I've re-read Friday's post a couple of times since I wrote it, and, you know, something occurred to me that I decided I had to share.
All along, I've just thought it was really cool that God gave the Jews favor with the Persian kings who let them go back and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, but, well, some little links connected in my head and suddenly I saw something.
In the research Darius ordered to determine whether or not the Jews had been authorized to rebuild the temple, he no doubt discovered some other things that had happened in that same time frame...
such as, one of the high administrators in the kingdom being sentenced to death on trumped-up charges, who miraculously survived a night cooped up with hungry lions ( the 'Darius' in Daniel's story was Darius the Mede, who was a predecessor of Darius I, who issued the orders for the construction of the temple to resume).
It's no wonder, then, that Darius I instructs the folks to aid the Jews however necessary so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons. (Ez. 6:10)
See, God's protection of Daniel wasn't just for Daniel's sake...it also caused the Persians to fear and respect the God of Israel enough to expect that prayers offered to Him on their behalf would be beneficial, so they ordered the construction and completion of the temple.
Like ripples in a pond, God's deliverance of Daniel became part of His restoration of His people.
I *love* seeing how all those Bible stories that we learned as kids...as just self-contained stories...actually all fit together!
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