Daniel 6

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

DANIEL AND THE LIONS' DEN
Daniel and the lion's den were included in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11:33). This tells us the amount of faith shown by Daniel during this event.

Daniel rises to prominence even in the Persian Empire (Daniel 6:1-3)

Daniel, in Daniel 6, is now 86 years old, having accumulated 66 years of public service under Babylon. He has been placed in a position of honor for being an exceptional administrator. Out of the 120 satraps (princes) who report to 3 top administrators (presidents) (Daniel 6:1), Daniel was named above them all. Impressive indeed! From being a young Jewish captive to prime minister of Nebuchadnezzar's empire to becoming Nebuchadnezzar's close friend, Daniel indeed has had a great career!

And now, Babylon has been fallen (Daniel 5), its empire taken over by the Persians. Instead of falling out of favor as it is common for officials of previous administrations, Daniel instead rises to become the right hand man of the Darius ("Darius" is a title of Cyrus, not the name of the Persian ruler), who is not the King of Persia but has been placed in charge of the Babylonian portion of the Persian Empire.

We see again that Daniel rises to prominence because of his spirit (Daniel 6:3). Naturally, envy from the others arises (Daniel 6:4-5). They are definitely not excited about having an old Jewish man being in charge of them. They thus sought ways to bring Daniel down.

No one can find fault in Daniel (Daniel 6:4-5)

Look at the report card of Daniel's life: no fault could be found in Daniel!

His rivals, 120 of them, could not find a single thing to use against him!

(Daniel rose to the top rank of not one but two great empires had no fault in the eyes of men -- What does this say about our politicians today?!)

They thus resort to trapping Daniel by using Daniel's obedience to God against him (Daniel 6:5).

Darius is tricked to throw Daniel into the lions' den (Daniel 6:6-9) 

We see again that Daniel's rivals put their plan to sabotage Daniel's position by getting Darius on an ego trip. They make a decree (of course, without any input from Daniel, to whom they report) that said, "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" (Daniel 6:7), boosting Darius's ego, and have Darius enforce it in writing (Daniel 6:9).

(Who's the puppet? Who's being played? Politicians have been the same since day one. Not one top official works to serve the people. It has always been about gaining power. The only leader who came to serve was Jesus. Don't trust and rely man-made government. Trust and rely on God.)

Note the differences between Babylonian and Persian laws. Nebuchadnezzar was above the law. Whoever he disliked, he could kill. The Persians didn't work that way. No one, not even the king or regional leaders, was not above the law. Once Darius signed the decree, he was stuck with it and cannot change it (Daniel 6:8). (The Book of Esther illustrates this limitation very vividly.)


On a side note, archaeological digs have confirmed that Persians indeed kept lions' dens. 

We see later that Darius regrets being conned into signing this decree (Daniel 6:14).

As always, Daniel continues to obey God (Daniel 6:10)

What did Daniel do when he found out the decree to worship Darius has been signed? NOTHING OUT OF THE USUAL.

Daniel has been living as a righteous man his whole life, and he will continue to live as a righteous man! He prays as he always did; he continues to give thanks to God!

At this time, Jerusalem was a couple hundred miles west and laid in rubble! 

Inspiration:

Daniel didn't pray just because the decree was signed into law. Daniel always prayed. He constantly communicated with God, good days or bad. On the good days, he praised and thanked God. On the bad days, he prayed for guidance (Daniel 6:11). Daniel prayed because no human event could interrupt his commitment to God.

This is the kind of prayer life we all need to aspire to have. Talk to God not just because we need something from Him. Talk to God because He is our awesome Father, and we cannot wait to share everything with Him!


(On a side note, Daniel prayed on his knees. Stephen, Peter, and even Jesus Himself prayed on their knees. The Levites even laid prostrate in front of God. When we lay bare in front of God, we lay bare in front of God.)



Darius regrets signing the decree and tries to save Daniel (Daniel 6:11-15)

Since Daniel continued with his prayers, the rival officials instigated a riot to force Darius have Daniel executed (Daniel 6:11-13).

At this point, Darius finds out he has been tricked and was greatly distressed (Daniel 6:14). Darius wasn't displeased with Daniel. He was displeased with himself -- At this point, he realized that he has been set up to trap Daniel. Darius immediately labored through the day to free Daniel. But, the law was the law -- there was no loophole.

