In the lion's den

Yesterday we came to the end of our six week sermon series on the book of Daniel, with the story of Daniel in the lion's den.

Faced with a royal ban on prayer, Daniel was steadfast and defiant: 

When Daniel learned that the order had been signed, he went home. In an upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced toward Jerusalem. There, just as he had always done, he knelt down at the open windows and prayed to God three times a day’’

 

 The king had no choice but to consign Daniel to the pit of lions ('May the God you serve so loyally, rescue you')

Daniel emerged unscathed:  'Daniel answered, “May Your Majesty live forever! God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. He did this because he knew that I was innocent and because I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

and the king proclaimed the greatness of Daniel's God to all the people of his empire:  

“Greetings! I command that throughout my empire everyone should fear and respect Daniel's God.

“He is a living God, and he will rule forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
 and his power will never come to an end.
 He saves and rescues; he performs wonders and miracles  in heaven and on earth. He saved Daniel from being killed by the lions.”

In the whole book, several themes have emerged over and over again, about living faithfully for God in a strange land and in the face of opposition. As we continue, our focus on discipleship here at St James and St Anne's, we have learnt a lot from the book of Daniel.