Daniel 6 is a
parallel to Chapter 3. Both are stories
of deliverance in which Daniel and friends had to make a choice to not worship
the idols of men. That decision leads them alternatively into the fire and the
lion’s den. Both end with God’s wonderful deliverance. Both these accounts remind
us that the life of faith and trust in God must be lived to the very end. By
the time we get to chapter 6 Daniel is probably in his 80’s. Be reminded that this world is not a peaceful haven.
It is a constant battleground. It reminds us that former victories do not
absolve us from future crises. We need this portion of Scripture to know how to persevere.
By now Daniel has outlived quite a few kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede and soon Cyrus the Persian (1:21; 6:28). Kings and kingdoms come and go, but through all these, Daniel is enabled by grace to persevere…. Through many dangers toils and snares. (John Newton). It seems as if every time Daniel finds himself under a new king, he finds new challenges. In this 6th chapter, Daniel now serves under king Darius - a Mede. The Medes like the Persians were an ancient Iranian people. It was these people that conquered the once powerful kingdom of Babylonia in n Chapter 5.
OUTLINE
1. 6:1 – 9 The plot to destroy Daniel
2. 6:10 – 17 Daniel in the
Lion's den
3. 6:18 – 28 Daniel's
deliverance
1. 6:1-9 The Plot To Destroy Daniel
You will immediately note that Daniel is once again at the "top" of the political structure. We had previously seen how Daniel had prospered under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (2:48). Under Belshazzar we see him coming out of obscurity back into prominence (5:29) in his eighties! Daniel out-lived and out-served four Kings, one of them, Nebuchadnezzar who reigned for 43 years. “An excellent spirit, knowledge and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve problems were found in this Daniel…” (5:12)
Why do you think, that Daniel would have made one of the top three posts in the new political dispensation (6:2)? How could one so prominent in the defeated dynasty of the Babylonians become such a high official in the Medo- Persian regime? The answer is found in our text: “This Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him”(5:12,6:3) … so much so that “the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom…” (6:3), a position that Daniel had already occupied in his younger days (c.f. 2:48). He is clearly a man of integrity. He was trustworthy. He could not be bribed or bought. He was valuable to the new administration of the Medes. All political dispensations suffer from the same problem. After a new party settles into power, it does not take long before corruption and greed and theft sets in. We see that indirectly affirmed in 5:2: “… that the king might suffer no loss”. King Darius needed people whom he could trust with the country's affairs and material resources. He had to find people that were not corrupt. Daniel was such a man. And king Darius certainly possessed at least one valuable trait - he knew a good man, when he saw one.
Jealousy makes you nasty … Daniel’s corrupt colleagues could not take it. We read that an impressive force of 120 ‘satraps’ and the two other administrators resolved to get rid of Daniel (6:4). But how could they do it? They would not find proof to charge Daniel on grounds of corruption. He had a solid integrity – (Daniel) was faithful and no error or fault was found in him” (6:4). Can this be said about me and you? They soon realized, that they were not going to find a fault with which to charge him and so dispose of him.
But now see to
which extent such corrupt men will
go in order to make up a case against
him. The enemies of those that stand
for truth and integrity
spend endless hours scheming how they may cause a
virtuous person to fall. We recall that this is what happened to Jesus
and also to the apostle Paul. Trumped up charges were brought against them to
discredit them. They knew that Daniel
was incorruptibly faithful to Darius, because he was faithful to his God. They knew
that his integrity was linked to
his faith in God Almighty.
And so, as they
were scheming they figured that if they could put him into a position where he
would have to choose between His God and the king - what would happen? Would he
choose His God over the king? This
becomes the basis of their scheme (see 6:5)
The favourite tool of evil men is subversion, deceit and flattery. These are the tools which Satan used in the garden of Eden. He asked Eve a subversive question: “Did God really say …” (Gen. 3:1), when it is clear that God really did say (Gen. 2:17). The servants of deceit are called Mrs. Flattery and Mr. Lies. They learn this trade from their father the devil. Satan said to Eve, "when you will eat, you shall be like God" - that is flattery; "you will surely not die?” – that is a lie for after the fall in Genesis 3 we see that all people do die- just as God said.
