Transcript

At age 26, Ken Elzinga joined the faculty of the University of Virginia. After a tenured colleague warned him that being explicit about his faith would hinder his career, Elzinga was stunned to see a flier with his face on it placed at a prominent campus location.

A campus ministry had posted it to advertise a talk he had agreed to give. A relatively new believer, Elzinga worried. Would fellow professors think less of him? Might this harm his tenure chances?

He experienced a dark night of the soul, returning to campus and secretly taking the poster down. But the next morning, Elzinga put the poster back up.

After hours of soul-searching, he concluded that his life was not about career ambition but about faithfulness to God, and that being private about his faith was not an option.

In the four decades since, Elzinga has been named professor of the year multiple times. He will be the first to say that serving only one master has been liberating.

Why? Because pleasing an audience of One makes us less anxious, less sensitive to criticism, and more courageous. Because in doing so, we become more secure and compete less for our honor and live for His honor.

The prophet Daniel was a man who served one master and lived for the audience of one regardless of what others thought about him.

The Book of Ezekiel commends Daniel’s personal righteousness (14:14,20). Daniel’s life was characterized by faith, courage, and an uncompromising spirit.

The Jews at that time had been taken captive and were exiles in Babylon. Daniel had been promoted to a position of high authority within the kingdom of Babylon.

Thus, Daniel’s life and character was of great importance to the exiles. His example of godliness had a filter down effect to his countrymen, demonstrating how they could all serve the Lord with integrity and faith even in their captivity in a foreign land.

Daniel took a stand for God before the king, who could’ve snuffed his life out with a word. So Daniel’s courage to serve God and his stand to live by God’s Law in his position would have emboldened the Jews to also serve and live for Jehovah God.

This reminds us how our testimony has an impact on those around us. Living a life of integrity and faithfulness makes an impression on our family, friends, and other believers. And the bolder our stand for God, the more it can inspire others to do the same.

Daniel 6:1-5: “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;

“And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.

“Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

“Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

“Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

After the Medo-Persian empire conquered the Babylonians, Darius the Mede was set as king over Babylon and put in charge of its conquered territories.

One of Darius first actions as king over Babylon was to restructure the government and organize it, by appointing 120 princes, rulers possessing both civil and military authority to govern Babylon.

Over them as a check and balance, he placed three presidents or overseers to whom the 120 princes were directly responsible and had to give accounts of their own administration to them. Daniel was one of the three presidents and chief among them.

The organization with the three presidents over the 120 princes was also done so “the king should have no damage,” to prevent the princes from undermining the king’s authority or stealing from him.

As a result of his leadership experience within the Babylonian government, Daniel distinguished himself in his position.

And the king “preferred” Daniel because he had an excellent spirit and a good attitude. So the king thought to promote him and make Daniel responsible for the administration of the “whole realm,” and be second in power only to the king himself.

However, this did not sit well with the other presidents and the 120 princes. It created friction and envy, which was also motivated by the fact that Daniel was a captive from a foreign land.

These men then sought some basis by which they might accuse Daniel to cause him to be removed from his position. But for all their seeking all they found was that Daniel was upright, faithful, honest, and diligent in the discharging of his responsibilities.

If there had been anything underhanded, these men would have seen it or found it. They were investigating closely and watching carefully.

They searched for an area of compromise, a stain on his record, some time when he had messed up. But they could not find anything. Daniel consistently did the right thing.

And Daniel was a great testimony to God. He had integrity, he genuinely lived out his faith, and his character was impeccable. And his character was like this serving in the middle of luxury, immorality, self-seeking, idolatry, and cruelty within the court of the king.

Daniel’s example is good for us to follow and emulate as we are transformed by grace, that with God’s help and by faith in Him that we too would have an attitude that excels, a walk that is consistent, and a stand that is strong.

When these rulers were unable to find fault with his character, they then decide to try to set him up and trap him through his devotion to his God. They would seek to catch him through the most significant point that he differed from the king.

Daniel 6:6-9: “Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.

“All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

“Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.”

The presidents and princes then come in to see the king and they flatter him: “King Darius, live for ever.” And then they lie.

They tell the king that all the presidents, the governors, princes, counselors, and captains had consulted together and thought to create a royal statute and decree that the king be made the sole object of worship and prayer for 30 days.

Daniel, however, was never consulted about this statute.

The decree was that nobody in the entire kingdom was allowed to pray or ask a petition of any God or man for the next thirty days except of the king. In other words, they decided that they would make him a god for a month. The penalty for disobedience to the official decree was to be cast into the den of lions.

Besides appealing to his vanity, having recently conquered this kingdom, the plan was ingenious, because for the king, it would have provided a way to cause the Chaldean people to submit to him and his authority.

Not wanting to give the king time to consider the proposal and think this through, they hurry him into a decision: “NOW, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing.”

Darius consented and signed it into law, and in doing so according to Medo-Persian custom, this made the law irrevocable.

Daniel 6:10-14: “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

“Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

“Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

“Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.

“Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.”

Daniel was a prayer warrior. Prayer was a priority for him. When Daniel learned of the decree and that it was signed into law, he went home. And he went over to the open window in his home which faced Jerusalem where the Temple of God once stood.

In his humility before God, he then dropped to his knees and in faith he prayed and gave thanks to God.

He did this three times that day, just like he had done every day before the decree. He made no change in his habits or devotion to God as a result of the corrupt statute.

Daniel did not change when the pressure was on. And Daniel took a stand for God on his knees in prayer. He could have simply closed the windows and prayed in a closet for 30 days to God.

But the consistency of his walk with God and unashamed devotion to Him demanded that he live as he had always lived for the Lord. So he boldly knelt down three times a day with the windows wide open and prayed toward Jerusalem and gave thanks to God.

