Preaching the Word
The "First Principle" podcasts which are numbered # are a great tool for believers to go over the essentials of the Christian Faith.
The "Mysteries of God's Word" podcasts are an indepth study of Scripture.
The other podcasts are sermons that have been given, some verse by verse and others topical.
It is my passion to be true to God and His Word. To preach in such a way that people can easily see the LORD as our Creator and as our Redeemer. To understand that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever even as we live in a world that is continually changing. Salvation is and has always been through faith alone in the Messiah alone. His name is Jesus the Christ; there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Preaching the Word
Daniel 6 - Daniel in the Lion's Den - The Mysteries of God's Word
What happens when your faith puts you at odds with the most powerful ruler in the world? Daniel chapter 6 unfolds a riveting story of courage, conspiracy, and divine protection that has captivated readers for centuries.
The narrative begins at a pivotal moment in ancient history—the transition from Babylonian to Medo-Persian rule. Daniel, now about 85 years old and a veteran of royal service, quickly distinguishes himself in the new administration. His exceptional wisdom and integrity earn him a position as one of three high officials overseeing 120 provincial governors. When King Darius considers promoting Daniel above all others, jealousy ignites a dangerous plot.
Unable to find any corruption or negligence in Daniel's work, his rivals exploit his unwavering devotion to God. They manipulate the king into signing an irrevocable decree forbidding prayer to anyone except Darius for thirty days—a clever trap designed specifically for Daniel. The stakes become clear: abandon prayer or face execution in the lions' den.
Daniel's response reveals extraordinary spiritual maturity. Rather than hiding his faith or compromising his practice, he continues praying openly toward Jerusalem three times daily. This wasn't reckless defiance but a profound recognition of divine authority—Daniel understood that while kings deserve respect, ultimate allegiance belongs to God alone.
When Daniel is thrown to the lions, the distressed king spends a sleepless night fasting. At daybreak, he rushes to the den and discovers a miracle—Daniel is unharmed, protected by an angel sent from heaven. This powerful demonstration of divine intervention leads Darius to execute the conspirators and issue an empire-wide decree honoring the God of Daniel.
This account offers timeless wisdom about maintaining spiritual integrity in hostile environments, the consequences of jealousy, and God's sovereignty over human affairs. It reminds us that our greatest testimony often emerges not from avoiding hardship but from demonstrating unwavering faith within it.
How might Daniel's example inspire your response to modern challenges to faith? What "lions' dens" are you facing today? Share your thoughts and subscribe to explore more ancient wisdom for contemporary living.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. Welcome to the Mysteries of God's Word. Today we are in Daniel, chapter 6, where we will read about the very early years of the Medo-Persian Empire through the eyes of Daniel, beginning in verse 1. Through the eyes of Daniel, beginning in verse 1, it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give an account so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials in satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Here, in verses 1 through 3, we see the initial establishment of authority in the Medo-Persian Empire. We see Darius. Who is Darius? Well, this is Darius the Mede. He was also known as Syaxares, and Darius the Mede was appointed as the king over the Medo-Persian Empire by Cyrus, who had done all of the conquering. Later, in this same year of Daniel, chapter 6, which is the year in which Cyrus had conquered Babylon, cyrus would marry Darius's only child, his only daughter, and as a dowry, darius the Mede gave Cyrus the entire kingdom of Media, and after this marriage between Cyrus and Darius' daughter, cyrus moved to Babylon with his new bride and he gave the kingdom to Darius, his new father-in-law, and allowed Darius to reign as king for two years, even though Cyrus himself had really more power in this kingdom. And this is how the Medo-Persian empire began.
