ALL IN - Daniel

This is the last message in a series about faith called ‘all-in.’ Over the past several weeks we have been looking at examples of people from the Old Testament who demonstrate for us various features of faith. There have been some pretty big names of heavy hitters on that list. Moses, who confronts the Pharaoh and leads God’s people out of Egypt. Elijah, who takes on the prophets of the false pagan god, Baal. Esther, who risks her own life to save all the Jewish people in the Persian empire. There are some rather amazing stories of faith in these Old Testament celebrities of faith.

Daniel’s story begins with the destruction of his home

Today is no different. We are going to close this series by looking at Daniel. Daniel’s story is sensationalized, but we should not pass over the horrific and tragic events that lead up to Daniel’s position. He lives during the time of exile. Daniel is one of the Jewish people from the land of Judah around Jerusalem who is captured as a prisoner when the armies of Nebuchadnezzar from Babylon lay siege upon Jerusalem. We should not forget that Daniel’s story begins with the destruction of his home. Daniel is taken from his family. Daniel lives in a time when Jerusalem and the temple of God are completely destroyed by the Babylonians.

Darius is consolidating his power by delegating positions of authority

Daniel and other young men from Judah are taken away as prisoners into exile away from their homeland. And eventually Daniel rises to a place of incredible prominence in the empire. He becomes a senior advisor to the king in Babylon. Beyond that, Daniel outlives the Babylonian empire. When Babylon is overthrown by the Medes and Persians, Daniel finds his way to a place of prominence in that empire too as a royal advisor. This is where we find Daniel in today’s story from Daniel 6. By this time Daniel is quite old and has spent most of his life in the service of the Babylonian empire and now the Persian empire. The king of Persia at that time was named Darius. Darius had just recently conquered the Babylonians and is in the process of consolidating his power by delegating positions of authority in which he could maintain control over the vast expanse of his empire. Daniel ends up being on top of this hierarchy in the chain of command. The other royal administrators who are now placed in positions beneath Daniel are not happy about this arrangement. This is where we pick up the scene in chapter 6. The story we are looking at today is more popularly known as Daniel and the lion’s den.

Daniel 6:6–22 NIV

6 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 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. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing. 10 Now 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. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. 15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.” 16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” 17 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 rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. 19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” 21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 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, Darius, and a den of lions

First, let’s make some sense of what is actually going on in this passage. It is not the first time that Daniel has stood against the decree of the king. Granted, it was another king who came before Darius, but Daniel has already set a precedent which he has decided to follow. From the very first days of captivity Daniel refused to break his Jewish dietary rules when he was commanded to eat from the table of the king in preparation for service to the king. Although, from that story in Daniel 1 we never get the sense that the king ever learned about Daniel’s refusal to eat the king’s food.

what is happening behind the scenes in this story is meant to show us the power play happening

This time in chapter 6 things are different. There is no way for it to escape the king’s attention. And this, of course, is by design exactly as the other royal administrators have plotted for this royal decree to be a trap for Daniel. Much of what is happening behind the scenes in this story is meant to show us the power play happening at that time. Darius is not Babylonian, he is one of the Medes who is in command of the expanding Persian empire. At the very end of Daniel 5 Babylon falls to the Medes and Persians, and Daniel is caught in this power transition from one empire to another.

Darius is going about the work of setting up absolute control

Part of what is happening behind the scenes is that Darius is going about the work of setting up absolute control of what has now become a very large empire enfolding all the territory of Babylon. This is why he arranges his royal administrators in a hierarchy. I imagine that those who had been a part of Darius’ high command for a long time are not thrilled that the king takes on this new guy from Babylon named Daniel and appoints him a place of highest authority above all the rest of them. This is what causes the group of royal administrators to come up with this plan.

a decree that places Darius as the mediator between the people and whatever god they were praying to for a period of 30 days

They approach Darius without Daniel’s knowledge and get the king to sign a law demanding everyone in the kingdom is to pray only to Darius for 30 days. It was not part of the custom in the Persian empire for the king to be considered a deity. So, this is not a decree which in any way declared the king to be a god. Rather, this was a decree that places Darius as the mediator between the people and whatever god they were praying to for a period of 30 days. This whole plan holds a power play too. The king is agreeable to this idea from his administrators because it sets in place his own position of authority among the newly acquired territories and regions in the expanding Persian empire. It is a way for Darius to legitimize his own power grab in the world at that time.

royal administrators only come up with this plot because they are on a power grab of their own

And speaking of power grabs, these Persian royal administrators only come up with this plot because they are on a power grab of their own; they are looking to get Daniel out of the way since the king has recently appointed Daniel with authority over all of them. This means that these conniving administrators must present their idea to king Darius in a way that conceals their true motives. This is where the lions come into it.

den of lions was not seen as strictly a means of execution, but a test of the gods

The den of lions was a large pit in the ground containing a pride of lions that had been captured. The lions could not get out of the pit. Now here is the part we easily miss because the Bible does not make any direct mention of how this works in Persia. The den of lions was not seen as strictly a means of execution. People who were found guilty of breaking the laws of then kingdom might be condemned to the lion’s den, but the people saw it as a test rather than an execution. Those who were thrown into the lion’s den were found to be guilty by the people. But the lion’s den was a test to see if the gods also found the accused to be guilty. If the lions killed you, then it meant that the gods agreed that you are guilty. But if the lions did not kill you, then that means the gods have declared your innocence.

