Daniel Chapter 6a Series

Daniel – Chapter 6a

Chapter 6 Outline

I. A Dawn of Devotion

II. A Morning of Deception (6:1-9)

a. Daniel’s Appraisal (6:1-3)

b. Delegation’s Anger (6:4-8)

c. Darius’ Agreement (6:9)

III. A Noon of Decision (6:10-13)

a. The Commitment (6:10-11)

b. The Conspiracy (6:12-13)

IV. An Evening of Disappointment (6:14-17)

a. The King’s Labour (6:14)

b. The Medo-Persian Law (6:15)

c. The Den of Lions (5:16-17)

V. A Night of Deliverance (6:18-23)

a. The Misery of the King (6:18-19)

b. The Miracle of God (6:20-22)

c. The Morale of Daniel (6:23)

VI. A Morning of Destruction (6:24)

VII. A Future of Decisions (6:25-28)

a. The Potentate’s Cry (6:25)

b. The People’s Choice (6:26-27)

c. The Prophet’s Completion (6:28)

Message

Have you heard the story of the forty martyrs of Sebaste? In the famed Twelfth Legion of Rome’s Imperial Army there were forty soldiers who professed their faith in Jesus Christ. One day their captain informed them that Emperor Licinius had sent out an edict commanding all soldiers to offer a sacrifice to pagan gods. These Christian warriors said, "You can have our armour and even our bodies, but our hearts’ allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ."

Because of their stance they were marched onto a frozen lake in the midwinter of A.D. 320 and stripped of their clothes. At any time they could renounce Christ and be spared from death. Instead, they huddled close together and sang their song of victory, "Forty martyrs for Christ." That freezing night saw thirty nine men fall to their icy graves. When there was but one man left he stumbled to the shore and renounced Christ. As the officer in charge of guarding these men listened to their singing, he had secretly come to believe in Christ. He immediately replaced the man who had renounced Jesus and he walked out onto the ice. He threw off his clothes and confessed his faith in Christ. At sunrise the Roman soldiers found forty men who gave their all for the cause of Christ. Those forty brave men demonstrated a faith that was consistent.

Daniel was a man who possessed a consistent faith. As a young man he was Separated – Chapter 1. As a middle aged man he was Sold Out – Chapter 5 As an older man, he was Surrendered – Chapter 6 [Pastor Alan Carr – www.sermonnotebook.org]

In Chapter 6 of Daniel we will spend a day in the life of the Prime Minister of Medeo-Persia. Remember, Daniel is no longer a teenager at this point of his life – he is well into his eighties. This just proves that age is no barrier to serving Christ.

I. A Dawn of Devotion

So how did Daniel begin each day? He prayed to the Lord. We are told in Daniel 6:10 that he prayed three times a day, Psalm 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

Daniel started each and every day with the Lord, and it’s a good thing that he did with the amount of trials and tests that came his way.. “Watch and pray!” was our Lord’s warning.

How important it is to start the day with the Lord.

Abraham had this habit - Genesis 19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:

David did - Psalm 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

So did our Lord Jesus Christ - Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

II. A Morning of Deception (6:1-9)

a. Daniel’s Appraisal (6:1-3)

In these verses we can see that there were actually 124 people involved in ruling the kingdom – Darius the king, three presidents (of which Daniel was Number 1) and 120 princes. We see that Darius was so impressed with Daniel that he was planning to make him the official second ruler.

A wise leader first gathers information, and Darius soon learned about Daniel and the reputation he had for honesty and wisdom, the Bible says that Daniel had an excellent spirit. The king appointed Daniel as one of the three presidents and their role was to manage the affairs of the affairs of the 120 princes and they reported directly to the king.

b. Delegation’s Anger (6:4-8)

Verse 4-5

The problem with Eastern courts was that they were always hotbeds of bribery and corruption with people in power feathering their own nests. That is why the people under Daniel came to hate him. He stood in the way of them lining their own pockets.

He set a steady pace and it was hard for some of them to keep up with him. There would be no slacking under his eagle eye and no chance to cook the books and siphon off some extra cash to be deposited in a safe place until needed.