God Delivers Daniel

“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.” Daniel 6:16

Continuing from yesterday’s blog, Daniel decided that he would obey God rather than man, and prayed his customary three times a day in front of an open window.  I don’t believe that it was an accident that Daniel was discovered praying and violating king Darius’ decree against acknowledging any other gods but himself.  Those men who came up with the idea of the decree knew Daniel well enough to know that he would pray to the God of Israel as usual, but they had to catch him in the act.  They likely either looked into his window or barged into his house unannounced.  I can picture him continuing to pray regardless of their interruption.  Daniel probably knew that he would be caught sooner or later, but was determined to not let fear of what man could do to him deter him from his relationship to his God.  We sure could use a few more men and women like Daniel in today’s world.

These “tattletales” couldn’t wait to get back to Darius and make their report.  They first reminded him of the decree that he had signed, and I imagine they made it sound like it was his idea all along.  He must have figured out that they had caught someone defying his decree, but he probably didn’t yet know that it was Daniel.  He may have been curiously wondering who could this perpetrator be.  Was it someone with whom he was acquainted or could it be some peasant who was of no concern to him?  When the men uttered the name of Daniel, the king’s heart must have sank.  He likely asked himself, “What have I done?”  Daniel was highly favored and respected by Darius.  The king’s men tried to minimize Daniel by referring to him as one of the Jewish captives, rather than the intelligent, efficient, and dedicated servant of the king.  They pointed out the fact that Daniel not only defied the king’s decree, he violated it three times a day.  He was guilty as charged in their eyes.

King Darius became very angry at himself for not recognizing their motives when they first proposed this decree.  His ego had gotten in the way of his ability to consider the consequences.  We have all made decisions which we later regretted, but hopefully not in a life or death situation as the one king Darius faced.  He determined that he was going to find a way to allow Daniel to escape punishment in the den of lions.  He looked for a “loophole” in the law that perhaps would acquit Daniel, but the law of the Medes and Persians was concrete.  He could not even issue a new law to override the decree.  He surely would have wanted a “do over”, but one can’t unring a bell.  The king’s hands were tied by his own ropes.  Daniel’s accusers were out for blood.  King Darius had no choice but to acquiesce to the demands of the law, thus he commanded that Daniel be cast into the den of lions.  Darius said to Daniel before releasing him to his accusers, “Your God whom you serve continually will deliver you.”  Darius was an idol worshipper, if he worshipped anything at all.  He likely had heard how Daniel’s three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had been miraculously rescued from the fiery furnace, and perhaps this gave him hope that Daniel’s God would do the same for Daniel.  However, I think it was more of a hope and not faith that led Darius to make this statement.

To make sure that Daniel did not find a way to escape from the lions, a stone was rolled across the entrance to the den and sealed by Darius with his signet.  A signet was an engraved seal, sometimes on a ring that a king would wear, which would authenticate anything issued by the court as official.  No one who valued his life would dare remove the seal and roll away the stone.  This extra effort at preventing Daniel’s escape also served God’s purposes in that Daniel’s survival could only be attributed to the power of God.  That night the king had a fretful, long night of disturbing thoughts and physical exhaustion.  He rose early the next morning and went to the den.  He called out to Daniel in a sorrowful voice as if he didn’t expect a reply.  It was then that the sweetest voice that Darius had ever heard rang out from the depth of the lion’s den, “O king, live forever.”  Daniel gave God all the credit for his safety and survival, telling the king that God had sent an angel to keep the mouths of the lions shut.  The king had Daniel brought out immediately, inspected him, and found him to be healthy and whole.

It wasn’t so good for Daniel’s accusers.  There was a law that a false witness would receive the punishment that was destined for the one falsely accused.  Darius not only had these men cast into the lion’s den, but also their wives and children.  The miraculous delivery of Daniel by God from the lion’s den made such an impact on king Darius that he sat down and wrote a proclamation which would be sent forth to all people under the rule of the Medo-Persian empire.  He wrote that Daniel’s God must be given the respect and recognition that He deserves, but he didn’t go as far as declaring God to be the only God.  He did not order the people to worship God and forsake their idols.  Daniel became a victor because of his faithful dependence on God.  He was restored to his position in Darius’ court.  God blessed and protected Daniel because Daniel’s purpose was not only to represent God among the Gentile idol worshippers, but also as an instrument by which God would reveal the future.