seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Daniel 6:1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 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 into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.
10 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. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 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 human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
13 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.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”
16 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!”
17 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. 18 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.
19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 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?”
21 Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 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, Your Majesty.”
23 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.
24 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.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:
“May you prosper greatly!
26 “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.
27 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.”
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
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Here's the link to the commentary I read.
We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God: These men knew Daniel well. They knew he could not be trapped into evil, but they also knew that he would be faithful to his God in all circumstances. Every Christian should consider if others could say the same about them.
Whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king: If the enemies of Daniel knew him, they also knew Darius. They knew they could appeal to Darius’ pride and his desire for a unified kingdom.
All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together: Daniel’s enemies also knew that people could be persuaded to do things they wouldn’t normally do if they thought everyone else approved of that thing.
Of course, they lied when they said all the governors… have consulted together. We know it was a lie because Daniel was one of the governors and he was not consulted.
So that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians: It was an established principle in the Medo-Persian Empire that when a king formally signed and instituted a decree, it was so binding that not even the king himself could change it.
Prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days: Daniel didn’t let the decree change his actions one way or another. He didn’t do more praying or less; he simply continued his excellent prayer life.
And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself: There is a lot to like about King Darius, and one of the admirable things about him is that he was displeased with himself. Instead of blaming others, he knew that he was at fault. We can be sure that he wasn’t happy with Daniel’s enemies, but he knew that ultimately he was responsible.
The king sealed it: This may have been to protect Daniel as much as to make sure someone didn’t rescue Daniel. Darius knew that Daniel had powerful enemies who might kill him if the lions didn’t.
Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian: Some take this to mean that Darius was Cyrus the Persian. This is one of the three theories about the identity of Darius (mentioned at the beginning of this chapter).
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Daniel and the Lion's Den. We teach our children this story. We clean it up a lot. Our version takes almost all of the terror out of the story. We make the ravenous wild animals appear to be like hungry kittens.
Can you imagine what it would be like to see a couple of wild lions trapped in a hole in the ground? Can you hear them growling and snarling? I'm not sure why they kept wild lions in a pit, but apparently, they did. I would surmise it was like keeping the electric chair around just because someone might need to be executed. If this were the Roman Empire, I would surmise they kept the lions around for sport. You know, like in the gladiator films.
At any rate, these lions would have been hungry. That's what I would surmise, anyway. A well-nourished lion wouldn't be inclined to fight a human. A lion with a full belly would only want to lie down for a while and let his dinner digest.
I wonder, did the men who lowered Daniel into the pit use any special precautions so they didn't get pulled into the pit with him? Did they tie themselves off so they wouldn't be lion food instead of Daniel?
Now to the seal. After they moved the rock over the opening, the king sealed it. They poured wax on the seal, and the king made an imprint of his ring in the wax. That way, during the night, no one could pull Daniel out of harm's way. Daniel was trapped in there with the lions.
The commentary says it was for Daniel's protection as well. If he survived the lions, he wouldn't have to deal with being dragged out, murdered, and then thrown back in. I surmise, as well, they didn't want anyone saying "where's the body?" The bones would survive the night at least.
BUT.... The next morning when the king opened the sealed pit, Daniel was unharmed.
The king gave all the Glory to Daniel's God!
Now for those who still doubt that the animals were still hungry, rest easy. The lions were fed live humans just to prove this was no joke. Before the day was out, the men who conspired to do away with Daniel, along with their families, were offered to the lions instead of Daniel. The ravenous lions got those humans before they reached the bottom of the pit. Yes, the lions were hungry.
Darius, or Cyrus, signed an executive order to have "any man" put in the lion's den for bowing to another human or another god. It was written that way to assure that Daniel would be executed. Apparently, Darius, or Cyrus, didn't read the words of the executive order. If he had read it, he would have realized what he was doing would be playing into the deceitful hands of men who were jealous of Daniel. But he scrawled his big old signature on the document, and took pride in the premise that everyone would be showing him all respect. Then he slammed his ring into the hot wax to seal Daniel's fate. He regretted it but it was his duty. Executive Orders and Proclamations could not be taken lightly.
To Darious's [or Cyrus's] relief... Daniel survived without a scratch.
Daniel prayed; the lions listened.
This is the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den!
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