Daniel 6
Notes
Transcript
Before reading:
Remember: Babylon has fallen, the Medo-Persians are now in control and Darius is king
Explain a satrap is a government official
Read Daniel 6:1-5
How did the Lord continue to bless Daniel underneath the new regime?
How did the other government officials respond to Daniel’s position?
What was the only way they could find fault with Daniel? What does this say about his character?
“Daniel 6 begins with a miracle: a squeaky clean politician!” [Dale Ralph Davis, 82]
Read Daniel 6:6-9
How did the government officials decide to deal with Daniel?
Perhaps say something about “the law of the Meds and the Persians”
Why do you think Darius agreed? What does this tell us about Darius?
What does it tell us about the empty promises of a new government?
“Chapter 6 is saying, new circumstances do not always give you the relief you crave; you may face the same essential troubles.” [Davis, 82]
Read Daniel 6:10-13
Do you notice anything particularly significant about Daniel’s response in verse 10?
He knew the document had been signed
He did his normal routine
Discuss the importance of habit: you won’t be able to remain faithful under threat of persecution if you aren’t faithful now!
He prayed towards Jerusalem
1 Kings 8:46-51 tells God’s people that if they’re ever carried away from their home land to turn towards Jerusalem and pray!
He got down on his knees
“Kneeling in prayer is not a matter of indifference—it reminds you of your true position. It’s as if you say, ‘I am a servant. He is the King. I do not live in a democracy but under a monarchy. He is not my errand boy. I never present my demands. I am always a beggar at the throne of grace, and, though it is a throne of grace, I never forget it is a throne.’” [Davis, 88-89]
He prayed by the window (he could have easily kept praying but hidden his behavior)
"When prayer is fashionable, [then] it is time to pray in secret (Matt. 6:5–6), but when prayer is under pressure, to pray in secret is to give the appearance of fearing the king more than God” [Sam Storms, Daniel, Biblical Studies (Edmond, OK: Sam Storms, 2016), Da 6:10.]
How did the government officials respond when they saw Daniel praying?
Read Daniel 6:14-18
How did the king respond when he heard what had happened? What does this tell us about the impact Daniel had on him?
At sundown, what did the governor officials tell the king?
What did Darius say to Daniel before he had him thrown into the lions’ den?
How did the king spend his night while Daniel was in the lions’ den?
Read Daniel 6:19-24
How did Daniel survive the lions’ den?
Perhaps quote about angels from Hebrews “ministering spirits”
What does this teach us about God?
What would be a wrong application of God’s deliverance of Danie?
God will always deliver this way
How did the king respond to the government officials? Why did Darius include their wives and children? What does this teach us about Darius?
In Israel wives and children would have been spared the punishment of the head of the household (Deut. 24:16; unless, of course, they were accomplices, cf. Josh. 7:24–25). But this was Persia, and all of them were given to the lions. [Davis, 90-91]
Read Daniel 6:25-28
What was Darius’ decree? Do we agree with it? Why or why not?
“Darius does not rise above his polytheistic background. He does not confess Daniel’s God to be the only true God, but merely raises Him above other gods. Thus, he does not condemn the worship of these other gods. In demanding that men fear and tremble before Daniel’s God, Darius requires no more than Neb had apparently demanded for himself (cf. 5:19 where the same words are used). How tragic it is that in the presence of his mighty miracles, men do not acknowledge God to be the only true God! In the statements made concerning God and His kingdom, Darius is probably influenced by the events of the immediate past and by the instruction which he had received from Daniel. His words, while true enough in themselves, could only have had a hollow meaning for himself” (Young, 139).