Speaker 1:And then we see in verse 1 of chapter 6 that Darius set over the kingdom 120 satraps. This continues to show us how, in this first year, darius is setting up his government. And this form of government in the Medo-Persian empire is a government of satraps or, as we in America would think of them as governors, governors of a state. These were 120 governors over large regions in the kingdom, and then, over these satraps, the king appointed three men that he believed he could trust the most, men who had great reputations and whom he believed would hold the satraps accountable for any corruption or any embezzlement. Daniel was one of those three high officials chosen to overseed these 120 satraps, and over time Daniel was recognized for his outstanding wisdom and his excellent spirit, and the king was planning to set Daniel over the whole kingdom, picking up in verse 4, then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regards to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him. Here, in verses 4 and 5, we see how jealousy began to run deep in the other two high officials, as well as some of the governors or some of the satraps, because Daniel had been favored highly by the king for his great wisdom and discernment.
Speaker 1:As we continue to read this narrative and recognize the inclusion of the satraps here, we will see that it appears that not all 120 satraps were part of the plot, but there was a coalition of men, including the two other high officials and some satraps, that are now going to conspire against Daniel. Daniel was faithful in everything that he did, his duties to the kingdom, his faithfulness to the king and his faithfulness to the Lord God, and this became apparent not only to those who liked Daniel, but also to his enemies. Daniel, unlike the other leaders, could not be bribed or swayed from his godly principles, and the powerful enemies of Daniel, whom he was working right alongside with, realized because of Daniel's upright character, they will not be able to bring a charge against him. Nothing that's going to stick, and his enemies knew the only way to bring an accusation against him was to attack his faithfulness and somehow bring a conflict between King Darius and the god that Daniel worshipped, picking up in verse 6,. Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him Picking up in verses 6 and 7, we see these two high officials other than Daniel, along with some of the satraps, conspire together and come up with a devious plan.
Speaker 1:They would come to King Darius and tell him that all of the leaders from every aspect of the government have been contacted and agree that the king should establish this temporary ordinance for 30 days and that during these 30 days, king Darius alone should be worshipped. They, of course, are deceiving King Darius because not all of the leaders in all of the government have agreed to this. First of all, we are very aware they don't have an agreement of all the high officials, because Daniel is a high official. They also don't have an agreement from the prefects, who are the military leaders. They probably don't have an agreement from the governors, who are the leaders over the cities and villages. Nor do they have a council of the counselors, who are the leaders over the cities and villages. Nor do they have a council of the counselors who are the lawyers. This entire plan that is hatched by the two high officials and satraps is based on a ruse, believing that the king is going to trust what they're saying and be so proud of his recent coming to power that he will desire to follow through with it quickly, not even looking into their claims before he makes this decree. Then they say Now, o king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked. Therefore, king Darius signed the document and injunction.
Speaker 1:Verses 8 and 9 give us a little bit of insight into the Medo-Persian law and how it was held and believed in Medo-Persia that once a law was enacted, it could not be changed, not even by the king. This unique aspect of the Medo-Persian law is confirmed throughout Scripture In verses 12 and 15 of this chapter, and also in Esther, chapter 1, verse 19, and chapter 8, verse 8. When I researched and looked into this, I find it would seem the best explanation for this kind of irrevocable law is that they saw the king as a servant of their supreme good, god, ahura Mazda. And because the king was seen as the voice of Ahura Mazda, the king's word became infallible Once he put a law into action. It was seen by many Medes and Persians as the word of their highest God in their hierarchy of gods.
Speaker 1:Picking up in verse 10. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house, where he had windows in his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before God, as he had done previously. Let's just pause on verse 10. What Daniel does here is truly a lesson for everyone who believes in the one true God. We're told that when Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went and prayed.
Speaker 1:Daniel's response to this conspiracy, which puts his life in danger to be thrown in the lion's den, which makes a challenge between his faithfulness to the king and his faithfulness to the Lord, god Almighty, daniel's response was to openly pray with his windows open, as he had always done. Daniel recognizes here what I call the priority of authority in his life. Daniel knows who has given King Darius his authority and he knows who sits as king over all of the kings. Daniel understands that it would be wrong to submit to any authority appointed by God when they ask to hinder the worship of the one true king of kings. Moreover, daniel continues to worship the Lord in public. He does it with his windows open, knowing this is going to bring a confrontation. Why would he do that? Because Daniel is testifying to the Lord's greatness. He is testifying not only to the Lord's greatness but to his trust that the Lord is going to use this attack on his faith for the kingdom of God. This, my friends, this, my brothers and sisters, should be our response when our faith is attacked. Daniel doesn't attack those who attacked him, but rather he openly expresses his faith in the one true God to save him. May this be the expression of everyone who trusts in the one true God when they are attacked for their faith.
