The Lions in Daniel’s Den

Series: Preacher: Date: November 8, 2009 Scripture Reference: Daniel 6

Toward the end of the 19th century, an elderly man and his wife arrived by train in the city of Chicago. It was a stormy night and their train had been delayed so it was after midnight when they finally arrived at a downtown hotel they hoped would have a vacancy. The young clerk on duty that night was a man named George Boldt and he explained to the tired travelers that there were three different conventions in town and his hotel was full…but that he would be glad to call around and check with some other hotels. However, after several calls, it was clear that there were no empty rooms to be found. The young clerk said, “I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain on a night like this. Would you be willing to sleep in my room in the basement? It’s not large, but it’s clean and I don’t need it tonight because I’m on duty.” The couple gladly accepted his offer. The next morning the man tried to pay George personally, but the young clerk refused. Then the man said to George Boldt, “You’re the kind of man who ought to be the boss of the best hotel in America. Maybe one day I’ll build one for you.” The young clerk only smiled and said, “I was just glad to be of service.”

Several years later George Boldt received a letter from the elderly man including a train ticket inviting him to come to New York City. When George arrived in the “Big Apple,” the old gentleman took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan and said, “This is the hotel I have built for you to manage.” George Boldt stared in awe and said, “Are you joking?” But—it was no joke. You see, the old man’s name was William Waldorf Astor. And that’s how George Boldt became the first manager of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This is his portrait and it hangs in the lobby—a tribute to a clerk who showed enough integrity to go the second mile.

I share this story—because in my mind INTEGRITY is the theme of the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel—which contains the most popular story from the life of this prophet, the story of Daniel and the Lions’ den…or as Charles Swindoll refers to it, “The story of the lions in Daniel’s den.”

But before we read this familiar story, let’s remind ourselves of the SETTING. Daniel is still in Babylon—but a different government is in charge. With Belshazzar’s death in chapter five and the ascension of Darius the Mede in chapter six, we pass from the gold head of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue to its silver chest and arms. As Swindoll puts it, “The sunset of Babylon’s kingdom has now become the dawning of the Medo-Persian empire.”

Now—remember—by this time Daniel is an octogenarian. He’s well into his 80’s—but he still has his health and his mental faculties have not diminished in the least—because this aging prophet still had a job to do—work for which God had prepared him in advance to do. Take your Bibles and turn to Daniel chapter 6 and follow along as I read.

1 – It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom.

2 – with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.

Now—I want you to understand that this “Darius” is NOT the same “Darius” who changed the course of the Euphrates and successfully attacked the city of Babylon in chapter 5. That was a general named Ugbaru—and he died a few weeks after that victory. Ugbaru was called “Darius” but that was more of a title than a name. You see, “Darius” means “owner of the scepter.” There were several Persian rulers who were called “Darius” in this sense. The “Darius” in this 6th chapter refers to Cyrus the Great, the Persian ruler who eventually allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem…70 years after they were taken into captivity. Continuing with verse 3…

3 – Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

I’m sorry but I have to stop again and ask—does this verse sound kind of familiar? It does to me because it seems like this is the story of Daniel’s life. I mean, whenever he was given a job to do—he did it better than anyone else…which is why Darius—CYRUS—planned to set him over the whole kingdom. But, when the other two administrators heard of this they were upset. Maybe they were skimming some off the top, so to speak, and they knew that with Daniel in charge they would no longer be able to fill their own pockets so they tried to find something wrong with Daniel—some reason they could justify his arrest. Okay—back to the text.

4 – At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of governmental affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

5 – Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

6 – So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: “O King Darius, live forever!

7 – The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.

8 – Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

I don’t know about you but this decree reminds me of that old QUEEN FOR A DAY television show back in the ‘50’s…where the lucky winner was crowned queen for a day but in this case Darius was to be GOD FOR A MONTH…something his administrators knew would appeal to his ego. And it worked. Look at verse 9 and following:

9 – So King Darius put the decree in writing.

10 – Now, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Daniel knew that if he gave up his practice of daily prayer, he would be joining the rest of the kingdom in their idolatry and he had too much integrity to do that.

11 – Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.

12 – So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

13 – Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.”

14 – When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed: he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

15 – Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, “Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

16 – So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, Whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

This shows that Darius’ “GOD OF THE MONTH” title wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on…because being a “god” is not worth much unless you can do what you want to do.

17 – A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.

18 – Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

19 – At the first light of dawn the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den.

By the way, kings don’t hurry anywhere…they are majestic and unruffled but not this king. He was genuinely concerned for Daniel, which is why verse 20 says,

20 – When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, Whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 – Daniel answered, “O king, live forever!

