God Sent His Angel
by Patricia Dailey
Senior Pastor,
Daniel
6:1-9
It pleased
Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be
over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first:
that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
Then this
Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit
was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Then the
presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom;
but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither
was there any error or fault found in him.
Then said
these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find
it against him concerning the law of his God.
Then these
presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him,
King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents
of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and 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 thirty days, save of
thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the
writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians,
which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius
signed the writing and the decree.
It had pleased king Darius to set over his
kingdom 120 princes, with three presidents over them. Of the three presidents Daniel was preferred
above the others.
THIS DANIEL . . .
* This Daniel was just a young man when he was taken among
the captives in
* This Daniel was a young person who
really loved God. He wouldn’t defile himself
with the king’s meat, nor give into sin whatsoever.
* This Daniel trusted his God whom
he served, the same true and living God whom we serve today. And, just as God did great things for Daniel,
He will do the same for you and me.
Malachi
3:6a
For I am the Lord, I change not . . .
The Lord never changes. Times change, weather changes, people change.
Many things change in this life: but the Lord
is the same yesterday, today, and forever – Hebrews 13:8.
He doesn’t change just because the world
changes; He doesn’t change just because people change – even though many think
He is changeable to the present times.
Psalm
119:89
For ever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in
heaven.
What the Lord has spoken in His Word remains
the same today as back when it was written. His promises are yea and amen.
We read in chapter one of Daniel where Daniel
had an excellent spirit and was faithful, neither was there any error or fault
found in him.
The other two presidents and the 120 princes,
along with others, got together to come against Daniel. They looked to find something against him but
could find nothing. So they looked to find
it concerning the law of his God.
THE EVILS OF JEALOUSY AND ENVY
This type of thing still happens today, where
people try to find everything they can against those they want to put down: yet
many times that one is proven to be innocent of the accusations.
A jealous person gets upset when somebody
else gets what they were wanting. Jealousy
and envy can cause them to tear down the reputation of another, wanting to turn
people against them.
Why does this happen? The old carnal nature causes envy and jealousy,
wanting to do others in who are getting ahead of them.
This is what happened to these men who wanted
to do Daniel in: But Daniel had a living God, the same God whom I serve today.
Daniel outshone the other two presidents
and all the princes. He had an excellent
spirit. He was faithful, and there was
no fault nor error found in him.
He had a custom of praying three times a
day. Prayer was very important to him.
And, just think, many of God’s people don’t take
time to pray even once a day!
Know that we can pray any moment of the day
or night, any hour. Yes, even in the night
hours we can take time to pray and talk with the Lord. We can even pray while we’re busy working around
the house, or driving down the street. Many times we may only be able to pray short
prayers. The Lord might put someone on
our mind to pray for, and we can pray for them then and there, regardless of what
we are doing.
When someone is sick and afflicted we often
pray for them many times during the day as we go about our business. Praying more than once about something doesn’t
mean we don’t believe God has heard our prayer the first time: it just shows our
concern.
O King, make a firm decree!
What had Daniel done to them that they were
watching to do away with him? The king
preferred him above the others; but Daniel hadn’t gone after the high place that
had been given him. He didn’t push for
it. His position was given him of the king.
Sometimes just the very fact that you love
God, have separated yourself unto God, are living a godly life – just your walk
with the Lord will often cause people to come against you. There will always be someone who will come against
you; the devil will see to it.
EXPECT PERSECUTION
We are warned of what we can expect when
we choose to live unto God with all of our heart:
II
Timothy 3:12
Yea,
and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Often others will see that a man or woman
is being prospered of God. They get jealous
and envious, and begin to persecute them. But you know something, the Scripture would tell
us to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ:
II
Timothy 2:3
Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the
affairs of this life; that he may please Him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Enduring hardness is being able to stand
firm under persecution. Stand firm! Stand firm in our belief, keeping our character
clean and pure, not caving in under the pressures of persecution.
Don’t cave in! Stand up! Quit yourselves like men! God is with those who will separate themselves
unto Him, those who will live a holy and godly and upright life.
We’ve got to learn to be able to endure hardness.
That doesn’t mean we get hardened in our
hearts towards those who persecute us, where we can’t pray for those who despitefully
use us.
Matthew
5:44
But I
say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you
This is our duty and our obligation before
God, loving our enemies, praying for them, praying for those who persecute us.
