DANIEL 6 – IN THE LION’S DEN
This has long been a beloved Bible story – and no wonder. There are so many dramatic features in this story – the jealousy of political subordinates, the vanity of a king, the integrity of a man, the power and preservation of God, even wild animals and violence.
6 1-3 Darius reorganized his kingdom. He appointed one hundred twenty governors to administer all the parts of his realm.
Over them were three vice-regents, one of whom was Daniel.
The governors reported to the vice-regents, who made sure that everything was in order for the king. But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.
Daniel distinguished himself: Daniel was one of three leaders directly under Darius, and he shined above the other two leaders because he had an excellent spirit.
Daniel had a good attitude in his work and life, and this made him the object of attack.
4-5 The vice-regents and governors got together to find some old scandal or skeleton in Daniel’s life that they could use against him, but they couldn’t dig up anything.
He was totally exemplary and trustworthy.
They could find no evidence of negligence or misconduct.
So they finally gave up and said, “We’re never going to find anything against this Daniel unless we can scheme up something religious.”
6-7 The vice-regents and governors conspired together and then went to the king and said, “King Darius, live forever!
We’ve convened your vice-regents, governors, and all your leading officials, and have agreed that the king should issue the following decree:
They could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful:
Daniel was such a faithful man that those who looked for a flaw in his actions or his character came up empty.
Imagine looking as hard as you can atsomeone and finding nothing wrong. No fraudulent expense accounts.
No scandals. No questionable deals. No lies. No bad relationships.
Simply, there were no skeletons in Daniel’s closet. His enemies examined his life and found nothing to attack – so they had to make up something.
Nor was there any error or fault found in him:
This wasn’t to imply that Daniel was actually sinless, but that he was a man of great integrity.
Integrity-Integrity means being honest and having strong moral principles. A person with integrity behaves ethically and does the right thing, even behind closed doors.
These men knew Daniel well. They knew he could not be trapped into evil, but they also knew that he would be faithful to his God in all circumstances.
Can you see yourself in Daniel? Are you faithful to God IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES?
The world may not know the details of doctrine or the intimacies of worship with God, but they can tell a bad temper, selfishness, conceitedness, or dishonesty when they see it.
Whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king:
If the enemies of Daniel knew him, they also knew Darius. They knew they could appeal to Darius’ pride and his desire for a unified kingdom.
All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together:
They lied when they said all the governors… have consulted together. We know it was a lie because Daniel was one of the governors and he was not consulted.
So that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians:
It was an established principle in the Medo-Persian Empire that when a king formally signed and instituted a decree, it was so binding that not even the king himself could change it.
Therefore King Darius signed the written decree:
“Suppose the law of the land were proclaimed, ‘No man shall pray during the remainder of this month, on pain of being cast into a den of lions,’ – how many of you would pray? I think there would be rather a scanty number at the prayer-meeting. (Spurgeon)
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God
Daniel showed radical obedience to God. How different would our lives look if we were radically obedient? If we worked hard to apply everything we knew from Gods Word?
- It isn’t hard to see why people are men-pleasers; it seems as if people have the power to hire or fire us, to break our hearts, to slander us, to make our lives generally miserable. The power to obey God and stand for Him comes from a settled understanding that God is really in control.
Prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days: Daniel didn’t let the decree change his actions one way or another. He didn’t do more praying or less; he simply continued his excellent prayer life.
He prayed with his windows open toward Jerusalem, remembering the place of sacrifice even when there was no sacrifice.
He prayed according to Scripture, because in 1 Kings 8 Solomon asked God to give special notice to the prayers of His people when they prayed towards Jerusalem and the temple: And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place (1 Kings 8:30).
He knelt down on his knees, praying just as Jesus did,
“Kneeling is a begging posture and we must all come to God as beggars.” (Heslop)
He prayed and gave thanks, because great prayer is filled with thanksgiving. “Prayer and praise should always go up to heaven arm in arm, like twin angels walking up Jacob’s ladder, or like kindred aspirations soaring up to the Most High.” (Spurgeon)
Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
They found Daniel just as they knew they would – deep in prayer. People will take notice of your prayer life.
And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
This was not true. Daniel intended no disrespect for the king, only a higher respect for God.
And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
There is a lot to like about King Darius, and one of the admirable things about him is that he was displeased with himself. Instead of blaming others, he knew that he was at fault. We can be sure that he wasn’t happy with Daniel’s enemies, but he knew that ultimately he was responsible.
Be careful not to blame others for what could have been avoided if your actions or attitudes were different.
Like Darius, our foolish decisions often haunt us. Often all we can do is pray and ask God to mercifully and miraculously intervene when we make foolish decisions.
Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
This means that he worked as long as he could. According to ancient eastern custom, the execution was carried out on the evening of the day that the accusation was made and found valid.
So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”
Darius had faith, and it was faith born out of Daniel’s trust in the Lord. The idea was, “I tried my best to save you Daniel, but I failed. Now it is up to your God.”
You serve continually: This made Daniel’s testimony. Many of us occasionally display godly character and wisdom before the world, but counter-act the good by then being bad. Daniel’s testimony was made by continual service.
Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.
This may have been to protect Daniel as much as to make sure someone didn’t rescue Daniel. Darius knew that Daniel had powerful enemies who might kill him if the lions didn’t.
Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him.
Undoubtedly, Daniel had a better night’s rest than Darius. We can be sure that Daniel prayed in the lions’ den, because it was simply his habit to pray. He did not need to start praying on this remarkable occasion because the habit of prayer was well ingrained in his life.
“When our lives are centred in God, we can ever afford to leave circumstances to the compulsion of the One in Whom we trust.
“In any case he must have had a glorious night. What with the lions, and with angels all night to keep him company, he was spending the night-watches in grander style than Darius.” (Spurgeon)
Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions.
Since he could not sleep, it was easy for Darius to rise very early. We imagine him waiting for the first glimmer of dawn so he could see how Daniel fared.
And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king,
When Darius heard Daniel’s voice he knew that he had survived through the night. The lions would not or could not touch this servant of God.
“O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”
We don’t know if Daniel saw an angel or not, but he certainly knew that God sent His angel to rescue him.
Hebrews 1:14 says angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation. God sent an angel to serve Daniel’s need.
“Though they were savage and hunger-starved, yet Daniel was kept from the paws and jaws of these many fierce and fell lions by the power of God through faith.” (Trapp)
There is an instructive order here. The power of God sent an angel to protect Daniel in response to a prayer of faith coming from a consistent, abiding walk.
Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.
God can protect you from whatever you are worried about, as long as you are being faithful to Him.
And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions; them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.
No one had to ask Darius to do this. He was ready and willing to bring justice to those who plotted against Daniel, and also to their children, and their wives.
This was obviously severe, but it was also according to ancient customs among the Persians.
Darius was not happy with these men. He probably would have cast these accusers to the lions even if Daniel had perished in the lion’s den.
The lions overpowered them… before they ever came to the bottom of the den:
This proved that it was genuinely angelic protection that saved Daniel. It proves there was no natural reason why the lions did not eat Daniel. Daniel’s accusers perished in the same trap they set for Daniel.