Presented to The
Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 15 February 2026 by Major Michael
Ramsay
We have been reading through the Book of Daniel and thus far
going through chapter by chapter. Therefore, if you have been to church over
the previous five weeks you would have read and studied the first five and now
6 chapters with us.
The first four chapters were ultimately about King
Nebuchadnezzar’s salvation and included a couple of dreams and the famous
Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego in the fiery furnace story. Last week there was
one chapter dedicated to one of Nebuchadnezzar’s successors King Belshazzar. We
read the story of the writing on the wall and the fall of the Neo-Babylonian /
Chaldean Empire. Also in Chapter 5 we are introduced to a new king – Daniel's
third leader whom he served under, King Darius the Mede. Chapter 5:30-31: “That
very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede
took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.”
This is where today’s story picks up... but maybe I should
do a sidebar first, before we read the chapter. I was looking up where the
different kings are mentioned in the Bible and in history. Nebuchadnezzar is
mentioned a lot and Ezra-Nehemiah takes place at the time of Cyrus, who is the
next king Daniel will serve under. King Darius the Mede, however, isn’t
mentioned anywhere other than the book of Daniel – either in the Bible or in
history as far as we know. There was a Persian King known as ‘Darius the Great’
who is very famous in history – but he wasn’t around until after Cyrus. Darius
the Mede, however, is before Cyrus. I followed that rabbit hole a little bit
and came up with two ideas (of the very many out there) that I liked. One,
Daniel obviously isn’t chronological and so ‘Darius the Mede’ could be ‘Darius
the Great’. (I won’t go into that too much) and two, maybe ‘Darius the Mede’ is
‘Cyrus the Great’ or a ruler under Cyrus. Daniel 6:28 can actually be
translated as “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, that is, in the
reign of Cyrus the Persian.”
Another question, besides ‘who is Darius the Mede?’ that I
found interesting is the question, ‘who are the Medes and the Persians?’ Do we
know this? We know the Persian Empire? They fought against the Greeks a lot –
Xerxes, Darius, Cyrus. We remember Xerxes from the book of Esther. The Persians
and the Medes are two different groups of Iranians who are very closely
related. Just like Tseshaht and Hupacasath are two different groups of
Nuu-chah-nulth People (also Tla-o-qui-aht and Ahousaht); so the Medes and
Persians are two nations of Iranians. Iran and the Iranian people, of course,
still exists today in the same general area. Alright... to the scriptures...
Babylon has fallen, the Iranians have taken over, and Darius is in charge.
Reading from 6:1-5:
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the
kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The
satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3
Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by
his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole
kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds
for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were
unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was
trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We
will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has
something to do with the law of his God.”
Daniel is a high-ranking government employee. But he is
somehow able to keep working for many years in various administrations. He was
Nebuchadnezzar’s right-hand person and third in command (albeit newly appointed
as such) for Belshazzar and now he is one of three top administrators for
Darius. His fellow administrators don’t like Daniel for some reason: it could
be prejudice, because he isn’t an Iranian but the Medo-Persians / Iranians did
work well with the foreigners in their ranks and according to the books of
Ezra-Nehemiah (which take place around this same time), the Hebrews seem to
even have had a somewhat favoured position in the empire – but that can go back
and forth – we also know the similar story of Esther, Haman and Mordechai which
took place in the Persian Empire as well.
It could be that his co-workers just didn’t like him. It
could be that he was old and crochety – certainly Chapter 5 can be read that
way. It could be that the other officials were jealous. It could be because he
was the boss’ favourite, It could be a bunch of things but for whatever reason,
Daniel was that one co-worker who nobody seemed to like – accept the boss.
Anyway, he was about to be promoted and his co-workers did not like it at all.
They tried to find something that he was doing that was not quite right so they
could rat him out but Daniel was a stickler for the rules. Verse 5: Finally
these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man
Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.” Verse 6ff:
So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and
said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects,
satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an
edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being
during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into
the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so
that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians,
which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.
There are a few things here. Obviously, this group was
intentionally being tricky. They knew Daniel prayed to YHWH so they tricked the
King into making it a capital offence to pray to anyone accept the King. There
could be a few reasons that the king may go for that. He may think that he is a
god or he may be so vain that he thinks that everything should be about him.
