Day 294.
“We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:5)
These words are spoken by officials in Babylon, where Daniel served as the most esteemed of 3 men who ruled the kingdom on behalf of King Darius. They were jealous of Daniel’s position and sought to find some way to bring him down. Can you imagine if the same thing could be said of you, that as hard as someone might look for complaints against you they couldn’t find any? Daniel’s life was ordered in such a way because he knew the Lord. Later in this chapter we find out what Daniel’s practice is:
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. (Daniel 6:10)
Daniel lived this way because God had given him a portion of His Spirit. In the Old Testament this was reserved for those God had anointed for important jobs of prophets and kings and priests. Today, all Christians have a portion of God’s Spirit because of the work that Jesus did. Daniel’s obedience foreshadowed Jesus’ obedience. No complaint could be brought against him either except his relationship to God (just like Daniel). When this happened to Daniel, he was thrown into the lion’s den to be killed and eaten. But God closed the mouths of the lions so that he was unharmed. Jesus was also sentenced to death, only the jaws of death did close on him. They closed on him not because he was guilty, but because he willingly bore the guilt of His people. That means that when you stand before the most important judge (not your friends but God), no one – not even Satan himself – will be able to bring a complaint against you because you will be dressed in the righteousness of Christ. That’s what a Christian is! Now, we are called to live accordingly.
Do people (brothers, sisters, others) have reason to bring complaint against you? How does God equip you to prevent this?
Thank God that Jesus paid the price you deserve and ask Him to help you live according to the life he gives you.
McCheyne’s Bible Reading Plan: 2 Kings 2, 2 Thes 2, Da 6, Ps 48
Yes, people see that we do things wrong. The main area people would complain about us is the way we talk to each other and obeying our parents. So because he died for us we are no longer guilty.