Speaker 1:Picking up in verse 11,. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making a petition and a plea before his God. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction O king, did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within the thirty days except you, o king, shall be cast into the den of lions. The king answered and said the thing stands fast according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked. Then they answered and said before the king Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you.
Speaker 1:We see those who have conspired against Daniel agree to meet and go to Daniel's house so they can cooperatively see him pray, with his windows open. And they find Daniel praying before the Lord. And after confirming this, together with multiple witnesses now against Daniel, they went directly to King Darius to accuse Daniel of breaking the law. And even before they make an accusation against Daniel, they politically solidify the king's position on the injunction that he had just signed. They ask him if he didn't just sign a law that requires men not to petition any god but to worship King Darius alone, with the punishment being death by being cast into the lion's den. And then Darius, before even knowing that Daniel was involved or had publicly disobeyed the law, declares that the law stands fast, obeyed the law, declares that the law stands fast.
Speaker 1:And then, finally, this coalition of men accused Daniel of not paying any attention to the king or his decrees because he breaks this new law publicly and petitions the Lord God, three times a day, picking up in verse 14, times a day, picking up in verse 14. Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and he set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king Know, o king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed. In verses 14 and 15, after King Darius heard this collective accusation against Daniel from this coalition of his leaders, he knew he had been tricked and he knew that Daniel had been set up While these men had earlier told the king that all of the high officials wanted this law passed. Now he knows that they lied to him and he knows that Daniel was deliberately excluded. From the very time that King Darius heard these words until the end of that same day, he did everything he could to find a way to try and rescue Daniel from the very law he had just enacted. And we see from the king's labor and his desire to rescue Daniel how he would have never done this if he knew Daniel opposed it, much less put him in danger. And after all of the king's efforts all day long to try and reverse this decision, this coalition of evil men that have tricked the king once again come in before the king to remind the king that, according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, the king's orders cannot be changed. Picking up in verse 16, be changed. Picking up in verse 16,.
Speaker 1:Then the king commanded and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel May your God, whom you serve, continually deliver you. And a stone was brought and laid at the mouth of the den and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No diversions were brought to him and sleep fled from him. Verses 16 through 18 describe the night that Daniel was thrown into the lion's den. At the end of the day, when Darius had realized there was no loophole, there was no reversing this law, with a heavy heart he had Daniel brought and cast into the lion's den.
Speaker 1:The language of the lion's den here implies that this was an underground pit it had likely been dug into the hill, with a hole at the top of the hill to throw food into. And death by the mauling of lions was one of several brutal forms of execution that the Medes and Persians employed. This form of execution originally began as a punishment for treason or the desertion of military personnel, but, as we know, later, under the Roman Empire, this would become a form of entertainment in a coliseum. And as King Darius has Daniel thrown into the den of lions, he declares to Daniel his hope that Daniel's God will deliver him from it. We should be reminded here that Daniel is now about 85 years old. We should be reminded here that Daniel is now about 85 years old, and just being thrown down into a pit itself has to be painful for Daniel. We can only imagine the personal fears that Daniel must be dealing with. But yet he doesn't speak a word and he trusts in God's plan for his kingdom through all of this.
Speaker 1:Then we're told that a stone was brought in and laid on the mouth of the den. This implies that there was typically not a stone that covered this hole, but one was intentionally brought in. Additionally, we're shown that this stone is sealed with a wax seal, because it's sealed with the king's signet, and not only his, but the signet of all of the lords. This was an additional security measure. Why were such extraordinary measures taken? Because the political tension at this time was incredibly high. The fact that the king had been searching all day for a way to rescue Daniel and he had been tricked by this coalition of political leaders created an incredible tension. And now they all are sealing this stone over Daniel. In fact, the very next verse tells us that this was done so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.
