I worked with some of the kids yesterday at church and we went over the story of Daniel and the lion's den. When it was all said and done two things were confirmed once again. First, some of the best stories are what most people consider kids stories. Second, as adults, we never go back and look at these stories. We need to do better with that! Let's review, as a child we were taught Daniel was supposed to bow down and worship the King. He chose not to, because he only would only worship God. As a result, he was thrown into the lion's den. Because Daniel did the right thing, God made sure that he survived. Moral of the story, do the right thing and only worship God and in the end, you will survive everything, including attacks from lions. Now let's look at the real story from Daniel chapter 6:
Daniel
in the Lions’ Den
1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. 2 The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. 3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire. 4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”
Five verses and already I think we have a new lesson we didn't get taught as a child - Jealousy! Three people total had a prestigious job, one of them was doing better than the other two. So, what happens? They could have asked for a one on one to see what they could do to get better at their job. But no, the other two other people decided to find a way to get rid of the other one. And, when I say get rid of, I really mean get rid of!
6 So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! 7 We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. 8 And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 9 So King Darius signed the law.
Now we see another lesson that I don't believe was discussed as kids, The King! Two people came to him and made him feel amazing, so because they gave him such high compliments, he gave them whatever they wanted. In my mind, the king went home that night and told his family all about how everyone loved him so much that they came to him and wanted to make sure that everyone worshipped him. What a wonderful, perfect king! Here is the lesson to me, when people come up to you and give you such high crazy compliments that it doesn't seem to be real, it's not! They want something! They are trying to blind you in a way that will lead to you making a decision you are sure to regret. If you go to work every day and someone comes up to you and says, "good job", yes, go ahead and believe them. If someone comes a long and says that you deserve a raise for the work you are doing, that is probably a true statement. When someone comes up to you and says that you should own the company because you are so amazing, look out! Let's continue, How, will Daniel react to this news? If I am being honest, I think best case scenario, I go home and worship in my locked basement.
10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
Two key things in that one verse that I want to point out so that I can come back to later, "As usual" and " Just as he had always done". Let's see what happens next:
11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. 12 So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. “Did you not sign a law that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions?” “Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.”
Here it is, that point in the story when the king realizes that it was all part of their plan. They didn't love the king so much that they wanted everyone to worship him. They were selfish people, looking for gain. Now he has a choice to make, but the way it was setup in those days, he did not have the choice to ignore the law.
14 Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. 15 In the evening the men went together to the king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.” 16 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions.
What a difference between the king and Daniel. When Daniel was told of something horrible, he went straight to God. He did the right thing! Here is a king, who just a few verses ago had no problem being the only thing worshipped for thirty days and now he is about to lose his best worker. What can the king say to David to make it all ok?
The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night.
Again, the king who had no problem being worshipped by everyone, now all of the sudden he wants Daniel's God to do something. Again, another lesson. You are going to meet people along the way in life who don't want to hear anything about God, or how what they are doing something that isn't right, until they are about to lose something big. Then they are ready to hear about God and what he can do for them. This is when we have to make sure that we don't act like the king or the other administrators. We have to remember what our good friend Joseph said in Genesis 50: 20
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended
it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
So how does this story end?
19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” 21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”
If you want to know why Daniel survived, we only have to look at a few things. Verse 22 explains that he was saved because he was found innocent in God's eyes, and he did not wrong the king. I think we also need to go back up and look at what I pointed out earlier. "As usual" and " Just as he had always done". Daniel didn't start praying three times a day when trouble struck. He didn't start praying on his knees when he thought his life might be at risk. He was doing those things every day already. We know trouble will come one day; we know that we will have hardships along the way. Why are we not preparing now? Maybe up until this point you haven't had a reason to kneel and pray, that's awesome. But it's coming. You are going to have a day when life hits you so hard you can't stand. When that happens you need to already know what it's like to kneel and talk to God. We have a few more verses to look at, let's see how our friend the king reacts to Daniel still being alive.
23 The king was overjoyed
and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him,
for he had trusted in his God. 24 Then the king gave orders to
arrest the men who had maliciously accused Daniel. He had them thrown into the
lions’ den, along with their wives and children. The lions leaped on them and tore
them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.
25 Then King Darius sent
this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the
world:
“Peace
and prosperity to you!
26 “I decree that everyone
throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.
For
he is the living God,
and
he will endure forever.
His
kingdom will never be destroyed,
and
his rule will never end.
27 He rescues and saves
his people;
he
performs miraculous signs and wonders
in
the heavens and on earth.
He
has rescued Daniel
from
the power of the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian
One more lesson before we finish, I wish that every time we made the right decision and did the right thing someone would come to us and tell us they were overjoyed. I wish that if someone wronged us, but we kept our composure, we would see them getting what they deserved. But that just isn't how it works. We have to trust God that he will take care of it even if that means that we will never see what happens. Trouble is coming, start praying!