Thrown to the Lions - Daniel 6

Daniel  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  45:14
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So often when we come to books of the Bible that are full of stories that are so familiar to us, we run the risk of glossing over them.
Our text today is one of the most iconic stories in the bible. We know it like the back of our hand right? Daniel and the lion’s den. A made up law about prayer, Daniel’s faithfulness, him being thrown to the lions, and God’s rescue of him.
Often when it comes to these iconic stories, it can be a challenge to dive into them and not allow our familiarity with the story to prevent us from seeing what the author really wants us to see.
So often the story of Daniel in the Lions den is taught in such a way that it communicates that God rescues the righteous. And that’s true. God does rescue the righteous, and we praise God for that! God rescued Daniel as we will see. Darius is going to praise God that he saves, and delivers, and does signs and wonders in heaven and on earth and he also saved Daniel from the power of the Lions!
But what gets communicate through that is that if you just do what you know is right as well, if you are faithful, God will rescue you too, because God rescues the righteous.
But then we start thinking of stories where God didn’t rescue the righteous.
There were righteous kings who ruled Israel who died in battle.
John the baptist got his head chopped off for daring to speak against the King’s sin.
James, the brother of Jesus was executed with a sword.
The author of Hebrews speaks about many of tremendous faith and faithfulness who suffered greatly:
Hebrews 11:36–38 LSB
and others experienced mockings and floggings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, mistreated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in desolate places and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
Where was their rescue?
There is a tension we have to wrestle with in Daniel 6.
Some have tried to soften it. Well, there isn’t always physical rescue, but there is always ultimate and spiritual rescue for the righteous.
And that is certainly true. For all those who trust in Christ, Scripture says we are rescued from the wrath to come. We do not face condemnation, but enjoy the blessings of the Lord!
But is that what Daniel wanted us to take home from this text?
There are many lessons to be learned from this text, and I intend to point many of them out along the way.
But I believe that the main driving force that Daniel wants us to grasp with this
Despite changing governments and threatening conspirators, God remains Sovereign over the nations and sovereign over the lives of men.
REPEAT
We must remember that as we begin this chapter, Babylon is under new management. There is a new king in town. There are new governors appointed.
There is another king who must learn the same thing that Nebuchadnezzar learned back in chapters 2-4.
In this chapter we will encounter Darius the Mede. Because of the attacks that are made against the book of Daniel, I do need to make one note about him here:
A question that often gets raised is, “Who is Dairus the Mede?”
Most likely this was an alternate name of one of the rulers that Cyrus put into place to govern Babylon. Because of the incomplete records that we have from that era, we don’t have extra-biblical archeological record of Darius, and some have used that fact to attempt to discredit Daniel.
However, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The records are admittedly incomplete. But are they? We have the testimony of Scripture itself, the very Word of God! Why would we not trust the Scriptures which have been vindicated time and time again? People doubted the existence of many of biblical characters, cities, and events, and time and time again, God’s Word has proven true. That is what we must conclude will eventually be the case here.
With that out of the way, let’s begin with our text, Daniel chapter 6.
Daniel 6:1–5 LSB
It seemed good to Darius that he set 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom, and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king planned to set him over the entire kingdom. Then the commissioners and satraps began seeking to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to matters of the kingdom; but they were not able to find any ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”
This opening paragraph sets the stage for us. Darius has a big job managing this newly acquired kingdom. He divides it up and sets satraps, which were a kind of ruler or governor over the districts that he establishes.
This is not all that dissimilar to use having our districts with senators and legislators representing specific groups, except of course in Babylon there were no elections. There were all appointed by the King.
Right off the bat, Daniel stands out. Daniel would likely have been in his eighties at this stage, so the fact that this man at his age was making a name for himself is very impressive.
The fact that he is doing as well as his is does not sit well with a a group of individuals.
Notice verse four.
Daniel 6:4 “Then the commissioners and satraps began seeking to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to matters of the kingdom; but they were not able to find any ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him.”
By all accounts, Daniel is a model citizen.
Though they seek for something to discredit him, the find nothing.
I find it interesting that there is no detail about their motivation at this point. Since Daniel was about to essentially be second in command, perhaps jealousy and desire to have that position themselves was the motivation. Whatever the case we aren’t directly told.
But they hate him, but they cannot find any corruption in him.
This reminds us

