YAHWEH, THE LIVING GOD, RESCUES DANIEL FROM A DEN OF LIONS
Daniel 6:1-28
As taught by Dave Lindstrom
I. The plot of the jealous satraps and administrators to try to get rid of Daniel (Daniel 6:1-9).
A. The ruler Darius the Mede was mentioned only in the book of Daniel (Dan. 5:30 ; 6:1, 6, 9; 9:1) and not in Persian history. So who was this Medo-Persian ruler who started at the end of 539 B.C.?
1. Some believe it to be Darius I who ruled from 522 B.C. to
486 B.C. However, if he started at 62 years old and ruled 36 years, he would have ended at 98 years old. History does not agree with these ages.
2. Some believe it might have been King Cyrus himself who ruled from 559 B.C. to 530 B.C. These would believe that the alternative translation of Daniel 6:28 and the historical record give this view a leg up. However, why was he called a Mede when the rest of Scripture calls him a Persian?
3. Some believe Darius was a Medo-Persian royal name similar to the Roman “Caesar” or “Augustus.” So in this view, King Cyrus could have assigned someone to rule the city of Babylon under his authority and the Mede was added as a distinction of this person. We know from the Nabonidus-Cyrus Chronicle historically that a governor Gubaru (many times mixed up with Ugbaru) was appointed by King Cyrus as vice-regent of the Chaldean domains on October 29, 539 B.C. If this was the case, then King Cyrus could have had his own formal Coronation two years later. This view seems to fit the texts of Daniel 2:21; 6:1, 28; 9:1; and 10:1 as well as the known historical record in my opinion.
B. Daniel would have been about 80 years old in 539 B.C. w hen he was appointed as one of the three administrators over the Medo-Persian kingdom (Daniel 6:1-4).
1. He showed the same Yahweh anointed exceptional qualities as he has already showed previously (verse 3; Daniel 2:48 ).
2. Daniel’s Yahweh inspired qualities included not being corrupt, being trustworthy and not being negligent (being diligent). These are very good traits to find in any employee or ruler!
C. All the other rulers trick King Darius into enacting an irrevocable law in order to lay a trap for Daniel (Daniel 6:5-9). See how this also happened under King Xerxes I around 483 B.C. in Esther 1:19; 8:8).
Thought: Daniel exhibited many of the traits of the New Testament believer found in I Peter 3:8-17. What do we need to entrust to Yahweh today?
II. Daniel’s habit of praying remained the same even after the decree. Daniel’s spiritual strength came out of his daily walk with Yahweh (Daniel 6:10 -17).
A. His habit in exile was to face Jerusalem (I Kings 8:41 -43), get down on his knees (I Kings 8:54 ; Ezra 9:5; Psalms 95:6), and pray three times a day (Psalms 55:17)(verse 10).
B. Daniel asked God for help (verse 11, possibly meditating on Psalm 22?).
C. The den comes from an Aramaic word which gives the idea of an underground pit. A lid was placed over it with the official wax seal surrounding it (verses 12-17).
Thought: When we go through various trials, it’s a time to become very diligent with our daily walk.
III. There are three books of the Apocrypha that are inserted in the Catholic Bible for the book of Daniel.
A. The word “apocrypha” in the Greek means things that are hidden. It is a collection of 14 or 15 books or parts of books which were inserted into the older English Bible (as well as the Septuagint). They were never part of the Canon of Scripture (the list of what is now 66 books including 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament).
B. To be part of the Canon, books are subjected to three main criteria:
1) Authority – internal words claiming authority by God (God breathed) and written by a prophet, apostle, or close associate;
2) Agreement – internal evidence that it agrees with the rest of Scripture;
3) Acceptance – wide acceptance among churches and church leaders.
C. The three apocryphal works surrounding Daniel include:
1) The Song of the Three Holy Children,
2) The History of Susanna, and
3) Bel and the Dragon. None of them show the inspiration of real Scripture and they have several inaccuracies compared to Daniel and other Scriptures.
IV. Yahweh, the only living God, rescues Daniel and receives praise from King Darius (Daniel 6:18 -28).
A. Daniel praises his God for sending his angel and shutting the mouths of the lions (verses 18-21).
1. This is similar wording to Psalm 22:13, 21 which Da niel might have been praying through.
2. The Messiah of Isaiah 11:6 (possibly the same Yahweh messenger in verse 21) will manifest perfect control over the animals in his Millennial Reign!
B. King Darius praises Daniel’s God as the one living God who is the Eternal King and who has the power to rescue and save His people (verses 22-27).
C. Daniel prospered all the way to the rule of Cyrus the Persian (verse 28). He remained in an administrative role until the first year of King Cyrus (Daniel 1:21 ) which was possibly two years after King Darius.