Praying toward Jerusalem in captivity was in accordance with Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple.

In 1 Kings 8:46-48, Solomon taught that if God’s people were taken captive that they should make supplication, “in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto Thee toward their land, which Thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which Thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for Thy name.”

Praying toward the land from which they had been taken captive was a way of saying by their posture that they believed God’s promise that He would return them someday to their land.

Daniel faithfully did this every day and he courageously made no attempt to hide his devotion or his dependence on God, even though it now meant disobeying the king’s decree. He refused to pray to a man, rather than the Lord God who is over all, who alone is to be prayed to and worshipped. And he took a stand for this.

Notice that Daniel “gave thanks” to God when he prayed that day. Giving thanks when we don’t understand why difficult things happen, we are acknowledging the greatness of God’s wisdom and demonstrating faith in His plan and in His control.

With courage, knowing he may face the lion’s den for it, he prayed anyway, and with faith he thanked God even though he didn’t know why this decree was allowed to happen.

The presidents and princes “assembled,” and as a noisy mob they rushed to Daniel’s residence and found him praying before his God. And they all thought that Daniel’s goose was cooked and the lions were going to have a feast tonight.

Then this mob of people turned around and with glee they rushed back where they came from and to the palace to stand before the king.

Once there they accused Daniel of breaking the unbreakable new law and that he had disregarded the king and his royal authority, praying to his God three times a day.

Unlike King Nebuchadnezzar who was furious at Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego for disobeying his decree, King Darius never gets angry at Daniel for doing what he did. Instead he was “sore displeased” and angry with himself for signing the decree.

And then out of his love and respect for Daniel, he sought some loophole, some way to rescue Daniel from the capital punishment that the decree required.

And he worked all day till the sun went down seeking a way out for Daniel.

But in verse 15, at the end of the day, the presidents and princes tightened the screws reminding him that it must be so for Daniel, because the law could not be changed.

Daniel 6:16-19: “Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

“And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

“Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.”

After trying hard to find a way to deliver Daniel from the lions’ den, the king finally had to consent and he gave the order for Daniel’s execution. But again out of his respect for Daniel, he accompanied Daniel and the group to the den of lions.

Daniel was then is cast into the den. And showing how much he truly wanted him to be spared, Darius comforts himself and Daniel too, speaking to him and telling him that his God would deliver him, whom Daniel had served continually and so faithfully.

You see in this how even unbelievers sometimes pick up on the faith of believers.

A stone was then laid on the mouth of the den. Then the king sealed it, making an impression in clay on the stone with his own signet ring, and the signet rings of his lords were also impressed on the seal.

Any who tampered with that stone that had the king’s seal on it in any effort to free Daniel faced certain death themselves. With that seal, Daniel’s enemies thought his fate was sealed.

The king then left, while Daniel’s enemies most likely stayed behind hoping to hear the end of Daniel. The king spent the without food, without music, and without sleep.

He had a rough night! Darius was a mental wreck. He didn’t feel hungry. He rejected his typical evening musical entertainment.

And when he went to bed he had a sleepless night, agonizing over his decision, worrying and wondering about Daniel, and waiting for the sun to rise.

Not only was the king losing his chief administrator, he was losing a friend. So at first light, the worried king came in a rush to the den.

Daniel 6:20-24: “And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

“Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

“Then was the king exceeding 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 manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

“And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.”

The king rushed to the den the next morning and once there he called out in a pained and hopeful voice to Daniel, and asked, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”

And Daniel replied: “O king, live for ever!” In other words, you better believe He is able to deliver! Daniel tells him that God had sent an angel and closed the lions’ mouths and kept them shut, because he had done no wrong, and he had trusted his God.

That angel was the same angel who was in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and who had delivered them too. It was the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ.

A teacher once asked a Sunday School class if they thought Daniel was afraid in the den, and one little girl answered, “I don’t think he was scared because one of the lions was the Lion of the tribe of Judah who was in there with him.” She’s exactly right. There was another Lion in there: Jesus Christ.

And through the power of Christ, it’s been said, “those lions experienced the greatest case of lockjaw in history.” Being around cats, you often get scratched, at least I seem to. But Daniel after all night in a lion’s den didn’t have a single scratch on him.

Pastor Charles Spurgeon once said that it was a good thing the lions didn’t try to eat Daniel. They never would have enjoyed him, because he was 50% grit and 50% backbone.

The funny thing too is that Daniel probably got more sleep than King Darius that night.

Darius was a happy king and exceeding glad and overjoyed that Daniel was alive, and he commanded that he immediately be “taken up out of the den.” A rope was dropped in and Daniel was pulled up and out.

Then in a twist of irony, Daniel’s malicious accusers along with their families were then ordered by the king to be cast down into the lions’ den.

The king now saw through their conspiracy, and he felt they should undergo the same punishment as they tried to bring about upon Daniel.

Upon being cast in, the enemies of Daniel did not even reach the bottom of the den before they were overpowered and broken to pieces, demonstrating how ferocious and hungry these lions were and the greatness of the miracle by God.

This episode in Daniel’s life is another foreshadow of the way in which God will protect the faithful remnant during the seven-year Tribulation period. This chapter is a counterpart of chapter 3 where God preserved Daniel’s three friends in the fiery furnace.

In 1 Peter 5:8, Israel is taught in that day to “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

During the Tribulation, the Lord will be with that remnant and will preserve and protect them from that roaring lion, the devil, in that day.

Now tell me, does this all sound familiar? One who did nothing wrong, an innocent one sentenced to die as a result of a conspiring and envious mob, put in a den with a stone covering its opening which was sealed, who then came out alive and was delivered from death!

God’s Word consistently points us to Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. It’s by this we are saved from all our sins and have eternal life. Have you trusted that He died for you personally and rose again?