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A NIGHT WITH THE LIONS |
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This scene in
the Bible is perhaps one of the most familiar in the entire Bible.
It is one that we heard and learned as children. It is the story of
Daniel in the Lion’s den. I love the imagination of Clarence
Macartney in his book Great
Nights of the Bible.
He paints this picture:
“Mother, what
makes the lions roar so loudly tonight?” The Babylonian mother
clasped her child to her breast and answered: “Because for three
days they have not been fed. The lions are famished; they are
hungry. That is why they roar so loud.”
All through the
day those who live within a mile of the den of lions can hear the
savage beasts roar. Mad with hunger, they pace restlessly up and
down in their den, lashing their tawny hides with their tails,
uncovering their cruel fangs and every now and then laying their jaw
to the ground and emitting a frightful, earth-shaking roar. But at
eventide, when night has come down over Babylon and its hanging
gardens, and the wind whispers among the willow trees along the
banks of the broad Euphrates, there is silence in the den of lions.
No longer do they roar.
“Mother, where
are the lions? I do not hear them roaring now.”
“No, child,”
answered the mother, “the lions have been fed. That is why they do
not roar. Now they are asleep.”
Yes; now the
lions were quiet. They had ceased to shake the earth with their
roars; but not because they had partaken of food, for when food was
offered them they had refused it. It was the first time the lions
had ever refused to eat.
Daniel’s night
in the den of lions is another wonderful example of God’s power and
what He can do in the life of those who serve Him. In our last study
we looked at verses 1-11 and thought about the testimony of Daniel.
We saw in the events that transpire that Daniel lived a contagious,
consistent, and clean Christian life.
As we look at
the events of verses 12-28 we see that living for God does not
always shelter us adversity. God doesn’t always stop bad things from
happening to good people. However, God is always faithful, as is so
gloriously demonstrated in Daniel’s case.
Let’s look at
this familiar story and let’s start by thinking about:
1. THE
DECEPTION OF THE PRINCES
In our last
study we saw how Daniel was given a place of authority exceeded only
by the king himself. We read in verses 1-3,
“1 It pleased
Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which
should be over the whole kingdom; 2 And over these three
presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the
princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should
have no damage. 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above
the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him;
and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
Daniel’s reward
for the excellent spirit that was in him was not without its critics
and haters. The green-eyed monster of jealously took possession of
their hearts. I think of a quote I came across by the comedian Jeff
Foxworthy: “I have never been jealous. Not even when my dad finished
fifth grade a year before I did.” In the case of the princes, they
were all jealous of Daniel’s position and prosperity.
Clarence
Macartney said: “When one man is going up, and others are slipping
down, or when they themselves cannot make the grade, you can count
on it that some of them will try to vent their spleen and envy upon
the man who is going up.”
Venting their
spleen and envy they did. In their jealously they decided to take
certain steps to hurt Daniel. Think back to our last study and:
A) The Plan That
Was Staged
These jealous
princes tried to find something in Daniel’s life in which they could
discredit him before the king. They could find nothing. They knew
that the only way they could lay a finger on him was
“concerning the law of his
God” (Vs. 5). So, they came up with a plan.
In an act of
deception they were before the king and pretended they were
interested in honoring the king. We read in verse 7,
“All the presidents of the
kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the
captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and
to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any
God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast
into the den of lions.” I can see the king’s head swell at such
a thought. I can hear him say, “Well, what a nice thought fellows. I
appreciate that. Sounds like a good idea to me. Let’s do it.”
The king signed
the decree and it became law. The decree was posted on the palace
walls and throughout the city. Criers proclaimed it the citizens of
The truth is
Daniel couldn’t go thirty minutes without praying. We read in verse
10, “Now when Daniel knew
that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows
being open in his chamber toward
Once the stage
was set all they had to do was wait. It was not long before Daniel
gave them what they wanted. He violated the king’s decree. With his
disobedience we see:
B) The Plan That
Was Sprung
The moment
Daniel disobeyed the king’s decree they made a beeline to the king.