This entire pit of lions would have been enclosed by a high wall all the way around with a single entrance. This was—first of all—an added layer of security just in case a lion ever got out of the pit. But it was also a way to ensure those who were condemned to the pit of lions could not have anyone coming to give them outside help. The passage from Daniel 6 mentions this because the entrance is sealed (probably with soft clay) and the king presses the mark of his signet ring into the clay. This is the way they can ensure that nobody is sneaking in or out.

Daniel’s prayer habit comes from 1 Kings 8

The royal administrators knew Daniel’s pattern of praying to the Lord every single day. They knew very well that this decree being signed into law by the king would be a trap for Daniel. This daily prayer habit of Daniel seems to come from 1 Kings 8. When Solomon dedicated the newly built temple in Jerusalem, his prayer of dedication included instruction to pray towards the place of God’s dwelling in times of famine or distress. This could explain the reason why Daniel prays with his windows open facing in the direction of Jerusalem (even though both Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in the time of Daniel). However, this prayer in the direction of Jerusalem gives proof for the wicked royal officials to accuse Daniel of breaking the law signed by Darius. Now it was up to the gods to use the lions to pronounce either guilt or innocence.

It seems as though Darius knows this. As Daniel is being hauled away into the pit, it is Darius who says, “May your God rescue you!” When Darius comes to the lion’s den the next morning he calls out for Daniel, an acknowledgement that he believes Daniel may, in fact, still be alive. And Daniel’s answer to the king from the pit simply puts into words what the Persians already believed about the den of lions.

Daniel 6:22 NIV

22 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.”

God uses Daniel and a pit of lions to declare to all of them that the Lord sits enthroned above their power games and control maneuvers

It is the Lord who gives the actual verdict in this case. It is the Lord’s authority which speaks above the authority of the king and his royal administrators. In all these conniving and twisting power moves among Darius and his administrators, God uses Daniel and a pit of lions to declare to all of them that the Lord sits enthroned above their power games and control maneuvers. And the whole thing centers on a man who has a simple habit of praying each day.

what does Daniel’s habit of daily prayer tell us about his faith?

What does Daniel’s habit of daily prayer tell us about his faith? Is it Daniel’s prayer life which keeps him from being eaten by lions? No; I don’t think that’s the point of this story. We shouldn’t walk away from this passage believing that if we just start praying the right kind of prayers three times each day in the direction of Jerusalem that somehow this means God will keep any calamity from coming upon us. I mean, let’s not forget that Daniel is an exiled prisoner who lost his homeland and his entire family. He has already seen more calamity in this life than most of us would ever know. No, Daniel’s prayer life did not turn his faith into some kind of invincibility shield.

prayer is simply a regular daily habit Daniel maintains as part of his faith

Notice this: Daniel neither makes an intentional show of his prayer life nor does he intentionally hide his prayer life. This is not a lesson of faith that has some distinct absolutes for when and how and where we should pray. It is simply a regular daily habit Daniel maintains as part of his faith. And maybe that is the feature we should see most clearly. Daniel’s faith centers on regular attention to the little things. He spends time with God in prayer every single day.

faith is nurtured through the regular habit of little things

This feature of Daniel’s faith shows us two things we can learn from his story for our lives of faith today. First: faith is nurtured through the regular habit of little things (like prayer). And second: God can build faith in anyone.

Daniel’s resumé of faith is pretty basic — he prays every day

Daniel’s resumé might seem impressive. He interprets dreams, he prophesies the future, he survives lions, he works for the king. But those aren’t really things of Daniel’s doing; those are things that God does for and through Daniel. Daniel’s resumé of faith is much more basic. He prays every day. This is what nurtures Daniel’s faith. It reminds us today that our lives of faith are rightly centered on the little things. Regular time in prayer, regular time in God’s word; those are the ingredients that nurture faith. You don’t have to do huge things for God in order to embrace a faith that matters in this world. It was the little things that made a difference for Daniel. It’s the little things that make a difference for us too.

you don’t have to do huge things for God in order to embrace a faith that matters in this world

And God can do this in anyone. God can build faith in anyone. There is no such thing as being too young for your faith to be nurtured and make a difference. There is no such thing as being too old for your faith to be nurtured and make a difference. There is no such thing as lacking the right kind of education or skills for your faith to be nurtured. There is no such thing as lacking the right kind of resources and benefits for your faith to be nurtured. God can plant his seed of faith in anyone at any time. God can nurture and grow that seed of faith in anyone at any time.

God is the one who is always faithful in our lives of faith

We have spent weeks now looking at the faith of these giants in scripture. Do not ever think to yourself that there is no way you could ever have a faith like that. Like Daniel, you and I only focus on the little things. God takes care of the rest. God is the one who nurtures and grows faith within us. God is the one who is always faithful in our lives of faith.