Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
| SEEING JESUS IN |
| Daniel |
| Prayer Leads to Persecution |
| Daniel 6:11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Daniel 6:13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” Daniel 6:16a Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. |
| John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. John 18:3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. |
Daniel prayed every day, in the direction of Jerusalem, to the God who sustained him, directed him and protected him. For decades, he had established this habit, and as his enemies had witnessed this man of God live his life, they had found one activity that they could make illegal.
We have spoke on how it was envy of Daniels peers that fueled this persecution, that the king was unwilling to prosecute the judgement, and that the death sentence was completely unjust. In all of this unfairness, this contradiction of righteousness, Daniel did not abandon his practice of reaching out to the God he served.
He could have adjusted his time to pray, prayed in his “closet”, or justified a break in his prayers due to this act of persecution. After all, it was simply for 30 days this law was in effect. In allowing a break in his faithful duties in prayer, he would be succumbing to the persecutors more devious plot. They were seeking death, either by his obedience or disobedience/
In Daniel’s obedience, he would be gulped by the lions. In his disobedience, the plotters would successfully compromise Daniel. His God was not the primary motivator in his life, and the plotters found a way to manipulate him.
Persecution seeks death or control. Nothing else. Daniel’s prayer provided the strength to enter persecution, and triggered the persecution to commence.
Jesus also entered the garden, knowing His time had come. He, like Daniel, knew that the time of prayer He was to enter into would provide His plotters the opportunity to execute their plot to destroy.
Both men, in their prayers, would enter persecution. Both men, as they sought their God, knew their prayers would lead into persecution and death.
And both men prayed!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Come join us at Considering the Bible
Considering the Bible 