We read in verse 12,
“Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the
king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that
shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of
thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered
and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and
Persians, which altereth not.” They said, “King did you not sign
into law such a decree?” The king not knowing what was behind their
question answered in the affirmative.
Then with glee
they said to the king, “That
Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of
In a split
second the king knew that he had been deceived. We read in verse 14,
“Then the king, when he heard
these words, was sore displeased with himself.” He had great
respect for Daniel and he knew that he had been duped.
The actions of
the princes remind us of the depths a jealous and spiteful person
will go. They had only one goal and that was to destroy Daniel. I
have seen people lie and do almost anything to hurt others. How sad
when one allows their heart to become so infested with jealously,
hatred, and envy.
Dr. W. L.
Watkinson was right when he said, “Jealously is fatal to those who
cherish it, for it will transform the noble into monsters.”
Another has said that,
“Envy’s a coal coming hissing hot from hell.” It had turned these
princes into monsters. Like a coal hissing hot from hell, Daniel was
the object of their jealously and they created their plot to have
him destroyed.
Not only do we
see the deception of the princes, but we also see:
2. THE
DISTRESS OF THE KING
The king,
although he loved and had the greatest respect for Daniel, knew that
his princes had put him into a bind. He had even stated in verse 12
that according to the law of the Medes and Persians, such a decree
could not be rescinded. The moment he had signed the decree it
became an irreversible law. Daniel would have to be thrown into the
den of lions.
We read in verse
14 that the king “was sore
displeased with himself.” He kicked himself for being deceived
by the princes and for falling for their plot. He had had the wool
pulled over his eyes, a pawn in their game, and he was greatly
agitated that he had been so blind to their scheme.
The hours that
followed created great distress for the king. First, there was a:
A) A Fruitless
Day
We read in verse
14 that the king “set his
heart on Daniel to deliver him.” He determined that he would do
everything he could to prevent Daniel from having to be cast into
the den of lions. Verse 14 adds that
“he labored till the going
down of the sun to deliver him.” Darius spent the whole day
trying to change the outcome.
I am sure he
called all of his legal experts in to see if they could find a
loophole by which he could deliver Daniel from execution. Maybe
there was a precedent that could be found that allowed the king to
reverse a law he had signed into being.
It was all in
vain for we read in verse 15 that the princes reminded him of that
the law was irreversible:
“Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king,
Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no
decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.”
All of his
efforts were in vain. The king had no choice but to carry out the
law he had enacted. We read in verse 16,
“Then the king commanded, and
they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions.” In
spite of all he tried, it had been a fruitless day.
After Daniel was
thrown into the den of lions certain procedures were taken. We read
in verse 17, “And a stone was
brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it
with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the
purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.”
The stone was
placed over the den so that Daniel could not escape. No doubt it was
a very heavy stone making it impossible for Daniel to move it.
The king placed
his seal upon the tomb thereby guaranteeing that no one else would
attempt to free Daniel. The highest crime that one could commit was
to break the king’s seal. Even the seals of his lords were added as
further security. Every step was taken to insure that Daniel could
not be delivered from the fate that awaited him.
Add to his
fruitless day was:
B) A Restless
Night
We read in verse
18, “Then the king went to
his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments
of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.”
He had no desire to eat. It was the custom for the king to be
entertained and have music during his dinner but on this night he
was not interested. He tried to sleep, but rolled and tossed all
night. I would say it was the longest night of his life. All he
could think about was Daniel in the den of lions.
Matthew Henry
wrote: “He went to his palace, vexed at himself for what he
had done, and calling himself unwise and unjust for not adhering to
the law of God and nature…He ate no supper, but passed the night
fasting; his heart was already full of grief and fear. He
forbade the music; nothing is more unpleasing that songs sung to a
heavy heart. He went to bed, but got no sleep, was full of
tossings to and fro till the dawning of the day. Note, the best
way to have a good night is to keep a good conscience, then we may
lie down in peace.”
