Daniel 6:1-28 pt2 | Daniel and the Angel’s Den

SERMON TITLE: Daniel and the Angel’s Den

TEXT: Daniel 6:1-28 (NLT)

SPEAKER: Josh Hanson

DATE: 6-16-24

TURN MIC ON / WELCOME

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — are joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing in our series in the book of Daniel today — looking at what it means to live in exile. And we’re picking up in a section of the book that we didn’t have time to finish last week — a section that contains a familiar story — for many of us — from Daniel’s life in exile — Christian or not. We covered much of the chapter last week — but let’s read it in its entirety — so we’re all together in this familiar story. We’re in Daniel chapter six — beginning in verse one.

Daniel 6:1–28 (NLT)

1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. 2 The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. 3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire. 4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.” 6 So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! 7 We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. 8 And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 9 So King Darius signed the law. 10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. 12 So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. “Did you not sign a law that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions?” “Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.” 14 Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. 15 In the evening the men went together to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.” 16 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night. 19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” 21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.” 23 The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God. 24 Then the king gave orders to arrest the men who had maliciously accused Daniel. He had them thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den. 25 Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: “Peace and prosperity to you! 26 “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end. 27 He rescues and saves his people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

INTRODUCTION

Last week I mentioned how I think we’ve made a mistake in the title we give this story — Daniel and the Lion’s Den. I like Daniel and the Angel’s Den better — as the angel — not the lions — plays a more significant role in the story. And — even though one sermon won’t change very many minds on what we call this story — for all of us today — we’re calling it Daniel and the Angel’s Den.

Something important we learned last week is how — in this land of exile — we’ll experience opposition from those who disagree with our faith. And this will happen even when we’re good citizens, productive employees, and kind to our neighbors — for this world is not our home — this nation is not where our primary citizenship lies — thus we should not be surprised when we experience opposition. And we talked about the various ways Christians have responded to this opposition: adapting, adopting, or resisting. And we saw that resistance — which is what we see in Daniel’s life — resistance requires us being committed to God and how he’s told us to live — even while we live in this land of exile. And this idea of resistance — through our commitment — comes from the key verse in our chapter — verse ten — which states…

Daniel 6:10 (NLT)

10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.

Daniel knew both what the land of exile demanded of him and what his commitment to God required of him — and he chose commitment to God regardless of the consequences. And — maybe what surprised you the most — if you were with us last week — is that Daniel does all of this while being somewhere around the age of ninety years old. He’s lived in Babylon for about seventy years — he’s been a faithful servant to multiple kings — he’s done what’s only been best for this foreign land while being faithful to his God. And — the thanks he’s received — has been experiences like the multiple threats against his life that we’ve previously encountered in the book.

THE DEN AND THE CROSS

Yet the opposition he’s faced has not caused him to waver in his commitment to his God. Even when his opponents knew the only way to trap him was by creating a law that would force him to compromise his faith — Daniel would rather break the law — and suffer the consequences for doing so — rather than compromise on his faith. An example — for us who follow Jesus today in this land of exile — of the commitment required of us to be faithful to our God and Savior. A commitment we can’t live up to — on our own — for our commitment to God must find its strength in our trust that he has first demonstrated his commitment to us. And — his commitment to us — includes going with us even into the pit of death. We’re in verse fourteen and — for some context — the king has just been informed by Daniel’s opponents that Daniel has continued to pray to his God three times a day.

Daniel 6:14–28 (NLT)

14 Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. 15 In the evening the men went together to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.” 16 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night. 19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” 21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.” 23 The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God. 24 Then the king gave orders to arrest the men who had maliciously accused Daniel. He had them thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den. 25 Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: “Peace and prosperity to you! 26 “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end. 27 He rescues and saves his people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel’s commitment to God led to him being put in a den — a pit — essentially he was buried alive to be tore to shreds by the lions — this was his meant to be his death. And all because he refused to compromise in regards to his faith. I appreciate what one pastor says about this moment in Daniel’s life. He writes, “The Lord allows the aged Daniel to face his greatest challenge in a lion’s den to say to his people then and to us now: “Trust me.”” (Bryan Chapell)

“Trust me.” As we’ve previously learned — faith and trust are synonymous. To trust God is to have faith in him. We never age out of faith — Daniel is in his nineties. We never educate out of faith — we’re created to be men and women of faith — who trust our God always — in all situations — especially the hard ones we experience in this land of exile.

