Daniel in the lions’ den is one of the Bible’s best known stories. It speaks to the risks and rewards of standing for one’s convictions. But if we leave it at that, we overlook an important message for today.
The setup: conspiracy
Daniel is about 83 when King Darius comes to power and transforms his growing empire into an oligarchy. Satraps oversee local provinces; Darius appoints three governors (with civil and military powers) over the satraps and intends to make Daniel prime minister over the three governors. Yet, despite Daniel’s decades of impeccable service, Babylonians in high places don’t like the idea of a Jew governing them. They can’t dig up any dirt on Daniel, so they create an offense. They get Darius to sign a decree that says for thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except the king will be thrown into the lions’ den.
Daniel wasn’t proselytizing. He wasn’t even praying in a public place. He was worshipping in the privacy of his home. In scores of countries today, that is reason enough to persecute Christians. Closer to home, think about how New York state is trying to force Chick-fil-A to be open on Sundays.
The response: conviction
As Daniel is dragged through the city, what can we note about the octogenarian? (1) He is totally fit for duty as the second-highest in command of an empire. (2) He is not afraid. (3) He sincerely loves the country that holds him captive.
Why? Because long ago he had taken to heart what God had said through the prophet Jeremiah: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lᴏʀᴅ on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7 ESV).
Oof. How hard is it to pray for your enemies—especially if you aren’t sure you’ll ever be free from them? You don’t have to be captive in a foreign country to consider that question. You can be in a difficult workplace or caregiving situation, with no escape or end in sight.
Darius’s helplessness
About this lions’ den … Kings often captured, released, and hunted lions for sport. It was one way a king showed his supremacy. In this area with no caves, the lions were kept in a tall manmade structure (think 2+ stories high) with an opening in the roof or near the top of the wall so that food—and people—could be tossed into the den. If the fall didn’t kill a person, the lions would.
Daniel is shoved through the opening. As a stone is rolled over it, Darius cries, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” To ensure no one tries to rescue Daniel, the king drapes cords across the stone, affixes them with hot wax, and stamps his seal with a dozen others into the wax. Daniel’s soul is literally with the lions—as David metaphorically described four hundred years prior (Psalm 57:4).
God uses evil for good
When the king rushes to the den at dawn, Daniel’s words are extraordinary: “O king, may you live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”
Daniel hails the king with reverence and respect! No word hinting of anger. But every word ringing with truth: Daniel has done no wrong before God or the king.
The king honors Daniel, reveres God, and decrees everyone to do the same because of how God rescued Daniel. Note the decree is written in every language spoken in the empire—which, at that time, extended from the Nile to the Balkans and modern-day India. Did the king realize his royal round robin would spread God’s truth across three continents? Talk about a social media blitz!
Application today
God in His sovereignty allows difficult circumstances in order to produce extraordinary results. More important, Jeremiah’s call was the same for Daniel as it is for us today: seek the welfare of our nation without compromising our loyalty to God. When we do, God promises, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8 ESV).
We need not be intimidated by a culture that wants to prohibit our worship of and obedience to God. Culture won’t change until people change. Our faithful stance will attract opposition from people and spiritual powers, but we serve a God greater than both.
Can you say you’d rather be in the lions’ den with God than out of it without Him? I pray you will.
This is the fourth installment in a series about Daniel.
Read the first one here.
Read the second one here.
Read the third one here.
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BONUSES:
Did you know that Jeremiah and Ezekiel were contemporaries of Daniel?
- Jeremiah was forced into fleeing with other Jews to Egypt.
- Like Daniel, Ezekiel was taken captivity. But Ezekiel was forced into slave labor, digging and maintaining the canals branching from the Euphrates River near Babylon.
- All three men were powerful prophets.
- Daniel lived to see Cyrus free the Jews in 538 BC. Although many returned to Jerusalem, we have no record of Daniel leaving Babylon. Some sources say he lived to be more than 90 years old.
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