Facing The Lions

HoHum:

There is a story about a college student who was desperately in need of a summer job. He discovered the local zoo was looking for help. He couldn’t think of a more creative way to spend the summer, but he wasn’t prepared for the job description. When he went to apply, the zookeeper explained that they had recently lost their gorilla. “You just can’t have a zoo with a gorilla,” the zookeeper said. “We are expecting a new gorilla by the end of the summer, but, in the meantime, we need someone to dress the part. We’ll pay you well.” The young student was hesitant, but he needed the money, so he agreed. After a couple of hours in the gorilla suit, he found himself almost enjoying the job. But in the awkward costume he could not always see where he was going, and he accidentally stumbled into the lion’s cage. The lion roared violently, throwing the college student into a panic. “Help!” he screamed. “Help! I’m a man in here! I’m a man in this gorilla suit!” Then he heard a voice from inside the lion whisper, “Oh shut up! You’ll get us both fired!” In reality it would be impossible for a human to imitate the roar of the king of the jungle. A lion’s roar has been heard 5 miles away! If we have ever stood near a lion when he roars, the sound will vibrate through our whole body. It is a powerful roar that is used by the lion to strike a paralyzing fear into his prey. The prey of the lion has reason to be afraid. A hungry lion can eat 30% of his body weight in one sitting. That’s like an average man eating 200 quarter pound hamburgers for lunch! If the lion is hungry enough, he is not beyond attacking a human being, and he possesses the strength of 14 men. The Old Testament story of Daniel and the lion’s den is familiar to many, but it takes on added significance when one considers the immense power of a lion. Daniel could have been expected to react with terror when he was thrown into that den, but he faced the beasts with courage. Let’s look back at story

WBTU:

Daniel was a Jewish man who was taken from his homeland at a young age and forced to live in the pagan land of Babylon. Daniel was a foreigner- he would have talked differently, behaved differently, perhaps even dressed differently, and he practiced a different faith from the pagans around him. Yet Daniel withstood the peer pressure and remained faithful to his God for many years. Daniel was probably about 90 years by the time of Daniel 6. Read Daniel 6:1-2. The Babylonian kingdom had recently been conquered by the new world ruler, Darius the Mede. Daniel had been a high ranking ruler in Babylon and King Darius liked Daniel so much that Darius decided to make him one of his 3 top advisers. Daniel was so successful that he was about to become the 2nd most powerful man in the world. Read vs. 3. The other politicians couldn’t handle Daniel’s success. They began plans for a smear campaign. Read vs. 4. Nothing about Daniel’s past, nothing about his personal life, and nothing about his work ethic was scandalous. Read vs. 5. Daniel’s only idiosyncrasies emerged from his faith. His enemies knew they would only find something wrong with Daniel if they could find something wrong with his faith. That gave someone a cunning idea. Read vs. 6-7. It is difficult to know how they could have persuaded King Darius to do such an egotistical thing. Probably made it a patriotic and loyalty thing. They convinced King Darius to put the decree in writing, which meant, according to the Law of the Medes and Persians, that even the king himself could not repeal the law. They had stroked the king’s ego, and he bit the bait. It seemed that Daniel was in a dilemma. Would he compromise his faith to maintain his political viability? Would he stop his practice of praying 3 times a day until the month had passed? Would he continue to pray, but do it in secret? No, not Daniel! Daniel did the same thing he did every day. Even though he knew his enemies would be policing his every move, he boldly continued his praying. Read vs. 10. Yes, Daniel was dragged before the king, and with much regret King Darius sent Daniel to the den of lions. Daniel should have been trembling with fright. There may have been as many as 40 lions in the pit where Daniel was thrown. When a lions’ den was used for capital punishment, the lions would be kept hungry in anticipation of an execution. Daniel did not expect to live- unless God intervened. Yet there is no hint that Daniel was afraid. He faced what seemed to be death courageously. Read vs. 18-22. King Darius was ecstatic, and immediately repented of the ungodly decree he had established. Read vs. 23-24. It is possible that all 122 of the administrators and satraps were thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children! And they were mauled before they reached the ground! That shows the awesome power of hungry lions, but what is more important, it proves the miraculous power of the Almighty God, who shut the mouths of those same lions to protect his servant Daniel. King Darius then issued a new decree, commanding that all people fear and reverence Daniel’s God. Read vs. 26-27