Daniel 6: 1 – 28
Tattle Tales
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; 2 and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. 4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” 6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7 All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. 11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, 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 does not alter.” 13 So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.” 16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” 17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. 18 Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” 23 Now the king was exceedingly 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 injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God. 24 And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den. 25 Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
From our Sunday School days I think we all can remember the story of Daniel in the lions den. In fact probably un-believers are familiar with this story. Today we are going to take a good look at this amazing event. Hopefully, you will take away some new insights given by our Precious Holy Spirit.
To start off, I believe many teachers fail to point out the significance of Daniel’s life as pointed out in the first three verses.
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; 2 and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.
Imagine the possibility of an illegal alien in our country being promoted to Secretary of State. It would seem almost impossible wouldn’t it? Now, consider that the Chinese come and defeat us and take over our country with all their troops and appointed leaders. Now, what would be the possibility of the Chinese taking our illegal alien and appointing him as second in charge of the new administration? If we were doing math we all probably would have a chance of winning the lottery than this scenario coming true. Yet, this is exactly what happened to Daniel. He was taken to Babylon as a young man as part of a treaty between Babylon and Judah. Because of the wisdom our Holy Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High – gave him, he was promoted to lead all the wise men in the nation of Babylon.
As you know from our last study of chapter 5, the Babylonian kingdom was overthrown by the Medo-Persian Empire, which today in the nation of Iran.
In most cases everyone associated with a conquered nation were put to death. Yet, here we see that Darius keeps the former Babylonian leaders in their positions.
I will tell you something that I have observed personally and that is when our Holy Master selects someone to pour out His favor upon, amazing things are done for them and through them. Our Holy Sovereign gave Darius vision and insight to select Daniel as one of the top officials. As we have read, Darius wanted to make Daniel in charge of everything.
Have you ever been at work or at social gatherings and some individuals brag about a person you know. They say how great and awesome the person is. If you are like me, then you have the stirring of jealousy seeping into your thoughts. You think, ‘Hey, what about me. I don’t here you ever saying nice things about me. I do all these things for you and on behalf of you, and you do not even give me the time of day. I don’t want to hear about how great so and so is.’ We see Daniel’s co-workers thinking the same. They figured that they should come up with a plan that would let the king know that this Daniel isn’t so great a leader and person that this obvious naïve ruler has of him.
4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
Thee is no area where jealousy and envy are more apparent that in politics. While Daniel was a co-worker they were reasonably content to put up with him. Now that they heard that he was going to be promoted, well that was unacceptable. So, like the rotten politicians that we have today, they went about to check everything about Daniel in order to find some ‘dirt’ that they could charge him with. The amazing fact was that they couldn’t come up with anything. Daniel was a hard worker, efficient in all his duties, loyal, and honest. These are the traits that the co-regent Darius had already noticed in Daniel.
One Satanic influenced person spoke up and said that there was area in which Daniel was vulnerable. He said, ‘You see, Daniel has more loyalty to His God than he has to king Darius. We need to exploit this fact. Call up CNN and NBC. Give them and all the evil newspapers the story on how unfaithful this appointed slave is to his beneficiaries.’
6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7 All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”
They now put their plan into action. Please note that they convinced the king that every leader, which would include Daniel, were in agreement in the submission of this new law. Their conspiracy was presented as though everyone agreed. The success of this scheme depended on tricking the king. The trick was to appeal to the kings personal pride. ‘Hey king, you know what, we all love you. We want everyone here in this nation to commit to a ‘We love our King’ month. We are so serious about thanking our gods for having you as our ruler, we want to put this in a law that can’t be changed.’
Now, who of us would not have been taken by this plan? We see the king took the bait.
9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
I am sure you have all seen the movie The Sting which stared Paul Newman and Robert Redford. They put together a plan which completely fooled this criminal out of his money as pay back for having killed one of their friends. The movie keeps you in suspense until the end. Here this powerful men thought they also had a perfect sting operation in place.
Have you ever heard of someone reading their own obituary? As a prank or just plain meanness some people have notified the newspapers of a person death when in fact the person was alive. You can just imagine their shock when someone contacted them and notified them that the newspapers are reporting you as dead. In a way I believe this notification of Daniel to the new law was done in a similar fashion. However, I love Daniel’s composure. Look at what he does even after finding how this new law was enacted.
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
Today many bills are signed into law as you well know without anyone having read what is in it. Sometimes these evil politicians and their rotten advisors have thrown some things into the bill that can hurt all Americans.
It is possible that both Daniel and Darius thought that the new law did not forbid private devotions, only outward ceremonies. All Daniel had to do was also continue to pray but keep his windows shut and no one could know what he was doing.
Or it is possible that Daniel didn’t care about what man can do. His heart belonged to the Lord. In the book of Acts chapter 5 we read of a similar incident with the disciples, “17 Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, 18 and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. 19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.” 21 And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, 23 saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!” 24 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. 25 So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” 26 Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!” 29 But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. 31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” 33 When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. 34 Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. 36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. 37 After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. 38 And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; 39 but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.” 40 And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.”
