Daniel Chapter 6

Background and Intro

Today’s lesson is about Daniel and the Lions Den Chapter 6— one of the best known stories in the Book of Daniel.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seemed helpless? Can you share it with us? What happened? What did you do?

In Chapter 6 - we will see Daniel in what appears to be a helpless situation.

Darius, the king, is also in a helpless situation - one of his own making.

And the story ends with a truly helpless situation for ring leaders of the plot.

Before we get into today’s lesson - a little background

The overall theology of the Book of Daniel is the sovereignty of God and His continuing care for his people

Daniel is to the Old Testament what Revelation is to the New Testament

Daniel lived through the reign of 4 mentioned Babylonian rulers: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus.

And in two kingdoms - Babylonian and Mede-Persia.

Chapter 1 to Chapter 2 verse 3 is written in Hebrew.

Chapter 2 verse 4 to the end of Chapter 7 is written in Aramaic

Here is a visual timeline of the life and Book of Daniel.

You can see that the chapters in the book are not in chronological order

Daniel and his three friends were taken captive by the Babylonians at a young age - Daniel was a teenager in 605 BC

Dates and timeframes for the Fiery Furnace and the Tree Dream are not known - but occur during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar dies in 562 BC.

There are some short-lived kings between Nebuchadnezzar and Nabe-night-dus (Nibonidus) in 556 BC.

Belshazzar is Nabe-night-dus’ (Nibonidus’) son and king of Babylon

The outline of Daniel is in two parts: stories and visions

Stories:

1. Introduction and the king’s food

2. Nebuchadnezzar’s statue dream

3. The fiery furnace

4. Nebuchadnezzar’s tree dream

5. The hand writing on the wall

6. Daniel in the lions’ den

Visions

7. The four beasts

8. The ram and the goat

9. Daniel’s prayer and the seventy weeks

10. The kings of the north and south

11. The kings of the north and south

12. The kings of the north and south

Vimeo Video - https://vimeo.com/179753685

So now lets look at the past 5 chapters and recap them.

In Chapter 1

The history of the Jews from King Solomon to about 606 BC was one of general disobedience against God.

Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army came to Jerusalem and God gave Jerusalem into the hands of the Babylonians.

The Babylonians took Jewish noble and royal family members and the elite of the land back to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the articles from the Temple of God

Then some of the exile youth - young men without any physical defect, handsome and showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace - were picked to enter a training program (an indoctrination) into the Babylonian language and literature and ways.

This included Daniel and three of his friends.

Daniel (God is my judge) was renamed to Belteshazzar (Bel protect life)

Hananiah (Jehovah is gracious) was renamed to Shadrach (the command of the moon god)

Mishael (Who is like God) was renamed to Meshach (who is like Aku)

Azariah (Jehovah is my helper) was renamed to Abednego (the servant of Nego)

Faithful

The four were determined to remain faithful to God.

They didn’t want to defile themselves by eating the royal food and drinking the royal wine commanded by the king’s official.

Daniel proposed a test to the chief guard.

For ten days they ate nothing but vegetables and drank nothing but water.

After ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.

So the guard relented and didn’t give them the royal diet.

God gave the four knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

At the end of the training program, when the king interviewed them, he found them far superior to all the other young men.

None were a match for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They were ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in the whole kingdom.

The themes of Chapter 1: God gave. God is sovereign.

Chapter 2 - Nebuchadnezzar’s First Dream

In Chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that he can’t understand.

King Nebuchadnezzar called in all the Babylonian magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to interpret his dreams for him.

In verse 4 the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers tell king Nebuchadnezzar to tell them his dream and they will interpret it.

A side note - This statement in verse 4 is where the writing changes from Hebrew to Aramaic. The writing remains in Aramaic through Chapter 7 then returns to Hebrew.

Back to the story -

King Nebuchadnezzar goes a step further and demands the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to not only interpret his dream, but also to tell him his dream.

Never before has anyone made such an outlandish request.

The magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers obviously can’t tell him his dream.

So Nebuchadnezzar gives the order to kill all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers because they can’t do what he asked.

Daniel comes on the scene and asks for a little time and that he will be able to tell the king the dream and interpret it for him.

Daniel and his friends pray to God for mercy. God gave Daniel the dream and the interpretation.

The dream was of a large statue with a head of gold, arms and chest of silver, torso of bronze, legs of iron and feet of a mixture of iron and clay. A rock, not cut by human hands, struck the statue at its feet and the whole statue crumbled and was blown away by the wind, scattered into oblivion. The stone that hit the statue became a huge mountain that filled the earth.

The interpretation was that the head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, but it would be followed by other kingdoms - the silver, the bronze, the iron and finally the iron and clay mixed feet. The Rock is the kingdom of God that will create the new heaven and the new earth and His rule will be forever.

Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with Daniel and his God that he promoted Daniel to be the ruler over the entire province of Babylon and over all its wise men. He also appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as administrators over Babylon.

Again - God gave. God is sovereign.

Chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue

Chapter 3 is one of the better known stories in Daniel - the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

King Nebuchadnezzar, some years later created a huge golden statue 90 feet high. He then ordered all the important leaders in the province, everybody who was anybody, to the dedication ceremony of the statue. They all came for the dedication, all the important people, and took their places before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected.

They were commanded “As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Some tattletales told Nebuchadnezzar that there were three Jews, whom he had set over the affairs of Babylon, that paid no attention to the command and they neither serve his gods nor worship the image of gold he had set up.

Nebuchadnezzar confronted the three - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego - and they confirmed they did not and would not worship his statue.

This made Nebuchadnezzar very angry and he had the furnace heated to 7 times hotter than normal.

And the three were bound in their clothes and thrown into the fire.

When the king looked in - he saw four men walking around in the fire.

He called them out and they were examined and it was discovered that the fire hadn’t so much as touched the three men—not a hair singed, not a scorch mark on their clothes, not even the smell of fire on them!

Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed he praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

He also decreed that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.

And he promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Again - God gave. God is sovereign.

Chapter 4 - Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony

Chapter 4 is an official Babylonian document written by Nebuchadnezzar.

It is the story of his conversion - his testimony - written after his restoration to his kingdom.

In the document Nebuchadnezzar says he has another dream.

The dream is about a big towering tree at the center of the world. The tree grew huge and strong. It's top reached the sky and it could be seen from the four corners of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant—enough food for everyone! Wild animals found shelter under it, birds nested in its branches, everything living was fed and sheltered by it.

A holy watchman descended from heaven, and call out: Chop down the tree, lop off its branches, strip its leaves and scatter its fruit. Chase the animals from beneath it and shoo the birds from its branches. But leave the stump and roots in the ground, belted with a strap of iron and bronze in the grassy meadow.

Let him be soaked in heaven’s dew and take his meals with the animals that graze. Let him lose his mind and get an animal’s mind in exchange, and let this go on for seven seasons.

The angels announce this decree, the holy watchman brings the sentence. This is so everyone living will know that the High God rules human kingdoms. He arranges kingdom affairs however he wishes, and makes leaders out of losers.

Again, the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers can’t interpret the dream and Daniel, that is Belteshazzar, comes in and understands what the dream means.

Belteshazzar tells the king the meaning of the dream:

The tree was Nebuchadnezzar.

He would live like an animal for “seven times” until he acknowledged that God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth.

Belteshazzar tells Nebuchadnezzar to make a clean break with his sins and start living for others. Quit his wicked life and look after the needs of the down-and-out. Then he will continue to have a good life.”

But Neb doesn’t turn from his selfish and narcissistic ways and a year later as he was walking on the balcony of the royal palace in Babylon, he boasted,

“Look at this, Babylon the great! And I built it all by myself, a royal palace adequate to display my honor and glory!”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a voice from heaven declared his verdict and at once Nebuchadnezzar was driven out of human company, ate grass like an ox, and was soaked in heaven’s dew.

