Diving into Daniel: A Lion’s Den
Daniel 6:16-28 - A man of God is condemned to die in a closed tomb but is instead rescued by God and prospers. Do you serve God constantly?
“Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. 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?” 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.
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. 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.”
So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”
Daniel 6:16-28 NASB1995
We have reached one of those great moments in the Bible. A Sunday School favorite, this is the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. Children love animals and lions are no exception, so this story is always intriguing to a child’s mind. These big cats were not cuddly animated kitties from the “The Lion King” but were execution machines, kept hungry so that their next meal was the obvious target thrown into the den.
King Darius is upset with this chain of events that was initiated by the satraps, but has no choice per the laws of the Medes/Persians, laws that he champions. He opens the den and Daniel is cast in. At this point in Daniel’s life, he is probably about 80 years old, so he would be no match for any length of time against several hungry lions. The king tells Daniel that the God whom he constantly serves will rescue him. A stone is brought over the door and it is sealed with the king’s seal and the seals of the nobles.
The king retires to his palace and spends the night fasting and refuses any entertainment. He finds it impossible to sleep. Meanwhile, Daniel is attended to by an angel of the Lord and the lions are docile and do not harm him, so he has a better night by far than Darius. I like this commentary from Enduring Word:
a. Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you: Darius had faith, and it was faith born out of Daniel’s trust in the Lord. The idea was, “I tried my best to save you Daniel, but I failed. Now it is up to your God.”
b. You serve continually: This made Daniel’s testimony. Many of us occasionally display godly character and wisdom before the world, but counter-act the good by then being bad. Daniel’s testimony was made by continual service.
c. The king sealed it: This may have been to protect Daniel as much as to make sure someone didn’t rescue Daniel. Darius knew that Daniel had powerful enemies who might kill him if the lions didn’t.
d. His sleep went from him: Undoubtedly, Daniel had a better night’s rest than Darius. We can be sure that Daniel prayed in the lions’ den, because it was simply his habit to pray. He did not need to start praying on this remarkable occasion because the habit of prayer was well ingrained in his life.
i. “When our lives are centred in God, we can ever afford to leave circumstances to the compulsion of the One in Whom we trust. The occasional is always affected by the habitual.” (G Campbell Morgan)
ii. Perhaps Daniel prayed Psalm 22:21-22: Save Me from the lion’s mouth… I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
iii. “In any case he must have had a glorious night. What with the lions, and with angels all night to keep him company, he was spending the night-watches in grander style than Darius.” (Charles Spurgeon)
What a provocative question in this passage - Do you serve God constantly? That means every waking hour! Daniel also was able to instantly pray in any situation.
The king rushes to the den the next morning. He calls out to Daniel in a troubled voice, asking him if the living God that Daniel worships has been able to deliver him from the lions. I can’t imagine the reaction of the king when he hears Daniel reply that God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions! Daniel tells the king that he was innocent before the Lord and also committed no crime before the king. Although Daniel did not truly obey the letter of the law signed by the king, he also did not go against the king’s best interests by praying to God. Darius is, in every sense, very pleased that Daniel is alive and orders him taken out of the den.
Next, in the usual frenzy of barbarism from an ancient pagan king, Darius orders the men who accused Daniel to be brought forward and tossed into the den. Oh, and this order would include their wives and children! The lions Again, from Enduring Word:
a. The king gave the command: No one had to ask Darius to do this. He was ready and willing to bring justice to those who plotted against Daniel, and also to their children, and their wives.
i. This was obviously severe, but it was also according to ancient customs among the Persians. An ancient writer named Ammianus Marcellinus wrote of the Persians, “The laws among them are formidable… by which, on account of the guilt of one, all the kindred perish.”
ii. Darius was not happy with these men. He probably would have cast these accusers to the lions even if Daniel had perished in the lion’s den.
b. The lions overpowered them… before they ever came to the bottom of the den: This proved that it was genuinely angelic protection that saved Daniel. It proves there was no natural reason why the lions did not eat Daniel. Daniel’s accusers perished in the same trap they set for Daniel.
i. This illustrates the work of the cross in reverse: the guilty were punished in the place of the innocent.
ii. This also illustrates a principle of spiritual warfare. God will cause our enemy to be impaled on the same snare set for us (Psalm 7:14-16).
Darius makes a declaration about the living God, the God of Daniel. The people are to fear and tremble before the power of the one True God. There is no convincing evidence that Darius became a staunch believer, but he was certainly impressed. And Daniel prospered because of his faith. It is such an interesting coincidence (and there are no coincidences where God is concerned about His Word) that I am writing this devotional for publication on Easter Sunday, April 20. The story of Daniel in the lion’s den is an obvious foreshadowing of the Resurrection.
I thought that commentary from Enduring Word was so good for this passage:
a. Then King Darius wrote: The Book of Daniel follows a familiar pattern. God’s people stand firm in their convictions, God honors and protects them, and the testimony of God’s work makes the ungodly see and tell of the greatness of God.
Daniel and his three friends stood firm and Nebuchadnezzar saw the fruit of it (Daniel 1:20).
Daniel boldly and wisely interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the king honored Daniel and his God (Daniel 2:46-47).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego stood firm and Nebuchadnezzar gave glory to God (Daniel 3:28-30)
Daniel boldly told Nebuchadnezzar the truth and the king humbled himself and gave glory to God (Daniel 4:34-37).
Daniel stood firm and boldly told Belshazzar the truth and the king honored Daniel (Daniel 5:29).
The point is plain: when we stand firm in godly convictions and honor God even when it costs something, others will see the testimony and be impressed.
b. The God of Daniel: In a small way, this helps us diagnose Darius’ spiritual condition. It isn’t enough to say, “the God of Daniel.” Saving faith says, “the God of Darius.”
c. Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian: Some take this to mean that Darius was Cyrus the Persian. This is one of the three theories about the identity of Darius (mentioned at the beginning of this chapter).
d. Daniel prospered: This is the last link in a long chain set through this chapter. We can see Daniel progressing along this path:
· Plotted against.
· Praying.
· Praising.
· Persistently serving.
· Persecuted.
· Protected.
· Preserved.
· Preferred.
· Prospered.
e. So Daniel prospered: One of the greatest blessings to come from Daniel 6 is to see the story unfold and point to Jesus Christ. Consider this:
· A man without blame, faithful to God in all his ways, a man noted for prayer, was sent to his death because of the jealousy of those who wanted to prevent his exaltation.
· He was condemned to death by plotting of his enemies and the law of the land, and thrown into a stone room meant to be his tomb.
· A stone was rolled over the opening. But in all its power and ferocity, death couldn’t touch him.
· On a morning the stone was rolled away, he came out victoriously; he glorified God, the pagans gave honor to God, and his enemies were judged.
God saved Daniel and his friends many times during their exile. He also pointed the way in this book of prophecy to the ultimate salvation for fallen humanity through the death and resurrection of His Son. Hallelujah!!
Well, my next devotional will be an interesting challenge, because I will be transitioning into the second segment of Daniel concerned with prophecy. I will begin with Daniel 7:1-8: A vision of four beasts.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Help me to serve you constantly and be in awe of the Scripture that so clearly points to Jesus. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.