When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. – Daniel 6:14

Today's Scripture Reading (August 8, 2020): Daniel 6

Promises are strange things. We rarely understand all that is involved in fulfilling a commitment in the moment that we make them. And then we suffer under the knowledge that the promise is hard, it is going to cost us much, and that we might not even be able to keep the commitment. I know this truth from experience. I am one who has made promises without understanding the totality of what it was to which I was committing.

Daniel had distinguished himself during the reigns of the Kings of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Some of the kings had honored Daniel; others disrespected the Jewish prophet to follow the desires of their hearts. But eventually, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell, and a new King and a New Empire took over from the old. And in the transitional era between the old and the new, Daniel was able to distinguish himself once again.

A new king came to power, and his advisors suggested that the King solidify his image with people by prohibiting the worship of any god other than the king for thirty days. For one month, the focus of the people would be placed on the King. Then the people would learn to rely on the King, to trust his judgments, and that he had what was best for the people in his heart.

The proposition made sense to the King. But the advisors went a step further. They wanted the king to place the decree to worship only the King in writing. Putting the order in writing and sending it out to the various sections of the Empire, or even city, in an era where there was no social media and no easy way to communicate to the people, meant that the decree could not be rescinded.

And so, the King made a promise and a commitment that made sense to him. What he had not considered was how this decree would impact Daniel, a Jewish man who worshiped only the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and who believed that his God to have the final say in matters of worship and not the King. Daniel was also a key advisor on whom the King depended. It is easy to imagine the horror that went through the King when he realized the impact of his decree. For the rest of the day, until the moment when the sentence would be carried out against Daniel for breaking the King's order, the King worked at doing the impossible and freeing Daniel from the King's hasty promise. But in the end, all the King could do was hope that tomorrow would come, and that Daniel's God would somehow save his prophet.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Daniel 7