Someone has said
that a good conscience is a soft pillow. True, but a bad conscience
makes a hard bed. Just as Darius. He knew the sting of an accusing
conscience.
There were the
princes and the king, but there was also Daniel. From the time he
had arrived in
3. THE
DELIVERANCE OF DANIEL
Just before
Darius had Daniel thrown into the den of lions he made a wonderful
statement. In verse 16 we read,
“Now
the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest
continually, he will deliver thee.” First, he spoke of the
consistency of the life Daniel lived. Even in the face of execution,
Daniel lived for God and the king took note of this.
Then he said to
Daniel, “Thy God…will deliver thee.” Let me paraphrase what the king
said: “Daniel, I have done everything I can to keep this from
happening but I have no choice. But I believe your God will take
care of you.” Darius was absolutely right. God did deliver Daniel.
Notice with me:
A) His
Preservation
After rolling
and tossing all night and walking the floor, early the next morning
the king went to check on Daniel. We read in verses 19-20,
“19 Then the king
arose every early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of
lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a
lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel,
O Daniel, a servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest
continually able to deliver thee from the lions?” A “lamentable
voice” speaks of a voice filled with anguish.
He asks, “Is
you’re able?” Is He able? That’s like asking if water is wet or fire
is hot. Is He able? Oh, yes he is able. Verse 21 says,
“Then said Daniel unto the
king, O king, live for ever.” Let me give you a Trivette
translation. Daniel said, “King, I am down here shouting the
victory.
We read in verse
22, “My God hath sent his
angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me:
forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before
thee, O king, have I done no hurt.” Daniel says, “I am fine. In
fact I even had some company for the night.
One writer
describes it this way:
As the guards
closed the aperture and went their way, Daniel slid gradually to the
floor of the den. The big lions that had come bounding from their
caverns at the inflow of light, all stopped suddenly short as a
steed reined up by a powerful hand on the bridle. The initial roars
died away as they formed a solid phalanx and looked toward this man
who stood in their den in easy reach. There was some snorting and a
little whining, and some of them turned around and went back to
their caverns.
Others of the
great beasts yawned and lay down on the floor, but not one made a
move to advance toward their visitor. “Thanks be unto Jehovah,”
breathed the prophet, “He hath stopped the mouth of these fierce
beats that they will do me no harm.” He sat down on the floor of the
den and leaned his back against the wall to make himself more
comfortable for the night.
Soon two cubs
moved in his direction, not stealthily or crouching as though to
make an attack, but on obvious friendliness, and one lay on each
side of Daniel as though to give him warmth and protection in the
chilly dungeon. Presently their mother, an old lioness, crept over
and lay in front of the prophet. He gently strokes their backs as
they each turned their heads and licked his hand….Enclosed by the
lioness and her cubs, the head of the patriarch was gradually
pillowed on the back of one of the cubs as the four slept soundly in
perfect peace and tranquility.
There was not on
scratch or mark on Daniel. We read in verse 23,
“Then was the king exceeding
glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of
the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of
hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”
Take special note of the
words, “because he believed in his God.” Daniel was never worried
for one moment. He believed that God would take care of him. God is
able, therefore we can trust him in every situation of life. God
delivered Daniel and He can deliver us!
Also notice:
B) His
Vindication
We read in verse
24, “And the king commanded,
and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast
them into the den
of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had
the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever
they came at the bottom of the den.” The every ones that had
plotted and connived to have Daniel destroyed ended up being
destroyed themselves. Before their bodies ever hit the floor they
were being ripped apart by the lions.
God saw to it
that not only was Daniel preserved, but his good name as well.
Daniel had honored God and now God had honored him.
The whole affair
resulted in ultimately God getting the praise and glory for all that
happened. We read in verses 25-27,
“25 Then
king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that
dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I
make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and
fear before the God of Daniel: for he
is the living God,
and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom
that which shall
not be destroyed, and his dominion
shall be even unto
the end. 27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he
worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered
Daniel from the power of the lions.”
God may let us
go through the lions den, but it ultimately to bring Him glory! © 2008 by the Living Word |