And Daniel went into the pit trusting in his God. Now — what I find interesting at this point in the account — is the difference we see between Daniel and Darius. Daniel — as far as we can tell — calmly — trustingly — goes into the den. Darius — on the other hand — who seemingly had nothing to worry about — can’t enjoy any of his usual forms of entertainment that night. One man is at peace — the other is not — and the one at peace is not who you’d expect to be at peace, right! His trust in his God gave him a peace that surpassed his understanding of his situation.

“Trust me.” Again, another author is helpful is stretching our imagination of all that’s happening. He writes, “Daniel actually spent a far more comfortable night in the stinking pit than Darius did in his royal luxury. We may almost imagine the prophet leaning back on a warm, furry lion, conversing for hours with the angel about heavenly things, until he was so rudely interrupted by Darius’s question.” (Iain Duguid)

I don’t think I would have ever thought of the king’s question — early the next morning — as an interruption for Daniel — but it’s a glorious thought, isn’t it? For Daniel to be at such peace — with the presence of God’s angel — that he would’ve been fine with some more time in a pit full of lions. What kind of peace do you experience because of God’s presence with you?

The peace that’s offered to you — is a peace made possible because Jesus went down into another pit — the pit of death and hell — when he gave his life — in love — for the sins of the world — including your sins. His death was a sacrifice needed in order to bring peace between us and God — for our relationship with him had been broken because of our rebellion and sin. That’s what the biblical theme of exile is meant to remind us — this world is not the way it should be — it’s not the home we were created for — something terrible has happened resulting in us wandering in a spiritual wasteland awaiting our time to arrive at our spiritual home — a spiritual oasis — a beautiful garden — a new heavens and earth.

But — instead of an angel sent to protect and comfort us — Jesus — God in the flesh — came to earth to protect us from our enemy — Satan — by freeing us from our enslavement to him. And — in rising from the grave and ascending to Heaven — Jesus sent us the promised Comforter — the Holy Spirit — to live in us. And as we live — depending on the Spirit of God who is in us — we can fulfill the apostle Paul words — where he tells us…

Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

We’re brought back to prayer again. Daniel was committed to prayer — which led to him experiencing peace through God’s presence even when in a pit of death. Jesus prayed — the night he was betrayed — ultimately trusting in his Father’s plan — a plan of salvation and peace — though it would require Jesus entering a different pit of death. And Paul tells us that we too can experience peace — no matter the circumstance we face — a peace that comes through prayer — through knowing and trusting in our God. For our God — who defeated Satan — our enemy who prowls around like a lion — is the God who shut the mouths of lions for Daniel. And he’s the God who offers you peace — in any and all circumstances you might find yourself in — in this land of exile.

FIGHTING THE DEVIL WITH PRAYER

In a book I was recently reading, I was introduced to a late fourth century monk named Evagrius Ponticus. History tells us that Evagrius went out into the Egyptian desert to fight the devil — I bet that got your attention. Well rumors began to spread that there was a monk — out in the middle of the desert — at war with the devil — and the word on the street was that he was winning. Folks started to brave the desert to find Evagrius and ask him his secret to fighting against the devil. Someone even asked him to write down his strategy, which became a book titled Talking Back: A Monastic Handbook for Combating Demons.

Now — our land of exile tells us that there is no devil — a lie it’s trying to get us to believe. As a reminder — Jesus believed the devil was real and an enemy. Even if you don’t believe in Jesus — maybe you just think he was a remarkable teacher — don’t be quick to dismiss what he has to say about the devil.

