DANIEL 6:1
The Bible says in Daniel 6:1-5, “It pleased
Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be
over the whole kingdom;[2] And over these three presidents; of whom
Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king
should have no damage.[3] Then this Daniel was preferred above the
presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king
thought to set him over the whole realm.[4] Then the presidents and
princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they
could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was
there any error or fault found in him.[5] Then said these men, We shall
not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him
concerning the law of his God.” If you are successful, you will
have enemies. And then when you have enemies, they try to find something
negative about you in order to try and use that to gain an advantage over you.
That is how the wrong kind of competition always behaves. One way to combat
that negativism is to do everything properly so that you do not give your
enemies any ammunition to use against you. Understanding this principle of
life, Christians are told in First Peter 4:12, “Having
your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against
you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify
God in the day of visitation.”
Daniel’s enemies said in verse 5, “We shall not
find any occasion against this Daniel.” Therefore, his enemies decided to
use some good thing against Daniel. They knew Daniel would serve God. They
could count on that. Daniel was faithful and consistent in serving the Lord.
Perhaps these enemies could find a way to use Daniel’s service to God as a
means to accuse him. It says in Daniel 6:6-11, “Then these presidents and
princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius,
live for ever.[7] All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and
the princes, the counsellers, and the captains, have consulted together to
establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask
a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be
cast into the den of lions.[8] Now, O king, establish the decree, and
sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and
Persians, which altereth not.[9] Wherefore king Darius signed the
writing and the decree.[10] Now when Daniel knew that the writing was
signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber
toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and
gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.[11] Then these men
assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.”
If you are a Christian living consistently for the Lord Jesus, people will
know. Your life will be different because of Jesus, and the people of the world
will notice because they do not have Jesus in their life. In Daniel’s case they
noticed all right, and then they brought accusation against him. That type of
thing is happening more and more in our society because being an open Christian
is frowned upon more often than not in our society.
The Bible says in Daniel 6:12-16, “Then they
came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou
not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man
within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?
The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the
Medes and Persians, which altereth not.[13] Then answered they and said
before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of
Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but
maketh his petition three times a day.[14] Then the king, when he heard
these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver
him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.[15]
Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king,
that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the
king establisheth may be changed.[16] Then the king commanded, and they
brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said
unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”
The king was tricked by Daniel’s enemies into passing a law that he could not
rescind, but it is interesting to note what the king said to Daniel concerning
being thrown into the den of lions. He said to Daniel in verse 16, “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver
thee.” Of course, these were very true words
spoken by the king. We should all remember these words whenever we find
ourselves in a difficult situation. God can do anything. We are reminded of
that in the Bible over and over again. Therefore, we also must rely upon that
truth. Even Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.” One of the
blessings about being in a situation where nothing humanly can be done is that
we are set up to set what God will do. This is an opportunity for God’s name to
be glorified.
The Bible says in Daniel 6:17-22, “And a stone
was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his
own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be
changed concerning Daniel.[18] Then the king went to his palace, and passed
the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and
his sleep went from him.[19] Then the king arose very early in the
morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.[20] And when he came
to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake
and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou
servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?[21] Then said
Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.[22] My God hath sent his
angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch
as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I
done no hurt.” One thing that I notice about this passage of scripture
is one of the statements that the king made compared to his statement of the
day before. The king said in verse 20, “O
Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually,
able to deliver thee from the lions?” This is
a statement that comes from doubt. Notice what the king said before Daniel was
thrown into the den of lions. It says in Daniel 6:16, “Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom
thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”
What happened that caused the king to go from making a statement of faith and
confidence to making a statement of doubt and insecurity? The only thing that
changed is that they went from theory to reality, and from thinking about the
future to dealing with the present. Anyone who tries to live a life of faith will
have that same challenge. It is much easier before a difficult situation
arrives to say, “No matter what happens, the Lord will take care of me. The
Lord will provide.” Or as the king said, “The Lord is able.” But when something
really bad finally does happen, how do we react? Do we continue to say, “The
Lord will provide, or the Lord is able?” Or do we react with doubt and forget
the faith that we claimed to have just a short time before?
In the first part of Daniel 6:22
Daniel said, “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths,
that they have not hurt me.” Often when we see the angel of the Lord
mentioned in the Old Testament, there is the possibility that it is Jesus
Christ that is being referred to. The word “angel” means “messenger” or “one
that is sent.” Jesus is the manifestation of God. Jesus is the communication
from God. The Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.
They are one and the same.
There is a spiritual application to
the fact that the lions’ mouths were shut so that they did not hurt Daniel.
They could not harm Daniel. People will open their mouths and try to harm you
with their words. At times they will accuse you. Much harm can be done by the
mouth and the tongue. The word “devil” means slanderer. The mouth and the
tongue can be used to condemn, to criticize, to ridicule, to gossip, to
slander, and to lie about you. You might find yourself like Daniel in the
lions’ den, except there are no lions. Instead there are people who would rend
and tear with their words. Do not forget that because Daniel trusted in the
Lord, he was able to say, “they have not hurt me.” With faith
in your Lord and Savior you will also understand that your enemies cannot hurt
you with their mouths or their words. By faith you can have a tough skin and
yet keep a tender heart.
I think it is also important to notice
what Daniel said to the king in the last part of verse 22. Daniel said that the
reason that God protected him from the lions was “forasmuch as
before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done
no hurt.” Daniel was innocent. He had done nothing to deserve being thrown
into the den of lions, and therefore he knew that God was on His side. God is
always on the side of the right and against the side of the wrong. That is why
there are good consequences to good actions and bad consequences for bad
actions. “Do right until the stars fall.” That is what Bob Jones Senior used to
say.
The Bible says in Daniel 6:23-28, “Then was the
king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out
of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was
found upon him, because he believed in his God.[24] And the king
commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast
them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the
lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they
came at the bottom of the den.[25] Then king Darius wrote unto all
people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be
multiplied unto you.[26] I make a decree, That in every dominion of my
kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living
God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be even unto the end.[27] He delivereth and
rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath
delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.[28] So this Daniel
prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”
No wonder God allowed the Medes and the Persians to take over
Notice that King Darius said in Daniel
6:27 that God “delivereth and rescueth.” These verbs are synonyms for the
verb “to save.” The most important truth to learn about Jesus is that He saves.
That is why we call Him “Savior.” When Jesus was born, the angel told Joseph in
Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” We
certainly need to be saved, and we need to be saved from a danger that is much
more serious than the mouth of an angry lion: we need to be saved from the guilt
of our sins. It says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God.” You can pray to Jesus today and come to know Him as your
Savior. It says in Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.”
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved