Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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is the last of the “stories” of Daniel interactions with the foreign court.
Daniel is still in Babylon, but the Babylonian Empire has been replaced with the Medes and the Persians.
Darius the Mede is in control.
Darius is not named as a king of the Medes and the Persians, but he was likely someone who was ruling Babylon.
There is much debate about who Darius the Mede is as a historical figure, but none of the debate affects our interpretation of the passage.
Once again, Daniel will find himself in a situation where we are left thinking, “how is God going to get Daniel out of this one?”
Remember the theme of Daniel, “God is in control, despite present appearances.
1.
The plot against Daniel ()
Cyrus is the king of Persia, but there is an effort to decentralize the government through the appointment of a satrap system.
A. Daniel is one of three direct reports to Darius and 120 satraps are under the three administrators.
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B. Daniel distinguished himself from the others and the plan is to promote him.
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We already know that Daniel is the best of the best and the wisest of the wise.
Darius intends to promote him to lead the others.
We already know that Daniel is the best of the best and the wisest of the wise.
Darius intends to promote him to lead the others.
C. Daniel’s character is above reproach.
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The others wanted to find something against him.
They were jealous of him and didn’t want to see him rise to the top tier of leadership, but they could find nothing.
This was the original cancel culture.
D. The other officials come up with a plan to trap Daniel ()
They knew that Daniel would never betray God.
They conspired and made the proposal.
Notice their lie.
“All have agreed”.
If everyone is in agreement, then what could be the problem, right?
Of course, Daniel did not know about it because he wouldn’t have agreed to it.
The proposal appeals to Darius’ vanity and make him the only person to be able to represent the people to god for the stated period of time.
The laws of the Medes and the Persians could not be changed.
Once signed, that is the law.
2. Daniel in the Lion’s Den ()
A. Daniel prayed to God, as he had always done.
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Daniel heard of the edict and he did what he had always done before.
He went into his house, opened his window toward Jerusalem, and prayed.
He did this three times a day.
He doesn’t debate in his mind.
He doesn’t doubt.
He doesn’t worry.
He prays.
Why toward Jerusalem?
Daniel was hoping and longing for a future when the Temple would be restored and God would once again dwell with his people.
It was his regular habit.
It was not rebellion or flaunting.
It was business as usual.
B. Daniel is exposed and Darius is confronted.
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They knew what Daniel would do and he didn’t disappoint them.
C. Darius is heartbroken.
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Notice the contrast between how Nebuchadnezzar responded and how Darius responded.
Nebuchadnezzar was furious at the 3 friends.
Darius was was dismayed and tried to figure out a way to get him out of the situation, but he is trapped by his own commands.
D. Daris, reluctantly, gave the order to have Daniel thrown into the lion’s den.
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Darius doesn’t want to carry out the actions, but he had to do it.
The commands could not be changed.
Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den.
Darius desired for God to rescue Daniel from the lion’s den.
The stone would block the way out and the seal would ensure no one tampered with it.
Darius’ concern for Daniel is obvious.
He fasted and he could not eat or sleep.
This is the cliff hanger.
What is going to happen?
3. Daniel’s release ()
A. Darius rushed to the lion’s den to find out what happened.
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He must have had a glimmer of hope for Daniel’s survival.
He had commended Daniel to God’s protection.
Would God be strong enough to deliver Daniel?
Would God intervene?
An interesting thing is that the lion’s den is treated as a trial of ordeal.
In other words, it wasn’t an execution.
It would more like, if the person is guilty, the lions will kill you.
If not, the lions would not.
The idea is that the gods would not allow a guilty person to go free and would rescue the innocent.
B. Daniel’s response to the king ()
Daniel attests to God’s involvement in the ordeal.
God sent his messenger to shut the mouth of the lions and no harm had come to Daniel.
Daniel didn’t have a scratch on his body.
God had judged Daniel innocent of wrongdoing.
C. The accusers are judged.
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The accusers are not found innocent.
This is a severe punishment as it included their wives and children.
I can’t figure out how this is treated like a children’s story.
It is commonly understood that rulers didn’t leave survivors because they didn’t want the children and wives to be able to take revenge.
4. Darius’ decree ()
The chapter begins with a decree to direct prayers toward Darius and end with a proclamation of the power of Yahweh.
Darius recognized the supremacy of Yahweh and that Yahweh is in control of all things.
This is the end of the first half of Daniel.
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