It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 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. 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. 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. 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.”
So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 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. 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put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.
With the recent election and preceding campaigns this year, it's easy to find commonalities with what these two envious leaders were attempting to do. Smear campaigns have become a staple of today's American politics; these days, to find a leader who is completely above reproach is exceedingly rare - yet Daniel was such a man. Of course, when living in a lost world where everything is turned upside down by the Enemy, the one thing that kept Daniel blameless - his faith - was cast into the spotlight and treated as a threat to the state (Sound familiar? It should!).
The leaders knew that if anything would pit Daniel against Darius, the leader who trusted him, it would be God, who Daniel regarded more than anything on this earth. Three times a day, the men observed, Daniel would kneel before his open window to the west and pray fervently to God, without fail.
The devil's delight is to usurp God's authority... the leaders went straight to Darius and tickled his ego a bit, manipulating him to pass a law that it was a capital crime to pray to anyone but the king. The convicted would meet his fate in the jaws of lions.
PROBLEM: A servant of God is found blameless in the eyes of the world, so his convictions are put to the test... whom will he ultimately serve - God or man?
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. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 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.”
Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attentionto you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.”When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
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.”
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!”
It's obvious that Darius realized what he had done, albeit too late... he had signed and provided the official seal of the empire to a law, meaning it could not be repealed. It was considered 'decree of the gods' and infallible. Darius knew what a good man Daniel was and that before him, he was blameless, and he grieved for his hasty decision - so much that he could not sleep without trying to find a way to absolve Daniel of the charges he was now facing.
What about Daniel? He continued to do what he did every day, three times a day.... he knelt before God in prayer and thanksgiving, right up until the time he was arrested and thrown in the cave of lions.
Solution: Daniel continued his faithfulness to God, trusting Him for divine protection, thanking Him for his provision. His integrity did not waver.
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. 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.
At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 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?”
Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 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.”
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.
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.
Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:
“May you prosper greatly!
“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.
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.”
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
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.”
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
It's quite obvious that Daniel's life had an immense impact on that of Darius. The king could not sleep at all that night... no form of diversion could prevent him from thinking about the foolish decision he had made. Finally, once morning broke, Darius could stand it no longer - he ran to the cave into which Daniel was thrown and called out, hoping for any signs of life from his governor.
And indeed signs of life there were! Not only was Daniel safe and alive, but God sent angels to seal the lions' mouths in that David was indeed found to be innocent, not in the eyes of the false Persian gods, but in the eyes of the true Living God Himself!
And as for the ones who plotted Daniel's demise, they were the truly corrupt and guilty, and throwing them to the lions (and their children and their wives) in place of Daniel confirmed their guilt as the passage reads that they were dead before they hit the floor of the lair.
Psalms 7:14-16 reads that in spiritual warfare, the enemy will often be caught in the snare intended for the victim, through God's protection.
Conversely, the God of Daniel became the God of Darius as the king publicly declared the Lord as the true God worthy of honor and reverence.
Result: Daniel is saved from the jaws of lions. The plotters and their families meet a tragic fate in the same snare they set for Daniel. The king, through the personal witness of the faithfulness of Daniel, declares public faith and devotion to the God of Israel.
The three stories in Daniel we've gone through follow a very similar pattern: Men of God standing firm, Opposition and persecution are faced and then overcome, and finally leaders coming to a stark realization of God's power and faithfulness to his people.
Where are we with God? Are we willing to stand up to the world? Are we willing to set a humble example for the world to follow? Are we willing to follow God above all else? Finally, are we ready to overcome opposition (even persecution and death) and remain steadfast in our faith? The challenges of Daniel's day may seem harsh for us in America, but be certain that somewhere around the world, a fellow believer is dying for his or her faith, for something as little as owning a Bible or saying a prayer.
While we might not see such open and violent persecution, and it's much more subtle here, we must, as Daniel spent his whole life doing, put our devotion and service to him before everything else. By Jesus' standards, that means going into the world and telling everyone about Him, both through verbal testimony and a living godly example. Daniel had the ears of some very powerful people... but in the context of eternity he had the ear of all-powerful God, and so may we.
