Daniel
and the Lions
Daniel
6
1Darius
thought it would be a good idea to choose one hundred twenty
governors who would rule his kingdom. 2He chose three
men as supervisors over
those governors, and Daniel was one of
the supervisors. The supervisors were to
ensure that the
governors did not try to cheat the king. 3Daniel showed
that he
could do the work better than the other supervisors and
governors, so the king
planned to put Daniel in charge of the
whole kingdom. 4Because of this, the other
supervisors
and governors tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel about his work
in the government. But they could not find anything wrong with
him or any
reason to accuse him, because he was trustworthy and
not lazy or dishonest.
5Finally these men said, “We
will never find any reason to accuse Daniel unless
it is about
the law of his God.”
6So
the supervisors and governors went as a group to the king and said:
“King
Darius, live forever! 7The supervisors,
assistant governors, governors, the people
who advise you, and
the captains of the soldiers have all agreed that you should
make
a new law for everyone to obey: For the next thirty days no one
should
pray to any god or human except to you, O king. Anyone who
doesn’t obey will
be thrown into the lions’ den. 8Now,
O king, make the law and sign your name to
it so that it cannot
be changed, because then it will be a law of the Medes and
Persians
and cannot be canceled.” 9So King Darius signed the law.
10Even
though Daniel knew that the new law had been written, he went to
pray in an upstairs room in his house, which had windows that
opened toward
Jerusalem. Three times each day Daniel would kneel
down to pray and thank
God, just as he always had done.
11Then
those men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God
for help. 12So they went to the king and talked to him
about the law he had made.
They said, “Didn’t you sign a law
that says no one may pray to any god or human
except you, O king?
Doesn’t it say that anyone who disobeys during the next
thirty
days will be thrown into the lions’ den?”
The king
answered, “Yes, that is the law, and the laws of the Medes and
Persians cannot be canceled.”
13Then
they said to the king, “Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is
not
paying attention to you, O king, or to the law you signed.
Daniel still prays to his
God three times every day.” 14The
king became very upset when he heard this.
He wanted to save
Daniel, and he worked hard until sunset trying to think of a
way
to save him.
15Then
those men went as a group to the king. They said, “Remember, O
king, the law of the Medes and Persians says that no law or
command given by
the king can be changed.”
16So
King Darius gave the order, and Daniel was brought in and thrown into
the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May the God you
serve all the time save
you!” 17A big stone was
brought and placed over the opening of the lions’ den.
Then the
king used his signet ring and the rings of his royal officers to put
special
seals on the rock. This ensured that no one would move
the rock and bring Daniel
out. 18Then King Darius went
back to his palace. He did not eat that night, he did
not have
any entertainment brought to him, and he could not sleep.
19The
next morning King Darius got up at dawn and hurried to the lions’
den.
20As he came near the den, he was worried. He
called out to Daniel, “Daniel,
servant of the living God! Has
your God that you always worship been able to
save you from the
lions?”
21Daniel
answered, “O king, live forever! 22My God sent his angel
to close
the lions’ mouths. They have not hurt me, because my
God knows I am innocent.
I never did anything wrong to you, O
king.”
23King
Darius was very happy and told his servants to lift Daniel out of the
lions’ den. So they lifted him out and did not find any injury
on him, because
Daniel had trusted in his God.
24Then
the king commanded that the men who had accused Daniel be brought
to
the lions’ den. They, their wives, and their children were thrown
into the den.
The lions grabbed them before they hit the floor of
the den and crushed their
bones.
25Then
King Darius wrote a letter to all people and all nations, to those
who
spoke every language in the world:
I wish you great
peace and wealth.
26I
am making a new law for people in every part of my kingdom. All of
you
must fear and respect the God of Daniel.
Daniel’s God is the living God;
he lives forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his rule will never end.
27God rescues and saves people
and does mighty miracles
in heaven and on earth.
He is the one who saved Daniel
from the power of
the lions.
28So
Daniel was successful during the time Darius was king and when Cyrus
the Persian was king.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version
SITUATION
Daniel's enemies coveted his job and
sought to destroy him. They developed a clever scheme to force the
king to kill Daniel, but God rescued him.
OBSERVATION
God protects those who remain faithful
to him. Daniel was not ashamed of his faith and did his best to
serve God and the king faithfully.
INSPIRATION
I recently read a story of a woman who
for years was married to a harsh husband. Each day he would leave her
a list of chores to complete before he returned at the end of the
day. "Clean the yard. Stack the firewood. Wash the windows.... "
If she didn't complete the tasks, she
would be greeted with his explosive anger. But even if she did
complete the list, he was never satisfied; he would always find
inadequacies in her work.
After several years, the husband passed
away. Some time later she remarried, this time to a man who lavished
her with tenderness and adoration.
One day, while going through a box of
old papers, the wife discovered one of her first husband's lists. And
as she read the sheet, a realization caused a tear of joy to splash
on the paper.
"I'm still doing all these things,
and no one has to tell me. I do it because I love him."
That is the unique characteristic of
the new kingdom. Its subjects don't work in order to go to heaven;
they work because they are going to heaven. Arrogance and fear are
replaced with gratitude and joy. (From The Applause of Heaven
by Max Lucado)
APPLICATION
Because you love God, give honor to
those in positions of leadership. Avoid telling cutting jokes about
the president. Don't gossip about your boss. Give policemen proper
respect. In this way, others may see your love for God.
EXPLORATION
Faith-Psalm 27:1; 118:5-9; Habakkuk
2:4; Mark 9:23.
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