Pray or Prey?

Series on Daniel

II. The Conflict

B. Victory of the Faithful

2. Pray or Prey? Text: Daniel 6

Title: Pray or Prey?

Introduction

Remember in chapters 3 and 6 we are looking at the conflict of faith in Daniel’s time. These chapters are perhaps the best known stories from the book of Daniel and are mentioned in Hebrews 11 as exploits in which the heroes of the faith shut the mouths of lions and quenched the fury of the flames. In Daniel 3 it was the prophet’s three friends who were thrown into the fiery furnace because of their refusal to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image, and we saw the nature of true worship versus false. In this chapter it is Daniel himself who is thrown to the lions because he refuses to cease praying to the living God. Here we are going to look primarily at the secret of overcoming. There are three stages to our story: the righteousness of Daniel, the repression by the decree, and the resurrection from the den.

I The Righteousness of Daniel

Daniel’s faithfulness and favor has lasted. Darius the Mede is now the king. Daniel has lived through Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar. and the Persians have replaced the Babylonians in ascendancy. most likely Darius was an under-king to Cyrus, and The story of his successes was engraved in three scripts and languages, Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite, accompanied by a sculptured relief, into a high rock wall of a mountain, a few miles east of modern Kermanshah. Darius proved to be a strong and wise ruler. In general he was tolerant toward other religions and cultures, promoted learning, agriculture, forestation, and the construction of highways. He also built great palace cities. In Daniel 5:30 and 31 we are told, That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. In the extant Babylonian Chronicles we are told about the fall of Babylon, “Cyrus marched into Babylon, and they laid down green branches in front of him. The city was no longer at war, Peace being restored. Cyrus then sent his best wishes to the residents living there. His governor, Gubaru, (Another name for Darius) then installed leaders to govern over all Babylon.” Because of the scantiness and confusion in secular accounts of this period the Bible account has been questioned by critics. But responsible conservative Biblical scholars have cleared up the confusion. Enemies of the faith think the Bible is guilty until proved innocent, but the Bible is innocent until proved guilty and it has not been proved guilty of error. In fact every discovery only confirms its absolute historicity. a fact which any believer would know because Jesus mentions Daniel as a prophet. The integrity of Christ hangs in the balance. What is important for us here, however, is the survival of Daniel’s faith into old age and the description of his character is in verses 1-5, 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. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they 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.” Even a pagan king respected him completely. Now when the Bible calls a man righteous as some translations do at this point, it does not mean that he’s perfect. We are perfectly righteous only through faith in Jesus Christ and by the placing of His righteousness to our account. In the sight of God no mere man is righteous for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in his sight, but in the sight of men there are those who stand out as different that’s what Daniel was like. Daniel was old at this point, probably 70-80 years old, and the period of the exile, 70 years, was drawing to a close. The story continues in verses 6-13, So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: “O 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 man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing. Now when Daniel learned that 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. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” He could have prayed secretly in his heart. The decree was only for thirty days. Why did he take a stand? Because he wanted to obey God rather than man and he knew what the bottom line was. Even though he is not commanded to any idolatrous practice as were his friends before he realizes the importance of opposing this edict. To many exiles it would have made no difference. To many of us today, sad to say. it would make no difference, but Daniel saw that it was a battle between the lifestyle of Babylon and the lifestyle of the kingdom of God. This was certainly proved by his enemies. When we stand for God there will always be opposition.

II The Repression of the Decree

“Be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove,” said Jesus to his disciples. All those who oppose God end in using deceit, and they are clever but not wise. Opposition to God can never be completely honest. So there was  a scheme, practiced deceit, and a very clever plan showing they knew both Daniel and Darius well. The scheme not only flattered Darius, but seemed a wise political move. It would emphasize the new Persian control of the old Babylonian lands. And the 30-day limit would reassure the population that their traditions were not threatened by the new rulers. Darius had no idea it was intended as an attack on Daniel, and in the midst of being flattered he was oblivious to the complications of the decree. It could not be undone. Negative critics have ridiculed this law as “improbable,” yet Siculus, a 2nd–century historian, reports that in a fit of rage Darius III condemned a man and later “blamed himself” for making “the greatest mistake,” but “it was not possible for what was done by the royal authority to be undone.” Again Scripture is shown to be historically accurate. By this plan the plotters bought Darius’ interest, and they insisted it be put in writing because they knew Darius would change his mind when he saw that Daniel would not go along with it. Verses 14-18 clearly show how adversely this whole incident affected the king, When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, “Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.” So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. 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. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. Thus they betrayed Daniel into the hands of Darius’ reluctant judgment. They spied on Daniel because he did not openly oppose the king’s decree, but in a simple act of civil disobedience in private he continued his regular custom of prayer. We should not be surprised when we face opposition because all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Put a righteous man in a sinful world and you have trouble just like the sparks fly upward. The lion’s pit is just an instrument of the one who goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, that is the devil. It is assured. It is inevitable. It is inescapable. Godliness brings out the worst in the world. But I want you to notice one more lesson that is implicit in this account. Darius might issue an unchangeable decree according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, but there is a greater decree. God decrees whatsoever comes to pass. He is the one really in control. Thus in Daniel’s story there is a different ending written by God than that written by the administrators and the satraps. It is the resurrection from the den.

III The Resurrection from the Den

This brings me to the overcoming. Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den but in the end it is the accusers that are thrown into the lion’s den and Darius issues a decree that Daniel’s god is to be feared and reverenced and Daniel prospers. We read this in the concluding verses, 19-28, At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ 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, “O 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 ever done any wrong before you, O king.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 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. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: “May you prosper greatly! “I issue 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. It should not escape our notice that there is a parallel between the story of Daniel and the story of Jesus. Centuries later there was another innocent man who was put to death and in Matthew 27:62-66 we read, Now on the morrow, which is the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I rise again. Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a guard: go, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them. This too was a resurrection from the lion’s den. Lions are the king of the jungle, and they represent the disordered condition of creation since man’s sin as we read in isaiah 11::6-9 where the new creation in Christ is described, And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. In that sealed den in Babylon what happened was that the power of the age to come, the power of order and peace, that they shall not hurt or destroy in all God’s holy mountain was for a moment revealed as it was in the tomb of Jesus. Within that pit was the holy mount of God. Within that pit was the power for change, the power of the resurrection unleashed in Christ. That my friends is the power that works in us as Paul writes in Ephesians 1:18-21, That ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. What Paul says brings that power from the tomb of Jesus backward to Daniel’s den and forward to your life. You too can overcome like all those people who died from the fires of persecution and in the hungry jaws of lions in the history of the church. They all overcame because whether by life or death they glorified God and they could say for me to  live is Christ and to die is gain. They could say while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord but it is better to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Like Daniel’s three friends they said, “Our God is able to deliver us but if he does not we still will not bow down. Faith is a gift but it is also an act of the will. Daniel exercised faith when he went down into the den. We too have that option.We can act like we believe the promises of God. Let us not excuse ourselves it by saying we have not been given that much faith. We’ve been given as much as we will risk. This is where faith and obedience indiscernibly merge, when we take the promises of God and act upon them. This is overcoming.