During the time of exile in Babylon, the Israelite Daniel
served under King Darius. When the
king signed a law that any
person who prayed to anyone, divine or human, besides the king himself
should be "thrown into a den of lions," Daniel continued to pray to
God. He was caught by men who were
jealous of him and brought before the Babylonian king. Now King Darius was distressed because
he liked and respected Daniel, but the jealous men reminded him that no
law the king had made could be changed, so Daniel was thrown into the
lions' den. The king spent the night
fasting, and in the morning "the king got up and hurried to the den of
lions." Daniel was
alive! He said to King Darius,
"My God sent an angel and shut the lions' mouths so that they would not
hurt me." The king freed
Daniel and threw his accusers to the lions instead. Then he wrote to all his people, advising them to
"tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For this is the living God, enduring forever."
Daniel 6
Potential ornament for the Jesse Tree: a lion
Today marks the end of our Old Testament readings; tomorrow we read about the Annunciation. There aren't enough days in Advent to tell all the stories, but maybe next year you might add a favorite that you missed (like Moses in the bullrushes, which I missed this year).
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