Daniel 6:1-28
Daniel is Saved by God in the Lion's Den
1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 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. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
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put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.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The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”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.”
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:
“May you prosper greatly!
26 “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.
27 He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Israel would be attacked by King Nebuchadnezzar...The current Israel King of the time was King Joakim...And even though God's country and nation is seized...We learn as we read the Book of Daniel that God is the One in control of all that happens...He is the Sovereign One, whose Will gets done...God allows King Jehoiakim to be turned over into King Nebuchadnezzar's hands...And also the King of Babylon takes Daniel and his friends into Babylonian exile...But God shows Daniel and his friends grace and mercies...God has given the four young Jews their knowledge and skill to help survive the exile in Babylon...
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, is troubled by a haunting dream...He asks his magicians and astrologers to interpret the dream, but they cannot...They tell the King that men cannot interpret dreams...They tell the King that there is no one on earth who can do what the king asks!...No King, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer...What the king asks is too difficult...No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans...They protest and insist that no man can do such a thing, and Nebuchadnezzar orders that they all be executed...
King Nebuchadnezzar, after he cannot get an interpretation of his dream, erects a golden image in the plain of Dura (just outside of his capital city of Babylon) and commands all officials within his government to bow in worship to this golden image or face an immediate fiery death...At this time some astrologers come forward and denounced the Jews...They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the King live forever!...Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace...But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty...They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”...Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...So these men were brought before the King, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?...Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good...But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace...Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”...Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter...If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand...But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”...So the three Jewish young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown into the furnace...God saves them...Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them...They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them...God had saved them and they knew it, and so did the King...
Now King Nebuchadnezzar seems to be a believer in God...He says: "To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly!...It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me...How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders!...His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation."...
But the King has another dream that frightens him...And by this time he has learned that Daniel, also called Belshazzar, can interpret dreams through the aid of God...And this is how Daniel interprets the King's dream: “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven...Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes...The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules...Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed...It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”...That interpretation of the King's dream is fulfilled...
But once again the King has another vison...All at once the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace...The king watched the hand as it wrote...His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking...And Daniel is asked to interpret this writing on the wall...And with God's guidance, Daniel says: This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin “Here is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end...Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting...Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”...Then 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...
The Babylonian Kingdom is now divided...After the King Nebuchadnezzar's death, King Belshazzar is made King of the Babylonians...He also gets slayed...King Darius of the Medes and Persians appoints one hundred twenty satraps, who do not like Daniel...They want him gone...Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”...So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever!...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...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.”...So King Darius put the decree in writing... That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two...Daniel does not follow the edict of King Darius...
God is Sovereign and man must learn this...Babylon (especially Belshazzar) learned about this the hard way...And while the Babylonians did not learn, Daniel had known this all along...
And so Daniel is put in the lion's den, where he is expected to be overpowered and crushed by the lions...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...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...At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den...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?”...Daniel answered, “May the king live forever!...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.”...The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den...And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God...
At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children...And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones...Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: “May you prosper greatly!...“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...He rescues and He saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth...He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”...So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian...Daniel had always trusted in the LORD...
The Bible has many great examples of Godly leadership and a conviction of faith toward our LORD...Daniel is a good example of a Godly man...He had studied the Word of God so when someone ask him something about God, he could answer with Scripture...And out of his studying the Word of God and his belief, he had this strong faith in our LORD...He trusted God in all his situations and all his trials...And though it seems to be easier to keep the faith when times are good and life is easy, it seems harder to keep the faith and keep trusting God when things are not going well for us...Yet, when Daniel was threatened for his faithfulness to God by wicked people, he responded with growing intensity on his dependence on the God...Daniel was strongly convicted in his own belief and actions, and God rewarded his faithfulness, allowing him to survive the lions' den...Daniel rejoiced, giving glory to the LORD who kept him safe...Daniel always held a strong conviction for his faith in God...
Daniel exemplifies a fearless faithfulness to the LORD, and there are many lessons that we can learn from him...His belief was an example for his friends...Throughout the whole story of Daniel, God not only provided for Daniel's needs, but He blessed Daniel with wisdom and knowledge to interpret dreams of kings which helped govern the kingdom...God granted him favor with multiple rulers, and preserved his life when others plotted against him...Daniel obeyed and trusted in the LORD our God...Daniel showed his faith through his actions and deeds...