Inspiration: 

Look at where the heart of Darius was! Like Nebuchadnezzar, his heart was on Daniel's side! I find Daniel amazing. No matter where he went, he changed people's heart and gained their respect -- even the heart of his enemies and enemy leaders! For those in politics, be inspired by the kind of Godly political leader that Daniel was!

Daniel survives the lions' den (Daniel 6:16-22)

As Darius gives the order to have Daniel be thrown into the lions' den, he says to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" Even if Darius does not believe in God, he at least has some knowledge that God is effective and powerful (Daniel 6:16).

To ensure Daniel cannot escape, the den is closed off with a rock and sealed with the king's signet ring and the rings of the nobles -- This is so that Darius cannot let Daniel out on his own accord (Daniel 6:17).

Darius stays up all night, with no food, no entertainment, and no sleep (Daniel 6:18). And at the first light of dawn, he rushes to the den to find out if Daniel survived. This really tells us where his heart is: with Daniel!

Though Darius expected God delivering Daniel, he still had doubts (Daniel 6:20). Daniel, on the other hand, completely trusted God (Daniel 6:21-23). Daniel didn't just believe. He RELIED on God. (It is one thing to know airplanes are safe in flight. It is another to trust that knowledge and actually ride the airplane!)

Inspiration:

Even demons believe in God and tremble (James 2:19) -- Are demons saved? Believing is not enough for salvation. Completely relying on the knowledge of God and giving ourselves into God's glory is true faith.

"An eye for an eye" is a Persian law reserved for false witnesses (Daniel 6:24)

Satisfied with Daniel's innocence (Daniel 6:22), Darius has the 120 satraps, along with their wives and kids, thrown into the lions' den. The lions didn't rest until they got every single one of them (Daniel 6:24). This is in accordance to the Persian law that false witnesses receive the same sentencing as the accused.

To critics who say that Daniel was thrown into a den with old lions, which would explain why Daniel was not eaten, how would they explain how those same lions went after 120 plus people until they got them all?

Daniel is promoted, and God is glorified (Daniel 6:25-28)

Darius publicly notes the awesomeness of God throughout the world. The Persian Empire was far greater than the Babylonian Empire -- This notice definitely spread far and wide. Furthermore, because of Daniel's faithfulness, Darius may have been saved through this ordeal!

Be inspired by Daniel. From Daniel 1-6, we have seen the number of people saved through Daniel's great faith in God, including the world's worst despot, Nebuchadnezzar, and one of the world's most powerful rulers, Darius!

PARALLELS OF THE LIONS' DEN

Scholars believe that...
- Daniel and the Lions' Den is a prophetic anticipatory type of the faithful remnant of the end time
- The event foreshadows the man of sin (Revelation 7, 12; Matthew 24)
- The roaring lion is Satan (1 Peter 5:8; 2 Timothy 4:17; Revelation 13:2)

WHO WERE THE MAGI?
There were magi in Nebuchadnezzar's court. There were magi who followed the star to welcome the birth of Jesus. What is the significance of their presence?

Daniel was the Chief of the Magi (Rag-Mag)

Jeremiah 39:3, 13
The magi were valuable not for their skills in astrology. Their primary skill was in the interpretation of dreams. The title for the Chief of the Magi is Rag-Mag. There was such a title in Nebuchadnezzar's court, and he appointed Daniel that position.


Daniel 4:9
When Daniel deciphered Nebuchadnezzar's dream here, Daniel was already the Chief of the Magi.


Magi was a Persian sect, a hereditary Persian priesthood -- And Nebuchadnezzar put a Jew in charge of them! This obviously did not go well with the magi.

After taking over the Babylonian Empire, Darius the Great established the magi as the state religion of Persia. Why? Because the head of them was tied to the inner court -- that head may very well have been Daniel.

Magi vs. Levites
The Magi resembled a lot with the Levites.

- Both upheld monotheism against evil spirit (dualism was later developed).
- Both had a hereditary priesthood: Magi for the Persians; Levites for the Jews.
- Both priesthoods were the essential mediator between God and man by virtue of blood sacrifice.
- Each depended on the priesthood in divination.
- The kings always relied on the magi as their counselors, just as the kings of Judah were to rely on the high priest and the Levites -- In fact, the magi were responsible for picking the next king.

