Introduction
With such a well known story there is often the tendency to think that we might have nothing new to learn here. But friends, God’s word is living and active. So let’s together look at what this passage has to say to us here at CBC this morning. I pray that as we together unpack how Daniel conducts himself and how God shows his goodness to Daniel and the King, that we would look at ourselves a fresh. And ask ourselves whether we pray continually and perhaps what our lives may look like if we did…. Is it your habit to pray often?
1. Daniel’s success due to God’s blessings (v 1-5)
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.”
Background: Bible commentators have two main options when looking at who King Darius is. Firstly, King Cyrus, and secondly, he could also have been a governor of Babylon appointed by Cyrus named Gubura, I think I am comfortable to say that Darius was the one in charge and likely King Cyrus.
And while Darius is indeed a good supporting actor in this drama. It is really Daniel who is the star. We are given a great description of Daniel here in verses 3 & 4. We have already seen in verse 2 that Daniel is one of three administrators over Babylon. We are not entirely sure what this role entailed as it isn’t recorded in the Persian documents that have been uncovered to this point in time. Yet from the biblical text we can see Daniel was one of the three important leaders of Babylon, and their main concern was that the king didn’t suffer loss, which would imply loss of land or loss of taxes. And Daniel was exceptional and the best of the best when it came to this job. Now at this point unfortunately I think that the NIV has erred in using the word ‘qualities’ when what they should have done was use the word ‘spirit’ like the CSB, ESV and NASB.
The ESV states:
3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
The reason that it is important for the hebrew word Ruach (roo akh) is translated as spirit is firstly because every other use of Ruah in Daniel is interpreted as either ‘spirit’ or ‘wind’ and secondly, this then means that the reader rightly attributes Daniel’s incredible ability as an administrator to being a gift that has been given to him from God. There is no doubt of course that Daniel’s obedience to God played a large role here, but let’s remember that what is happening in this story is pointing to God’s Sovereign will. We see Daniel’s obedience laid out in verse 4. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Let me pause here for a minute as we all reflect on ourselves. In our work, are we honouring God in every way? Daniel was a wonderful example of what it looks like to honour and obey God in every facet of life and here we see what he was like at work. And I’m sure that he had his fair share of tough days in the office like we all do. Yet Daniel was known as being trustworthy, incorruptible and not negligent in any way.
2. The Conspiracy against Daniel (v 6-8)
Daniel’s status as the next in line to be the King’s number 1 guy had not gone unnoticed by the other two administrators or the 120 satraps. Together they wanted to bring Daniel down and get rid of him. We see this clearly stated in verse 4. Yet in verse 5 they realise that there is no way to bring charges against him because of his work. The only option they had was to attack his faith. So that is what they did. They hatched a pretty cunning plan to set Daniel up. Read with me verses 6-8:
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.”
The plan was a good plan. Some of the leaders of the land went to the king together and they played straight to his ego. They buttered him up and basically said let everyone in the kingdom pray only to you. They were in essence saying to the king, let’s test the loyalty of all of your subjects. Let them pray only to you. Let them show that you are the most important. There is a good possibility that what was meant by praying only to Darius was that like the priests who would mediate the people’s prayers to the gods, now for 30 days the people would pray to and through Darius. In doing this it would show his power and be a way in which the people could honour him. Furthermore, in their effort to convince Darius to issue this edict they lied. They said that ‘all agreed’ all of the leaders of the land had agreed. Yet, we know that Daniel had not only not agreed, yet seemingly didn’t even know that this was happening. For we read in v10 that Daniel learned that the decree had been published. So Dairus made this decision on false information. They lied well. Friends following Jesus will mean that at times people will use being a Christian against us in all sorts of ways. Most of our congregation who work, work in secular offices where Christian values are not upheld. Many workplaces celebrate lifestyles that the Bible doesn’t and there is pressure to conform. It is not that you would be thrown into the lion’s den for not participating. But you could indeed miss out on a promotion, become ostracised at work, or in some cases lose your job all together. But we need to ask ourselves who we ultimately serve. And I pray that the answer to that question is Jesus.
Matthew 10:22
22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
3. The Kings Pride (v 9)
Let’s be honest, they were basically pumping up his ego. And friends, their ploy worked. King Darius obviously shunned God and all humility and we read in verse 9.
So King Darius put the decree in writing. Pride is always with us all. It began with the devil tempting Eve in the garden. Pride is always a temptation. But pride often has terrible consequences, as the king comes to realise rather quickly.
4. Daniel’s Faithfulness (v 10-11)
Friends, choice is always in front of all of us. We face choices everyday between doing what pleases God and what pleases the world. So whose law will Daniel obey? Which king will Daniel obey? That really is the question at the heart of Daniel’s dilemma isn’t it.
Read with me v10-11:
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.