THE DECREE
Daniel
6:6,7
Then these
presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him,
King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents
of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and 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 thirty days, save of
thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Daniel went into his house after he found
out the decree had been made: and he went before an open window to pray as he
always did. He didn’t close his window
for fear of being caught. He knew the decree
had been signed, yet he got down on his knees before the open window and prayed
like he always did – verse 10.
Daniel
6:11-13
Then these
men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Then they came near, and spake before the
king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man
that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee,
O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true,
according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said before the king,
That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not
thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three
times a day.
God has promised to be with us – yet it doesn’t
look here like He was with Daniel.
Oh yes, God was with Daniel! When the king heard it was Daniel who had been
found praying, he felt bad about what he had done in signing the decree. He was sore displeased over it. In his heart he wanted to free Daniel, but the
writing could not be reversed under the law of the Medes and Persians.
Daniel
6:14
Then the
king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his
heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun
to deliver him.
The accusers came back and reminded Darius
that the law could not be broken.
Daniel
6:16a
Then the
king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions.
CAN GOD DELIVER?
At this point it doesn’t look like God was
with Daniel, does it. If we stopped here
in this account we’d ask why God would allow something like this to happen to
Daniel.
Daniel
6:16b
Now the
king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will
deliver thee.
Listen to the king! What a testimony Daniel had – that he served
his God continually. This is the testimony
that all of God’s people should have – that they serve their God continually.
Daniel
6:17-20
And a
stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it
with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might
not be changed concerning Daniel.
Then the
king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments
of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning,
and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a
lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel,
servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to
deliver thee from the lions?
Is Daniel’s God able to deliver him from
the lion’s den?
GOD SENT HIS ANGEL!
Daniel
6:21,22
Then said
Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the
lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was
found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Psalm
34:7
The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.
God sent an angel to come to Daniel’s aid.
And I believe that every one of us has
an angel who looks after us. We don’t know
how many times they have protected us from harm.
Colossians
1:16
For by Him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created
by Him, and for Him
Now, angels are supernatural beings who are
higher than man. All things in heaven were
created by Jesus Christ, including the angels, and all things that are in the
earth. All were created by Him and for
Him!
Psalm 91:11
For
He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
The angels have been given a charge over
us to keep us in all our ways. This is
the work of angels: and they’re with us right now.
Now, you know, there are good angels, and
there are evil angels. A third of the angels
fell with Satan, who was called Lucifer, when he tried to exalt himself above
the throne of God. These angels are evil
angels, known as evil spirits.
If we could have our eyes opened spiritually
we’d see the forces of evil spirits in this world. But, thank God, He has given His angels charge
over us – to aid us, protect us, and deliver us. Did not an angel shut up the mouths of the lions
for Daniel?
That was the testimony Daniel shared when
the king called out, O Daniel, servant
of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver
thee from the lions?
Yes, God shut up the mouths of the lions
and delivered Daniel. He came out whole,
without even any scratches. This is such
a beautiful story of God’s faithfulness. And to realize that God has given angels charge
over us; we who live for Him, living a holy and a righteous life. He said that His angels are encamped round about
us.
THE ANGEL OF GOD AT THE
Exodus
14:19,20
And the
angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them;
and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was
a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the
one came not near the other all the night.
The children of
God instructed Moses to lift his rod and
divide the sea. Listen, you can’t pile
water up in a heap. Try it. Take a glass of water and pour it out. It won’t stand up in a heap; it will run all
over. But doesn’t God work in mysterious
ways His wonders to perform!
Moses did as God told him, and a strong east
wind blew all night: and, as the waters stood up on either side, God told
God is with us in all of our troubles. The children of
Of course
Psalm
34:17
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth,
and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
So we see
The children of
Now, Moses did just as the Lord told him
to do, stretching his rod out over the
Not only did the water part and stand in
a heap, but the ground was totally dry. They could walk right over on dry ground. This was a miracle of God. Supernatural miracles of God are against the
laws of nature.
So
See how God protected His people! See how He sent His angel to protect them, to
lead them, to assist them, to deliver them. We talk about Moses being a deliverer, but it
was God working to deliver the children of
And we can trust that God will take care
of us when we are loving and serving Him. He’ll send His angels to take charge over us,
and if He needs more angels He’ll send more.