Proverbs 26:27 says, ‘Whoever digs a pit will fall into it and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.’ Which means whatever one sows, one will reap the same. It also says in Proverb 21:30 that, ‘There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.’ And so also against the righteous men of the Lord, which we can clearly see in the lives of Daniel & Mordecai. Let us glimpse over their similar type of incidences from the Bible…..
Daniel :- We can see in the book of Daniel that kings came & went, but Daniel remained to serve during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar & Darius. He was the senior most, high profile officer in their kingdom because of his loyalty towards God & his excellent spirit. During the time of King Darius, it was pleased to Darius to set 120 satraps over the kingdom. Daniel was appointed as one of the governor among the three governors over 120 satraps, so that the satraps might give account to them, and the King would suffer no loss. But Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the King thought to set him over the whole realm.
Sometimes it is a threat & dangerous when any official finds favour in sight of the King or ruler or authority. Here also, governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault. Because, Daniel was faithful to his work & a righteous man. He was also a man of prayer. It was his custom since early days that 3 times in a day, he used to kneel down to pray & to give thanks to God. So governors & satraps plotted against Daniel concerning the law of his God. Very wisely they brought before the King a decree that whoever makes petitions to any god or man for thirty days, except the King, shall be cast into the den of lions. They passed this decree not out of true respect or love for the King or welfare of the nation but to set a trap for Daniel, which the King was not aware of. When they succeeded in their plan to throw Daniel into lions’ den, it was greatly displeasing to the King, but it was the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the King establishes may be changed.
The King arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions to see what happened to his beloved governor, Daniel. He was astonished & exceedingly glad, when he heard Daniel saying to him that, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” And Daniel was taken up out of the den as per king’s command, and no injury was found on him. As Psalmist says in 34:7 that, ‘The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.’ But what happened to those who had accused Daniel wrongly. As per the King’s command, those men who had accused Daniel were brought and they cast into the den of lions with their innocent children & wives. Consequences of their wicked scheme cost their families lives too. The poor hungry lions enjoyed a feast after a whole night of patience.
The decree which they passed against Daniel changed into a decree for God’s glory. The King wrote, “I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” Further, Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius. Isn’t it true, as said in Psalm 9:16 that, ‘The Lord is known by the judgment He executes; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.’?
Mordecai :- He was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. He was sitting within the king Ahasuerus’ gate in Shushan the citadel. He was not only faithful to his work but also loyal to his God given authority i.e.to king Ahasuerus. When he came to know that two eunuchs of the King sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus, he did not sit silent or join with them in their conspiracy but he exposed that plot. And both of them were hanged on a gallows. Though this matter was written in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the King, we read in Esther 3:1 that, ‘After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, above all princes’ (not Mordecai). Because of Haman’s promotion & as per the King’s command, the entire King’s servants were bowing & paying homage to him. But Mordecai did not bow or pay homage to Haman.
When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing and paying homage to him, he was filled with wrath to the extent to seek to destroy Mordecai’s whole innocent Jew community. This is the extremity of hatred, or something demonic in him to hate the entire community, just because Mordecai did not give him honour. But Psalm 37:12, 13 says that ‘the wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming.’ Haman made all the arrangements to hang Mordecai on gallows & destroy the whole Jew community. He was an efficient schemer because he plotted to do evil (Proverb 24:8). But the gallows which he prepared to hang Mordecai, on that same gallows; the King’s eunuch hanged Haman as per the King’s command. And Mordecai was promoted in place of the wicked Haman. His fame spread throughout all the provinces; and he became increasingly prominent. Also the entire Jewish community was saved from annihilation. Here also Haman’s family faced consequences, as the Jews killed the 10 sons of Haman & his entire family was wiped out because of his wickedness & scheming against Mordecai.
By going through the above incidences, we can see that, God justified Daniel & Mordecai and also glorified them by exalting them. Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Let us also take heed to what Peter says in his first epistle 4:15, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters.”
(Ref.:- Daniel 6 & Book of Esther)
Insights:
- As per his custom since early days, Daniel was kneeling down to pray & thank God THREE TIMES a day. (Daniel 6:10)
- Psalmist David says, “SEVEN TIMES a day I praise you for Your righteous laws.” (Psalm 119:164)
- Shall we start at least once in a day regularly to kneel down to pray, praise & thank God from today?
Anjali J. Benjamin
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