The world will hate the righteous

The world hates the righteous. If you seek to live a godly life, you will face push back in your life somewhere.
The NT reminds in several places that the godly should expect maltreatment from the world.
Jesus says in John 15:18-19
John 15:18–19 LSB
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
The satraps here hate Daniel. And they’re going to do something about it.
Daniel 6:6–9 LSB
Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! “All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have counseled together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who seeks to make a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. “Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the written document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the written document, that is, the injunction.
They come before the king and present a proposal. It says they came by agreement. One scholar I was reading made a compelling case that we can legitimately translate this word as conspiracy. They came by conspiracy. They are conspiring against Daniel and are working their plans.
Why is this a decree that would have enticed the king? From a practical standpoint it doesn’t make a lot of sense. ALL requests coming to the king for 30 days??
It seems that this was intended to be a form of loyalty test. Darius was the new ruler in town. Consolidating power and establishing his authority would have been very important. and who knows how it may have appealed to his Ego.
So the edict is signed. No praying to anyone except the king!
What is Daniel to do?
I love what he does here in vs 10
Daniel 6:10 LSB
Now when Daniel knew that the written document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.
What a guy.
Preasure can come from two directions: you need to do this thing you know is wrong. That’s what Daniel’s three friends faced in chapter two with the threat of a fiery death.
But it can also be: stop doing what you know is right. And this is what Daniel faced.
A trap was laid specifically for Daniel. For him it was less about doing something sinful, but stopping doing something good. And he simply carried on.
What an example of a righteous man prioritizing his faith.

The righteous prioritize their faith

Daniel clearly has a habit, and he is not going to alter it just because of some law from a king.
The practice of praying toward Jerusalem is laid out in 1 Kings 8.
The context of 1 Kings is Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple. He prays and in his prayer he gives instruction about what the people of God should do in the event that they are carried off into exile.
1 Kings 8:48–49 LSB
and if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them,
And that’s exactly what Daniel was doing. He was praying toward Jerusalem, seeking the Lord in the midst of the exile.
And interesting detail for us is that if you flip over to Daniel 9, notice what it says in verse 1.
Daniel 9:1 “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, from the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—”
That chapter is going to say that Daniel had read the scriptures about the time of the exile, and that he prayed to the Lord and sought His mercy.
It’s very possible that Daniel’s habit included prayers very much like the one recorded in chapter nine.
But Daniel was prioritizing his faith in the midst of what would end up being severe persecution.
Several commentators noted that the real battle faced by Daniel was not in the den of lions, but in his room on his knees in prayer.
“This shows us that the dangers we don’t see are generally much greater than the dangers we do see. When we watch Daniel being lowered into the lions’ den, we hold our breath in fear and anticipation. Yet, by that point the danger has already been overcome and the great fight has been fought.” —Veldkamp cited in DRD the Message of Daniel pg 87
It would have been so easy for Daniel to stop praying. It would have been so easy for him to at least close the window so others couldn’t see in. It would have been so easy for him to alter his habits in order to survive.
But he doesn’t. He recognizes the important of his faith and stops at nothing to carry it out. In so doing he is recognizing that there is a higher king than king Darius.
Daniel knew that there are some things more dangerous than a lions den.
How easy it is for us to forsake the regular habits that should be second nature to us. How easy it is to kind excuse to miss the gathered worship of the people of God like we are doing here today.
How easy we find it say “I’ll read my Bible later, I’ll pray later” but later never comes!
It was only a few years ago that many churches here in the US faced severe pressure and backlash for trying to remain open during the initial waves of the COVID pandemic, and there were many churches that closed their doors far longer than they ever should have, there were people who stayed away from the practice of gathered worship long after it was clear that COVID was not all that it was claimed to be.
I say recognizing that many people did die from COVID, and that standing for conviction doesn’t mean we intentionally infect other people with illness. We can balance wisdom and prudence with the clear commands from the Lord.
But just as Daniel knew that there were some things more dangerous than a den of lions, so too there are things more dangerous than a virus! More crippling than polio. deadlier than the black plague.
This was clearly something Daniel understood.
Notice in the text how consistent Daniel was. At the end of verse ten it says he was just doing what he always did.
He didn’t go out of his way to make a show of defiance against the government. Some people made that mistake during the shutdowns here. No, he quietly just did what he always did.
It’s hard to imagine him being able to stand against the pressure if these habits weren’t already in place.
So often we are tempted to think to ourselves that if something comes up, then I’ll get serious about my faith, then I’ll make sure I make time for prayer.
But if you don’t have the habit now, its hard to imagine you will start that habit when things are difficult. If you aren’t doing when things are easy, what makes you think you would when you having to face severe negative consequences for doing it?
The commitment to prayer now when things are well will carry you when things are hard.
One of my favorite commentaries that I’ve been using as I’ve studied this book is by a man named Dale Ralph Davis. On this point he notes “As Jay Adams (I think) once said, a train’s habit is to be confined to its tracks and therein consists its usefulness and safety. So we see with Daniel: consistency assists courage, and discipline feeds faithfulness. In the crisis Daniel’s habit set him free to be faithful.”
Consistency assists courage. Discipline feeds faithfulness.
Daniel prioritized his faith, he set his habits long ago, and persevered in them when faced with the consequences. He prioritized his faith.
And it did get him in trouble.
Daniel 6:11–15 LSB
Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel seeking to make a petition and making supplication before his God. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who seeks to make a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king answered and said, “The word is certain, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” 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 to the injunction which you signed, but keeps seeking to make his petition three times a day.” Then, as soon as the king heard this word, he was greatly distressed within himself and set his mind on saving Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to deliver him. 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 statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
Twice more the text says they came by agreement. They continue to conspire together against Daniel. It’s clear from the text that Darius has been deceived by the conspirators. He did everything he could to try to find a legal loophole to get Daniel out of the mess, but there was nothing to be done.
The accusations that the men brought to the king is striking.
They seek to discredit his loyalty by pointing out that he’s an outsider, one of the exiles from Judah and they accuse him having not regard for the king.
The changeableness of the law might be odd to us. We would think that he’s the king. He can pardon him, can’t he?
The custom of the Medes and Persians was to have certain edits that could not be revoked in order to appear strong before the people. If you have a king going back on his edicts, you have a weak king! And we can’t have that.
So Daniel is arrested.
Daniel 6:16–18 LSB
Then the king said the word, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself save you.” And a stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
Darius is clearly in deep distress over what he has done to a righteous man. He fulfills his legal obligation, but spends a sleepless night hoping against hope that Daniel will be alright. He expressed confidence in the God of Daniel, but he clearly wasn’t sure what to expect.
And when morning arrive, he rushes to the den.
Daniel 6:19–23 LSB
Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and hurriedly went to the lions’ den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to save you from the lions?” Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have done no harm.” Then the king was greatly pleased and said for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no harm whatsoever was found on him because he had believed in his God.
An incredible moment! Daniel spent the night with lions that are used to eating people condemned to death. And the Lord spared him.
Amazingly, this is the only time Daniel speaks in the entire chapter, when he addressed the king here. Because of his faith in the Lord, God protected him.
And in case you thought it was because the lions weren’t hungary, read the next verse.
Daniel 6:24 LSB
The king then said the word, and they brought those men who had brought charges against Daniel, and they cast them, their children, and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
This was the punishment for their treachery. They and their families cast into the lions den, and they were devoured before they even hit the floor. This underscore the signfiiacnce of the miracle that was done for Daniel.
In response, Darius issues a new proclamation
Daniel 6:25–28 LSB
Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue who were inhabiting all the land: “May your peace abound! “I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and be in dread before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be unto the end. “He saves and delivers and does signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has also saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” So this Daniel enjoyed success in the kingdom of Darius and in the kingdom of Cyrus the Persian.
Here we come to the main point of this entire episode. Once again, a pagan king has learned a valuable lesson. Once again, a pagan king is issuing a true statement about the character, nature, and power of the one true God.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that one day his kingdom would give way to another.
Daniel saw a vision that we will see next week that spoke of the same realities.
Clearly it was true that God was in charge during Babylonian rule. but does God’s rule change when the powers that be change?