Daniel could have played it safe and stopped his routine of praying to God three times a day as he faced Jerusalem. For he was not under a command to do so. Yet Daniel could not pray to the King, as that would be a sin and an act of disobedience before God. In fact Daniel was not willing to stop his daily routine of prayer and reliance on God, even though it meant breaking the royal law that Darius had put in place. It has not been lost on me this week that our current memory verse is so apt for what is going on here. Now hopefully many of you are rehearsing it right now in your head. But from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
And that is what Daniel was doing. He was continually praying and giving thanks to God, even though he knew that in doing so publicly he could well be about to be thrown into the lion’s den. Yet friends who do we serve? We serve God the maker of heaven and earth. The one who gives life. Like Daniel we need to remember who it is that created us, saved us and sustains us, and worship him alone. A correct understanding of the sovereignty of God leads to an undivided and complete loyalty to Him, which is borne out and shown in constant prayer and praise in all of life. This is what we see in Daniel’s story.
I also want to answer two questions that come up here in these verses. Why does Daniel pray towards Jerusalem and why three times a day. Now the quick answer is because Daniel knows the scriptures. And there are two scriptures that are most likely in view here.
In 1 Kings 8:46-51 King Solomon prays as he praises God and dedicates the temple. In verses 46-51 he speaks of when the people sin against God and are taken captive to other lands. Then in verse 48 says:
48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name
Daniel was praying facing Jerusalem in response to this passage. And he prayed three times a day for in Psalm 55:17 we read:
16 As for me, I call to God,
and the Lord saves me.
17 Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
Three times a day. Morning, Noon and Night.
At the end of the day though the choice is about who we honour, who we worship.
The Plan to bring down Daniel seems to be working
So it would seem that the plan of the jealous collaborators was working as they had intended. So they returned to the King and reminded him of the law he had made and then they dobbed Daniel in (to use a good Aussie expression). Let’s look at verses 13-15:
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.”
In an effort to ensure that Daniel was found guilty they didn’t call him by his title. Administrator Daniel, they called him ‘one of the exiles from Judah.’ They were adding insult to injury. If this was a chess move it would have been a check mate. For even though the King was distressed after learning that his friend and the one whom he planned to set over the whole kingdom had broken his law, he realised that there was no legal or royal way out of this.
So that same day the King gave the order and Daniel was thrown into the Lions den. But not before the king said these words in verse 16:
The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”
Now let’s set aside for a moment the fact that the king had most probably just broken the very law that he had thrown Daniel into the lion’s den for by praying or at least invoking the name of Daniel’s God. We can see that Darius truly wanted Daniel to be rescued. Then a stone was placed over the mouth of the den, and sealed by not just the King, but also his nobles. This meant that there was no way that anyone could try any funny business. If it was just the King’s ring, then perhaps the king could have come back later and rescued Daniel and put his seal afresh on the stone. But not when several rings had been used on the seal. So the king went off to his palace and didn’t eat, sleep or do anything else at all. In fact he wanted no distractions.
So after not sleeping, at first light the king got up. Now friends this was before alarm clocks. Have you ever just lay there watching the alarm clock tick over as you can’t sleep, and then finally getting up at the time that you need to. Well that is what the king was doing here. As soon as that first slither of light came through his window the king got out of bed and hurried to the lion’s den to see if Daniel had survived.
5. God’s miraculous rescue (v19-23)
Now obviously just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shouldn’t have survived the fiery furnace, because that wasn’t possible, except for God’s miraculous intervention. The same can be said of the lion’s den. For the whole purpose of the lion’s den was that it was a death sentence, and we see the true force of this in verse 24.
But first verse 19 & 20:
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?”
I think it is pretty obvious from these verses that the king didn’t expect a reply from Daniel. He had though rushed to the lion’s den at first light so that even if Daniel was badly hurt, but not yet dead he may be able to help. It would also seem that there was a Babylonian custom that if by the next day the victim had not died from the torture that they would be pardoned, which is likely what the king had in mind as he had raced to the den.
However, the anguished voice must give Darius away as really having little hope. Yet he asks the question has your God been able to save you. And friends, the answer is a big Amen!!
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.
Just like with the fiery furnace God had supernaturally saved Daniel from the Lions. An angel had shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel had not been touched by a lion. God had judged Daniel innocent, and because Daniel had survived in the lion’s den it showed that he had been acquitted and therefore was not guilty before the King.
6. Glorifying God (v25-27)
Trust in God alone is the only way to live. That is what this whole passage is pointing to. God is sovereign and our trust is to be in him alone. God is the only one who can save. Pray, pray, pray people.
Darius realised that Daniel’s God is the only true God. Have a look at what he sent to his entire kingdom. After first decreeing that everyone must pray to him, he now decrees that all of the kingdom must fear and revere the God of Daniel.
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.”
This plays out today as well in all facets of life. Being faithful to God can be a big target for those that want to bring you down. Which brings us to the question of where does our trust lie?
For us this side of the cross. How we live our lives shows how we trust in Jesus. Let’s honour God with our whole life like Daniel did. God is sovereign as we have seen throughout these first 6 chapters in Daniel. He is in complete control. So let us rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. Let’s pray.
