Next Imperial Power
The rescue of Daniel from the ravenous lions demonstrated that Yahweh remained in firm control of history – Daniel 6:1-28.
Through the intervention of an angel, Daniel
was delivered unscathed from the plot to kill him. Having survived the night in
the lions’ den, the king ordered his release and the destruction of his
accusers, then he issued a new edict commanding all citizens of Babylon to
revere the wonder-working God of Daniel. As under the earlier Babylonian rulers,
Daniel prospered under the “Medes and Persians.”
“Darius the Mede” appointed him
first among his three ministers of state. Certain provincial governors envied his
elevation and sought to discredit Daniel. Had he not been a faithful servant of
the previous Neo-Babylonian régime? However, unable to find fault with his
conduct, they arranged circumstances so that he would appear disloyal to Darius.
- (Daniel 6:1-3) – “It was pleasing before Darius that he should set up over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, that they should be over all the kingdom; and over these, three confidential ministers of whom Daniel was first, that to them these satraps should render an account, and the king not be suffering loss. Then this Daniel signalized himself above the ministers and the satraps, because a distinguished spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him up over all the kingdom. Then the ministers and the satraps began seeking to find occasion against Daniel in respect of the kingdom, but no occasion nor wickedness could they find, inasmuch as, faithful was he and neither error nor wickedness could be found against him.”
A written edict was published prohibiting
anyone from petitioning any other “god or man for thirty days” except
Darius. This was incorporated into the “law of the Medes and Persians,”
which once written could not be altered, not even by the king.
Nevertheless, Daniel continued to pray daily
to Yahweh. His “seditious” conduct was reported to the king. Though aware of
the new law, Daniel did not alter his daily routine. His accusers “found him
making petition and supplication before his God” and reminded the king of
the legal tradition that no law could be altered once written. Even a ruler as
powerful as Darius was not above the “law of the Medes and Persians.”
The trap was set. His enemies accused him of
disloyalty to the king. This distressed Darius greatly since he valued Daniel’s
services, so he was “determined to save Daniel.” However, he was only able
to postpone the execution for a few hours. Since the matter was out of his
hands, he left it in the hands of the God of Daniel. Unlike Belshazzar, this king expressed respect for the God of the Jewish
exiles and encouraged Daniel - (“Your God whom you serve will deliver you”).
Cast into the pit, it was sealed shut behind Daniel.
The king passed the night in great anguish. Early the next morning, he hastened
to see if Daniel remained alive and called out to him, “Is your God whom you
serve able to deliver you from the lions?” Being very much alive, he answered
the king. The angel had shut the mouths of the lions and they had done him no harm.
He was “blameless” before God and the king.
After removing Daniel from the pit, the king
had his accusers cast in instead, where they died a horrific death - (“The
lions broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den”).
The ferocity of the attack demonstrated that Daniel was NOT
spared because the beasts were not hungry, and their immediate dispatch demonstrated
the ravenous hunger of the lions. Daniel’s life was saved by divine
intervention, and not by circumstances or any attempt by Darius to save him.
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| Daniel in the Lions Den |
Next, Darius issued a decree to “all the peoples, nations, and tongues that dwell in all the earth” to publicize how the “God of Daniel” had reversed the irreversible decree of the king. The salutation of Darius is virtually identical to the earlier one published by Nebuchadnezzar - (Daniel 4:1 - “Nebuchadnezzar to all people, nations, and tongues that dwell in all the earth”).
Previously, Darius had decreed that no man
could petition anyone but him. However, now he summoned “all peoples,
nations, and tongues…to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.” The
plot to exploit the “law of the Medes and Persians” and destroy Daniel had
caused the demise of the very men who conspired against him.
The Aramaic word rendered “destroy” in
verse 26 is the same one translated “destroy” in verse 22 - (“The
lions have not destroyed me”). The usage echoes the
declarations about the coming “kingdom of God” made years earlier in the
interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The miraculous deliverance from lions
demonstrated that the kingdom of God “shall not be destroyed”
regardless of the edicts of kings or the machinations of evil men - (Daniel
2:44).
Daniel prospered under the reigns of “Darius
the Mede” and “Cyrus
the Persian.” The first half of the book closes with the
inauguration of the next World-Power, the kingdom of the “Medes and the
Persians.” Geopolitical developments continued to prove that Yahweh gave sovereignty
to whomever He pleased.
This story is related to the events recorded
in chapter 3. In both stories, the Jewish exiles had aroused jealousy among the
ruling class. In both accounts, plots were hatched to destroy them. In chapter 3, Daniel’s three friends were thrown into a fiery furnace
when they refused to venerate the king’s golden image. In chapter 6, Daniel was
cast to the lions when he transgressed the royal edict.
In both stories, the exiles violated the
king’s edict because of their higher allegiance to Yahweh, and in both, they were
miraculously delivered from death. Both stories concluded with the king issuing
decrees to honor the God of Israel. Both incidents demonstrated that Yahweh was
in full control of history. The rise and fall of empires and the welfare of
His people were at His discretion.
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