22 – My God sent His angel, and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in His sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.”

I think it’s interesting to note that whereas the king could not sleep in his palatial and luxurious home, Daniel apparently slept great even though he was surrounded by a den full of hungry lions.
He probably even used one of them as his pillow that night! Maybe he read some of the Psalms and fell asleep—while reading between the lions! Sorry—I couldn’t resist.

23 – The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted his God.

24 – At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed their bones.

25 – Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language throughout the land, “May you prosper greatly!

26 – I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end.

27 – He rescues and He saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

28 – So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Okay—before we go any further in our study of this Godly virtue that we see so prevalent in Daniel’s life—let’s agree on a definition. What exactly is INTEGRITY? Webster defines it as, “consistency and sincerity, with no deception or pretense” and that gives us a good start in our understanding but another thing that will help us is to note that the word “INTEGRITY” and the math term “INTEGER” come from the same root word which means, “WHOLE.” In other words, there is no discrepancy between what a person of integrity appears to be on the outside and what he is on the inside. He is whole…consistent…the same through and through.

Warren Wiersbe observes,

A person with integrity is not divided (that’s duplicity) or merely pretending (that’s hypocrisy). He or she is ‘whole;’ their life is ‘put together,’ and things are working together harmoniously. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books.

This week I read the true story of a man who went into a Kentucky Fried Chicken store in Long Beach, California to get some chicken for himself and the young lady who was with him. She waited in the car while he went in to pick up the food. Inadvertently, the manager of the store handed the guy the box in which he had placed the financial proceeds of the day instead of a box of chicken. He was going to make a deposit and had camouflaged it by putting the money in a chicken box. This man took his box, which he thought was filled with chicken, went back to the car, and the two of them drove away. When they got to the park and opened the box, they discovered they had a box full of money. Realizing the mistake, he got back in the car and returned to the place and gave the money back to the manager. The manager was of course elated! He was so pleased that he told the young man, “Stick around, I want to call the newspaper and have them take your picture. You have to be the most honest guy in town!”

“Oh no, don’t do that!” said the man.

“Why not?” asked the manager.

“Well, you see I’m married and the woman I’m with is not my wife.”

As this story illustrates, on the surface individuals may look like people of honesty and great integrity…people so thoroughly honest that they’d give the 35 cents back at the phone booth…
but underneath, it isn’t unusual to find a lot of corruption. Genuine integrity means that what is outside matches what is inside. There is no division in a person of integrity…they are whole.

For the Christian, integrity means there is a congruence between our character and our creed, between our beliefs and our behavior. It means loving God with the totality of who we are and allowing our faith to extend to the whole of our life, including our families, community relationships, and careers.

Okay, with all this in mind—what can this familiar story from the golden years of Daniel’s life teach us about this virtue?

(1) First the events of this 6th chapter help us to understand that Christian integrity SHOWS.

I mean, this is why Daniel got this high power job in the first place. People, Darius included, NOTICED his great integrity. As he began to organize his government I’m sure he must have heard about Daniel because he was known throughout the kingdom as a man who’s walk matched his talk. Day to day Daniel had lived his eighty plus years with consistency—such that it was common knowledge that his word was his bond and that he could be trusted to be completely fair and just. In short, Daniel’s integrity was OBVIOUS throughout that pagan empire.

I’m reminded of Paul’s words in Philippians 2 when he said, that as children of God, “…we must become blameless and pure, without fault, in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life.” Daniel was a “bright star” in that sense. In fact, his character was so inculpable that his enemies had to create a brand new law against praying to God in order to accuse him of anything. In essence they had to make INTEGRITY illegal in order to have grounds for his arrest!

Do you remember the exact words these evil satraps used? Look at verse 5. They said: “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” Now, think of that! What a compliment! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if that could be said of you or me? I mean, wouldn’t it be great if our integrity—the CONSISTENCY of our Christlike behavior—was so evident…that our peers could find no fault in the way we did our work and lived our lives? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the only thing our enemies could find to criticize about us was the way we “shined like stars as we held out the word of life?” How would you feel to know that the only charge that could be leveled against you is that you faithfully worship and serve the one True God?!

I’m reminded of former Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. C. Everett Koop. In early 1981, this distinguished pediatric surgeon was appointed deputy Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, which put him in line to become Surgeon General. At the time Koop was the Surgeon-in-Chief of Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, where the entire surgical center is now named in his honor. By the way he is a pioneer in pediatric surgery and an inventor of many pediatric surgical techniques. He founded, and was at that time, editor of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery. He had been awarded the French Legion d’Honneur. I mean—Koop was a stellar surgeon. You could find no fault in the way he did his job. But—he was also a Christian who lived out his faith—honoring God in the way he practiced medicine and this was the only criticism that his opponents could find. You see, Koop opposed abortion on the grounds that the Bible teaches the fetus is made in the image of God and that to abort it was to commit murder. Indeed, Reagan nominated him to be Surgeon General because of this pro-life conviction.

