The Living, Enduring Rescuer
Daniel 6:26-28
Throughout Scripture, many people express worship to God. From the Psalms to the song sung by Mariam in Exodus 15 to the beautiful praise poem Paul shares in Philippians 2:5-11, the Scriptures offer worship to God. Worship takes on many forms. In the Psalms alone there are laments, songs of wisdom, prayers, thanksgivings, and songs of pilgrimage.
The first six chapters of Daniel conclude with a praise poem in the form of an edict. King Darius has seen the work of God on behalf of Daniel and calls everyone in Babylon to fear and reverence the God of Daniel. In this decree, Darius recognizes the authority and power of God, asking the rest of the Babylonian community to join him in this recognition.
In “Ancient-Future Worship,” Robert E. Webber declares that “worship does God’s story.”[1] In order to define what he means by this, Webber speaks of worship as proclaiming, singing, and enacting the Good News that God saves sinners and involves Himself in the world.[2] So fundamental to worship is that fact that it tells of God’s story with humanity and how God interacts with humans out of grace and love. Worship is declaring allowed the Gospel message so that people can celebrate the one true God who expresses love for humanity throughout history. Worship declares the truth of God to a world weary from life apart from God. Worship celebrates the actions of God among His people.
The poem of worship that makes up the majority of Darius’ decree does this. Darius invites others to know God. Our worship should invite others to know God. Darius then exposes the people to the truths that he has come to realize regarding God. In exposing these truths, Darius invites the people to know God, become involved in God’s story, and celebrate God.
The first truth that Darius exposes is that Daniel’s God is the living God. This brief statement contrasts God with the idols.[3] Rather than being like an idol – just a stone statue or a piece of wood – God lives! God not only exists, but is active in the world. God involves Himself in human history. This is seen in the six narratives that make up the first half of the book of Daniel. These six narratives consistently reveal that God is in control and that God is sovereign over all kings and all peoples. These six narratives show that, even though God’s people live in exile, God is intimately involved in their lives, guiding their steps, providing wisdom and courage. The ultimate example of God’s entrance into history is the Christ event. In Jesus, God enters into our world, walks among us, and dies so that we might know the life that God intends. Declaring God’s living presence in the world should be fundamental to our worship.
The second truth that Darius exposes is that Daniel’s God is enduring and that His kingdom will not be destroyed. God is timeless.[4] God is eternal. God’s love for humanity has no beginning and no end! God’s love for each one of us has no beginning and no end! God is forever faithful! We can depend on the fact that God consistently enters into our situation, into our exile, into our pain, into our fear and offers Himself. He does this for the four Hebrew heroes in the book of Daniel as he raises them up in the courts of Babylon, as he stands with them in the fire, and as he shuts the mouths of lions. God consistently comes into the midst of life, offering His unchanging love and grace. We can always depend on Him to do this as He remains forever.
The third truth that Darius exposes is that Daniel’s God delivers and rescues. In declaring this, Darius uses two Aramaic terms that seem to express much the same thing: deliverance and rescue. He may be doing this for emphasis, using the Ancient Near Eastern poetic expression of parallelism to emphasize this action of God. By using two parallel terms, Darius declares with increasing intensity that God sets people free. This accentuates the truth of God’s actions on behalf of Daniel, literally rescuing him from the devouring lions. Just as the parallel expression of repeated ideas in deliver and rescue emphasize God’s action of protecting Daniel from the lions so the poetic expression of parallelism emphasizes a consistent aspect of God’s personality. Throughout history, God always delivers. God delivers Abraham and Sarah from the shame of barrenness. God delivers the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. God delivers David from the wrath of King Saul. God delivers all people from the just punishment deserved for our sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord. God is our rescuer!
Let us join together in worship, celebrating! Let us join together in worship, declaring aloud God’s story! God is the living God, active in our world, in our history, in our lives! God seeks relationship with each person, inviting us into His story, forgiving us so that we might be reconciled to Him. This enables us to live in God’s plan, knowing Him fully. God is the enduring God, His sovereignty continues forever! God faithfully loves! God faithfully serves! God faithfully offers grace! God’s kingdom lasts forever and all are invited to be citizens within that kingdom! God rescues and delivers, setting us free from that which entraps! God came into our world, into our history out of love and took on our death! In this action God releases us, freeing us to live as we should. In this freedom we love. In this freedom we seek justice. In this freedom we grow in right living. Thanks be to God! Let us worship together our living, enduring God who rescues us from all that entraps.
Prayer: Ever Living God, I thank you for being active in my world and my life. You enter into the story of our lives so that you might rescue us. In this act, you invite us into your grand story and into the most beneficial relationship we can have, a relationship with you! I pray that my acts of worship would be honest, that in proclaiming you others would know the truth of my story. Then, in knowing that truth they would come to know you! I pray these things in Christ’s precious name, Amen!
[1]
Robert E. Webber, Ancient-Future Worship. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
2008), 29.
[2]
Ibid., 40.
[3] D.
S. Russell, Daniel. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1981), 109.
[4] W.
Sibley Towner, Interpretation: Daniel. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1984),
88.
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