Title Fouls and Conspiracies (Dan. 06:4-9)
Contents
Fouls and Conspiracies (Da 6:4-9)
Last week in Korea, President Roh Moo-hyun was inaugurated. The new president made many speeches in his inaugural address, but there was one word that captured my heart. It was the saying that ‘the era in which fouls and privileges are tolerated must end’. In fact, in the process of last year's presidential election, opponents' fouls and tackles against Candidate Roh Moo-hyun were rampant, and the sediment accumulated in the process may have been expressed in this way. Would you have jumped into real politics, saying that you can no longer see such a foul as a current affairs critic, Shimin Yoo?
A foul is the act of breaking the rules and playing a game. The reason you commit a foul is because you can't win by following the rules. But winning by foul is not winning. If you break the rules, you will be banned from the game, your game will be forfeited, or you will be penalized by the rules anyway. However, fouls are being publicly enforced, and unfair things are happening in which those who commit fouls win. In other words, candidate Roh Moo-hyun was penalized by too many fouls from the start of the primary election process. His major complaint was why society does not support people with principles and convictions, but rather favors those who are foul and apostate.
One of the fouls he faced was conspiracy theories. Because things didn't go the way the other person thought, they hit the back of the head saying that it was the result of a conspiracy. By arguing that the loss was not due to the opponent's good or his own fault, but because a third-party conspiracy was involved, he made the opponent an immoral group, nullified the match he had lost, and returned to the origin. This is the foul you want to let go of. After all, isn't it a conspiracy to raise a conspiracy theory by making fun of a conspiracy that doesn't even exist?
A conspiracy is decorated in a dark place. And it contains a very evil and deadly poison. And it's done in a very cowardly way. Watch the prime ministers and princes here plotting to get rid of Daniel. Since they have no clue in Daniel's abilities, character, or personal life, they try to get rid of him with an evil conspiracy, which means that if they do something, they will forbid anyone to do anything to any god or anyone other than the king for the next month. And anyone who violates it will be thrown into the lion's den. Knowing that Daniel sets up a time each day to pray to Jehovah God, these men are only interested in creating a snare to hold him. So they don't realize how evil and how deadly this conspiracy is. They may be able to catch Daniel and throw him into the lions' den with this conspiracy, but they don't know that Daniel and everyone else must be thrown into the lions' den.
This evil conspiracy will plunge the whole country into a crucible of terror and destroy all human relationships. How would people's lifestyle change if they knew that if they asked anyone anything they would be thrown into the lions' den? How frightening and desolate would the atmosphere be? You can't even open your mouth. It's because it's a big deal if the words asking you to do something different, even unconsciously, come out. We are meant to live by helping each other. Because everyone's abilities and circumstances are different. While we sit at the same table and eat, a person from afar asks someone close to them to pick up some salt or deliver some potatoes. This is how we are supposed to live. But what would a society look like if these basic patterns of life were banned and outlawed? As we live in a veil of mutual distrust, betrayal and hatred will multiply and the society and all its members will self-destruct. Would they have known that this conspiracy to get rid of Daniel contained this poison? Is this for prime ministers and princes to rule the country and take care of the people?
After all, such a conspiracy should never be tolerated. A conspiracy is evil in its motive, evil in content, evil in method, and evil in outcome. A society where conspiracies prevail and there are many people who succeed through conspiracies is a sick society and an evil society. Isn't the first word of the president who suffered from such a conspiracy to create a society free from such fouls? Such conspiracies are not unique to the power struggles of the Persian royal courts thousands of years ago. This conspiracy has penetrated so deeply and widely into our society that the President immediately declares that it must be removed from our society and put out of sight. These conspiracies can arise anywhere around us. And we may ourselves be victims of the conspiracy, or, unfortunately, we ourselves may be the initiators of the conspiracy. Because when we don't like someone, and when we can't win by following the rules, we too can be tempted to conspire.
For this sinister conspiracy, the prime ministers and princes who designed it are primarily responsible, but the king who aided it is also to blame. What these conspirators used to deceive the king and obtain his permission was to incite the king's publicity. It is a flimsy claim that the king is superior to all men and gods to ask for it only from the king, and to forbid it from anyone, whether god or human. The king could not understand the truth or danger of the conspiracy through such flattery, and the king passed over.
After all, pride is the gateway to destruction. Unaware that an evil conspiracy was going on for power, Dario was instigated and signed the decree. I signed a memorandum that I respected only myself and raised the authority of the king, but while I was proud and proud for a moment, in fact, I signed a memorandum to kill the most capable and faithful servants, and to throw the whole country into chaos and ruin. It was one thing. If we look closely at the context before and after, Dario is not that ignorant or clogged up. However, I completely lost my mind at the flattery and instigation of these rogues. Do you know when people are most prone to being stupid? That's when others encourage you.
There is an expression about the Persian legal system as the unchanging ordinances of the Medes and Persians. This Persia, which appeared after overthrowing Babylon, is an allied power of Media and Persia. Of course, the main force is Persia. However, the Persians always put the Media in the forefront, trying to save the Media's prestige and quell their dissatisfaction as a minority. Because two different powers combined to form one nation, the promise between the two was the basis for the nation's existence. If one side breaks the promise even later, the country will be broken, and the dream of conquering and ruling the world will also be broken. So, it seems that these two countries demanded from each other a stipulation that a promise once made and a matter once decided can never be changed no matter what. So, it seems that the expression of the unchanging ordinances of the Medes and Persians came from.
There are still conspiracies being produced in the dark in this world. There are plenty of people who succeed with fouls. But the world we hope and aim for is a world where fouls are not tolerated. Conspiracies to harm others are the realization of the truth that eventually becomes one's own grave. The president took the lead in creating such a society. We will have to respond and engage with real life. Of course, it's not easy. But even if such a world does not come true, we must live the world as it is. You may be able to deceive the President and commit a foul, but you cannot deceive even God and commit a foul. It can often be the case that a perfect conspiracy eliminates opponents and dominates, but in the end, when you stand before God, the conspiracy will turn into your own grave.
Our enemy, Satan, is plotting every day to overthrow us. It's an evil and terrifying conspiracy. However, as we see how God saved His people from such an evil conspiracy, today we will also find a God who breaks Satan's conspiracy and saves us.