[H]e is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.

Daniel 6

[H]e is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. Daniel 6:26-27

I continue my pause of my study of Hebrews to study Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 6:19-28 as I lean on a commentary for its observations of this text. The commentary highlights two divisions/applications for v16-24:

• Trust that God Is Able to Deliver You (6:16-24): Here, the commentary emphasizes how Daniel, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), God protects Daniel from harm in the lion's den and scripture highlights how "Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God" (v23b). see also my post yesterday; the commentary also points to Daniel as a "prefiguring of the resurrection of the Lord" as "Daniel was brought out of a den that had been sealed by the official rings of those in power, so was the Lord Jesus Christ raised from a tomb which had been sealed by those officials with their rings of power."  Similarly, the commentary shares how Darius rushes to the lion's den to see if God has delivered Daniel, both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary rush to Jesus's tomb only to find that He has risen.
  
• Recognize God Will Use You to Make His Name Famous among the Nations (6:25-28): After witnessing Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den, Darius responds in praise to God (v25-27) in what the commentary shares is reminiscent of Psalm 2. The commentary also shares how Darius' declaration "accomplishes at least two important purposes: "First, it recognizes the greatness, even the superiority, of Israel’s God over all would-be rivals. And second, it cancels out the irrevocable edict of 6:6-9." The commentary for this chapter wraps by sharing how we should see Jesus in all of scripture, including how Daniel points us to Jesus.  The commentary provides Tim Keller's talk on how Jesus is true and better relative to the Biblical heroes of the Old Testament.
  

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - protecting me from the sting of sin and death - thank You for providing my salvation.  I am not deserving as my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.