Daniel: An Epitome of Faithfulness and Steadfastnest
Study Text: Daniel 6: 1 - 28
Introduction:
- Daniel was taken captive to Babylon, but he was faithfully serving the Lord and taking his stand for that which is right.
- He lived in Babylon for many years, and he did not veered from the course he started on as a young man. He was still faithfully serving the God Who saved him by his grace.
- It seems that all his faithfulness to God was to draw the jealousy of his peers: He suffered the hatred of the ungodly, a plot against his life, and a death sentence in a lion’s den.
- But, through it all, Daniel rolled on. He remained faithful in spite of the changes going on around him.
- In this passage, Daniel was cast into a lion’s den. He was sentenced to die for doing nothing more than being faithful to his God.
- While Daniel faced a terrible sentence, he held fast to what made him a great man. Daniel remained steadfast and faithful.
- We can learn a lot of things from his life and conlude on our own that it is possible to be faithful in spite of what others around us are doing.
- We shall discuss this topic under four subheadings:
1. The Character of Daniel
2. The Choices of Daniel
3. The Challenges of Daniel
4. The Conquest of Daniel
I. The Character of Daniel V. 1-9
- He was brought to Babylon as a young man, enslaved, taken from his home and his people, and trained in the ways of the Babylonian court.
- He has been faithful to God, and God has blessed Daniel’s faithfulness, causing Daniel to find favor with every pagan king he served.
- After 70 years of faithful service, this former slave has become Prime Minister of the most powerful government in the world.
- God always honors faithful service. He may never promote you in the eyes of men, but He sees everything you do for Him. He keeps perfect records, and one day, you will be rewarded accordingly. Rev. 22:12.
- The other rulers of the kingdom were jealous of Daniel and sought to destroy him. After all, he was a Hebrew, and a slave, and they were Babylonians.
- So, they played to the vanity of the king and they devised a plan to get Darius to make a law that no one could pray to any God or even make a request of any person for 30 days.
- If you stop to think about it, the law was utterly absurd, yet, Darius signed it because it fed his pride and boosted his ego.
- Daniel’s problem was that he was faithful to the Lord, and the unbelievers around him hated him for it. They despised him because he was different, he was honest and he was real.
- Daniel was everything they could not be, and they could not stand him because of it. Thus, they devised a plan to get rid of him.
- You might as well know that if you are going to live for the Lord, some people around you are not going to like it. Those who do not know the Lord will always look for ways to attack those who are faithful to Him. 2 Tim. 3:12.
- Let them do what they will. Let them hate us, fight us, and try to silence us. But, regardless of what they do, let us determine in our hearts that we will do like Daniel and remain faithful!
- Beyond that, when the other presidents of the kingdom wanted to find some deficiency in Daniel that they might attack, they could find nothing wrong in his life at all.
- There were no skeletons in his closet. There was nothing hidden in his life. He was an open book. Daniel was faithful and faultless. That was his testimony among the lost. They could find nothing wrong in his life.
- They knew that Daniel was a man of prayer, so they moved Darius to suspend prayer for 30 days.
- They knew that Daniel would pray anyway. They saw that as their opportunity to have Daniel executed. That was what they were counting on, and they were not disappointed.
- Before we move on, let’s pause to ask ourselves this question: what is hidden in your life?
• If every secret were brought into the open, are there things there that would make you ashamed?
• Are there things there that would embarrass you or your family?
• Are there things there that would bring dishonor upon the church, the Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Heavenly Father?
- If there are hidden sins, thoughts, and problem in the heart, they need to be brought out before the Lord and dealt with His way.
- His way is through confession and repentance. When we do it His way, the sin is forgiven, the heart is cleansed and the shame is taken away. 1 John 1: 9
II. The Choices of Daniel V. 10-11
- When the king signed the decree, Daniel was faced with a choice. Should he remain faithful to the Lord, or should he bow to the vanity of the king?
- Daniel simply did what he had always done; he remained faithful to the Lord. Let us consider the choices he made:
1. He chose Obedience to God over Opportunities in the world:
- Daniel did not open his windows to draw attention to himself as he prayed. The windows were already opened.
- All Daniel did was bow down before the Lord and pray. It was the Lord’s will for Daniel to be faithful, and that’s what he did.
2. He chose Faithfulness to God over the Favor of the king:
- For Daniel, the decree of Darius changed nothing. He simply went before the Lord and prayed and gave thanks three times a days “as he did aforetime.”
- He remained faithful in spite of the will of a human king.
3. He chose Devotion to God over the Decree of the king :
- The decree was only for 30 days. For many, they could have simply not prayed for that period of time.
