INTRODUCTION:
The story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den is one of the most familiar in the Bible. Many of us can recall sitting around that little table in the Children’s Department of the Sunday School…somewhere…listening as our Teacher told about a brave young man who would not disobey God, even if it meant death by lions, and then how God sent His Angel to change the natural desires of the lions, and Daniel was spared death, only to become a mighty man in the kingdom of Darius the Mede.
But in that story lie some extraordinarily meaningful lessons for Christians. These are sometimes missed because Preachers and Teachers of the Word of God have the tendency to leave this Biblical story in the Children’s curriculum for Sunday School or Bible School. But in this Old Testament account are some lessons in character-building that need to be put into place in our lives. In this chapter in Daniel are three significant places that speak of Daniel’s character as a true man of God. And like Daniel, we should have:
1. A WINDOW OF CONSISTENCY. (Daniel 6:10)
“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!”
It becomes obvious to a reader of Scripture that Daniel had made a relentless commitment to God. The key to this character trait in the life of Daniel is found in the closing words of the text verse.
“…as was his custom since early days.”
There are various possibilities for interpreting this part of Daniel’s life experience.
A. One might suggest that “when Daniel knew that the writing was signed,” he used this as an occasion for witnessing. In effect, he shouted: “Hey, all you heathen, I want you to know I am not afraid to pray to my God, and I’ll show you what it means to be a Christian!”
B. Or, we might suggest that Daniel, in Churchillian fashion stuck out his jaw and challenged the people and the leaders of the kingdom of Darius and said, “I advocate civil disobedience, and I’m going to show you a thing or two. I’ll do as I please, and worship my God the way I want to.”
C. Or it could be interpreted in what should be considered the most accurate way. “When Daniel knew that the writing was signed,” he did not alter, did not change the procedure of his devotional life. He simply continued consistently in his devotion, his dedication to God. No demonstration, no great show…just consistency.
Crises did not throw Daniel into a panic mode. He just continued his life with God as he had done since that grand day when he made his commitment to God.
I recall a number of years ago when Central Oregon was experiencing a serious shortage of hay for cattle feeding. A hay buyer who was well known by the farmers of that area was coming through, attempting to buy hay from some of the farmers who knew how to grow the best alfalfa hay. He was attracted to Jim Paulson, one of the finest young farmers in the area. But as he pondered the proposed stop at the Paulson farm, he said to himself, “No sense stopping there today. It is Sunday. Jim and his family are in Church, and wouldn’t sell hay to me today anyway!”
A Window of Consistency! No wonder the Holy Spirit had the writer of Sacred Scripture to insert verse 5 into the record:
“Then these men (Daniel’s accusers) said, ‘We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
Powerful testimony! And we all have the window, but the serious question is: Is our window a window of consistency? Make it personal. Is my life clearly seen by others in its devotion and dedication to God as being consistently Christian? This does not call for civil dis-obedience, or a flamboyant display in order to show the world what fine Christians we are! To the contrary. It is simply the day by day consistency, so that our responses and reactions to life’s situations are predictable. Can we be accused of being loyal to God in the face of whatever comes along? That is the challenge of the window.
2. A DEN OF CONFIDENCE. (Daniel 6:16a)
“So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions.”
The royal order comes. Daniel’s accusers have persuaded the king. Daniel is thrown into the den of hungry, vicious lions. Circumstances prevailing in the law of the Medo-Persian Empire prevented the king from doing otherwise. And after the seal had been place over the opening into the den, the Biblical account gives to us that magnificent view into the deliverance God brought to His servant, Daniel.
Perhaps all of us can recall that famous painting of Daniel, clothed in brown sackcloth, his hands folded serenely in front of him, and looking calmly at the lions. As a source of light filters down through the grating above, landing gently on the motionless but powerful man, the lions seem remote and shadowy and subdued. It is a serene, calm, peaceful, but powerful scene.
Do you recall when your Sunday School Teacher told you the story…as you sat in those little chairs in the Children’s Department? The miracle of God, closing the mouths of the lions, thrilled us. I do not want to detract from that miracle, nor do I want to lessen its impact on our lives. However, the miracle of the Biblical account is not seen in the closed mouths of some hungry, ravenous, vicious lions, upon whom God sent His Angel. For sometimes lions attack viciously, and sometimes they do not. It is true, they might well have devoured Daniel. But they did not. Here is the determination of God and in this we rejoice and praise Him.
The miracle is in the powerful grace of God, as Daniel stood resolutely on the foundation of his commitment to worship and serve God, and never bow to the idols of this world. It is the miracle of grace in the heart that places implicit trust in the God Who declared “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age!” This is Daniel’s “den of confidence!”
And we too have our dens. We may not know where they are, but we have them. Our miracle is the calm, resolute confidence in the God Who walks into the den with us.
3. A PALACE OF CONFIRMATION.
(Daniel 6:16b; 23; 28)
“But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, ‘Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.’ … 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….So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”
Morning comes at last…in the palace as well as in the den. The sleepless king hurries to the pit. He knows now that he has been deceived by his zealous advisors. Without any other reason than Daniel’s consistent life, he calls out to Daniel. The answer came calmly, resolutely, serenely out of the grill in the small opening above the den. Daniel is lifted out, taken to the palace, and was quite obviously blessed by God throughout the rest of his earthly life.
But the “palace of confirmation” provides for us a magnificent witness to the faithfulness of God. King Darius wrote and issued a decree:
“To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. 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. 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.” (Daniel 6:25-27)
In marvelous and mysterious ways God confirms our commitments and our convictions. For Daniel it was recognition in the highest court of the land…the palace of King Darius…Daniel’s Palace of Confirmation!
For you and for me? Our “palace of confirmation” is where we proclaim and practice our Christian witness. It may be in our homes, where the secrets of our hearts are disclosed to those closest to us. It may be in the mingling of our lives with fellow-believers in our Church, where with guarded intentions we share our spiritual insights. It may be in the arena of our work place, where with great caution we live out our lives of quiet conviction, knowing what is appropriate to state openly, and what needs to be reserved only for the character of our convictions.
But when life on planet earth has brought us to the edge, we will burst through the barrier of time into the grand presence of Jesus Christ. Forever we will be in the “palace of HIS confirmation,” knowing that by His blood our sins have been forgiven, our hearts and lives cleansed, and there transported into the glory of heaven we shall live with Him, singing praises to His honor.
But it will not be our day! It will be supremely HIS DAY when all God’s children, from every village and hamlet, from every forest and plain, from every island and desert, from every mountain and valley, the saints of all the ages will join together and blend their voices in the song reserved for the only One worthy to receive the honor, glory, and praise. There, in the land of fadeless day, when all the saints of all the ages come together before His throne, we will be presented faultless, and behold the Lamb of God Who was slain from the foundation of the world, and who sits on the throne of God forever. Finally and forever in “the eternal palace of confirmation!”