Now when these false men came to the king with their subversive, flattering and dishonestly ‘humble’ suggestion that the king should be prayed to (worshipped) for the next 30 days (6:7), their flattery has a devastating effect. Darius was flattered in a most deceptive way. And he was blatantly lied to. And he never noticed it. Look at 6:7: "All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counsellors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whosoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, o king shall be cast into the den of lions.” ALL? Where was Daniel's consent? He, an important decision maker in the Median empire was conveniently left out. And so king Darius was deceived, something he would soon deeply regret. As a result of falling for this deceptive flattery and lying he would be bound by the law of the Medes and the Persians – which apparently could not be revoked (6:8,12,15)– not even by the king. Darius had walked into the conspirators trap. And he signed the injunction (6:9). And Daniel is very much like our Lord Jesus here, being sent to his death, simply because he was righteous.
2. 6:10-17 Daniel In The Lion’s Den
When these 30 days of compulsory emperor worship came, it was obvious that Daniel would not worship Darius, because Daniel was no idolater. His heart loved and served God MORE than his king whom he served well! So what did Daniel do, when he heard, that the decree was published (6:10)? He did what he always did: “He went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously.” When the going gets tough the tough go to prayer –as always ! A few observations:
ii. He is praying against clear orders! But what is the real issue for Daniel here? The same as for Peter in John in Acts 4:19,20 : “We must obey God rather than man”. Ultimately for Daniel this is a matter of keeping the first commandment. But what about his personal safety? Does he not know that this means certain death? So the big point for Daniel is this : Do I worship God first or my safety? His response shows, “I must not make an idol of my own safety, and so by prayer I destroy that idol’[1]
iii. Daniel remains consistent in his prayer routine: “He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously”. His previous discipline feeds his present faithfulness. A lifestyle of consistent obedience to God, finds no other option, than to place God first. It’s hard but it is necessary! And each time you say, "NO" to sin, you are training yourself for godliness (1 Tim 4:7). And do not believe for a moment, that Daniel was not tempted to compromise at this point. He was a man like us. And if Jesus could pray, that the Father should take this cup of suffering in his hour of need from him - i.e. the temptation to avoid the cross (Matt 26:39) - then we must assume that Daniel would also have wrestled with this matter. Daniel finds the courage to persevere through prayer – by talking to God. It is the same kind of courage which Dr. Martin Luther received when in 1521 he stood before that hostile Roman Catholic religious council in the city of Worms (Germany). He was asked to repent of his ‘heretical teachings’. He knew that He stood on God’s word and therefore he replied with God-given boldness, "Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God."
iv. He kneels in prayer! Posture says a lot! He bows the knee before His God, whose servant he ultimately is... not before Darius!
All this does not work in Daniel’s outward favour. In 6:11ff he is discovered and they accuse him before the king. The king is clearly pro-Daniel (11:14) and he is distressed. The whole focus in 6:16-20 is ironically on the king’s distress rather than on Daniel’s plight. His own law condemns Daniel, yet in his heart he longs to save him. Before him lies a sleepless night! So Daniel will go to the lions! King Darius on the other hand faces that terrible dilemma of seeing the consequences of his wrong judgment. He even spent the night fasting (6:18)
But, praise be to God, He preserves His servants in all
sorts of trials - not FROM the trial,
but (AGAIN) IN the trial. Daniel was in great physical danger, but never in
spiritual danger.
After a
sleepless night, king Darius hurried to the lion’s den, calling out with an
anxious voice – even before he got there, “O
Daniel, servant of the Living God, has your God whom you serve continually, been able to
deliver you from the lions?” (6:20). Daniel's responded in a
calm, composed voice wishing
the king ‘eternal life’ (6:21). In the meantime we are informed
that God had sent His angel to shut the
lions mouths (6:22). Not only
did the king not have an appetite that night, but so did the lions! Child of God
– the Lord is your KEEPER – Psalm 121
Those that build traps and pits for others fall into their own pit (Psalm 35:7,8). The pit of lions which they have devised for Daniel death, becomes their own grave (6:24) and the glory goes as always to God (6:25-27). The gallows which Haman designed for Mordechai the Jew in the book of Esther, becomes his own place of execution. (Esther)
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