of any really things that would disqualify him as being an instrument that God could use in a very special way.

So I really like this guy, Daniel. And I wish I could be like him. Oh, my. But it created the jealousy with these other presidents and princes. And so they were looking for just something to accuse him of.

And they were looking for some kind of a fault, an occasion of fault in him. For as much as he was faithful, and neither was there any error or fault found in him. So these men said, we will not find any occasion against this Daniel unless we can create one concerning the law of his God.

The Decree Against Prayer

And so these three presidents and princes assembled together to the king. And they said unto the king, King Darius lived forever. All of the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, the princes, the counselors, 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 30 days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. And now, O king, establish the decree. Sign the writing that it is not changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which altereth not.

Wherefore, King Darius, sign the writing and the decree. So we find that these guys are using flattery. They're using lies. They're saying, you know, that all of the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, the princes, and others, all of the counselors, we've all come to this, you know, conclusion.

They were only three of them that did, but they tried to make it as something that everyone, you know, is approving of this. And so often we hear people speak in generalizations, well, everybody's doing it.

And, you know, that's one of the things that we used to use with our parents, isn't it? When we wanted to go somewhere and they would not want us to go. But everybody's going, you know. Well, not everybody, but, you know, you try and make it look like everybody's in agreement with it, where in reality they were not.

So they were buttering him up, and as a result, he did sign this decree. No one can make any petition or request from anyone except the king himself, Darius, unless, you know, he was the only one. Wouldn't that be a horrible thing to think that you couldn't ask anybody for anything?

You know, you want to borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbor, and you have to get Darius' permission to go ask him for a cup of sugar. I mean, what in the world was he thinking to sign a decree like that, to put him in the position where people couldn't ask anybody for anything unless they would ask through him?

And so he did sign the writing and the decree. The blindness of pride, and they sort of appealed to that, and he fell for it. So he signed this decree. But it was through flattery that they actually got him to sign that decree.

And Proverbs 29 .5 says, A man that flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. So be careful when people come around with flattery. Quite often they're just setting a net for your feet, as they were with Darius.

Jealousy as Discontent and Disorder

These men who were jealous of Daniel. Another effect of jealousy, of course, is that you become difficult. When you lose your joy, jealousy can make you critical and ungrateful. You do not appreciate what you have because you're focused on what you don't have.

For example, the laborers were not grateful for the wages they had received and agreed upon in Matthew 26 -14. We read, Jesus tells this parable,. About the eleventh hour he went out and he found others standing idle.

He went out in the morning, found these fellows standing idle in the marketplace. He said, go out and harvest my field and in the evening I'll pay you your wages for the day. So these fellows went out in the early morning and they labored harvesting the field.

And about noon, as this owner was in the marketplace, he saw other fellows standing idle. And he said, go out and harvest in my field and at the end of the day I'll pay you. And then about four o 'clock in the afternoon, in the marketplace again, other fellows standing idle.

He said, go out and harvest in my field and at the end of the day I'll pay you. So they went out and they also harvested in his field. So the eleventh hour they went out and he found others that were standing idle.

He said unto them, why stand you idle all day? They said unto him, because no man has hired us. He said unto them, go out into the vineyard and whatever is right you shall receive. So when the evening was come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, the foreman, call the labors and give them their hire, beginning from the last to the first.

And when they came, those that were hired at the eleventh hour, they received every man a day's wages. But when those that came first, they thought that they should receive more. And they likewise received every man a day's wages.

And when they had received their money, they murmured against the owner of the field. And they said, these last were only there for one hour and you've made them equal to us. And we have borne the burden of the heat of the day.

But he answered and he said unto them, friend, I do thee no wrong. Did you not agree that you would work for so much during the day? Then how much did we give you? So take that which is yours, go your way, and I will give unto the last, even as unto thee.

So it's interesting, jealousy, because, you know, it seems like I did more and they got the same amount. And so jealousy causes you to become difficult. The third effect of jealousy is you become disgusted and disapproving.

Saul's Jealousy of David

Saul was bitter and angry toward David because of his jealousy of David. He could not do anything right because Saul was so upset about what the people were singing. Instead of being thankful for David's military service, he griped.

In 1 Samuel 18, 6 to 9, it came to pass as they came when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistines, that the women came out of the cities of Israel. They were singing and dancing to meet King Saul with the tablets of joy, instruments of music.

