La Guarida de Leónes

Daniel 6

We’ve known this story since we were in Sunday School.  We call it Daniel in the Lions’ Den.  But though the den is mentioned a dozen times, it’s not once called the Lions’ Den.  Instead, it’s called what we see in v. 19 – the den of lions.  You see, the lions didn’t own it, and they weren’t in charge.  We find ourselves today in a den of lions, but never forget, this is my Father’s world!  We are in His hands…not THEIR paws.

Nations are born, they live, they die.  Watch for falling empires! They rise and they fall with great regularity.  In fact, as you study history, you see that nations rapidly pass from off the scene.  We look back to the Empires of the Hittites, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and finally the Babylonians, where we find Daniel first taking the role of prime minister.  They were followed by the Persians, and the Medes, and the Greeks, and the Romans.  All of them came and all of them went.

On our own continents, in the Western Hemisphere, we find tales told of the great Mayan, the great Inca, the great Aztec civilizations, but little or no trace remains except for some archaeological artifacts.  They have come and they have gone.

In more modern times, we know the greatness of the days of England.  You remember the greatness of France.  You remember when Italy was a major power in the world and threatened even to dominate Europe under the leadership of Mussolini.  We remember Germany.  Hitler, who with his Aryan philosophy, thought he could conquer the world.  We have seen the rise of Japan as a military power.  China and Russia seem to be having their day now.  And America appears to be at the top today, but may at any time be on the wane.

Nations rise, nations fall.  They come and go.  Now what is especially thrilling is that the coming and the going of nations has very little to do with the perpetuity of the people of God. 

There couldn’t be imagined a more cataclysmic event than just happened in chapter 5 of Daniel.  Babylon has fallen.  The greatest Empire that humanity had ever known, the Medes and the Persians, entered the city and without firing a shot the whole Empire fell.  But what is amazing about it is that it had no impact on God’s plan for His people, for the Jews continue on and Daniel rides high through it all. 

And as we come to chapter 6, and as we look at the new Empire, Daniel isn’t missing; he’s right at the heart of the matter.  He was a prime minister of Babylon, and he will equally be the prime minister of Medo-Persia.

And it excites me to think about that.  Nations come and go and God’s work goes on.  And no nation is really significant when set against the backdrop of eternity and God’s plan.

For example, in Isaiah 40:15 it says, “Behold the nations are like a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance.”  Think: “inconsequential.” 

In Isaiah 40:7-8, he compares the nations to grass that withers and dies and fades away.  The leaders and their nations come and go and God’s work goes on.

In Daniel 4:17 it say  “…the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.”

God’s redemptive plan continues according to schedule.  The people of God go through the rise and the fall of nations.  They transcend.  That’s a great hope for us.  And we see that in Daniel.  Babylon is fallen.  But Daniel is right where God wants him, and God is unencumbered by the decisions of men.

When you think about the fact that Babylon has fallen, it’s really amazing.  Nebuchadnezzar, of course, had a habit of putting his name on every brick that he put into the buildings of Babylon.  In fact, one writer says that we have literally found uncounted thousands of bricks with Nebuchadnezzar’s name on them - trying to build a lasting empire.  One brick, which is now in the British Museum, has the image and the name of Nebuchadnezzar and a dog’s footprint over both of them.

So it is with the world, but God’s people and God’s plan transcends all that.  So we see Daniel surviving, and in chapter 6, we find him in the midst of the Medo-Persian Empire.

Promotion

vv. 1-3     Daniel was first, preferred, because he had an excellent spirit. God put him right where He wanted him. 

Daniel is pushing hard at 90 years of age - and he’s still God’s man.  You know, the power of a virtuous life extends into old age.

Plot

vv. 4, 7b          There’s a price to pay for being in a position of blessing by God.  You will find yourself hounded by envy.  It’s just the way it is.  We find it in Philippians chapter 1, where Paul was a prisoner, and some were adding affliction to his bonds by saying evil things about his ministry.  They wanted to make him feel worse than he did being a prisoner. 

It’s amazing how when God lifts up somebody, other people’s hearts burn in rage, and jealousy, and bitterness, even when that individual has done them no injury and absolutely no harm.  How could anybody hate Daniel?  How could anybody despise such a man?  I’ll ask you a tougher question.  How could anybody crucify Jesus Christ?  But they did.

Daniel had no Watergates.  He had no skeletons in his closet.  There was no way to indict this man.

Verse 5            When they can’t find anything against you but the fact that you are absolutely sold out to your God, then you are fulfilling the New Testament principle of suffering for righteousness’ sake.  What a commendation.  They couldn’t find anything else. 

Darius was flattered.  Now, one thing we know about the law of the Medes and Persians is that once you made a decree, you couldn’t violate it.  That was built into their system. 

Perseverance

V. 10                This pattern was established originally by David in Psalm 55:  “Morning, noon and night, fell on his knees to pray.” 

Men may make their laws, but when the laws violate the rules that God lays down, we don’t worry about those laws.  And we come to Acts, where Peter says we ought to obey God rather than men.

Now, you say, “Well, couldn’t Daniel have been more discreet?  Couldn’t he just close the window and pray the same way?”  Yes.  “Couldn’t he have just cooled it for 30 days and talked to the Lord standing up and walking around, and it wouldn’t have been as visible?”  Yes.  But any compromise at all would have been read as self-serving and it wasn’t in his character to do that. 

