Daniel in the Lions’ Den Is NOT Just a Story for Children Daniel, Chapter 6

Lorraine Day, M.D.

9-2-06

31  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
6: 1  It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps that should be over the whole kingdom.
2   And over these three chancellors, Daniel being one of them.  These satraps shall be reporting on their decrees to the three of them, so no damage will be done to the king’s administration.

If we look back at Chapter 3, the account of the three young Israelites who refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of gold, we remember that history tells us that before that time there apparently had been some dissension in the kingdom.  Nebuchadnezzar had called together ALL of his administrators throughout the known world, all of which was under the control of Babylon.
They were called together to give complete allegiance to the king under the penalty of death in the fiery furnace.
Now, in Chapter 6, we are told that these 120 satraps, or administrators, were to be not only governing their various districts in the kingdom, but they were also to report to the three top men in the kingdom, one of which was Daniel, what was going on in their district, so “no damage will be done to the king’s administration.”  This was the king’s way of gaining knowledge of any insubordination or uprising in his kingdom.

3   Then this Daniel is set permanently over the chancellors and satraps, forasmuch as an excellent spirit is in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

“Only one of the three chancellors, because of his excellent spirit, finds great favor with Darius and he soon is placed at their head.  We would probably call him the “prime minister,” even though this was his permanent position. . . It was natural for Daniel to take the lead at first because of his knowledge and experience.  The spirit in which he conducted himself in his office appealed so strongly to the king that his temporary position was made permanent.”  Concordant Studies in the Book of Daniel, p 148,149
It is not difficult to understand how the other chancellors would become jealous of Daniel.  Daniel was not only a holdover from the previous administration – Babylon – the enemy that the Medes had just conquered, Daniel was not even a Babylonian, he was an Israelite, a former prisoner taken in the conquest of Palestine.  Why should he get the TOP job in Medo-Persia?  Especially with 120 satraps drooling for advancement to the top echelon!
As is the nature of mankind, both then and now, the chancellors and satraps begin a CONSPIRACY to destroy Daniel.  Mankind has NOT changed.

4  Then the chancellors and satraps sought to find a pretext against Daniel in regard to the administration of the kingdom.  Yet no pretext or corruption at all could they find, forasmuch as he was faithful and no carelessness or corruption at all is found in him.

For those in this day, who are so ignorant, or so naïve, or so unrealistic to believe that “Conspiracies” do not exist in government today, I can only pray for them.  Conspiracies in government have been occurring since Nimrod and the tower of Babel.  Certainly, as we see above, king Nebuchadnezzar had found dissension (a conspiracy) in his kingdom.  That’s why he called all his administrators together to bow down and give allegiance to him and his statue.
Now we see that the administrators of the kingdom of Medo-Persia have entered into a Conspiracy against Daniel.
EVERY nation and kingdom that has ever existed on the face of the earth has been rife with conspiracies.  Our history books tell us of ruling kings, and even heirs to thrones, who had all his brothers murdered, so he could be – or remain – king.
For anyone to suggest that there are NO Conspiracies in government now, that things “just happen” because of the ineptitude of government, is naïve indeed!

5  Then these masters are saying, “We will not find any pretext against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

Not only do we have a Conspiracy in the making, but one that involves religious persecution.  The State will try to exert its authority over the conscience of the individual.  This is exactly what is on the verge of happening in America.

6  Then these chancellors and satraps gather together and go to the king, and say unto him, “King Darius, live forever (for the eons.)”
7 All the chancellors of the kingdom, the prefects and satraps, the retinue and the viceroys 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, except from you, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
8  Now, O King, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be altered.
9  Wherefore king Darius signed the written decree.

“The elevation of Daniel and his high place in the king’s esteem created jealousy and hatred among the other officials of the court.  They resented being placed under a foreigner, a mere Israelite.  No doubt some of them wanted the highest place themselves. . . It is usually rather easy to find some dereliction of duty or corrupt practice connected with the administration of public office such as Daniel’s, with its many temptations.  But they could not even make the charge of carelessness.  Daniel had been an exemplary official.
“When they could find no occasion against him they plotted to make one.  If they could not do it politically they would do it religiously.  Evidently they knew of Daniel’s faithfulness to God as well as his faithfulness to the king.  To bring these two into collision was the purpose of their plot.  It really was a clever conspiracy, and, humanly speaking, a success.  The king was led into the trap and Daniel was let into the vault of the lions.
“The statute was so flattering to the king that he was blinded to its implications and to the absence of his favorite minister, who should have been present.  It is astonishing how even a little adulation will affect the judgment.  Darius was really being deified for a time, for he accepted a place that God alone can fill.  This is the besetting sin of universal monarchs, and is seen in every one of them.  Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Alexander, the man of lawlessness—all usurp the functions of the Deity and lead men away from God, in contrast to Christ, Who leads men to Him.”  Ibid, p 150,151

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.  Thus at stated times, three times in the day, he knelt on his knees and prayed and acclaimed before his God just as he formerly had done.

