Wednesday: In the Lions’ Den
Read Daniel 6:11-23. What does the king say to Daniel that reveals just how powerful a faithful witness Daniel is to God?
The conspirators soon spot Daniel praying — that is, doing exactly what the decree has forbidden. And as they bring the accusation before the king, they refer to Daniel in a demeaning way: “that Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah” (Dan. 6:13, NKJV). In their eyes, one of the chief officers of the empire, the king’s favorite, is no more than “a captive”.
Image © Providence Collection at GoodSalt.com
In addition, they pit Daniel against the king by saying that Daniel “does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed” (NKJV). Now the king realizes he has been entrapped by signing the decree. The text says that “he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him” (Dan. 6:14, NKJV). But there is nothing he can do to save the prophet from the prescribed punishment. The irrevocable law of the Medes and Persians must be applied to the letter. Thus the king, however reluctantly, issues the command to throw Daniel to the lions. But in doing so Darius expresses some glimmering hope, which sounds like a prayer: “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you” (Dan. 6:16, NKJV).
The biblical text does not say what Daniel does among the lions, but one can assume he is praying. And God honors Daniel’s faith by sending His angel to protect him. In the morning, Daniel remains unharmed and ready to resume his activities in the government. Commenting on this episode, Ellen G. White says: “God did not prevent Daniel’s enemies from casting him into the lions’ den; He permitted evil angels and wicked men thus far to accomplish their purpose; but it was that He might make the deliverance of His servant more marked, and the defeat of the enemies of truth and righteousness more complete”. — Prophets and Kings, pages 543, 544.
| Though this story has a happy ending (at least for Daniel), what about those accounts, even those in the Bible (see, for instance, Mark 6:14-29), that don’t end in deliverance here? How are we to understand them? |
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Perhaps we need to restate the notion that the miracle of the Lion's Den was not Daniel's reward for being faithful. Faithfulness is a way of life, not a course with a certificate or trophy at the end. Typically a miracle is an invitation to serve.
As a kid, I was nearly run over by my cousin in a tractor accident. He was driving the tractor in reverse and I was standing in the front of the trailer attached to the tractor. My cousin jerked the tractor a bit and I fell off onto the ground and right behind the rear wheel of the tractor. Those who were standing nearby claimed that it was a miracle I was not run over. Interestingly, my cousin became a heavy machinery operator and even now at nearly 80 years old is operating big Cat D8 bulldozers, rehabilitating old coal mines in Queensland. I have always had a sense that on that day back in the 1950s my life was spared and that I had better put it to good use. I don't claim the event as a miracle, but rather a waypoint in my life that helped shape the direction of life.
I think that Daniel was quite an old man when the lion's den event occurred but from the little we know about him, he lived his life with consistency and integrity. Given that he had been uprooted from his homeland, served in the courts of captains and kings, seen a vision of God's grand plan, and recorded it in a way that it has survived for about 2500 years - that is the real miracle.
In the story of Daniel in the lion’s den we see…
.A Conspiracy.
. Confrontation and Condemnation
.Conservation
.Consternation and Proclamation
. Invitation
God has plan for you that's why he keeps you alive. Praise be to him.
Daniel is showing us what Revelation 13 predicts will happen. Gods people are taken captive, they are commanded to worship an Image or the Supreme Ruler, there is a death decree for not worshipping like everyone else. The part of Daniel that we normally call historical is actually part of the prophecy in object lessons.
Is it possible for it to happen today?
This corona virus is a death decree for many. Now there is a law in the UK that if they suspect you are infected they can arrest you and put you in quarantine.
What if they suspect you are a terrorist because of how you worship? Isn't that what they were saying about Daniel?
Shirley, I have been thinking about the "they" you refer to above quite a bit this week. As you may have read in one of my other comments, much of the persecution has been driven by a much lower common denominator than state edict. Much of it came from local mob rule. I call it the "chook pen syndrome" When we kept chooks (chickens for the non-Australians), if a chook appeared to be different, or sick, the other chooks would attack it and often seriously harm it.
Your reference to the Coronavirus - now COVID-19 is a case in point. In spite of the fact that few cases of the virus having turned up in Australia as yet, and they have been well isolated, the effect on Chinese businesses and restaurants has been devastating. Public opinion, fuelled by fear, uncertainty, and doubt, together with an unhealthy measure of racism has meant that the Chinese residents of Australia, even those born here, are not able to carry out their normal business. There has been no state or national decree, saying do not do business with the Chinese, just a mob reaction based on assumptions about how the disease is transmitted.