Point: The magi were a priestly cast.

The Christmas story: It's not 3 magi on a camel cutely pictured on Christmas cards

The magi that showed up on the day of Jesus's birth were a group of Persian magi in all pomp and circumstance. They came because of political power struggles. Rome and Parthenon (Eastern Roman Empire) were at odds with Judea stuck in the middle.

Near the birth of Christ, political powers started to shift with the old Persian king dying and such. In comes the magi parade to ensure safe entry into Roman territory -- The Persian Empire was strong, and the magi had the power to appoint a king who could push either Rome or Parthenon to power.

When the magi party entered Jerusalem, Herod and the whole city were in uproar. They knew this was a political move, with Jerusalem caught in the middle -- Jerusalem was placed under the rule of Herod, who was appointed by Rome. Herod didn't receive much support from Rome, especially when Rome was fighting off Parthenon. Herod had no idea what was going on and didn't know if the magi came as friend or foe.

Clearly, the magi that arrived on scene weren't just 3 guys on a camel. This was a major military escort.

Understanding the political turmoil during this time, we can see why Herod was nervous. He was given the title, king of the Jews, yet depending on how things were between Rome and Parthenon, he had power or he didn't. He had no real clue what was going on, and His Roman support was essentially non-existent. Augustus was getting old, and Tiberius was retired. There was basically no military leader in Rome -- The Roman Empire was in a transition of power.

The Jews had no sympathy with Rome and thus no sympathy with Herod. They were comfortable with the Parthenon Empire, because they enjoyed more freedom with them. Worse for the Roman Empire, the Jews were ready to revolt. However, not all was peachy with Parthenon. Parthenon was also in turmoil as well.

With Herod caught right in the middle of this and with his declining health, we can empathize with him a bit. What a thankless job he had! He was placed in charge of a state (Jerusalem) that was volatile on its own. Worse, its fate laid between two contending empires! And now, there was this formidable gang of Persian magi coming in with enough forces to destroy the whole city! They were king makers, ready to align with whichever empire was the strongest!

Matthew 2
When the magi met Herod, they asked who the King of the Jews was (Matthew 2:2). This was a pointed insult. Herod was appointed King of Jews. His appointment was given by Rome, a power that was very distant from Jerusalem. Worse, Herod was not BORN of a king of anything.

Herod was confused about the magi's question (Matthew 2:3). He was confused because he was not a Jew (He was an Edomite!) and did not understand what was going on. Why is a bunch of Persian magi asking about the birth of the king? To find some answers, they didn't consult the stars or astrology. They figured out the Persians were looking for the Christ, and so they consulted the Old Testament (Matthew 2:4).

They found the answer in Micah 5:2 -- Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 was written 5 centuries earlier!

Herod pretended to work with the magi (Matthew 2:7-8), but in reality had a plan of his own (Matthew 2:12, where God revealed to them that it was not safe to return to Herod).

Daniel may have passed down the knowledge about the birth of Jesus to a secret sect of the magi

How did the magi know about the birth of Jesus? How did they know to bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh? How did they know about the significance of this baby? (By the way, because they came bearing three gifts, this was why the common misconception is that there were only 3 magi.)

Scholars suspect that when Daniel was placed in charge of the magi, he also established an inside group that he could trust and shared with them Daniel 9 and equivalent prophecies so that they would know the time by counting the days. This selected group of magi stayed true to Daniel's word and when the day had come, they visited Jesus on the day of His birth. They brought 3 items that proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God who had come to bring salvation to mankind: Gold = deity; frankincense = priesthood; myrrh = embalming for death.

It is important to note that this is a THEORY. There is no direct proof of this -- just a lot of supporting circumstantial evidence.

God communicated with the magi with a dream (a language that Daniel had trained them in so that they could understand -- remember, the magi were trained to interpret dreams) and told them not to return to Herod (Matthew 2:12). 

Herod's fear that the magi were looking to replace the king was valid. In fact, the magi did replace the king in two years. However, the group of magi that inquired about Christ were the selected group of magi that had been anticipating the birth of the Christ -- They were not here for political gains; they were here for the King of Kings!