Nothing can stop a believer from going to God.  A decree against him will only make him fly from it to Him for refuge.  Daniel had been accustomed to retire to his chamber three times a day, at set times, in order to worship and pray to God.
This decree would not stop him.
There are “Christian” groups now that believe that had Daniel lived today, he would have comported himself differently.  “Now we worship in spirit in the presence of the Father at all times and places,” say these theologians, “but in our outward acts we must be subject to the superior authorities.”  They quote Romans 13:1,5 as their reference and say that the government’s laws are God’s mandates.  They claim that Daniel “is no pattern for us in our attitude toward the political authorities.”
They believe that God wants us to obey the political leaders, and if God finds something wrong with the political leaders, He will remove them.
But THEY are WRONG!
God still requires the same faithfulness to Him that Daniel exhibited.  We are NEVER to obey the laws of the land if they cause us to disobey God.  God is certainly sovereign, but He allows despots and evil rulers to be in authority in part to test our commitment to Him. 
These “Christians” need to read and understand the entire Bible.  We are never to obey governmental authority if it causes us to compromise our spiritual principles.

11  Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
12  Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king’s decree; “Did you not sign a decree that every man who is petitioning from anyone – whether a god or man – within thirty days, except of you, 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, that cannot be changed.
13  Then they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is of the sons of the captivity of Judah, knows no regard for you, O king, nor for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day before his God.”

“Now the enemies of Daniel make sure that he does not escape out of their trap.  First they go to Daniel himself, at the proper time, and find that they had not overrated his faithfulness. . . Once more Daniel’s foes make absolutely certain that their plot will not fail.  They fear to accuse Daniel until they have the king’s assurance that the decree prohibiting the making of any petition has his unqualified confirmation.  The king is blind to their machinations, and innocently puts all the stress possible on the certainty and irrevocability of the decree.  ‘Certain is the matter as a decree of the Medes and Persians that cannot be changed.’
“Now that they have the trap set, they spring it.  Daniel is accused not only of disobeying, but of opposing the decree by failing to promulgate it.  Daniel, it seems, did not promulgate this decree, as he should have done, seeing that it came from the king.  Daniel probably saw in it much damage for the king, not only in its disastrous effect upon his subjects, especially his compatriots, the Israelites, but on the king himself, whose vanity and pride and arrogance were being flattered by corrupt politicians, so that he was in danger of usurping the place of the Deity,” that monstrous sin that will be the ultimate downfall of the leaders of the One World Government – the present-day “Babylon” – the New World Order that is totally controlled by the Zionist Jews.

14  Then the king, when he heard the matter, was greatly displeased with himself (literally “in bad odor” to himself.  The Syriac uses the word stink here, which, in Hebrew, is used of the Nile, in the plagues of Egypt, when the fish died (Ex 7:18).  In other words, the king thought the plan that had deceived him “stunk!”), and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he strived till the going down of the sun to deliver him (Daniel).
15  Then these men assembled together and came unto the king, and said to the king, “You know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statute that the king establishes may be changed.

“What a contrast there is between the power of the Medo-Persian king and that of the Babylonian kings!  Nebuchadnezzar obeyed no law but his own will (Daniel 5:19).  No official in his kingdom, nor all of them combined, would dare to cross his desires.  That is the way God rules, hence it is figured by the head of gold.  In the hand of the perfect Ruler, it is the ideal form of government.  In Medo-Persia, the power of the monarch was limited by laws that even he dared not break.
“Had Darius been Nebuchadnezzar he would not have been bound by the trick played on him by his corrupt and jealous officials, but would have sent them to the lions instead of Daniel.  What a spectacle to see the great king baffled in his efforts to save a just and deserving official and friend from a cruel and iniquitous conspiracy!  (This brings to mind the weak and compromising Pilate in his treatment of Jesus.)  If the most powerful man in the kingdom cannot get justice, what of the poor and humble?”  Ibid. p 156
This incident gives us an insight into the impotence of governments to do the right thing.

