Passage of the Day: Daniel 6: 1 - 3 … 1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
My Journal for Today: As we move to Chapter 6 of the book of Daniel, the topic of note concerning INTEGRITY is “consistency,” …that is in this context, steadiness and long-term faithfulness in standing for what one believes. And Daniel is certainly a role model when it comes to being consistent and faithful in his long-standing role as quasi prime minister for over 70 years under three kings and two empires (the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires). All three kings, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar (Nebuchadnezzar’s son), and Darius (a.k.a., “Cyrus”), saw the God-given integrity and talents which set Daniel apart to be able to administer leadership in those kingdoms (see Daniel 2: 48; 5: 29; and today’s passage).
By the way, for some of you Bible scholars who know ancient history, you may ask why there seems to be a discrepancy between the name of Darius, The Mede, who was named as ruler to the Medo-Persian kingdom in the Bible account of Daniel and the name of Cyrus, who was named in history books as the king of this empire at this time in history. According to my reading of John MacArthur and a little personal study, there are two explanations for this so-called inconsistency. First, as was the custom in those times, especially in those cultures, kings often changed names during their rule to increase their standing with their subjects – like a self-proclaimed promotion. Secondly, there is the possibility that Darius was appointed by Cyrus to rule the portion of the Medo-Persian empire where Daniel lived. According to most scholars, the first alternative is the most logical. [see Walvoord, John F. ; Zuck, Roy B. ; Dallas Theological Seminary: The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1983-c1985]
At any rate, each of the three kings over seven decades had recognized the consistently superior leadership skills which Daniel exhibited and kept him on as the “prime minister” of the kingdom under the rule of Darius (Cyrus). John MacArthur, in his devotional book Strength for Today on this date, posits that it was likely the influence of Daniel on king Darius [the one from Daniel 6] actually led to the release of the Jews to return to return to Judah (see Ezra 1: 1 – 3). And MacArthur charges all believers, “… despite any political, social, or economic changes that might come, (Christians must) remain faithful to Christ; and He will use you in ways that are exceeding abundantly beyond all you ask or think (see Eph. 3: 20).”
My Prayer Today: Lord, may I remain steadfast in and for You. Amen
Showing posts with label consistency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consistency. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Friday, March 26, 2010
2010 – Mar. 26 – Falling Not Far From the Tree
Study from God’s Word…1st Samuel, Chapters 1 and 2 … Passage for Reflection: 1st Samuel 2: 29 … NIV 29 ‘ … Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?'
My Journal for Today: These words, in today’s highlight passage, spoken by God to Eli, a Priest concerning Eli’s sons are a tragic rebuke and God goes on to say [in verse 30], “Those who honor Me I will honor, but those who despise Me will be disdained” And so it was, as Eli’s sons were sacrificed by God on the same day because they had dishonored their father, but more so, God, by the way they made a selfish travesty of the priestly handling of the people’s sacrifices to God. And here we have a drastic lesson about parenting … that the sins of the sons are like apples which don’t fall far from the tree where they were raised.
Eli, God’s Priest, had raised two sons who heard one thing from their father but saw him condoning – from them – something different. It was the classic scenario of a parent saying one thing but allowing another; and the inconsistency played out in the lives of Eli’s sons, ultimately to their doom and tragic deaths. How many times in our world do we see the sins of the fathers, or parents, being played out in the lives of their children?
How can a parent be a smoker and then be believed telling his child that smoking is dangerous to that young one? But this was the scenario being played out in the lives of Eli and his sons; and as one might expect, it ultimately caught up with these two boys, tragically leading to their deaths. If you’re a parent reading this, I hope it’s not too late for you; but in my case, I’m a grandparent; and now my only influence would be to help our kids to do the right thing by their children, our grandchildren.
Actually, we are blessed to have two daughters, each of whom has had two daughters (and one add-on son); and thus far our kids have done an excellent job raising our grandkids with consistent and careful parenting. Now, of course, we’ll do all we can to help our kids in their parenting; but I pray that others reading this can see their kids raising their grandchildren with consistent and Godly parenting so as to yield children who honor God by falling close to the trees of God honoring parenting.
May all parents learn a solid lesson in Godly parenting from the life of Eli, raising their kids to honor God by doing not only what they heard, but what they saw being lived out in the lives of their parents.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, thank You for having given us parents who consistently showed us how to live so as to honor You with our lives. Amen
My Journal for Today: These words, in today’s highlight passage, spoken by God to Eli, a Priest concerning Eli’s sons are a tragic rebuke and God goes on to say [in verse 30], “Those who honor Me I will honor, but those who despise Me will be disdained” And so it was, as Eli’s sons were sacrificed by God on the same day because they had dishonored their father, but more so, God, by the way they made a selfish travesty of the priestly handling of the people’s sacrifices to God. And here we have a drastic lesson about parenting … that the sins of the sons are like apples which don’t fall far from the tree where they were raised.
Eli, God’s Priest, had raised two sons who heard one thing from their father but saw him condoning – from them – something different. It was the classic scenario of a parent saying one thing but allowing another; and the inconsistency played out in the lives of Eli’s sons, ultimately to their doom and tragic deaths. How many times in our world do we see the sins of the fathers, or parents, being played out in the lives of their children?
How can a parent be a smoker and then be believed telling his child that smoking is dangerous to that young one? But this was the scenario being played out in the lives of Eli and his sons; and as one might expect, it ultimately caught up with these two boys, tragically leading to their deaths. If you’re a parent reading this, I hope it’s not too late for you; but in my case, I’m a grandparent; and now my only influence would be to help our kids to do the right thing by their children, our grandchildren.
Actually, we are blessed to have two daughters, each of whom has had two daughters (and one add-on son); and thus far our kids have done an excellent job raising our grandkids with consistent and careful parenting. Now, of course, we’ll do all we can to help our kids in their parenting; but I pray that others reading this can see their kids raising their grandchildren with consistent and Godly parenting so as to yield children who honor God by falling close to the trees of God honoring parenting.
May all parents learn a solid lesson in Godly parenting from the life of Eli, raising their kids to honor God by doing not only what they heard, but what they saw being lived out in the lives of their parents.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, thank You for having given us parents who consistently showed us how to live so as to honor You with our lives. Amen
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