At the end of the seven times, Nebuchadnezzar, looked to heaven and acknowledged that God is sovereign over all kingdoms on the earth. He was restored to his throne and became even greater than before.

Now Nebuchadnezzar, praises and exalts and glorifies the King of heaven, because everything God does is right, and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Again God gave. God is sovereign.

Chapter 5 - Belshazzar’s Party

About 20 years and four Babylonian kings later - very short lived kings - brings us to the last story of God’s judgement of a Babylonian king - Belshazzar.

The Mede-Persian army was at the gates of Babylon, having moved through and taken most of the Babylonian territory on their way.

Nabe-night-dus (Nibonidus), the king of the Babylonian empire, who was a son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar, married to the widow of one of the kings after Nebuchadnezzar, had been taken captive by the Mede-Persian army about 4 months earlier. Nabe-night-dus (Nibonidus) was the father of Belshazzar.

Belshazzar holds a feast. It may have been a New Year’s feast. It may have been his coronation feast. It may have been a final fling. Whatever the reason, Belshazzar is having a party.

He ordered that the gold and silver chalices Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God’s Temple in Jerusalem be brought into the feast so that he and his guests could drink from them.

When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them.

They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

Fingers of a hand appear in the room and write on the wall.

When Belshazzar saw the hand writing he became very scared.

He called on the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to interpret the writings, but they couldn’t.

Enter the Queen Mom who tells Belshazzar about Daniel. That his father Nebuchadnezzar, made him the head of all the magicians, enchanters, fortunetellers, and diviners. There was no one quite like him.

He could do anything—interpret dreams, solve mysteries, explain puzzles. His given name is Daniel, but he was renamed Belteshazzar by the king.

She tells him to have Daniel called in. He’ll tell you what is going on here.

So, having no other options - Belshazzar calls in Daniel and asks him to interpret the writings and if he does, Belshazzar will reward him and make him the number 3 man in the kingdom.

Daniel tells him to keep his rewards and he also chastises Belshazzar and tells him what God did to Nebuchadnezzar.

That God knocked him off his high horse and stripped him of his fame until he learned his lesson: that the God of All rules human kingdoms and puts anyone he wants in charge.

He tells Belshazzar that he is more arrogant than Nebuchadnezzar ever was. That his actions have set him up against the God of heaven.

That he used the sacred vessels to toast his gods. But he treats with contempt the living God who holds his entire life from birth to death in his hand.

Then Daniel tells him what the writing means - his days are numbered, he has been weighed on the scales and he doesn’t weigh much, and therefore, his kingdom will be divided and handed over to the Medes and Persians.

Belshazzar assumes he has time and doesn’t do anything immediately, other than to order Daniel to be given what he promised. He robed Daniel in purple, draped a gold chain around his neck, and promoted him to third-in-charge in the kingdom.

That same night, the Babylonian king Belshazzar, was murdered and Darius the Mede succeeded him as king of Babylon.

Chapter 6 - Daniel in the Lion’s Den

That brings us to Chapter 6 – the last court conflict story in Daniel, that is, a story in which the hero is in a state of prosperity, but is endangered by some sort of conspiracy, and then he gains release and promotion. This is the kind of story in chapter 3 also.

This is also one of the most famous stories in Daniel - Daniel and the Lions Den.

The outline of this chapter:

A Morning of Deception - the Plot (1-9)

A Noon Decision - Daniel Accused (10-13)

A Sundown of Disappointment - Daniel in the Den (14-17)

A Night of Deliverance - Daniel out of the Den (18-23)

A Morning of Destruction - Justice (24-28)

The Morning of Deception

The first scene in the story is the Morning of Deception

Someone read Chapter 6 verses 1-9

Here is a picture of the Persian Empire.

As you can see, it is quite large and encompasses not only Babylon, Judah, and Israel, but also Egypt.