Daniel believed every word in Scripture. When he read the writing of the prophet Jeremiah, he accepted the fact that 70 years were the time frame for Israel to be banished from their land. His prayers acknowledge God’s truth and he sought through intense prayers God’s fulfillment of His prophecy.
In the book of 2 Chronicles Daniel was instructed from the words of king Solomon to face towards Jerusalem. We read about this in the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 6, “12 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands 13 (for Solomon had made a bronze platform five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and he stood on it, knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven); 14 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 15 You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day. 16 Therefore, LORD God of Israel, now keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, only if your sons take heed to their way, that they walk in My law as you have walked before Me.’ 17 And now, O LORD God of Israel, let Your word come true, which You have spoken to Your servant David. 18 “But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple[c] which I have built! 19 Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: 20 that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. 21 And may You hear the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive. 22 “If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comes and takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 23 then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. 24 “Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple, 25 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers. 26 “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place and confess Your name, and turn from their sin because You afflict them, 27 then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; and send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance. 28 “When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; 29 whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: 30 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men), 31 that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. 32 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray in this temple; 33 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name. 34 “When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, 35 then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. 36 “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to a land far or near; 37 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’; 38 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: 39 then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. 40 Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place. 41 “Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your saints rejoice in goodness. 42 “O LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed; Remember the mercies of Your servant David.”
Having accomplished their objective the evil co-workers when to catch Daniel in the act of praying.
11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Sometimes I wonder why they went to all this trouble. They could have just as easily waited a couple of hours and walk back in to the king and tell on Daniel. Here they went to all the trouble of all being witnesses, so I guess they could make sure their spying tales were in order. Now they threw the law back in the kings face.
12 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, 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 does not alter.” 13 So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
Now if have the tendency to think like I do I am already ahead of the story. I am thinking, ‘how come these guys didn’t think that they are going to also get it from the king. Hey, they may be successful in getting Daniel killed but didn’t they at least think of the possibility that the king is going to be mad at them also and do the same to them.
After pondering this possibility, I believe that these wise guys thought that nothing would happen to them because in the past for doing just the very same thing nothing happened. Remember back in chapter 3 of Daniel when his three friends were charged with treason in failing to obey the law of Nebuchadnezzar, look at the ones who were bringing the charges against Daniel’s three friends and what was the result of their conspiracy?
“8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; 11 and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
The answer is that nothing happened to these tattle tales. So, there warped minds did not take into consideration even though this is a different king from a different nation and culture that they would face repercussions. To show you also how blinded these guys were, please notice that they inform king Darius that Daniel is one of the captives from Judah. They were so blind in their jealousy that they failed to realize that they were also captives. Remember, these guys were part of the Babylonian Empire that is now being run by the Medo-Persian rulers. Hello?
The king was not totally deceived by these false aides. He probably understood that they hoodwinked him into signing this bill. He consulted with other advisors to see if there were any loopholes to get Daniel off the hook. However, these evil civil workers had done their home work correctly and there was no way out but to enforce the law.
16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” 17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.
For whatever reason when we look at chapter 3 about the fiery furnace Daniel was missing. His three friends stood bravely and declared boldly that they have but one Lord Who Is worthy to be worshipped. Now it is Daniel’s time to face the ultimate reality of his faith.
We want the Lord to come just in the nick of time and stop the proceedings. But what we learn from chapter 3 and chapter 6, our Lord allows the sentence to be carried out.
We have a law here in the United States that a person cannot face the same punishment twice. It’s called double jeopardy. For example, if you were scheduled to be electrocuted and after they threw the switch, the power went out. They cannot put you through it again.
Daniel and his friends had their sentences carried out and the Lord delivered them in the midst of that execution. In the fiery furnace our Precious Holy Lord Jesus met up with Daniel’s three friends and protected them from death. Here we will see that Daniel is thrown into the lions den and our Lord stops the vicious killer animals from hurting Daniel.
18 Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
You can see that this king really cared for Daniel even though he was a foreigner. His cry to Daniel was to ask if the God Who Daniel professed to be as the only True and Living God was able to save him.
21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” 23 Now the king was exceedingly 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 injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.
Daniel was faithful to the king and let him no about this fact. He was solid in his position andreligious convictions that he would obey God no matter what. Now, we almost want to cheer about what happens to these evil planners, yet what is sad to me is that their whole families will suffer the consequences of their evil schemes. Don’t forget that the king spent a whole sleepless night so I am sure he was planning his vengeance on these guys,.
24 And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.
If you thought that these lions were docile or not hungry the verbiage is right to the point. Everyone was killed as soon as they were thrown into the pit. Not a pretty sight.
Now it was time for the king to correct the matters. He will give recognition to Whom and to only Whom it is deserved and that is to Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High
25 Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
In closing we need to put into our thoughts that our God does not waste anything. Here Daniel had to face wild beasts head on. Guess what? In the chapters that follow, and I know everyone is biting at the bit to go over, Daniel is going to see all kinds of beasts. And our Faithful Creator will continue to guide and protect His own.