God remains Sovereign over the nations

No! God is the powerful ruler over the kingdoms of men. From Nebuchadnezzar, to Belshazzar, to now a comeplete turnoever from the babylonain empire to the medio persian empire.
God never stopped being the powerful ruler over the kingdom of men, and he demonstrated his power and his eternal sovereign rule in this episode with Daniel.
The Babylonian empire is done. One day the Medio persion empire will fade as well.
His kingdom endures.
Other rulers will arise and God’s people will suffer. We will read about that in weeks to come.
And yet God saves, and delivers and does signs and wonders.
This text is not intended to teach us that if we just do what we know is right, God will always protect us from hardship at the hands of those who hate the Lord.
This text is intended to remind us that even in changing governments, even when there is hostility, God is ruler over all. Of course we learn lessons along the way about what it looks like to stand by our convictions when faced with a hostile environment.
But we do so because there is a higher king.
As the disciples said in acts It is better to obey God rather than man.
We don’t have the promise of physical deliverance in every situation.
We are given have the confidence that God still rules even if we must die for the sake of righteousness.
And I don’t know about you, that fills me with an incredible sense of confidence in the year 2024 where we once again somehow have the most important election in our lifetime.
There will be a transition in government. Does God remain sovereign over that?
I know that each of us have a preferred outcome for this election. If that doesn’t happen, do you have to live in fear? No! God is accomplishing his purposes! It certainly may be a painful experience, but that doesn’t mean its beyond the hand of the Lord.
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