Daniel and the Lions' Den
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You get the idea that King Darius’ court was a toxic workplace. Healthy competition at work might keep people sharp, but workplace conflict can be unproductive and dangerous. When the king planned to set Daniel over the whole kingdom of Medo-Persia, raising him above his fellow administrators and all 120 satraps, Daniel’s co-workers resented it. It sparked a plot to discredit Daniel.
Here’s the thing about Daniel’s work as an administrator: most people grumble about bureaucrats and civil servants. But the reality is, government officials with integrity who work hard are a blessing. And that’s the scouting report on Daniel: he has integrity, is hardworking, and is a blessing.
At the beginning of Daniel’s career, the king of Babylon compared the 3 Jewish exiles to all the other young men and “found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Michael and Azariah.”
In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.
When Daniel explained King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the king was even more impressed:
The king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.
Belshazzar, the last ruler of Babylon, agreed:
At Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
And King Darius the Mede noticed him too:
Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
The way the author describes Daniel, it is evident that his integrity comes from his obedience to the Lord his God.
Daniel didn’t just obey the laws of the land. He obeyed God’s law for holy living. It’s why the satraps and administrators couldn’t find grounds for charges against Daniel:
They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
Daniel is not perfectly obedient and holy, as Jesus was 600 years later, but Daniel worked hard to obey God’s law. You know that God’s law instructs people to love God and neighbour? That’s what Daniel did.
His love for God and neighbour made Daniel a righteous man; a role model for everyone who has administrative duties. The trouble is, in a toxic workplace, Daniel’s integrity, strong work ethic, and the respect of the king didn’t endear him to his colleagues. His co-workers pressured King Darius to lay a trap for Daniel:
The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that 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.
It’s serious. It’s a direct assault on Daniel’s allegiance to the Lord his God.
As we read this, each of us is challenged on how we would respond. If the government of Canada passed a decree demanding that nobody pray to any god or human except King Charles, what would you do?
A law about praying exclusively to King Charles seems unlikely in Canada. But there are times and places in history where kings and emperors insisted that everyone burn incense or pledge allegiance to king and country in place of God. There are places around the world today where Christians face restrictive religious laws. How should you respond?
Daniel obeys the Lord and refuses to pray to any human in place of God. When you measure his actions against the 10 Commandments: Daniel keeps the first commandment not to have other gods before the Lord and the second commandment not to bow down or worship any image of God. Daniel didn’t publicly protest or lead riots, he quietly kept his habits of prayer and devotion to God:
When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
When this gets reported to the king, Daniel gets thrown to the lions. Everyone who gave into the unreasonable decree to pray to Darius for 30 days is relieved. They’re all thinking THAT’s why I gave in!
Yet this is the scene that captures our imagination: Daniel in a den of hungry lions, sitting among the lions in the dark all night long. He put his life on the line out of loyalty to his God.
But, to our relief and delight, in the morning, Daniel reports to the worried king:
My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
Daniel’s faith in the Lord is vindicated. He’s right. God did protect his loyal servant.
You can see the parallel to what happened when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue. The 3 friends landed in the fiery furnace. But, the Lord sent an angel who joined them in the fire and protected his covenant people from death. Their faith in the Lord was vindicated.
That’s not the only parallel we see in the Bible. 600 years later, Jesus is faithful in prayer and obedient to the Lord, yet he too was trapped by malicious enemies. And, just as Darius tried to protect Daniel, Pontius Pilate protested Jesus’ innocence but couldn’t save Jesus from death on the cross. The similarity is one of the ways Daniel’s story whispers Jesus’ name.
There are differences too. Unlike Jesus, Daniel’s ordeal does not redeem his people from exile. But surviving the night in the lions’ den vindicates Daniel’s life choices. By protecting Daniel from the lions, God shows everyone who hears about Daniel that the Lord, the God of Daniel, is worthy of allegiance, trust, and faithful habits of prayer. Even King Darius issues new laws about praising God:
“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
“For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
Here at Crosspoint we publish daily Bible readings with thoughts and prayer prompts. They get emailed each weekday and are available on Crosspoint’s app. In last week’s readings, we read from II Kings and Daniel. The Bible passages showed that the reason Daniel, his friends, and so many others from Judea are exiled to foreign empires is that God’s covenant people did not worship the Lord their God loyally, faithfully, and exclusively. They did not trust their God to protect them and fight their battles.
God’s covenant people faced exile from the Promised Land. They were sent far away from the temple of the Lord because, instead of trusting God to protect them, they made – and then broke – treaties with Egypt and Assyria. Instead of worshipping the Lord as their God and overlord, their kings and leaders prayed to the idols of neighbouring nations. That’s what led to the Babylonian Exile.
In the 10 Commandments, God describes what happens when his people worship any person or thing in place of the Lord:
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Daniel and his friends were exiled from Jerusalem and the temple of God because of the sins of their parents. It’s a foretaste of the ultimate punishment for all sinners. In his justice and holiness, God cuts sinners them off from his presence, grace and compassion eternally. The theological term for complete separation from all God’s grace, goodness, and love is: hell. Sin cuts us off from the Lord of life.
But God has sent a hero – a rescuer – more heroic and more obedient than Daniel. Jesus came into the world to rescue us from sin and death. In his victory over sin and death, Jesus’ faith and dependence on his Heavenly Father is vindicated.
Even though Jesus was crucified and died, even though Jesus shouldered the punishment for all my sin and the sin of humankind, Jesus’ faith in his heavenly Father is vindicated. Like Daniel being raised from the lion’s den unharmed, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stepping out of the fiery furnace unsinged, God raised Jesus from the grave. Now, by faith in Jesus, by trusting in the Lord God Almighty, you too are rescued from sin and death and raised to life – life with God; life for God. Your faith in Jesus will be vindicated. You have received and will receive life everlasting with Jesus.
Once we have been rescued from sin and death, then obedience and faith – like Daniel and like Jesus – is part of our life of gratitude. And God the HS helps you; transforms you to become more like Jesus.
Of course, obeying God and putting your faith in Jesus does not guarantee that you will always emerge unharmed from a fiery furnace or den of lions. But it is a guarantee that when you face death and punishment for your sin and wrongdoing – faith in Jesus is a guarantee that you have been raised to life. Your faith in Jesus will be vindicated. You have life in Christ.
Now our goal is to serve God faithfully, to do our jobs with integrity. We draw attention to God’s goodness by serving our Lord and ourneighbours. Wouldn’t it be cool if the HS helps you so that, like Daniel – or better yet – like Jesus, nobody can find any fault with your attitude or the work you do? Shouldn’t that be your goal: to work hard with integrity so you can be a blessing in our community?