Darius wasted no time in setting up a new government for the newly acquired empire. He appointed 120 satraps.

You may remember that satraps were administrators, a governor of a province. According to Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, the Persian empire was divided into 20 satrapies - political units of varying size and population. Satrapies were subdivided into provinces.

Initially Judah was a province in the satrapy of Babylon. Later Judah was in a satrapy named “Beyond the River.”

The Mede-Persian organization was very efficient for government administration, for doing business, and for collecting taxes and for creating and maintaining infrastructure.

Daniel was devoted

Daniel is now in his 80’s. He is still faithful to the LORD.

He begins each day in prayer.

In fact, he prays faithfully - morning, noon and night.

Psalm 55:17 says “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.”

Daniel was faithful to the LORD and most likely prayed all day long.

But he had a special place and specific times for specific prayer.

He started each day with prayer just as David relates in Psalm 5:3

Psalm 5:3 NIV

3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

and so did Jesus - Mark 1:35

Mark 1:35 NIV

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

The Deception - The Plot

Daniel had risen to the level of one of the top four rulers in the Empire - Darius the king, the three administrators (Daniel being one of them) over the 120 satraps.

A number of the satraps and administrators did not like Daniel. He was a Jew.

He was honest.

They were looking out for their own self interests. As pure and innocent as Daniel was, there were satraps and administrators that were looking to take him down. They tried to find a legitimate fault in Daniel, but they could not. His integrity was above reproach. They noticed that Daniel prayed, every day, three times a day, to the God of Heaven.

They devised a plot to cause Darius to eliminate Daniel. They made a suggestion to Darius that appealed to his ego - “anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den” (6:7).

Knowing that Daniel would break this decree and that Darius would be forced to carry out the punishment - even though he really liked Daniel and was considering promoting him to the top administer.

This brings us to the second scene in the story – A Noon Decision – Daniel is Accused

Someone read verses 10-13

The Decree

Daniel learned of the decree just before his noon prayer routine.

What would you do if you were Daniel?

How might your enemies conspire against you?

Would they have ample means to do so or would they have to use your righteousness against you?

Daniel could have tried to hide his prayer life. Daniel could have taken 30 days off. Daniel didn’t do either of these. To do so would have been betraying God whom he had served faithfully for over 70 years.

If he would have side-stepped this plot, there would be other plots. He stayed true to God and to regular prayer.

Pray Anyway

So, Daniel prayed.

The trap was set. The bait was taken and the group had their evidence.

They went to Darius and with cunning and shrewdness reminded Darius of his degree and the king said “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” (vs 12)

At this they sprung the trap and reported Daniel.

A Sundown of Disappointment

The next scene is A Sundown of Disappointment

Someone read verses 14-17

Remorse

The king was distressed and maybe even remorseful as he realized that he had been tricked.

He was not upset with Daniel, he was upset with himself and with the satraps and administrators that had put him in this position.

The decrees of the Mede-Persian regime could not be overturned - at least not at the time there stood an accused guilty of disobedience.

The Book of Esther is set in the Persian Empire and Ester 8:8 says it this way about the Mede-Persian decree.

Esther 8:8 NIV

8 Now write another decree in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king’s signet ring—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”

Darius tries to find a loop hole to get Daniel out of the predicament he put him in.

Have you ever been in Darius situation?

You made a rule or said that you would do something. Maybe because it fed your ego; then when you realized your mistake and you felt awful.

The Die is Cast

But it is too late for Darius. It was too late for Daniel. The conspirators were holding tight to the king’s decree.

Daniel was thrown into the lions den and a stone rolled in front of the entrance.

It was sealed with the signet ring of the king and those of his nobles.

The king was sullen and returned to his palace, but did not want to eat, or be entertained. He could not sleep with the weight of the situation his most trusted servant was in.

God did not want Darius to deliver Daniel; that was a privilege He was reserving for Himself.

Daniel was not depending on the king either. He had learned long ago to trust the living God.

