Daniel and the Lions Den

First thing I want to talk about is our Reputation

When I was young I asked my Grandpa for an old 1978 chevy truck that had been hauled off to the ranches dump. This truck had a bad engine and I thought I could restore the pickup.

My grandpa told me I could have it , but told me that if I wanted a really good pickup I should be on the lookout for an old 1940-1950’s Dodge powerwagon.

He said they were the best pickups ever produced and if I could find one and took care of it I would have a pickup for the rest of my life.

In His mind, the dodge powerwagon of that time frame had the absolute best reputation of any full size pickup.

In an article from Hotcars.com the writer says this about the Dodge powerwagon

“Throughout the years, the sturdy Power Wagon has proven itself to be a symbol of durability. Many drivers that drive this masterpiece boast of its longevity and reliability. The Dodge Power Wagon had various mechanical upgrades, and it cemented itself as a durable and reliable vehicle that survived the test of time.”

I bring this up because the Poowerwagon is of great reputation!

For the last few weeks we looked at the book of Daniel.

We saw Daniel and his friends taken by King Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon and Daniel chose to follow God instead of being brainwashed by the babylonians.

the the king had a dream and Daniel interpreted it for him.

the king had built a huge statue and told everyone to bow to it and Daniel’s friends shadrack, meschach, and abednego, were thrown into a furnace and God was with them through the fire and saved them.

We are going to skip chapter 5, which is the account of Babylon falling to the Medo-Persian empire. It was just as Daniel had interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar, and as he tells the young ruler here in this chapter.

When we begin chapter 6, Daniel is serving in the kingdom under King Darius and Daniel is an older man, probably in his 80s.

Lets look here at the first five verses here in our story of Daniel

English Standard Version (Chapter 6)

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

These other leaders were jealous of Daniel’s position and wanted to find something they could use against him to ruin his reputation before the king.

However, they could find no fault in this man and they realized the only way they would be able to do this would be to trap him by setting up a law against his faith!

Daniel is seasoned in his faith by now! He has spent decades holding out in faith in the midst of a society that went completely against what he believed.

This is a man we should be looking at and saying I want people to look at me like this! What does your reputation say about you? Am I of this strong of reputation that this is what people see in my character?

As Christians, we are not only creating a reputation for ourselves, but we are representing Christ.

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 5:20.

The Second point I want to make is that Satan is deceptive.

Lets continue and see what happens 6-9

English Standard Version Chapter 6

6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

O king live forever! what shmoozes!

These guys have wickedness on their hearts. they are doing the best they can to butter up this king to get him to do what they want.

Hey ol’ king ol’ buddy ol’ pal!

All the officials and high ranking people.... except they are lying because the one who is over you guys surely didn’t agree... he is the one you are trying to trap!

remember what it said in vr 3Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

These guys must have been smooth talkers!

This is a good lesson on how the devil works he tries his best to be smooth and slick talking to puff people up!

Just as king Darius was easily led into this trap, we can easily be led into traps or difficult situations because we listen to the deceptive lies of Satan in the world around us! He can make it sounds so good that you want to believe it or go along with it.

How many things in our lives and our society are this way? Things that the Bible clearly says is wrong, but that the world makes sounds so good...

2 Cor. 11:14-15

“And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 11:14–15.

The year 1971 and the advertisment Pinto a picture of a Green two-door shown against a black background while a man and a woman who is holding an infant stand at the rear of this car. The ad headline identifies it as "Ford's new Pinto. The little carefree car."

“The Ford Pinto was one of the worst cars of all time, there is no denying that. Manufactured between 1971 and 1980, the Pinto is best known for its awful performances and its poorly-placed fuel tank. The tank was likely to rupture and blow up following a low-speed rear-end crash. Starting in 1973, Ford started looking into the issue, but the damage had already been done. Around 900 people had died, and the company was forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.”

Hot cars.com

The advertisment seemed to look good. this car was made for the family and was “carefree”.

These guys in our story painted a good picture and advised the king to tell people not to go to their gods. they were only to petition to the King.

The third and central point of this sermon is this…A good reputation comes from a lifestyle of doing the right thing over and over again.

Look at what it says

English Standard Version Chapter 6

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, 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.

look past the point that he went to pray and see that he did this on a regular basis, three times a day.

Daniel had build a lifestyle of dedication to God. When difficult times come, we turn to autopilot and we will respond however we have conditioned ourselves to respond. In Daniel’s case, as we have seen now time and again in this book, it was prayer.

These men knew this was where to hit Daniel because they knew his reputation for being faithful and consistent in his faith walk.

We need to examine our own lives and ask ourselves how we are building this type of steadfast faith into our own lives. How are we preparing our hearts and minds for when hard times come?

Once again, Daniel proved himself to be faithful to God and not man, irregardless of what the outcome might be, and God was faithful. Let’s finish the story:

11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. 12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Da 6:10–13.

English Standard Version Chapter 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. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

Notice here that they King realizes what has happened, but because of how the Persian law worked, there was nothing that he could now do about the punishment that Daniel would have to face. It says he labored until the sun went down. He tried to come up with whatever he could to rescue Daniel.

This also speaks to Daniel’s character. Even though he broke the law, the king has great respect for Daniel. He has a good reputation before the king, enough to make the king want to work on his behalf.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. 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?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

The king recognizes Daniel’s devotion to his God and is hoping for his sake that his God will hear him. “May the God you serve continuously deliver you!!” He knows how faithful Daniel is to God and he has probably heard how powerful he is as well. But that does not stop the king from being up worrying all night. As soon as he is able he is up and running to see if Daniel has been rescued by his God. And he has.

Here again, just as was the case with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with the fiery furnace, we find that God did not stop Daniel form having to go through this trial. He had to face the lions. He had to place his life into God’s hands. And once again, God delivers THROUGH the trial. He shut the mouths of the lions.

He allowed Daniel to go through this so that His name could be glorified through this. let’s look here at the last few verses and see the king’s response:

English Standard Version Chapter 6

25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God,

enduring forever;

his kingdom shall never be destroyed,

and his dominion shall be to the end.

27  He delivers and rescues;

he works signs and wonders

in heaven and on earth,

he who has saved Daniel

from the power of the lions.”

28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Just as King Nebuchadnezzar had done years before, King Darius is proclaiming the greatness of the Lord, the God of Daniel “who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

We serve an amazing God who has the power to conquer our situations. The stories of people like Daniel help us to see how God can and will work through our lives if we trust him. This is why we read about them and learn about them, so that we can learn to trust God in our situations as well.

Heb 11:32-33

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 11:32–33.

As we close, I want to leave you with these thoughts:

What type of reputation are you building for yourself as a Christ-follower?

What things are you doing that are allowing you to build a habit and foundation of faith in your life?

Are you keeping aware of the deceptive ways that Satan uses to lure us away from a right relationship with God?

Are you trusting him, no matter the trial or situation, to see you faithfully through?

.......