“It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.”
Daniel 6:1-3 NIV
The Jews are in captivity and under the reign of Babylon. The King of Babylon was killed in Daniel 5 and the new king, Darius, a pagan king, has noticed Daniel. Daniel, a Jew, is working in his gifting to the best of his ability. He is the face of God. He is the example of how we should all be working at developing and owning our Spiritual Gifts.
“At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
6:4-5 NIV
Daniel is working and he is exceptional at his job. Instead of the people being inspired, wanting to know Daniel’s God, and unlocking their own Spiritual Gifts, they instead conspire to harm Daniel.
“So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said, ‘May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any God or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown in the lion’s den.”
6:6-7 NIV
An edict was a law and it was irrevocable. Whoever, was caught praying would be thrown in the Lion’s Den.
“Now when Daniel learned the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”
6:10 NIV
Our job is to be the face of Jesus, everywhere we go. We have to cultivate that. We have to have a God space in our lives. We have to seek a personal relationship with God. Our own intimate relationship with God that exists in our lives past Sundays. God wants to relation with each of us personally.
“Then they said to the king, ‘Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.'”
6:13 NIV
Light will always bring out darkness in others. It will always be easier to conspire to harm Daniel, than to examine the truth of why they have the negative feelings they have.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
Matthew 5:43-45 NIV
This is very anti-world view. However, God loves everyone. He desires to save everyone. As much as humanely possible, we should live at peace with everyone. We have to love our enemies with boundaries.
“So the king gave the order, and brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. Then the king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!’ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.”
Daniel 6:16-17 NIV
Daniel while trying to serve God, finds himself in the Lions’ Den. The Lions’ Den is any toxic environment that actively tries to harm you. As we are serving God and trying to do good, we will find ourselves in the Lions’ Den.
“At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lion’s den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’
Daniel answered, ‘May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I done anything wrong before you, Your Majesty.'”
6:19-21 NIV
The King was just a pawn. He didn’t want to put Daniel in the lions’ den. God doesn’t keep us out of the Lions’ Den, but He does go into the Den with us.
“At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.”
6:24 NIV
You reap what you sow.
“Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and people of every language in all the earth:
‘May you prosper greatly!
I issued a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
‘For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.’
So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”
6:25-28 NIV
We have to go into the Lions’ Den because God gets the glory and we are there to bear witness to people that might now otherwise experience God.
“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”
2 Timothy 2:3-6 NIV
God desires to be the God of the Lions’ Den for us all; to be intimately connected to us all! We have to go into the Lions’ Den because we are there to display God’s glory. We are there as a witness of the Power of God to non-believers and Christians that need to know God more intimately.
“My heart is not proud, Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 131 NIV
We put our hope in God and God will work out the details.
