The Lion Of Judah

He Will Not Come As A Lamb But A Judge Of The Earth

Philip Odei Tettey

• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781647533809
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christianity

In time Judah and his brothers developed hatred from jealousy and envy of their younger brother Joseph. Joseph was favored by his father, who gave him a coat. In looking at the life of Judah and hi character, it is hard to see why the tribe of Judah should become so prominent among the tribe of Israel. On the one hand, Joseph lived a righteous life and was blessed with the birth right in place of Reuben, the firstborn. The name of Israel was passed on to his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Yet God also chose Judah and his descendants for a special place in his Plan through the ages. The prophecy God gave to Jacob at the end of his life concerning his son's descendants in the latter days reveals a special blessing for the tribe of Judah Genesis 49;1, 8-10. The tribe of Judah has not only been the Lawgiver, but a preserver of god's Law written law, the apostle Paul said, what advantage do then have the Jew?

Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the Oracles that which was spoken or commanded of God Romans 3;1-2

The Conspiracy Daniel 6:1-9 

It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they should be in charge of the whole kingdom, and over them three commissioners of whom Daniel was one, that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, we shall not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God. Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: King Darius, live forever! All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked. Therefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction. Daniel 5 informs the reader of Belshazzar’s defeat and the end of the Babylonian kingdom, the head of gold of Daniel 2. The kingdom of the Medes and the Persians commences at the end of chapter 5, when Darius becomes the first king of this new empire at approximately 62 years of age Daniel 5:31

Chapter 6 accounts Daniel’s rapid rise to power, the threat it posed to his peers, and ultimately to his own life. Verses 1-9 depict a sequence of events which give birth to a conspiracy against Daniel, leading to a law which makes Daniel a criminal and sentences him to the death penalty.

Darius may have been new at the task of ruling an empire, but he was far from naive. To establish himself and his rule over the territory formerly ruled by Babylon, he appoints 120 satraps, each responsible for a certain geographical region. The king’s major concern was corruption. He knew that political power afforded the opportunity not only for oppression but for corruption. Darius feared he would not be able to adequately supervise the satraps with such a large kingdom, and they would enrich themselves at his expense. For this reason, the king appointed three governors over the one hundred and twenty satraps. He wanted to create a system of accountability which would prevent him from suffering loss. Darius may have become familiar with Daniel in a number of ways. It certainly appears unusual for this Hebrew, who had been so intimately associated with the Babylonian kingdom Darius had just overthrown, to rise so quickly to a position of power under this Mede. While the text does not say, we would hardly be wrong to conclude that, as before, God gave Daniel favour in the sight of this king.

Daniel’s rise to power under Darius did not rest upon his remarkable accomplishments of the past. We are told Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because of the extraordinary spirit he possessed. I believe Darius recognized not only Daniel’s wisdom but his integrity and faithfulness. Here was a man he could trust in a leadership position who would not cause him to suffer loss. Recognizing his unique abilities, Darius planned to promote Daniel, placing him in charge of all the commissioners and the satraps. The king’s plan to promote Daniel seems to have become public knowledge; at least the commissioners and satraps knew. The thought of Daniel’s promotion created much consternation.

This crisis must be taken most seriously. Why? What distressed them so greatly? The common view is that Daniel’s peers were jealous. Perhaps so, but the matter seems more serious to them.

The context supplies the reason for their distress. His ability threatened them, but more so his honesty. The king was delighted to find a man of ability and honesty. To the corrupt leaders of the kingdom, Daniel’s ability and honesty seriously threatened their corruption. They could neither corrupt Daniel nor deceive him. If he were to rise above them, they could not continue.

Daniel’s testimony is awesome, his character and ability unsurpassed.

Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants shall also be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven Genesis 28:10-17.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain Thee, how much less this house which I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of Thy servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Thy servant prays before Thee today; that Thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which Thou hast said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Thy servant shall pray toward this place. And listen to the supplication of Thy servant and of Thy people Israel, when they pray toward this place; hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place; hear and forgive When they sin against Thee for there is no man who does not sin and Thou art angry with them and dost deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; if they take thought in the land where they have been taken captive, and repent and make supplication to Thee in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly’ if they return to Thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to Thee toward their land which Thou hast given to their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name; then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven Thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive Thy people who have sinned against Thee and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against Thee, and make them objects of compassion before those who have taken them captive, that they may have compassion on them for they are Thy people and Thine inheritance which Thou hast brought forth from Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace, that Thine eyes may be open to the supplication of Thy servant and to the supplication of Thy people Israel, to listen to them whenever they call to Thee. For Thou hast separated them from all the peoples of the earth as Thine inheritance, as Thou didst speak through Moses Thy servant, when Thou didst bring our fore fathers forth from Egypt, O Lord God 1 Kings 8:27-30, 46-53 and also 2 Chronicles 6:20-40.

There we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps. For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How can we sing the LORD’S song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy? Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom The day of Jerusalem, Who said, Raze it, raze it, To its very foundation. O daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, How blessed will be the one who repays you with the recompense with which you have repaid us, How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones against the rock Psalm 137:1-9.

God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 known as the Abrahamic covenant. In this covenant, God promised Abraham a land, a seed, and a blessing. Through Abraham, his seed, and his blessing, the nations too would be blessed. When Jacob left the Promised Land to flee from his brother and to seek a wife among his relatives, he had a vision of a ladder on which angels were ascending and descending. For the first time in his life, he was awe struck that this land of Canaan was a holy place. Even more, somehow it was a place of mediation, a place where heaven and earth met. The same truth is later affirmed by Solomon at the time of the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. God’s dwelling place was not the temple, Solomon confessed. Even the heavens were not able to contain God, much less a temple in Jerusalem. But Jerusalem was the place where God chose to meet with men and to bless them. Solomon spoke in his prayer of men praying toward Jerusalem, the place where God would meet with men to bless them. He specifically spoke of God’s people praying toward Jerusalem from the lands where they were captives.

One such prayer recorded for us is Psalm 137. There, from Babylon, the psalmist cries out to the God of Israel. The eyes of the psalmist look toward Jerusalem and long to return there to worship God. Jerusalem is in ruins, but the psalmist is not deterred from looking toward that city. It did motivate him to petition God to judge those who brought about the destruction of this city.

I believe Daniel consistently prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day for the more than seventy years of his sojourn in Babylon. Ironically, we can confidently assume that many of those prayers of petition were for the blessing of the king and kingdom of Babylon Jeremiah 7:13-17. The conspirators passed a law intended to prevent the very prayers which brought God’s blessings on this nation and its people.

The Jewish captives brought the blessings of God on the kingdom of their captors. The city of Jerusalem not only symbolized the hopes of the Jews, but it is the place their God met with them and heard their prayers. God chose to mediate His blessings through His chosen people, the Jews, and through His chosen place Jerusalem.

While the king may not have thought through the implications of the injunction which he made law, Daniel did. The law passed by the conspirators in effect, made Darius the mediator between all gods and men. I do not believe the king was declaring himself to be god. Neither do I believe he put himself above all gods. But his injunction did make him the link between all those in his kingdom and any god.

Here the conflict between Daniel’s faith as a Jew and the injunction of Darius became irresolvable. According to the new law, the king will be a mediator for 30 days. According to Daniel of his faith as Jewish Law of the Old Testament Scriptures, the God of Israel is God alone to be worship, and every blessing will be from his people Israel. Their petitions must be directed to God, but through the place of His blessing, Jerusalem. There was no way Daniel could redirect his petitions to the king, rather than to God, by facing Jerusalem he is assured that all his help will come from a place where God meet to give bless.

It does not seem possible for Daniel to pray to God, toward Jerusalem, other than by literally looking in that direction. This meant his window...