This is the last chapter in the first half of the book. The Lion's den.
The Babylonians are done. There time at the top of the food chain is over. The Medes/Persians are in charge and Darius is their leader. There is some debate about who Darius was in history, but I think more has been recently discovered.
For our purposes today, we see Darius organizing his ever-growing kingdom by assigning representatives to rule. Over the 120 satraps, he appoints three commissioners charged with avoiding losses for the kingdom. In other words, these commissioners were to be sure that the 120 weren't pocketing what they should be passing to Darius. Daniel is one of the commissioners. Keep in mind, this is at least the fifth or sixth ruler Daniel has served under, and he has frequently been elevated to serve in high stations. But it also means he is quite elderly, probably in his eighties.
Even at his late age, Daniel is still gifted from God. He has an extraordinary spirit and catches Darius' eye. Darius is going to promote him over the entire kingdom alone.
As you might imagine, this doesn't sit well with the 120 satraps and the other commissioners. I imagine that, just like US senators and congressmen today and throughout time, there is a lot of money to be made in governance. Legalized insider trading, bribes, and sweetheart deals all make for generational wealth—not to mention the power to get your way. I'm sure it is all intoxicating. Meanwhile, elderly magician Daniel is the one getting Darius' attention. That old holy roller is going to ruin it for everyone, with his morals and secret knowledge. So they all do what all villains do, they plot. they work together to find anything to use against Daniel. Because he was faithful, they found no corruption or negligence. So they hit him in his faith:
Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.” Daniel 6:5
This is what the enemy has done since the garden and is still doing today, attack us in our faith and relationship with God. Jesus warned us this would happen to us, we will be offending to those who don't yet know the truth and they will lash out.
These collaborators come to the king and set a trap, as part of their plot. They claim they have the backing of, not only the satraps and commissioners, but also the prefects, governors, and high officials. All of these important people agree that everyone in the land should focus they worship and prayers on Darius for 30 days or be thrown in a den of lions. These massive kingdoms engulfed many other nations and people, so they rarely tried to force one religion on all people. But this temporary worship on him alone would be quite a draw to his ego. The conspirators counted on Darius' pride or vanity, or willingness to take a recommendation that came from all of those ruling under him.
So Darius signs on the dotted line in agreement. As far as laws go, the Medo-Persian culture had a no take-backs policy. Laws could not be revoked. Ryrie points us to the book of Ester as an example.
Now that it became official, Daniel headed to his house, to his roof chamber that opened to Jerusalem and began his prayer, just as he had done three times a day.
- Daniel was praying toward Jerusalem because this is what Solomon taught them to do. Wherever you are in the world, pray toward the Temple to God.
- That means Daniel had been faithfully praying to his God for six or seven decades toward a land he hadn't seen since his youth, even though the Temple wasn't even standing anymore.
- He didn't hesitate to do the hard thing because he trained himself to always do that thing. We all wonder what we'll do if a hero is needed, but we won't do the right thing if we haven't been doing the right thing.
- Daniel wasn't being antagonistic. This isn't an example to follow for times when you don't like something. Let's not hold up Daniel as evidence of rebellion against government. We are commanded to obey government (Romans 13) right up to and until the government rebels against God.
So the conspirators met at Daniel's place and found him in prayer. Next they race to Darius and confirm the agreement. Then they rat out Daniel, framing it in the most negative light. Here's Darius' response:
Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. Daniel 6:14
Unlike with Nebuchadnezzar and the three Hebrew boys who refused to worship the statue, Darius was not enraged and wrathful. He was distressed. He knew Daniel and he knew all about Daniel's God. He didn't care about that. But now he knew he was trapped.
And the conspirators sprung their trap. They reminded him that there was no loophole here. He had to stick to his injunction and send Daniel to the lion's den. The king upheld the injunction and sent Daniel to the lions, but this is what he had to say:
Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” Daniel 6:16b
Isn't that remarkable? It did not take Darius as much turmoil as it had taken Nebuchadnezzar to get to this exact understanding. The God that you serve will save you. No question. No apologies. Just confidence in Daniel's God. I'm guessing he'd seen enough even by that early date to know that Daniel was blessed by a very powerful God.
