Daniel: No Backing Down

Daniel 6

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. Moses. David. ELIJAH. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

While Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced the fiery furnace, Daniel served in another area. Because he had been given the gift of interpreting dreams and visions, Nebuchadnezzar appointed him "chief of the magicians . . . because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel…." (Dan. 5:12).

From the fiery furnace of Daniel 3, fast-forward sixty-six years. By the time we arrive at Daniel 6, the Persian Empire has conquered Babylon, and a sixty-two-year-old man named Darius is in charge. As often happens during a regime change, he reorganized the kingdom's administrative structure.

Daniel is now over eighty years old and still going strong. Darius chose him to be one of his three chief officials. As a result, he "became distinguished above all the other high officials . . . because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom" (Dan. 6:3).

Distinguished above all others because of an excellent spirit—wouldn't you want to be described that way?

Daniel's high position in leadership stirred jealousy among the other officials, and they were determined to bring him down. The problem was that "they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him" (Dan. 6:4). By this point, Daniel had likely served in public office for over fifty years, yet there was no "dirt" to uncover. Unable to discredit his character, they chose instead to target his commitment and devotion to Yahweh.

The leaders appealed to the king's vanity with a plan requiring that, for thirty days, no god could be worshiped except King Darius. The penalty was death by lions. Pompous Darius was more than happy to sign the decree into law.

Here is how Daniel responded when he heard about the new law: "When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously" (Dan. 6:10). There was no panic, no change in his worship, and no hesitation. Daniel continued to pray to God and worship him "as he had done previously." That is impressive!

The jealous leaders who had been watching Daniel, rushed to tell Darius the news. They reported, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day" (Dan. 6:13). Notice how they describe Daniel. He was the chief official with "an excellent spirit," yet they refer to him as "one of the exiles from Judah," even though that deportation had taken place more than six decades earlier!

Darius was "distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel" (Dan. 6:14). He worked diligently to come up with a loophole in the law. However, the law was the law and he had signed it into effect. So the king left Daniel's deliverance in the hands of God, saying, "May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!" (Dan. 6:16). Then the king had Daniel thrown to the lions.

Darius spent a sleepless night fasting, and in the morning he "went in haste to the den of lions," where he learned from Daniel that "God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths" (Dan. 6:16–23). He "was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God" (Dan. 6:23). There was "no backing down" in Daniel, especially when it came to his worship and obedience. Through faith, the book of Hebrews says, Daniel "stopped the mouths of lions" (Heb. 11:33).

The story didn't end so well for those who had plotted to kill Daniel. The king commanded that the men, along with their families, be thrown to the lions, "and before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces" (Dan. 6:24).

Daniel's faith not only saved his life, but also influenced King Darius to honor the living God by issuing a new decree.

Daniel 6:26-27
I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.

John Wooden was arguably the greatest coach in men's college basketball history. His UCLA teams won ten national championships. In his book about what it means to be a great leader, Wooden included this children's chorus about Daniel, written by Phillip Paul Bliss. Some of you may remember it from Sunday School.

Dare to be a Daniel!
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known!^[1]

Daniel knew who he was and Whose he was. He was willing to take a stand for God, even if it meant death. His desire was to honor God and make him known to the whole world.

Here's a thought-provoking question for today: Will you dare to be a Daniel?

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read and reflect on Daniel 6. Where are you currently facing pressure to compromise your faith, and what would it look like to "dare to be a Daniel" in that situation?

Talking to God: Ask God to give you the same faith he gave Daniel.

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