This is what the Psalmist says about where to put your trust in Psalm 146:3-5

Psalm 146:3–5 NIV

3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.

God did not want to save Daniel from the lions’ den;

He wanted to deliver him out of it.

A Night of Deliverance

This brings us to the Night of Deliverance

Someone read verses 18-23

Silent Night - Rough Night

There is a striking contrast between Darius in his palace and Daniel in the lion’s den.

Darius is anxious and has no peace.

Daniel was at peace with the LORD and the lions. Daniel was safe because God was there.

Darius could have been slain by an enemy right where he was - in his own bedroom.

Darius had worked hard to save Daniel from the judgement that he had put in place, yet he could not change his own decree.

Daniel simply talked with God and received all the protection he needed.

In every way, Daniel was reigning with the sovereign God, and the king was a slave to his own government.

Faithfulness

What kept Daniel’s faith and relationship with God so strong after so many years in this idolatrous and polytheistic land?

It was his daily fellowship with the LORD.

Christians today face may temptations - to compromise for the safe road, to go with the crowd.

But this is a dangerous course, not because we can lose our salvation, but because our witness is compromised. Because if we take the easy road, the safe road, we are not used to glorify God.

The Ordeal

To Darius, this May have been seen as an Ordeal.

In the ancient Near East custom, the gods determined a person’s innocence or guilt. The accused person was put into a torturous experience, and if they died, the gods judged them guilty. If the survived, this meant they were innocent.

In verse 22, Daniel claims that he was spared because he was blameless - innocent of the charge against him. In verse 23, the narrator claims it was because he had trusted in his God. Both are true.

Daniel knew it was wrong to worship and pray to the king. He knew the Word of God.

He would rather die obeying God’s Word than live outside the will of God.

Satan comes as a roaring lion

1 Peter 5:8-9 says it this way:

1 Peter 5:8–9 NIV

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

But God can deliver us - if it is his will and for His glory.

It is not always His will to deliver us from danger - many Christians have given their lives for Christ.

But what a reward they receive.

Revelation 2:10 says:

Revelation 2:10 NIV

10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

A Morning of Destruction

And now a morning of destruction

Someone finish the chapter with verses 24-28

The Tables Are Turned

It was common practice in those days for those who are condemned to be thrown to the lions.

Here at the end of the chapter, the wicked men who had tried to use the law against Daniel now suffered the fate they intended for him. Not only the men, but their wives and children as well.

Proverbs 11:8 says it this way

Proverbs 11:8 NIV

8 The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead.

The Moral of the Story

Are you known for your faithfulness?

What habits can you institute that can help you to remain faithful in the face of crisis?

If you are being persecuted and if you are considering giving in and turning away from God – Read Psalm 37:1-15.

Trust in God the way Daniel did.

Better to die obeying God than to live outside His will.

God allowed Daniel to go through this experience just as he let Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego go through their experience. It brought glory to God in the proclamation of Darius to all the nations and peoples of every language that “…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. 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.”

When Christians overcome temptation, the LORD is glorified.

May we be like Paul as he wrote in Philippians 1:20-21

Philippians 1:20–21 NIV

20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

As stated in Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary by Joyce Baldwin “it is not a question of a positive sin which he will not commit, but of a positive duty which he will not omit”

Applications:

• As a Christian, we should have an attitude of excellence. 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence”

• As a Christian, we must look inward before we look outward. This actually sets a believer apart from people in the world, who look outward and then inward, and which is what caused the high officials to fall to their doom. Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.”

• Obedience reaps rewards. James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”

• As a Christian, we should have a spirit of prayer and thanksgiving at all times. Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

• God is merciful and forgiving when we call on Him in times of need, as He was to King Darius. Nehemiah 9:17b “But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

• This week take time and think about the spirit of excellence within you. Are you a person who is regularly on his knees in prayer and thanksgiving? Is your life characterized by a different spirit? How might your life be testifying to those around you today?