These are possible motives but the fact that this is only for a month, not
forever leads one to believe that it is something other than just that. If he
actually wanted everyone to worship him and him alone he could have decreed it
from now on instead of just for a time. I would imagine that there certainly
was a certain amount of hubris in his command but it seems that it was as much
about establishing his authority as anything else – similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s
statue. He had newly conquered a lot of his kingdom and wanted to make sure
that everyone was loyal to him. Anyway, the plotters flattered the king into
doing what they wanted.
They were tricky too: look at Verse 7: the plotters tell the
king that “The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors
have all agreed ...[with their request]” This was obviously untrue because
Daniel was 1/3rd of the administrators and he didn’t agree. His colleagues
thought that they could trick their boss into getting rid of his favourite
employee. (Honestly, I don’t know how they could think that would go well for
them. I think I am an alright boss. And if my employees pulled something like
this, I can’t imagine that working out well for them at all.) But – they did
it. Part 1 of their plan is complete: They convinced the King to agree to throw
anyone to the lions who is caught praying to anyone other than the king. He
fell for it.
Now, the moment of truth – how well do they know Daniel?
Will he take the bait. We should note here that there is no religious law or
practice that we know of now that states that Daniel had to pray to God three
times a day; there is no command in the Bible that says that he needs to pray
towards Jerusalem every day. It is just something he does in his personal
devotions – it is not mandated by religious law or Judean tradition; it is just
something he does; so, will he keep praying to YHWH after the law is published
– and can they prove it; or will he be sneaky like deceiving people who smuggle
Bibles into foreign countries today or who have secret Church meetings? Will he
be tricky or will he be bold for the gospel? They are waiting. What will Daniel
do? Verse 10-12a:
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he
went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three
times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just
as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel
praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him
about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next
thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your
Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”
When there is trouble, the first thing Daniel does is go
home and pray. That makes sense. It says he goes home, into his house, and he
goes to a room upstairs. The windows in that room face Jerusalem. He went to
that room and knelt down to pray three times a day, as he had always done. Now
the plotters – I don’t know how many of them there are. Are there just his 2
hitherto equals or are there others as well? It says there is a group of them
so I imagine that a group is more than two people - The plotters, go as a group
and sure enough they catch him praying; so, as was their plan, they run to the
king and remind him of the law and that it can’t be changed and that anyone who
breaks that law is to be thrown to the Lions. 6:12-14:
The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of
the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
13 Then they said to the
king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you,
Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a
day.” 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined
to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
15 Then the men went as a
group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according
to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues
can be changed.”
I find it interesting that when they tell on Daniel –
remember that Daniel is one of the 3 top administrators in the kingdom and he
is being promoted to number 2 behind only the King – sort of like Darius’ Prime
Minister - and his fellow ruling elites refer to him as “Daniel, who is one of
the exiles from Judah, [who] pays no attention to you.” This reminds me what we
are hearing about in the USA today with ICE. Or in Japan: their Prime Minister
just won an election with a platform of keeping the foreigners out and possibly
limiting / not letting them practice their religion or cultural traditions. Or
– it is Olympics time – remember the Paris Olympics? Not only did they
seemingly mock God, Christians and Christianity in their opening ceremonies,
but they also banned Muslim women athletes from wearing the hijab let alone the
barkha. In Canada too we have just tightened our restrictions on people from
other countries being able to live and work here – and Quebec (Law/Bill 21)
does not allow the turban, the hijab, the crucifix, or other symbols of
religious worship for anyone who is a government employee like Daniel was. The
group’s deriding comment about Daniel is that he is a foreigner and they attack
him via his religious worship. Much like is happening today in Canada, the USA,
and other western and even eastern countries.
The king isn’t concerned about that. He made Daniel number 2
in his Kingdom: Daniel in Babylon after Isreal falls is again reminiscent of
Joseph in Egypt before Isreal was founded. The king is very hesitant to kill
Daniel and so at sundown it appears that the whole group (however large it is)
that wants Daniel gone, goes to the king to remind him of his duty –because of
their country’s version of Quebec’s Bill 21- to throw Daniel to the lions, vv.
16-19:
16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw
him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve
continually, rescue you!”
17 A stone was brought and
placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet
ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be
changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without
eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not
sleep.
19 At the first light of
dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he came near the
den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living
God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the
lions?”
