Daniel 6 - God shut the mouths of Lions
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Last week, in Daniel 5, Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was killed and Darius the Mede took over. This was a direct consequence of the direct contempt shown by Belshazzar toward God. It is not always the case that God’s consequences are that immediate, but in this case it was. After conquering Babylon, Darius had some work to get things organized. This is the start of our next chapter in Daniel.
After the message today, I would highly recommend reading Daniel 1-6 again. If you can, do so in one sitting and just read to hear the overall trajectory of this book. One miracle of God after another. God showing His glory time and time again. When we can grasp the fullness of His glory, we can begin to understand the depth of what He did for us on the cross. Let’s begin reading our text in Daniel 6:
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.
Darius delegates his authority to 3 guys who then look over 120 others who impose the will of the king in the kingdom. What a great model of delegation. This is how Moses’ father-in-law Jethro recommended the nation of Israel be governed. It’s too much for one guy. Darius delegates to people he trusts and once again, Daniel finds himself in a position to be promoted to leadership in the kingdom again. 3 kings in Babylon and 3 times Daniel finds favor. Not by his own merit, but by the grace and power of God. As usual, someone gets jealous:
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.”
Integrity doesn’t mean you won’t be attacked, but if you are, you will be attacked for your righteousness
Integrity doesn’t mean you won’t be attacked, but if you are, you will be attacked for your righteousness
They could find nothing to trap Daniel except his faithfulness to God. It doesn’t say it here, but my guess is that Daniel had other men around him that helped him - that kept him accountable. Many great men of God over the years were only able to stay great men of God by integrity and some level of accountability. If you don’t have someone helping push you toward integrity, you will likely drift to the opposite. At some point, you will fall. Either your lies will expose themselves or someone will expose them for you in an effort to tear you down. Hopefully we will be like Daniel when someone seeks to tear us down and they’ll say that the only way is to go after our faith because there is nothing else. Let’s keep reading...
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.
If you are a leader, be cautious of those who advise you.
If you are a leader, be cautious of those who advise you.
The trap is set. Darius has no idea his leaders had ill intent. They were very clever about it as well. Go after the guy’s ego and pride. If you are a leader and someone only tells you how great you are, they are likely not the ones you want to depend on advice from. We should surround ourselves with people who will always tell us the truth, but do so in love. A brother will lovingly come to his brother and point out the truth, not to tear down, but instead to build up. These guys advising the king had no such intention. The world hasn’t changed much. All around we see people tearing each other down in an effort to get ahead or to move their agenda ahead.
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.
When under attack - Pray
When under attack - Pray
If this happens to you…and as a follower of Christ it will at some point…Pray. Even being away from Jerusalem for so long, Daniel still remembered who his God was. He turned toward the temple and prayed. He knew that if he prayed, he would be under attack. Yet, he prayed. He knew the others were setting a trap for him…he still prayed. When your faith comes under attack, that is the time to lean in and depend on that faith more. Go to God in prayer - give thanks just like you do in the good times.
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.”
They first remind the king of the law because they knew the king liked Daniel. They wanted to make sure they had a slam dunk case. They wanted Daniel gone and they had a good plan.
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!”
Because they had a good plan, they had cornered the king into doing something he didn’t want to do. The king could not go against the law of the land - he could not go against his own word - he had to follow through with the consequence. Yet, the king knew enough about the faith of Daniel. Maybe there had been other miracles or he just heard the stories of the past, either way he knew Daniel and he knew Daniel knew God.
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?”
The king was worried. His best was doomed (by human standards) and he feared for his life. First thing in the morning he goes and checks on Daniel. Even though his human reasoning said that Daniel was gone, with God there is hope.
With God there is hope
With God there is hope
The fact that king Darius called out to Daniel, meant that the king had hope. He believed it was possible that Daniel survived. Since he didn’t know God, but knew of God, surely Darius had heard of the things that God had already done. There was hope.
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.
Here we have another miracle. This is another instance of God showing his glory and what he is able to do. We see how he has taken care of a man who has chosen to serve and follow God no matter what. It doesn’t mean that every man of God is protected from death, but it does mean that God is still in charge. Nothing happens outside of His will. Even lions must obey Him. Kings could control a lot of things, but the mouths of lions is not one of them.
Scripture says here that “No wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” Oh Lord, may we be people that others would say of us…these good things happened to us because we trusted in our God. Not because we are smart or strong or talented or anything else, but we trusted in our God. If I can encourage you to “do” something as a result of this message, it would be to trust in your God. God the Father, God the Son Jesus and God the Holy Spirit. Trust on him to take care of you no matter what. No matter if you are clothed in proverbial purple clothes and given a gold chain and put in charge like at the end of chapter 5 or if you are tossed in the proverbial lions dens to be destroyed. In both situations, we are trust in Him. Trust Him in life, in death, every day for all eternity. Let’s see what happens next...
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.
Pretty gruesome, but Darius was not leaving any room for anyone to speak ill of Daniel or the God of Daniel.
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.
I want to ask you to do something with me. Please stand and I want you to read this next part of God’s Word with me as you stand. There are parts of God’s Word that make us reflect and think. There are other parts that make us want to stand up and shout the words. This passage is the second kind of passage.
Imagine as you read this that your best friend has just spent the night with lions and God sent an angel that shut the lions mouths. They were just big cuddle kitties for a night with your friend. They could have torn him apart, but they left him alone. He walked victorious out of the den and said: “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!” As Darius was dictating the next part to be sent throughout the earth, I doubt it was the same tone he used when writing a letter to his mother. When we read this together, lets make sure there is no doubt how we feel about this. Read with me:
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.”
Come on and praise Him. Our God is able to shut the mouths of lions. He is able to shut the mouths of those who would speak against our God. He is able to shut the mouths of those who would seek to hurt us.
Church, we serve and worship the same God that delivered Daniel. May we be faithful like Daniel and see the signs and wonders of God all around us. May we lift Him up high as He answers prayers as He moves in ways we didn’t even pray for. May we lift Him high when the world thinks they have a fool proof strategy to do away with God’s people and we see the lions den ahead and we praise Him anyway.
May we then praise Him as the world looks on in awe that their plans are foiled by the God of Daniel, the God of Crossroads Christian Church, the God who sent Jesus for our salvation, the God who is was and always will be!