Speaker 1:After the king and these lords seal Daniel in the den of lions, the king went home and fasted, and he was so distraught over what he had just been forced to do by these political leaders he was unable to sleep. To do by these political leaders, he was unable to sleep. He went to his palace and he fasted all night long, insisting that no one interrupt him Picking up in verse 19. Then, at the break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As soon as he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve, continually been able to deliver you from the lions? Then Daniel said to the king O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him and also before you, o king. I have done no harm.
Speaker 1:Here in verses 19 through 22, we see what happens at the break of a new day, the very moment that it was legally possible to check on Daniel. The next day, the king goes to the den of lions and before he even gets to the den, he is crying out to Daniel, asking Daniel, are you alive? He is crying out to Daniel, asking Daniel, are you alive? And what is most interesting about the king's cry to Daniel is that he calls Daniel the servant of the living God. It shows us how the God of heaven has already used this event, even before he knows Daniel's alive, to teach King Darius that Daniel's God is a living and true God. And then Daniel replies. Daniel tells King Darius that God has sent his angel to shut the mouth of the lions. When Daniel tells the king that he was found blameless before God and also before him, daniel's not implying that he's without sin, but rather that he has been innocent of any wrongdoing in the matter he was accused of. Daniel acted as a man of integrity, a man of honesty, both before God and before the king. Additionally, this statement of Daniel declares to the king the evil intent of this coalition who has brought all of this about and how the current law is unjust, even as Daniel sits amongst the lions. Even as Daniel sits amongst the lions Think about that, my friends. Daniel is yet sitting amongst the lions that could kill him, and he has the boldness to tell the king the greatness of his God and the injustice of the current law.
Speaker 1:Verse 23,. Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. Verse 23,. The moment King Darius heard the voice of Daniel, he knew that God had delivered him, and he was overjoyed and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den of lions. So the king's servants either lowered a ladder or a rope down to Daniel so he could be taken out of the den. And once Daniel was out of the den, he was examined. And when he was examined, it was found that no harm had come to him because he had trusted in God, verse 24,. And the king commanded and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions they, their children and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones into pieces.
Speaker 1:In verse 24, we see how, after Daniel was brought out, the king now gives a new command, a command that the men who had spitefully and evilly sought to destroy Daniel now be brought and cast into the lion's den, and not just them, but their immediate families as well, their children and their wives. And when these men and their families were thrown into the lion's den, and when these men and their families were thrown into the lion's den, they were jumped and mutilated by the lions. Even before they reached the floor, it tells us, their flesh was torn and their bones broken to pieces. This too is a display of God's power, showing us how these lions were fierce and hungry killers, but just hours earlier they had been silenced by the angel that God had sent Picking up in verse 25,. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and languages that dwell in the earth Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in my royal dominion, people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God enduring forever. His kingdom shall not be destroyed and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.
Speaker 1:In verses 25 through 27, darius the Mede makes a decree, a decree that is to be sent throughout the entire Medo-Persian empire, in a similar fashion to how Nebuchadnezzar made a public decree to the nations that declared his personal faith in the God of heaven and earth back in Daniel, chapter 4, so here does Darius the Mede. It's hard to understate the importance of these events in world history, as within one year of Darius's public decree, cyrus will also make a decree that allows the Jews to return to their own country and thus mark the end of the 70 years of captivity. The Medo-Persian Empire at this point is larger than the Babylonian Empire. It includes Persia, media, everything swallowed up with the Babylonian Empire and Asia Minor. Egypt is not yet part of this empire, but will become a province in 13 years. A province in 13 years, this decree will be for most of the civilized world at this time, and our last verse, verse 28, says so.
Speaker 1:This Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus. The Persian Verse 28 helps us to understand that the reign of Darius the Mede was simultaneous with the reign of Cyrus. As we had mentioned at the beginning, cyrus had officially given Darius, his father-in-law, the empire for these first two years, as Cyrus was setting up a palace in the recently captured Babylon with his new wife. Thank you for joining me today for the Mysteries of God's Word. I hope you join us again. God bless you this week.