I find this very interesting. The king obviously does not
want to lose Daniel. Lots of people want Daniel out of the way, but the king is
not passive in this story. He actively wants Daniel to somehow survive. He has
hope that somehow Daniel might make it. He can’t sleep at all that night. He
doesn’t want to eat. He doesn’t want to watch anything or do anything. He just
wants it to be tomorrow to find out what will happen. You know what it is like
when the die is cast, there is nothing you can do but pray and hope. Maybe it
is like when you have written an exam and everything is riding on your mark and
you have to wait to find out how you did, or you wrote a proposal, or applied
for a job and you don’t know what happened; or maybe there has been an accident
and you don’t know if your family member was in the accident or not and you are
just praying that she is okay. My father-in-law was a politician. They would
fight a whole campaign and then on election night after the polls were closed
just sit glued to the TV to see the results coming in. There is nothing more
that can be done. You just watch and pray that not only your team wins but that
you survive. You are not defeated.
The example of powerlessness and waiting that comes to my
mind is when I was in grade six. Of course there was no internet when I was in
Grade 6 – and I didn’t do my homework one day, I forgot – and here it is
Wednesday night and the school library is closed and Thursday, the following
morning, the teacher will ask for a random group of students to present their
assignments – and like I said there is no internet and no way for me to do my
homework before tomorrow. So I prayed that I would not be in the group that is
picked to present the next day. I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to do anything.
I just needed to find out my fate. I think this is what it is like for Darius.
He has tried to think of something that he can do to save his friend and/or
prized employee but he can’t. All he can do is wait through the night – hoping.
As he seals Daniel in the lion’s den he says, Verse 16, “May
your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” And then after the sleepless
night, Verse19-23,
At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the
lions’ den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished
voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve
continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “May
the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the
lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor
have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
23 The king was overjoyed
and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from
the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
The King is relieved; the king is overjoyed. God had saved
Daniel from the lions as he saved his companions from the furnace many, many
years before. God protected him. The king is relieved. He is overjoyed. He had
hope; he had faith – he did race to the den of lions as fast as he could, as
early as he could. He was hoping – I am reminded of the Disciple John, on
Easter morning, when he ran faster than anyone and arrived at the empty tomb.
As one might expect to see the lifeless body of Jesus, one might expect to see
the lifeless body of Daniel – but each were alive! John said, he believed but
he still did not understand! and remember too in the Gospels, the centurion who
came to Jesus asking Jesus to save his little girl – he said before he saw that
his daughter was alive, “I believe, help my unbelief.” These are Darius’
feelings. He has experienced the miraculous salvation of YHWH. He is overjoyed.
Verse 24:
24 At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel
were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and
children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered
them and crushed all their bones.
This is interesting. The king who was so concerned about the
laws of the Medes and the Persians that he signed the assumed execution of his
trusted official, his friend because it was the law, he here quickly decides
that not only should all his friend’s accusers die but so should their families
– and apparently God agrees because they all seem to have died quickly - before
they even hit the ground. The officials, however many of them there were, took
quite a chance (because apparently this outcome was always a possibility) and
it cost not only them but also their whole families their lives. I do wonder
how many lions there were and how hungry or angry they were. I do wonder how
many people died that day – 10 officials and all of their wives and kids? 50 officials
and all their families? 100? I don’t know but their gamble didn’t pay off and
the stakes were very high. They gambled that they could defeat Daniel by
tricking the king, but even though they successfully tricked the king, Daniel’s
God defeated them and the king was keen to see that they experienced the
consequences.
God saved Daniel in a miraculous way just as King Darius
hoped beyond hope and maybe didn’t even quite dare to believe. This brings us
to the point of this chapter, as Dairus speaks up on his version of a Testimony
Sunday for all the hear, verses 25-28:
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every
language in all the earth:
“May you prosper
greatly!
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must
fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
“For He is the
living God
and He endures
forever;
His kingdom will not
be destroyed,
His dominion will
never end.
27 He rescues and He
saves;
He performs signs
and wonders
in the heavens and
on the earth.
He has rescued
Daniel
from the power of
the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of
Cyrus the Persian.
Daniel’s salvation from the lions, as well as a means to the
king’s salvation, seems to be a metaphor, a real-life object lesson for King
Darius’ salvation. Just as the first four chapters of Daniel spoke to King
Nebuchadnezzar’s salvation story and his testimony to the Most High God; so too
chapter six speaks to King Darius’ salvation and his testimony. PTL. Again, the
words of the king to all the nations of the earth:
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must
fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
“For He is the
living God
and He endures
forever;
His kingdom will not
be destroyed,
His dominion will
never end.
27 He rescues and He
saves;
He performs signs
and wonders
in the heavens and
on the earth.
He has rescued
Daniel
from the power of
the lions.”
And as He rescued Daniel, so He rescued the king, and so He
can rescue us from everything we are facing today.
Let us pray
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