Copyright © 2006 By Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
Catechism Of The Catholic Church Reprinted With Permission.
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Then they answered, and said before the king: Daniel, who is of the children of
the captivity of Juda, hath not regarded thy law, nor the decree that thou hast
made: but three times a day he maketh his prayer. Now when the king had heard
these words, he was very much grieved, and in behalf of Daniel he set his heart
to deliver him, and even till sunset he laboured to save him.
But those men perceiving the king's design, said to him: Know thou, O king, that
the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree which the king hath made,
may be altered.
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of
the lions. And the king said to Daniel: Thy God, whom thou always servest, he
will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den:
which the king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, that
nothing should be done against Daniel. And the king went away to his house,
and laid himself down without taking supper, and meat was not set before him,
and even sleep departed from him.
Then the king rising very early in the morning, went in haste to the lions' den:
And coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel, and said to
him: Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy God, whom thou servest always,
been able, thinkest thou, to deliver thee from the lions?
And Daniel answering the king, said: O king, live for ever: My
God hath sent his angel, and hath shut up the mouths of the
lions, and they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him
justice hath been found in me: yea, and before thee, O king, I
have done no offence.
Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and he commanded that Daniel
should be taken out of the den: and Daniel was taken out of the den, and no hurt
was found in him, because he believed in his God. And by the king's
commandment, those men were brought that had accused Daniel: and they were
cast into the lions' den, they and their children, and their wives: and they did not
reach the bottom of the den, before the lions caught them, and broke all their
bones in pieces.
Then king Darius wrote to all people, tribes, and languages, dwelling in the whole
earth: PEACE be multiplied unto you. It is decreed by me, that in all my empire
and my kingdom, all men dread and fear the God of Daniel. For he is the living
and eternal God for ever: and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his power
shall be for ever. He is the deliverer, and saviour, doing signs and wonders in
heaven, and in earth: who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions' den.
In this case, the law had to stand as it was, but God interceded to
protect Daniel, His faithful, innocent servant and to see that
justice was ultimately done. Good prevailed and the bad guys
ended up as lion chow!
Does God's system of justice work like this? Yes, in many ways. Is God bound by
His own law? That's much harder for mere mortals (like us) to determine.
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