16 Then the king commanded and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions.  Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God, Whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.
17  And a stone was brought, and laid on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring, and with the signet ring of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

“After the king had exerted himself to the utmost to deliver Daniel and had failed, the bloodthirsty officials pressed their crafty claim.  The king dared not alter his decree, for that would be contrary to the well-known edict.  Finally he gives in.  In his own impotence he turns to Daniel’s God, and utters one of the most remarkable confessions of faith that ever came from the mouth of a heathen monarch.  Even for Daniel, it would have taken great faith to declare his confidence that God would deliver him.  Darius’ failure to find a way seems to have impressed him mightily with his own helplessness.  And this is the best preparation for trust in God. 
“So he says to Daniel, ‘Your God, Whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”

18  Then the king went to the palace, and spent the night fasting: neither were musicians brought before him, and he could not sleep.
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 in a staunch voice unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, Whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?
21  Then said Daniel, O king, live forever.
22  My God has sent His angel and has shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before Him, innocence was found in me,; and also before you, O king, have I done no wrong.
23  Then the king felt enormously relieved, and as to Daniel he says to hoist him up from the vault.  When Daniel is hoisted from the vault, no harm at all is found in him, because he believed in his God.

“When Daniel comes forth he is entirely unharmed because of his faith in God.  He then became one of that vast cloud of witnesses spoken of in Hebrews, Chapter 11, and 12, verse 1, whose deeds are recorded in the noble annals of faith.  No doubt he was in the mind of the author of Hebrews when he tells us of a prophet who, through faith, bars the mouths of lions (Heb 11:33).”  Ibid, p 158

24  Then the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.

Those who chose not to believe the story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den might bring up many an explanation why the lions had not devoured Daniel, such as, the were not hungry.  But such attempts to destroy the miracle of his preservation are prevented by the fate that befell his accusers.  They did not even reach the floor of the den before the lions ravenously and powerfully destroyed them.

25  Then Darius the king 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 must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.
27  He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, Who has 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.

“God turned the evil into great good.  The jealousy of the ministers and satraps led them to seek the death of Daniel.  Who would have thought that it would lead to the glorification of God throughout the world?  Such are the wondrous ways of the God of Daniel, Who is also our God!  From the most sordid motives, the most despicable crime, He makes a background to display His wisdom and power to the peoples of the earth. 
“Not only was the aged prophet prospered instead of being destroyed, but God’s name and fame was spread abroad throughout the earth.”  Ibid 159,161

Lessons From This Story For Adults Today

1.    Conspiracies are ALWAYS present in governments, and have been since the beginning of nations.  To suggest that they don’t exist in our government today is just plain silliness.  The Bible is not only a book of history, but it is a compendium of one conspiracy after another.  The story of some individual or some group plotting to steal from, to maim, or to kill, someone else is told repeatedly throughout the Bible, throughout the 4,000 years it chronicles.
The same holds true today.  If one just opens his eyes and seeks for truth, God will lead him into ALL truth, which includes the numerous evil conspiracies occurring in governments all over the world, including the present government of the United States.
The Oklahoma Bombing, 9/11, Waco, Ruby Ridge, are ALL conspiracies by OUR OWN government (and itsMaster – Israel) against us – the citizens of America.  If you don’t believe it, just check out my website atwww.goodnewsaboutgod.com and many other websites on the internet.
2.    Daniel made no attempt to deliver HIMSELF from his fate.  He did not take up arms to try to stop the guards from taking him to his almost certain death.  He did NOT believe in “Self-Defense.”  He left his deliverance to God – as every true Christian should.  If Daniel had tried to take his defense into his own hands, he would have taken himself out from under God’s protection, and most certainly would have been killed by his enemies or devoured by the lions.  If Daniel had taken his defense into his own hands, he would also have eliminated the possibility of God’s miraculous deliverance of Daniel.
3.    If Daniel had heard about the scheme of the conspirators BEFORE they had gone to the king, and had decided to make a PRE-EMPTIVE strike on his enemies, (as the U.S. is doing in Iraq – with the SUPPORT of virtually EVERY “Christian” denomination in America), Daniel would have taken himself out from under God’s protection and would have been under the control of Satan.  He again would have reaped what he had sown.  “God will NOT be mocked.”
4.    If Daniel had chosen to obey the king’s (the government’s) order by hiding his faith by ceasing his prayer to God three times a day, Daniel would have become a hypocrite, denying God, and would again have taken himself out from under God’s protection.  We do not know exactly what would have become of Daniel, but the Bible tells us, “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.”
5.    Daniel gave ALL the glory to God!  He took none for himself.

   
© Lorraine Day, M.D. 2006. All Rights Reserved.
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