- Not Daniel. His faith in the Lord would not allow him to be anything less than what the Lord wanted him to be, even for a mere 30 days.
4. He chose Bowing before God to Bowing before his enemies:
- The desire of Daniel’s enemies was to bring him down, they would have left him alone if Daniel would have adopted the ways and religion of Babylon.
- But, Daniel refused to bow to their will. He chose instead to remain faithful to his God.
5. He chose Faithfulness over Freedom:
- Daniel was willing to give up his position, his wealth, and his power, but he was not willing to give up his commitment to the Lord
6. He chose Character over Comfort:
- Daniel was willing to die a horrible death in a lion’s den, but he would not sacrifice his character.
- Daniel was determined to stand for the Lord regardless of the consequences. He was determined to remain faithful whatever the cost, and for Daniel, the cost would be very high.
- The church would be a vastly different place today if church members had the same kind of commitment to the things of God that Daniel had. We allow everything in the world to come between us and our faithfulness to the Lord.
- Sunday School, Sunday morning worship, , mid-week worship, youth meeting, revival meeting, etc., have all become optional activities for the modern church member.
- Most Christians do not pray like they should. They do not read their Bibles daily. They do not witness. Many are willing to sacrifice their testimonies, and their commitment to the Lord on the altar of convenience, pleasure and worldly ambition.
- Where are the faithful Christians who would rather die than dishonor their Lord? Where are the dedicated, committed believers who are determined to be faithful unto death? If you were face with Daniel’s dilemma, what would you do?
III. The Challenges of Daniel V. 12-17
- When Daniel’s enemies saw him praying before the Lord, they took their accusation to the king. They accused Daniel and demanded that the king honor the law of the land.
- The fact is, Daniel broke the law of the king. But Daniel did not break the Law of the Lord. Daniel did what the Lord commanded, even when it contradicted what the government demanded.
- We might face that same dilemma in the future. Romans 13 teaches us to obey the rulers of the land and their laws, but when their laws contradict God’s law, we must do what God says, regardless of the consequences.
- So, Daniel was taken and cast into the lion’s den. Everyone was certain that Daniel was a dead man.
- In the eyes of everyone, Daniel was a dead man. Verse 16 indicates that the king at least had confidence in Daniel and in Daniel’s God. He believed that the God Daniel served would take care of Daniel.
- We should live the kind of lives that touch the people who live around us. Whether it is a pagan king, or just our neighbor, our faith should ring true and point them to the Lord.
- Whether they believe in our Lord or not, they should know that we do, and they should be able to see His hand working in our lives.
IV. The Conquest of Daniel V. 18-28
- When Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den, Darius returns to his palace. There, surrounded by his wealth, his servants and his finery, he passes the night in fear.
- He wrestles with sleep until dawn, then he races to the lion’s den to check on Daniel. With a voice trembling with fear, he calls out to Daniel, hoping against hope that Daniel has managed to survive the night.
- Daniel answers the king and relates the glorious news that God has intervened in his life. God sent His angel. The angel shut the mouths of the lions and they did not attack him,
- Daniel attributes God’s gracious protection to the fact that he was an innocent man. Daniel is immediately taken up out of the lion’s den and examined.
- An incredible, seemingly impossible miracle has taken place. Daniel, with the supernatural help of God has survived the lion’s den.
- The men who falsely accused Daniel, along with their entires families, were taken and thrown into the lion’s den. They were not spared. Before they ever reach the bottom of the pit, the lions attack and kill those who dared stand against the man of God.
- King Darius was overwhelmed by what has taken place here. He makes a decree that exalts the Lord God Almighty. He commands everyone in hide kingdom to bow before the mighty God of Daniel.
- He declares God to be the living God; a God of power and glory; possessing an eternal kingdom. This chapter ends with Daniel being exalted even higher in the kingdom.
Conclusion:
- We can see in this story that God honors faithfulness. Because Daniel remained faithful to God, even to the point of death, God was with him and delivered him from his enemies, from the decrees of the king, and from the power of the lions.
- Daniel succeeded because Daniel was faithful to the Lord. Because he was faithful, God gave him victory over the decree, the den of lions, Darius, the dark, his detractors and even over Daniel himself.
- We may never face a den of lions. We may never face a burring fiery furnace like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did. But, we might face some of the trials other saints of God have been called on to endure.
- We might face times of sickness, sorrow, distress, persecution, death, and hardship. Through it all, the Lord simply demands that we be steadfast and faithful.
- There is so much more that He has promised to do for us, just because He loves us and because we are His people. All He asks us to be is be faithful.
- There is one sentence every child of God wants to hear the Lord say to us at the end of the way. That sentence is: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord,” Matt. 25:21.