Well, aided by the media, his opponents embarked on a wicked campaign in which Koop’s many medical accomplishments were ignored and he was repeatedly portrayed as little more than a close-minded fundamentalist. The Washington Post described him as “a fundamentalist Christian with a Lincolnesque beard..” The Boston Globe dismissed him as a mere “clinician…with tunnel vision.” These and other attacks on his Christian convictions delayed Koop’s appointment as Surgeon General for nearly a year…which is very sad…because in my opinion he’s the best person we’ve ever had to fill that important government post. He set the bar high indeed. Koop was like Daniel—in that he was a man of such well-known integrity in the workplace that the only “chink” his enemies could find in his armor…was the way He followed Jesus as Lord.

Well, let me ask again—how well does YOUR integrity show? How brightly do your Christian convictions shine in this dark and fallen world of ours? Do you stand out—or do you blend in?

Here’s a second lesson Daniel’s life shows us.

(2) Living a life of integrity does not shelter you from the UNFAIRNESS of life.

Remember, Daniel wasn’t thrown into the lions’ den because he had done something WRONG, but because he had done something RIGHT. Daniel was punished for the “crime” of praying in the privacy of his home—which I’m sure you will agree is UNFAIR! I don’t know about you but reading how it happens makes me think it must have been some sort of a “prayer stake out.”

Perhaps his enemies were all crammed in a motel room across the street from Daniel’s apartment with binoculars so they could watch and walkie talkies so they could talk to agents outside Daniel’s door. When he began to pray they gave the word and broke down his door shouting, “Freeze! Drop your prayer book and put your hands where we can see them!” That may be a stretch but something like that happened. Daniel’s integrity landed him in the lions’ den—and I want you to understand just HOW unfair that was. I want you to get beyond the nice little flannel graphs that were used to tell you this story when you were a child. You see, being thrown in this lions’ den would have been a horrible a fate if it weren’t for God’s intervention. First, this was not ONE lion but several—lions with incredible strength—lions that were KEPT hungry and ferocious—such that they could be counted on to attack whoever was thrown in their den.

Did you know that a lion’s tongue is made up of thousands of little knife-like cells? Think of your house cat that can use it’s tongue to clean it self—in essence giving itself a hair cut.A lion’s tongue is like that but much stronger such that it is possible for a lion to literally lick the skin off it’s prey! And did you know lions don’t kill their prey before they eat it. No—it is not uncommon for the king of beasts to eat his prey alive. Imagine being held on the ground with a lion’s paw….while he flays you alive with that tongue? I say this to help you see that this was not going to be a quick and painless death. This is an 80-something-year-old man—a man of great integrity who’s only fault was the consistent way he followed God—and he was about to be eaten alive. UNFAIR!

Some Christians are under the false impression that if you live a Godly life you will be exempt from pain and hardship in life…but this isn’t always true. The truth is that in our fallen world things are so warped that at times people are REWARDED for doing wrong and PUNISHED for doing right. The fact is many people who try to live lives of integrity endure hardship because of that. The are like the psalmist who confessed, “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.” (Psalm 73:13-14)

Don’t raise your hand—but have you ever suffered for your efforts to live a Godly life? If you haven’t there’s a very good chance you will and when that happens—when our INTEGRITY causes us to endure adversity, we must remember that this is a sinful world that we live in and because it is LIFE IS OFTEN UNFAIR. No one—not even the righteous—are exempt from tragedy and disappointment. In fact, as the events of the first Holy Week remind us….even God Himself was not exempt. Jesus, sinless in thought, word, and deed, died for OUR sins.

So…if you are facing unfairness because you are striving to live a life of INTEGRITY follow the advice of King David in Psalm 37. He said, “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good…Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn.”

To endure UNFAIRNESS in life…we need to learn to do as David says…TRUST IN THE LORD… which leads us to the next thing that Daniel’s life shows us about this Christian virtue…

(3) People of Christian integrity are people who know the importance of PRAYER.

They have learned that we gain both guidance and strength by spending time on our knees talking to God. Praying three times a day was apparently Daniel’s habit throughout his long life. Perhaps he was following the example of David who wrote Psalm 55:17 and said, “EVENING, MORNING, and NOON I cry out in distress and [God] hears my voice.”

