DAY FORTY-EIGHT: 

Daniel in the Lions' Den 

Daniel 6:1-28 

Daniel in the lions' den is one of the most familiar and beloved Bible stories. Like David and Goliath, it captures our attention with an amazing example of faith. Before we get to today's passage let's look at Daniel's life.

Daniel was one of the 10,000 high-ranking Jews taken to Babylon in 597 BC. Nebuchadnezzar ordered that any promising young men be taken and groomed as future counselors and leaders. They would be schooled in all the knowledge and wisdom of the Middle East and steeped in Babylonian culture. They even received new Babylonian names. Daniel was renamed Belteshazzar (Prince of Bel, one of Babylon's many gods). Daniel's three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah became Shadrach (Great Scribe), Meschach (Guest of the King) and Abednego (Servant of Nebo, another god). The king also ordered that they be fed with the same food that he ate, the very best meat and wine.  Daniel and his three friends could not eat that food. It would defile them before God. Daniel approached the servant in charge of their care and asked if they could just eat vegetables and drink water. When the servant balked, Daniel suggested a two-week trial. When Daniel and his friends looked stronger and healthier than the rest, they were allowed to continue with their diet. The Lord was with them and they excelled.

There were, however, some bumps in the road. Nebuchadnezzar commissioned a huge golden statue of himself and ordered everyone to bow before it. Daniel's three friends refused. They would bow only to God. The king was so enraged that he ordered his furnace heated seven times hotter and that they be thrown in alive. They still refused, and into the furnace they went. But they weren't incinerated! They started walking around in the furnace and a fourth man joined them, one that Nebuchadnezzar said looked like "a son of the gods." Now who might that be???? They came out of the furnace unharmed, not even smelling of smoke! Their response to the king's command to bow before his image is powerful: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so,our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

In time Babylon fell to the up and coming Persian Empire. Daniel was there that last night, when King Belshazzar saw a hand appear and write four words on the wall: "mene, mene, tekel, parsin). Daniel read the handwriting on the wall and its message of doom. Daniel found favor with King Cyrus and his sub-regent Darius the Mede, and he continued to serve as a high official.

Today's passage begins with Darius appointing Daniel as administrator over all 120 satraps, or provinces, of the empire. The other high leaders were jealous of Daniel and sought to bring him down. They looked for dirt but couldn't find any. Finally they said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God." They knew that Daniel was faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that he paused to pray three times a day. They hit upon a plan. They would go and stroke Darius' ego and tell him how god-like he was. Then they'd get Darius to issue a decree that for the next thirty days no one may pray to any god or ask anything of anyone other than him. Then they'd have Daniel right where they wanted him! They would catch him praying and report him to Darius. Once issued, a law of the Medes and the Persians was irrevocable, even by the king himself (we saw this in the Book of Esther when we studied it). Sure enough, Daniel prayed to God. He didn't do it in secret, either. As was his custom, he opened a window facing west and bowed toward Jerusalem. His enemies heard him praying, and with glee they went off to report Daniel's crime. Darius knew he had been tricked, and looked for a way out. He tried all day to find a loophole, but found none. Finally, as the sun was setting, the jealous officials reminded Darius that he had to carry out the sentence on Daniel. Darius had no choice but to throw Daniel into a den of lions that were poorly fed and ready to devour anyone thrown to them. Darius said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!"

The king spent a sleepless night, wondering and worrying about Daniel. He was so upset that he canceled his usual evening of entertainment. He was up at the crack of dawn, a very unusual thing for someone who was used to partying into the wee hours. He couldn't wait to see how Daniel fared with those lions. After his servants uncovered the den, Darius cried out, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?" And Darius heard Daniel answer! "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm." I love the painting at the top of the page! Daniel is just standing there in the ray of sunlight coming into the pit, while all the lions look like scared house cats! Darius ordered that Daniel be hauled up and his accusers and their families thrown in. They didn't even reach the floor before the lions tore them to shreds. They got their meal after all! Darius was duly impressed and no doubt Cyrus heard about it. Perhaps this is what led him to issue the decree to send the exiles back to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple.

Daniel went on to serve through the second year of Cyrus. By this time he must have been in his eighties if not his nineties. There's a lot more in the book that bears his name. The Lord revealed Israel's future to Daniel in the last half of the book.

Once again we're confronted with an example of courage in the face of danger. The Lord told Joshua to be bold and courageous when he looked at the walled cities filled with well-armed warriors. We saw Elijah face down 450 priests of Baal. We saw David take down the giant Goliath with just a sling and a stone. God is the same today as He was then. We can have that same courage today. We have to remember, though, that our real enemies are not the people who mock us for our faith or discriminate against us because of it. We're in an unseen battle with supernatural forces. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10-12, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." When Daniel saw a vision that troubled him, he fasted and prayed to learn the meaning. After three weeks and angel came to him. He told Daniel, "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come." (Daniel 10:12-14) Rulers, authorities, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. These are our real enemies. Goliath was fearsome, but he couldn't hold a candle to Satan himself and his legion of demons. Yet we're told not to be afraid! Paul goes on Ephesians 6 to tell us about the full armor of God. Be persistent in prayer and trust in our God who is bigger than anything that faces us!

What better way to end our study than with a rendition of Dare To Be A Daniel?