Hope In The One Who Delivers
It was supposed to be a dialogue but ended up being more of a monologue. Even though it was just the two of us, that was one too many, and I was the one who was not needed. Rather than a volley of thoughts and ideas being lobbed back and forth in the engaging exchange that is a conversation, this was more like a constant barrage of words being hurled from one side of the table with no opportunity to respond; like someone practicing their serve against a wall, and I was the wall. Adding to the challenge of staying alert in a one-sided conversation was the repetition. Whatever was said was then repeated and, in conclusion, stated again, with little nuance and seemingly no awareness of my rapidly diminishing interest. Four-year-olds are cute, but they are simply not good conversationalists.
Even when it’s not a child repeatedly talking about some silly topic, repetition often leads us to pay less attention. We subconsciously respond to things repeated as if they are unnecessary redundancies that we can skip over and need not reconsider. In Bible reading, however, we need to train ourselves to do the exact opposite. Biblical narratives often contain repetition. Rather than this being a reflection of poor writing, it is actually an intentional literary device deployed by skilled writers as a way to emphasize key elements in the story. The account of Daniel and the Lions’ Den in Daniel 6 is one such narrative where two Aramaic words translated deliver/save and rescue occur 7 times.
Daniel 6:14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.
Daniel 6:16 …The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”
Daniel 6:20 …The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Daniel 6:27 [The God of Daniel] delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
This repetition is the author’s way of telling us to pay special attention to the theme of deliverance/rescue and doing so reveals a striking contrast between King Darius and the God of Daniel.
Through the king’s ordinance, all in his kingdom are required to make petition to him alone. Yet Daniel is found “making petition and plea before his God.” And though King Darius desires to deliver Daniel, he is required to uphold his injunction. Though he is the king, he is bound by the law and is unable to be the deliverer he desires to be. Daniel’s God, on the other hand, is bound by nothing. Daniel’s God temporarily tames a ravenous pride of lions as the meal they would otherwise devour is seated at their dinner table. The all-powerful king is unable to deliver Daniel from the doom of his own decree, yet God miraculously keeps Daniel from harm while in the home of hungry lions. What does this tell us? Even the most influential end up impotent and so it is ultimately pointless to pursue petitions and pleas to even the most powerful of people on the planet. It is on God and God alone that we should set our hope.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Psalm 62:5–7
~ Andy Barker grew up in Boston, Ma. and relocated to Charlotte in 2008. He currently serves as an elder at LIFE Fellowship. He and his wife Melanie have five children and have attended LIFE Fellowship for ten years.