The author of the book I was reading said this: “If Jesus’s anthem is ‘On earth as it is in heaven,’ the devil’s is ‘On earth as it is in hell.” (John Mark Comer)

Which explains why this land of exile is full of hate, greed, murder, and lust, and — well — hell. So — if you don’t take Jesus’ words about the devil at face value — just look around — evidence of his existence is all around us.

Here’s why I bring this up. I want to give us all some hope as I know we’ve been travelling in some challenging waters in this series so far. Living in exile isn’t easy. Remaining faithful to God in exile is like waking up in a war every single day. And add to this that — for some of us — maybe even many of us — the devil’s goal of “on earth as it is in hell” has been all too real — whether due to the death of someone we love, a broken relationship, the inability to get pregnant, depression, anxiety, spiritual apathy, cancer — you name it — this land of exile can really dish it out.

So — I want to end on some hope. Some good news. Let’s talk about fighting the devil in prayer — or — as Evagrius put it — talking back and combating demons — something all followers of Jesus can do because we have God’s Word and God’s Spirit to lead, guide, empower, and direct us.

The enemy we face is the father of lies. We see his lies in this land of exile — where God’s truth is constantly being exchanged for lies. But I want to talk — not about the lies out there — in culture — but how these lies show up daily in our lives and how we can fight back against them and — thus — defeat the devil by the power of God’s Word and Spirit. None of us are above believing these lies. None of us are immune to this — you don’t outgrow this with age — we’re all in desperate need of freedom from believing the lies of our enemy and trusting in the truth of God’s Word and his promises to us.

What are some examples of the lies I’m talking about? Again — let’s take a step back from the ideological lies of this land of exile — and face the messiness of real, everyday life.

It’s the lie believed by the teenage girl who constantly compares herself to what she sees on social media — the lie that says “Since I don’t look like that — I’m ugly and unworthy of being loved.”

It’s the man or woman working, doing their best, doing a good job — who’s constantly passed over for the promotion — the lie that says “Everything I do is a failure — I’m a failure — why bother.”

It’s the Christian living with chronic pain and who doesn’t feel God’s presence — the lie that says “God doesn’t care about you — he’s abandoned you.”

It could be the middle-aged woman who was raised by a perfectionist mother — and the lie “I have to be perfect or others will be angry with me.”

Or the lie many men believe who had an emotionally distant father — “My value is determined by my success.”

The lies we are constantly bombarded with — the lies we easily believe are cruel, painful, they can paralyze us, cause us to doubt, make us ineffective, and keep us from experiencing the blessings that have been promised to us. As easy as it is to make a person out to be our enemy — the real war isn’t against flesh and blood — we’re told — our enemy isn’t each other — even people of other faiths or no faiths — our enemy is the father of lies.

So how do we fight the devil and his lies?

And — forewarning — this will take intentionality and work on your part. The Spirit of God is willing to help you — but this is a work you must choose to do — this won’t be forced on you. Something I learned a long time ago is that God allows his people to be as miserable as we choose to be. He’s made freedom and joy and hope available — but he gives us a choice in the matter. And — far too many Christians never grasp the freedom, joy, and hope that is theirs — because grasping it requires that they fight against the devil and his lies and — instead of fighting — many Christians just live a miserable, hopeless, defeated life. But not us — not any more — let’s choose to fight against the devil with prayer.

So here’s how we fight.

First, we must be aware of our thoughts. Those examples I mentioned earlier — are just a handful of thousands of lies each of us think on a regular basis. Most of us have a few lies that are on repeat in our minds — like a broken record — they keep replaying over and over again. To fight — we must first be aware of our thoughts and what lies we’re believing. Here’s an example from the book I was reading.

Here’s the thought that’s on repeat: I’m worried about losing my job and not being able to make my car payment. Again — this may not be something you think about all of the time — but imagine that you do. What’s the lie beneath this thought?

The lie is this: My safety and security are in my job, and owning newer, nicer things will make me happy. “Man, Josh. That takes some real reflection.” You’re right! So often we live in the world of our thoughts without doing the work of examining is what I’m thinking based on truth or lies. And — for many of us — our thoughts are mainly influenced by the father of lies and this land of exile than they are by the truth of God’s Word. Which leads us to how we fight now that we’ve discovered the lie we’re believing.

