Daniel 6 - Gotcha Politics

Don't just 'dare to be like Daniel'. Dare to trust Daniel's God.

Faithlife.com

SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... Nebuchadnezzar praised God’s power but not in true repentance. His pride later brought God’s humbling hand until he learned the Most High rules all kingdoms, after which he honored Him rightly.

Under King Darius, Daniel’s faithfulness set him apart, stirring jealousy among officials who manipulated the king into banning prayer to any god but himself.

Daniel 6:10–23 (NASB95)

¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.

¹¹ Then these men [his rivals] came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.

¹² Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?”

The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

¹³ Then they answered and spoke before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.”

¹⁴ Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him.

¹⁵ Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Recognize, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”

¹⁶ 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.”

¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ 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.

¹⁹ Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den.

²⁰ 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?”

²¹ Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!

²² “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.”

²³ 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.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 127

Q. What does the sixth request of the Lord's Prayer mean?

A. “And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one” means,

By ourselves we are too weak

to hold our own even for a moment.

And our sworn enemies—

the devil, the world, and our own flesh—

never stop attacking us.

And so, Lord,

uphold us and make us strong

with the strength of your Holy Spirit,

so that we may not go down to defeat

in this spiritual struggle,

but may firmly resist our enemies

until we finally win the complete victory.

Summary

If this all happened last week, it would have gained wall to wall coverage. Shaky cell phone videos showing Daniel kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God would go viral and every network would bring out their talking heads to analyze why one of the nations top officials - that's what Daniel was! - thought he was above the law. It would happen this way now because it happened this way then. Nothing's changed... it's all engineered, and it played out exactly the way Daniel's rivals, who'd been passed over for the top spot Daniel got, designed it to.

But they didn't pull this political coup off on their own. Daniel helped them. He knew exactly what he was doing. He could have squirrelled himself away in an inner room and prayed all he wanted without anyone noticing. But instead, he stood before open windows so all could see.

On one hand, Daniel simply kept doing what he had been doing previously. His rivals had designed their law to prohibit prayer specifically because they knew how intractably ingrained prayer was for Daniel. It wasn't a crises that brought him to his knees three times a day, it was his regular habit of prayer that caused the crisis. And notice that he didn't beg God for the law to change, he just continued giving thanks before God.

But on the other hand, Daniel waited until he knew that the document was signed before he opened the windows. As Iain Duguid comments, "When prayer becomes fashionable, praying in secret may be a good thing, but when prayer is proscribed, to pray in private becomes an act of cowardice." Daniel didn't back down from this political challenge because He was being held up by the power of God. Daniel was so confident in this power that he publicly bet his life on it.

  Dig Deeper  

The primary storyline here in Daniel 6 isn't that political theater is no different now than thousands of years ago. It's not a manual for taking on our ungodly rivals, and the main lesson isn't to push you to be pious or that you should 'dare to be like Daniel' (although you should do both).

The key reason this famous story of Daniel in the Lions Den is in the Bible is the same reason every for every Bible story, poem, prayer and exhortation: to announce the unchanging reality that God always saves His people.

Pagan King Darius, one of the most powerful men the world has ever known, was so amazed by God's salvation that he issued 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” (Dan. 6:26-27).

Remember, as amazing as Daniel's salvation from the lions' den is, it's just a prelude to the salvation that God has accomplished for you in Christ.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who delivered Daniel from the lions and His people from our sin through Jesus;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your Spiritual Disciplines would be so strong that they become your primary characteristic;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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