And note his position. Daniel KNEELED. I for one think that if our health permits that’s a good position in which to talk to God…not only because it symbolizes our humbling ourselves before God…but also because that position is UNCOMFORTABLE. If you’re like me, when you pray in the recliner or something like that it is easy to drift off after a few sentences….but when we kneel it is easier to maintain the conversation. I like how missionary martyr Jim Elliot put it. He said, “God is still on His throne and man is still on his footstool. There’s only a knee’s distance in between.”

Well, how is your prayer time? What does it take to get you on your knees?

You know, when we face the UNFAIRNESS of life—when crisis looms—when we get one of those phone calls in the middle of the night in those times when it feels like we’ve been thrown in the lions’ den we tend to react in one of three ways We PANIC. We become PARALYZED. Or we PRAY.

  • When we panic we do the WRONG thing.
  • When we are paralyzed we to NO thing.
  • And when we pray we are doing the RIGHT thing.

Well, I believe we should follow Daniel’s example and pray regularly until it becomes our natural response to the stresses of life—whatever they may be.

Let’s be honest, for many of us our natural response to the “lions of life” is to panic and RAGE against life’s unfairness or complain or criticize…or to become paralyzed and slip into a defeated sense of depression. These are our patterns—these are the ruts we fall into when unfairness comes. And if that hits home with you, I would challenge you to strive to walk with God so closely that your old patterns CHANGE. Learn to walk so closely with God that your natural reaction to tough times is to drop to your knees and pray.

Do you remember Paul’s words from Philippians 4:6-7? He said, “Do not be anxious about anything…but in EVERYTHING…with thanksgiving present your requests to God…” Paul knew that EVERYTHING can be affected by prayer…so that was always his FIRST reaction to crisis. One of the reasons we feel defeated by the unfairness of life is that we tend to compartmentalize. We think, “This is a medical matter not a spiritual matter.” Or, this is a “work issue or a financial issue—not a spiritual one.” Well Paul—and Daniel would say that EVERYTHING is a spiritual matter. Everything can be effected by prayer so we should pray about everything.

I’m sure Daniel spent a lot of time praying that night in the lions’ den. After all, as I said, that was his natural habit—and God ANSWERED his prayer but shutting the mouths of those lions and when the king came the next morning and ordered the stone rolled away. I can’t help but think of another stone that another King—the KING OF KINGS—rolled away—and as I think of that I am reminded that there is no stone God cannot move. I mean, if God can defeat death as He did on that Easter morning—then He is more than able to deal with any “lions’ den” you are in.

  • God can heal a broken marriage….ANY marriage.
  • God can help us straighten out our finances. He can and will provide for our physical needs.
  • God can help us heal family relationships…not matter how broken they might be.
  • God can defeat the fear that comes with a doctor’s grim diagnosis—any diagnosis.
  • God can become so close to you—that you never feel alone or afraid.
  • God can even forgive your sin—and give you eternal life.

And that phrase, “eternal life” does not just refer to the length of your life. It also refers to the quality of your life. I mean, God can change YOU. He can empower you to live a life of integrity…because as we spend time with God…we become more and more like Him.

1st Peter 5:8 says that our adversary the devil is, “…like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” and since he knows the power of prayer one of the things he constantly tries to do is to keep us from praying. Samuel Chadwick wrote,“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayer-less studies, prayer-less work and prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.” Does satan tremble at your prayer life—or are you like many prayer-less, ineffective Christians?

Before we close I want to point out one other thing that this chapter of Daniel’s life teaches us…

(4) His example proves that by living a life of integrity we can have an amazing IMPACT on this world.

Daniel’s reputation as a man of integrity not only gave him the opportunity to impact two great empires…the Babylonian and the Persian. He also changed the course of the history of the people of God. Do you remember the king’s proclamation after finding Daniel unharmed the next morning? He said, “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end. He rescues and He saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Now, most scholars doubt that Darius ever became a worshiper of Yahweh, but he did respect God’s power so much that he later sent the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. And I for one believe this never would have happened if it were not for Daniel’s integrity. That makes me wonder—how could God use YOUR integrity? What kind of impact could you have if you consistently followed God? How could it change your work place—your family—your neighborhood? Like Daniel, you too could change your world. This morning is God calling you to do that? Is His Holy Spirit speaking to you, urging you to BE a Christian in your scope of influence?

LET US PRAY

BENEDICTION:

Let the PEACE OF CHRIST rule in your hearts
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly
and whatever you do…in word or in deed
Do it all in the NAME OF CHRIST giving thanks to God the Father
through Him.

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