The women answered one another as they played. They said, Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very angry at this saying and it displeased him. He said, they've ascribed to David ten thousands and to me they've ascribed but a thousand.

What can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day forward, jealous of him. Rather than being thankful that David had been used of God, killed Goliath, he's just angry with David and now after David.

So Saul focused on David's every move and this is what jealousy does. It makes you bitter, it makes you angry and causes you to use up emotional energy and strength. William Penn put it this way, the jealous are a troublesome to others and a torment to themselves.

Proverbs 1430, a sound heart is the life of the flesh but envy is rottenness to the bones. A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body but jealousy is like cancer in the bones. Jealousy is a trait of carnal, worldly, immature person.

First Corinthians 3 .3, for you are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are you not carnal and do you not walk as men? So the fourth effect of jealousy, it damages relationships.

We've seen this already in the life of Joseph and his brothers. The relationship with Saul and David, when we are jealous of others, we reveal the lack of love and our concern for them and this is why jealousy is to be flushed from our lives.

First Corinthians 13 .4, love suffers long and is kind, love envieth not, bonds not itself and is not puffed up. A love and concern for others will help you conquer jealousy and jealousy in the lives of others who may be jealous of you.

D .L. Moody told two merchants between whom there was great rivalry and bitter feeling. One of them was converted, he went to his minister, he said, I'm still jealous of that man and I don't know how to overcome it.

Well, said Moody, if a man comes into your store to buy goods and you cannot supply him, just send him over to your neighbor. He said he wouldn't like to do that. Well, said the minister, if you do it, you will kill the jealousy.

And sure enough, when he began sending customers over to his rival for goods, he himself did not have the rivalry ceased. Having a servant spirit, loving and being concerned about others, giving credit or praise to those who have helped you will promote unity and will subdue jealousy.

Romans 12 .10, be kindly affection one to another with brotherly love in honor preferring one another. Paul makes it clear that we're to be devoted to each other with genuine love and affection. We're no longer to be eager and excited.

We are to be eager and excited about honoring each other. John 4 .11, first John 4 .11, beloved, if God so loved us, so we ought also to love one another. The fifth effect of jealousy is it brings disunity and disorder.

Jealousy Damages Families and Spiritual Growth

Jealousy creates dissension and disorder. It divides people by the conflict that is created by pride, anger, selfishness. Selfishness is a real relationship killer. Pride is the gasoline that fuels the flame of jealousy.

James warns of the problem. He said, if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. James 3 .16, for where there is envying and strife, there is confusion and every evil work.

The men of Ephraim chided Gideon on account of their jealousy over Israel's military victory. They were upset that they were not included in the battle, which means that they would not get the spoils also.

In Judges 8 .1, the men of Ephraim said to him, Why hast thou served us thus, and you didn't call us when you went to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply. And so we've seen the effects of jealousy.

It causes you to lose your joy, to become difficult, and to become disgusting and disapproving, and it damages your relationships. It leads to distress in the home. We've already noted the tension that plagued Jacob's home when Rachel envied Leah.

In Genesis 31, when Rachel saw that she bared Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister and said to Jacob, Give me children or else I die. It disrupts spiritual growth. We are to lay aside our envy and desire the sincere milk of the word that we might grow spiritually.

Jealousy will hinder your spiritual growth. Peter wrote, Wherefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you might grow thereby.

If we're going to desire and crave anything, then crave that which will not make us jealous or hurt us. Peter said, Crave the right things. Crave the word of God. So, here was this jealousy from these fellas, and we see how it led them to try to destroy Daniel.

Daniel's Commitment to Prayer

So, the thing that I like here, they had the king sign this decree. You couldn't ask anything of anybody. They knew that Daniel was a man of prayer, and so they figured that's the only way we're going to trip him up, is to make this decree, have the king sign it, and with the Medes and the Persians, once a decree was signed, there was no altering or changing of that decree.

So, when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went to his house, his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem. He kneeled upon his knees three times a day. He prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did before time.

And then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. So, I love this. Daniel knew that it was signed. He knew that it was against him, and it was aimed against him, but rather than backing down, and this is why we sing, Dare to be a Daniel.

Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm. Dare to make it known. And that's why, as children, we always admired Daniel so much. It's these stories of Daniel and his facing, really, the consequences of disobeying the order of the king, knowing what it would cost him, and yet his principles are so high, he's not going to change his actions just because this decree was designed against him.