A stone was rolled in from of the lion's den and sealed by the king, so that nothing would be changed by those outside of that stone. He didn't want anyone to interfere for or against Daniel.
And then it became The Lion's den.
I have some bad news for you. All of those Sunday school lessons about Daniel and his time in the den? They are fake. We have no idea what happened with Daniel that night.
While we often focus on the miracle of Daniel, the actual Scripture focuses on Darius. Just like with Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel is just God's servant. Let's go back to the text and see what God's emphasis was on.
Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel 6: 18–20
Darius spoke with faith and conviction before sealing Daniel in. But doubt can creep in on us. We can question whether God can or will do what we hope. Darius lost sleep and then cried out in fear. But his faith held. He still cried out for Daniel. He didn't give up hope. He did ask a guard. He asked Daniel, in the hope of hearing good news.
Daniel responds:
Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.” Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. Daniel 6: 21–23
I'm going to embark on a tangent that is related to these events.
I've been noodling on the word expectations the last few days. It started with something I read at work about unmet expectations and how they can leave us angry, scared, and otherwise unhappy. It makes sense. We want something and think we're going to get it and then we're unhappy when we don't. If that occurs over and over in a relationship, it could leave someone full of hurt and wrath and a desire to end the relationship.
While this makes sense, logically, as a Christian, I have to ask myself where I got those expectations. And why do i assume I am owed them?
I know that I am supposed to pray, Thy will be done. I know that I am supposed to add God willing when making plans, since I have no authority to tell the future.
So where do my expectations come from, especially so fiercely that I would be devastated when I don't get what I want? For me, I know I had unmet needs in the pre-verbal years, followed by unmet expectations of the people around me growing up. So there were real holes that were not filled. I had to learn to fill them myself. Even if it meant being sneaky or rebellious, I sought to take care of myself. Some of that was self-destructive, but I felt compelled. Somewhere along the way I assigned myself a commander rank and approved all of my own requisitioning. This is not good for finances or health.
For many of those years I was a Christian, so I can't even blame unbelief. I even over-rode discernment and conviction by the Spirit if I wanted something. Which has had devastating consequences for my weight and health because of profound food issues.
There are Christians in African nations being dragged off busses and told to recant their faith or have their heads cut off. They choose the latter. Where on earth do I get the nerve to get angry at a customer service rep or angry that the water was interrupted while I was in the shower. I act more like the corrupt kings of pagan nations demanding heads to roll because of mild discomforts.
It's one thing to plan. And it's one thing to get used to something and be surprised when it's not there. It's another to walk around in arrogance assuming that the unearned and undeserved first world luxuries around me are somehow owed to me. And it's another to make choices with known negative consequences and expect reality to shape around me instead of actual reality.
I still have so much growing up to do. And much sanctification remaining.
I need to see unmet expectations as surprises, not offensive. I need to actually believe in His will being done and His willingness to provide and defend, in what ever way He allows.
So, as far as Daniel 6 goes, the connection was the surprising humility of King Darius in following through to see God's will and the humility of Daniel, who accepted that God would judge if his civil disobedience was a sin.
Surprise. Miracle!
How much better my life would be if I pursued these approaches to life.
Sadly, I oftentimes act more like the conspirators. Let's see how the story ends for those who spend their time trying to manipulated the world around them in order to force their unmet expectations to become realized.
The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. Daniel 6:24
Notice it wasn't just the conspirators who suffered. Their loved ones suffered as well. And this time, we get to see clearly what happened in the lions' den.
Surprise.
And like Nubuchadnezzar, Darius is so moved to know God that he wants to make God know:
Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: “May your peace abound! I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;
For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
“He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” Daniel 6: 25–27
That's why we live for Christ crucified alone. Because even when life is really, really terrible; if we draw close and stay close to the Lord, He can use that trauma for His glory.
Amen.
So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 6:28
This concludes the narrative portion of Daniel. In the second half we move into visions, prophesies, and going back and firth to the future.