The moral of the story, as always, is to think twice before signing any documents that make people pray only to you for thirty days or more, right?
Darius is manipulated into signing this document so that the officials and satraps can work to be rid of Daniel. Darius goes along, unaware of the immediate consequences of his actions, but he sees this document as a way to cement his legacy at the top of the heap -- he can't imagine anyone more powerful than he is.
God has a way of helping us see how the universe is truly ordered. In some way, big or small, all of us spend portions of our lives trying to build our own kingdoms, thinking we can protect ourselves against forces that oppose us, be they aging or vulnerability or illness or poverty. We build walls with our own hands and think they can hold back forces far larger than ourselves.
On this Ash Wednesday, we remember that we are dust, and to dust we shall return. Fortunately, it's not a morbid thought for the Christian. We were formed out of dust with intention by one who has power to use a creative Word to mold us, shape us, and also preserve us. God shows us God's power over death throughout Scripture, and God also shows us God's desire to save. God is the only one with both powers, and so we are wise to turn to God, recognizing our mortality, our humanity, but knowing that the limitations on us do not limit God, and God chooses to use that power for us, to preserve us, to invite us into the eternal dance in the Kingdom of God that has been going on forever between the members of the Trinity!
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