It does not take a lot of imagination to realize that the same mechanism could be used to shut out those who put their faith in God. In Australia, we had a small foretaste of that during the Azaria case back in the 1980s, and I can personally testify the sort of welcome I sometimes received when doing business for the Adventist School where I was teaching at the time. Nowadays reactive oppression can easily be sparked off using social media.
Hi Maurice,
You are correct, media & mob rule now days does much to change people's opinion and very often their actions.
As we get closer to the end times our understanding of how things could happen is broadened by our experience of society's reactions.
May I take the liberty to have some fun with this whole lion's den encounter? Come with me let's have some fun. (I'm a self-proclaimed comedian)
1) I would think that the Lord had a talk with the Lions before Daniel was cast in the den. that goes something like this!
Jesus: Hey, lions, king of beast.
loins: Rooaaarrr, All Hail Creator and Provider, King of the
humans have been staving us for some time now. a
Jesus: Ok I can take care of that, but I AM having one of my
faithful passing by your home town for one night and I
need somewhere for him to sleep.
Lions: Lord, is he young or old?
Jesus: Why does it matter tho? he is old.
Lions: You know we're hungry, but we can pass on this we are on
a diet anyway. We'll be in the process of cleaning up
the dens just tell him to bring some food.
Jesus: I got you. Trust Me!
Daniel dropped in the lion's den somehow humbled but excited for the one night stay high fiving these lions as if they were his long lost pets.
Daniel: What's up Leo, how are you lioness, nice to see the
extension of the family the cubs have grown!
Lions: We heard you were coming we know you don't eat what we
eat and it's way past your bedtime. Just make yourself
at home, By the way, if you so choose we are going to
have a feast tomorrow and you are free to join us.
Daniel: I'm cool guys I will be out before you know it!
Daniel said his prayers retired in a comfortable bed of fur for a good night's sleep, but before he could have realized where he was he heard a familiar voice calling out his name. It was Darius the king! who realized that some of his advisors had played him. The King was able to break the fast of the lions in providing the much-needed food that Jesus had promised them Amen!
Jesus did not say that we would not suffer because of Him, but He said that He would be with us. Sometimes we go through some miraculous and perceptible events that we can really say "that was a miracle"! Sometimes God shows us how dependent of Him we are. Sometimes we go through tough times and we feel that only God can save us. But even when all seems ok, God still works for our benefits. God knows what we must go through in order that we learn to trust Him completely. All He wants is to save everyone, because He loves us all. And even when things look terribly dark, we must learn to praise Him, and give Him thanks and honor. He is soon to deliver the earth of sorrows for ever. I want to believe that the difficulties that I go through are solely for my own good, to learn to depend solely on Jesus' grace! "God, have mercy on me. Although I have nothing to deserve your love, please calm my heart and mind, thus I can be at peace, and hide myself in You always"!
Holy Ghost teach me your words.
In the Lion’s Den.
I have come to realize that many things I was taught from the pulpit as a child until now I need to be retaught by the Holy Spirit. Many times I heard the saying “Come to Jesus and everything will be ok, just accept Him”. But daily I realized I have to take up my cross and follow him. Coming to Jesus is starting a spiritual, mental, psychological or even a physical war. This is with self or others.
The men used the word captive in a derogatory way, it’s like saying an immigrant from Judah like if after all those years Daniel had no say in anything because he was a captive/immigrant. But the God of Daniel doesn’t embrace wrong.
God chose to deliver Daniel, many others died who were faithful but God did not delivered. Being faithful in this life doesn’t say we will not be persecuted or die. What matters is dying in Christ.
Daniel in lion's den slept like a baby.
Darius in the king's palace was restless could not wait for the daybreak.
Our God is watching over us and is waiting to redeem those who love Him.
It is interesting to see how seriously laws were taken back then. They were considered irrevocable. This shows us that much more plainly how serious we should take God's supreme law. The law states that the wages of sin is death. Period. We all deserve to die because of our sins. Even if we have only sinned once (however unlikely this is). From this perspective, we should truly appreciate the enormous, incredible, amazing and unmatched love that our Heavenly Father bestowed upon us when He gave His precious Son to redeem us from our just desserts.
People who are coconspirators really need to be careful. When one dig a ditch for someone. Two ditches need to be dug because inevitably the conspirators will fall in one of them as this reading demonstrates. They did not know the connection or relationship between the King and Daniel; moreover, they were unaware of the relationship between Daniel and His God, the God He served. They could have taken a chapter from his book on consistency and faithfulness to God, but they allowed Satan to use them to destroy their coworker, and ended up being destroyed in the end, taking their innocent families with them. Or were the families innocent?