Again — the repetitive thought is: I’m worried about losing my job and not being able to make my car payment. The lie beneath the thought is: My safety and security are in my job, and owning newer, nicer things will make me happy. The truth from God’s Word is this:

Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If this land of exile wants us to exchange the truth of God for a lie — the way we fight the devil and live with hope in this land of exile is by exchanging his lies with God’s truth. Which means — we must know God’s Word if we’re going to use it to fight against the lies of our enemy in prayer. Based on recent research, in our country just eleven percent of people read the Bible daily, thirty-four percent read the Bible once a week or more, and fifty percent read the Bible less than twice a year. As far as I could find — daily Bible reading is such a small percentage of Christians that researchers don’t seem to bother with it as a category — they lump daily Bible reading with “at least once a week” Bible reading.

Folks, we’re bombarded with lies all day from our enemy — do we want freedom, do we want hope, do we want joy, and life? We’re not going to find it without being men and women of God’s Word — we’ll just be men and women who live defeated lives because we have no way to fight against the devil and his lies.

We must be aware of the thoughts we have on repeat. Recognize the lie that is behind these thoughts. And then replace the lie with truth from God’s Word.

If you’re not sure where to begin, get a copy of Talking Back: A Monastic Handbook for Combating Demons and see what Evagrius used to fight the devil. Or grab a copy of John Mark Comer’s book Live No Lies for a modern book on the topic. And — if you don’t know where to begin with the Bible — I’ve written this booklet on how to make the most of your devotional time — an overview of what I do — both in God’s Word and in prayer — on a daily basis. You can grab a copy for free at the resource center at your campus.

CONCLUSION

Now — back to Daniel — about this moment in his life — it’s been said, “The message to Daniel’s people and to us is that our hope in God is not misplaced. Though we may have to wait to see the results of our faithfulness — and may never see them until we are with him — our God will accomplish his purposes. So we trust him and live for him.” (Bryan Chapell)

Ultimately, whether it’s fighting the devil or being willing to be thrown into a pit of lions — it all comes down to our trust in our God. What we’re to learn from Daniel’s life is that our hope in God isn’t misplaced — your trust in God isn’t a waste — in fact trusting in God is the only thing that makes sense in this world. And it’s the only thing that makes sense because we know and trust in what Christ has first done for us in coming to this world of exile to be thrown into a pit of death only to rise again as the conqueror of the grave and the one who has defeated our enemy. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Holy Father, as we come to you in prayer, we begin by thanking and praising you for giving us your Word to us. Your Word is truth. Your Word is what we’re to believe. It’s what we’re to live by. It’s where life, hope, joy, and peace are found. For it’s by believing in your Word — the gospel — that we experience Christ’s defeat of our enemy.

Holy Spirit, you take the truth of the Word of God and apply it to our hearts and lives. But there is a freedom we have — a freedom all who believe in Christ are given — a freedom to now live holy, committed, obedient lives for the glory of our God and Savior — to live according to your truth — or to live under the influence of the lies of our enemy. Lies we’ve been set free from — but lies that we so easily return to — for often it’s easier to believe a lie than it is to be men and women committed to living according to your truth.

But — Jesus — you’ve told us that you are the truth. And when the devil tempted you to believe his lies you rejected him — not once — not twice — but three times in the wilderness you rejected the lies of your and our enemy — and lived according to the truth — and you did so in order to purchase our freedom. For our freedom cost you your perfect life of obedience to your Father’s will and Word. And — in believing you — we now have the opportunity — and privilege — to live a life of obedience for your glory and for the good of those who live in this land of exile with us.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you’ve given us the truth of your Word and the strength that we need to reject the lies of our enemy and to replace his lies with your truth. Help us, we pray, to demonstrate our love for you by not giving in — but by fighting the devil and his lies — and living according to your truth. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go exchanging the lies of our enemy with the truth of God’s Word — committed to living for your God and Savior in this land of exile. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.