When they burned Polycarp at the stake in Smyrna in A.D. 155, he had been a Christian for most of his life.  Before they lit the fire, they called on him and said, “Deny the Lord and save your life.”  In quiet assurance and with steady voice, this is what he replied.  “Eighty-six years have I served Him.  He’s never done me any harm.  Why should I forsake Him now?”  And Polycarp, that disciple of John, with praises on his lips and a quiet commitment to the Lord, looked down at the flames and accepted them as God’s will.

I think about Simon Peter.  Simon Peter was in prison.  The next day he was supposed to be executed, and an angel came to deliver him, and had to wake him up cause he was sound asleep.  Amazing. 

Prosecution

verse 11  They spy him out and rat him out.  The trap was sprung.  Daniel knew it was a trap.  He didn’t care.  Look what happens next. [read vv. 12-14] And the king realizes, I was supposed to be god for a month, and wound up a fool in one day.  He was angry at himself. At least the guy had the honesty to take the blame.  It was his own ego that entrapped him.  He tried to think of a way out of this. Maybe he tried to find a loophole in the law, but there was no way out.  And you know what I love about this?  Daniel never says a word.  Daniel never takes up his own cause.  Daniel never defends himself.  Like Christ, he is dumb before his shearers and opens not his mouth. 

You see, he had such confidence in God through all these years that he would just commit himself to God.  What could he say except - “That’s right.  I was praying and I’ll just keep on praying.” 

Penalty

Verse 16          Now these are real lions.  They were purposely starved to be used as executioners.  And I don’t know how many there were in there, but it wasn’t just a couple.  I’ve seen pictures where there’s two or three lions.  No, when you get to the end of the chapter and the people who made the plot are held accountable, they throw all of them in there, and they throw all their families in together, and they get eaten up before they hit the ground. 

And by the way, they’ve discovered some of these lions’ pits that were used by monarchs as places of execution.  An archaeologist described one, “It consisted of a large square cavern under the earth, having a partition wall in the middle of it, which is furnished with a door, which the keeper can open and close from above. 

“By throwing in the food, he entices the lions from one chamber into the other, and then having shut the door, they enter the vacant space for the purpose of cleaning it.”

v. 16b              The king had confidence in Daniel’s God.  He had heard the stories, and now worked with him side by side on a daily basis. He had heard a lot about God.

Preservation

Verse 18          “His sleep went from him.”  And he just paced around.  He was in his 60s, but hustled back at first light and called out to see if Daniel was alive.

v. 22        God sent an angel.  Now, angels are powerful.  One angel took care of 185,000 Assyrians and slew them all by himself.  So one angel would be plenty. 

He believed God and God honored his faith.  Now you want to know something?  It doesn’t always happen that way, does it?  Isaiah believed God, too, but he got sawn in half.  Paul believed God, too, and he laid his head on a block, and an axe head flashed in the sun, and severed it from his body.  Peter believed in God, and he got crucified upside down. 

Believing in God doesn’t mean that the lions aren’t going to eat you.  There have been martyrs throughout all the history of God’s dealing with men that have believed God and they’ve died.  The issue is that we accept God’s will.  If it is to live, it is to live.  If it is to die, it is to die.  But in either case, we’re never defeated. 

In fact, if Daniel had been eaten by lions, he would have been in the presence of God, right?  Which would have been better than looking up at Darius and saying, “O king, live forever.”  He couldn’t lose.  We never lose.  To live is Christ, to die is gain! If he had been torn to shreds, that angel that came would have carried him into the presence of the Lord in Abraham’s bosom.

Punishment

        It’s not that the lions weren’t hungry, or were toothless. After salivating at the sight of Daniel’s Jewish meat all night long they were more eager than ever! [read Verse 24]

Proclamation 

Verse 25-27             The whole Persian Empire is commanded to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. 

God has put on some convincing demonstrations in this book, hasn’t He?  Nations come and go, and whether they be Babylonian or Medo-Persian, when God puts His men in the right place, His message gets through.

Let me ask you a simple question.  Who gets the glory in each chapter of this book? Not Daniel.  God got the glory.  I believe that if you see one thread through the book of Daniel, it is not the exaltation of Daniel, it is the majesty of God, who stands against the nations of the world and upholds His sovereignty.

Prosperity

v. 28        What are the elements of Daniel’s character that we could translate to ourselves?  What makes a man able to affect a nation?  What makes a man or a woman have an impact that is as far reaching as an Empire? 

First of all, this man transcended history.  He got his feet out of the muck of human drama.  He sought the kingdom of God. Secondly, he lived a consistent life from start to finish.  He was virtuous when he was young, and so he was virtuous when he was old.  Thirdly, he utterly fulfills his calling.  His only desire is that God’s will be done. Fourth, he has a right attitude.  They kept saying about him he has an excellent spirit.  He has an excellent spirit. Fifth, he will be envied and he will be hated by the world around him, but he will never be bittered by it. Sixth, he is condemned, but only for his righteousness, for there’s no other flaw.  He is as an elder of the church should be - what? - blameless. He is willing to face any consequence and leave the outcome to God. He never defends himself.  He leaves that to God. He strengthens the faith of others giving them hope in God.  Even the king was believing because of the great faith of Daniel.

You may feel you are in a lions’ den…but it’s only a den of lions. You may feel you are in a fiery furnace, but actually, you aren’t anywhere other than in God’s hands.

Ultimately you will be rescued if you are saved.  Are you?