They went straight to the king and reminded him of the
royal decree that he had signed. "Did you not," they said, "sign
a decree forbidding anyone to pray to any god or man except you for the next
thirty days? And anyone caught doing it would be thrown into the lions'
den?" "Absolutely," said the king. "Written in stone, like
all the laws of the Medes and Persians." Then they said, "Daniel, one
of the Jewish exiles, ignores you, O king, and defies your decree. Three times
a day he prays." At this, the king was very upset and tried his best to
get Daniel out of the fix he'd put him in. He worked at it the whole day long.
But then the conspirators were back: "Remember, O king, it's the law of
the Medes and Persians that the king's decree can never be changed." The
king caved in and ordered Daniel brought and thrown into the lions' den. But he
said to Daniel, "Your God, to whom you are so loyal, is going to get you
out of this." A stone slab was placed over the opening of the den. The
king sealed the cover with his signet ring and the signet rings of all his
nobles, fixing Daniel's fate.
There are numerous paintings, sculptures and
Biblical stories of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, some depict Daniel as being a
young man. The artist Peter Paul Rubens painted a scene with Daniel as a strong
young man praying as he was surrounded by lions who don’t look particularly
hungry. There is a sculpture, “Daniel and the lion” by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
that also shows Daniel as a young man. Mark Chagall’s painting is very
childlike and Daniel looks like a little boy. The painting “Daniel’s answer to
the king” by Briton Riviere illustrates the fact that Daniel was over eighty at
this time in his life. Imagine this older gentleman being lowered into the
lions’ den and the lions gathering around him, licking his face. No one
actually has painted that image. I just imagined that the lions were glad to
see him! Through the night he probably sat and told them stories, petting them
like little kittens. He was not their feast that evening. King Darius knew
Daniel’s God. Your God will get you out
of this. God is good. He revealed Himself to Darius. Like Daniel, Darius is
apparently a man of his word. He didn’t back down, although he didn’t want to
send Daniel to the lions’ den. Signed, sealed and delivered—Daniel was in the
lions’ den.
Daniel again proved that he was a man of
integrity. He didn’t run away from Babylon. How did the rulers of that country
manage to keep the captives there for so many years? Did some of them try to
escape and go back to Judah? We know from the book of Jeremiah that a letter
was sent to the Jews in captivity while Nebuchadnezzar was still king. See
Jeremiah 29. There in verses 10-14 it is tells us that God promised to bring
them home to Judah after 70 years.
“For thus says the Lord,
when seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and
fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the
plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for
calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come
and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you
search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and
I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from
all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you
back to the place from where I sent you into exile.” (NASB)
So at this point in Daniel’s life he must be
expecting God to rescue him not only from the lions’ den, but also from
Babylon. He is still trusting in the Lord, praying faithfully and continually
three times as day. He is a man after God’s own heart. Honest, faithful, true.
Can we say that about ourselves? Just like the Jews in Daniel’s time, God has
plans for us—to give us hope. Just as He told the Jews, He tells us that we
will find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart. Seek first the kingdom of God, Matthew 6:33.
Lord Jesus, we want to
be like Daniel—trustworthy. We want to be pleasing in Your sight. Help us, our
children and our grandchildren to make good decisions today as we search for
you.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Scripture from The Message, except where noted.
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