The Lion's Den
Sermon Notes
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called The Story, where we’re going through the biblical narrative from the very beginning in Genesis 1 to the last amen in Revelation 22, and today we’re studying the story of Daniel and The Lion’s Den. It’s a story that can teach us how to find strength, when life is hard. The reality is life isn’t always easy. It’s sometimes hard, it’s sometimes rough, it sometimes feels like you’ve been thrown in a lion’s den...It sometimes feels like you’ve been thrown in a lion’s den, and the struggles of life are devouring you. Where do you find your strength when that happens?...Where do you turn for strength, when life is hard?... Do you turn to the bottle to numb the pain?...Do you turn to binge watching shows on Netflix to numb your mind?...Do you turn to family or friends for advice on how to make life easier?... Where do you find your strength, where do you turn for strength, when life is hard?... Everybody faces times when life is hard, and the story of Daniel can teach us how to find strength when life is hard. It can teach us how to find strength, when life feels like you’ve been thrown in a lion’s den. So let’s turn to Daniel 6 and get into it. The book of Daniel’s located the middle of the bible, and we’ll start in Daniel 6:1. Title of today’s message is The Lion’s Den, and the big idea is to find your strength from above, not from within...Find your strength from above, not from within.
Context:
Here’s your context. Last week in our study of the book of Jeremiah we learned that the Babylonians conquered the Southern Kingdom of Israel, which was the Kingdom of Judah. The book of Daniel records the events taking place in the 6th Century B.C., when many Jews were deported, they were put into Babylonian exile. Daniel and his 3 friends Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were among the deported, and they each served in the Babylonian government for years. But living in Babylonian exile and working for their government wasn’t easy. For example in ch 3 King Nebuchadnezzar throws Daniel’s 3 friends in a fiery furnace, because they wouldn’t bow to worship an idol he made. But the Lord miraculously saves them proving his sovereignty over Nebuchadnezzar. So life in Babylonian exile wasn’t easy for them, it was hard for them, and in ch 5 we learn Belshazzar becomes the new king of Babylon. Daniel interprets a message the Lord gives Belshazzar, predicting that the Medes and Persians will conquer Babylon, and it happens that very night! So King Darius the Mede conquers Babylon, he makes Daniel one of his trusted advisers to keep stability in the Babylonian government, and here’s what happens next.
The Word:
Daniel 6:1 states, “Darius decided to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, stationed throughout the realm, 2 and over them three administrators, including Daniel. These satraps would be accountable to them so that the king would not be defrauded. 3 Daniel distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit, so the king planned to set him over the whole realm.” So King Darius appoints 120 satraps, 120 government leaders, and their primary job was to collect tribute for King Darius and to provide security for their regions. King Darius also appointed 3 administrators, 3 high officials, and their primary job was to oversee all the satraps. Daniel was appointed as 1 of those 3 high officials, and he does such an excellent job, he had such an extraordinary spirit, that King Darius plans to have him oversee the entire kingdom. What we’re learning here is that the Lord wants us to work with excellence, to work with an extraordinary spirit, even if we’re in a difficult career or secular work environment. The Lord wants us to work with such excellence, with such an extraordinary spirit, that it makes a positive impact on our work environment. Daniel’s doing exactly what the prophet Jeremiah told the Jews to do in Jeremiah 29:7, “Pursue the well-being of the city you’ve been deported to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf...” Daniel’s doing that! He has such a positive impact on both his city and his difficult work environment, that it catches King Darius’ attention. So King Darius plans to promote Daniel, which makes other satraps and high officials jealous.
Vs. 4, “The administrators and satraps kept trying to find a charge against Daniel regarding the kingdom. But they could find no charge or corruption, for he was trustworthy...” We see this kind of thing happening in our own country during elections. We see politicians and the media trying to find dirt on their opponents to smear their name. Sometimes it’s easy to find dirt on people, but sometimes it’s difficult. So the media has to go all the way back to a time in elementary school, when Jimmy flicked a booger in Mary’s eye...These satraps and high officials are digging for dirt, but they can’t find any charge or corruption against Daniel.
Vs. 6, “So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said to him, ‘May King Darius live forever. 7 All the administrators of the kingdom—the prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors—have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an edict that for thirty days, anyone who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den.” So since they can’t find any dirt on Daniel, they’re trying to get King Darius to create a law they know Daniel won’t follow because of his faith. It’s a law prohibiting people from praying, from making petitions to any god for 30 days, except for King Darius. They know that’s a law Daniel won’t agree to. So this new law puts Daniel’s job at risk, even worse it puts his life at risk. He’ll be thrown in the lion’s den if he doesn’t follow this law. Some of us have harder jobs than others and it feels like every day is a grind. But imagine having Daniel’s job where your employer can throw you in the lion’s den for insubordination! Daniel had a tough job, and he’s being put in a tough situation. If he follows the Lord, he’ll lose his job and his life.
Vs. 8, “‘Your Majesty, establish the edict and sign the document, so that as a law of the Medes and Persians, it is irrevocable and cannot be changed.’ 9 So King Darius signed the written edict.” The Medes and Persians had a custom that whenever a king passed a law it was irrevocable, and historians say the reason for this was to prevent kings from passing laws based on mood swings, which happened in ancient civilizations. If a king lost a basketball tournament like we’re having after church today, the king could throw a tantrum and create a law banning basketball everywhere. Then after a few days when the king cools down, he could revoke that law. So the Medes and Persians had this custom to prevent things like that from happening. The king could still write new laws to alter old laws, but they hesitated doing that because of this irrevocable custom, and because they wanted to give the impression they were divine. If a king keeps changing their laws it gives the impression they made a mistake, and so they tried not to alter any laws to give the impression they were divine. Well King Darius agrees to prohibiting people from praying for 30 days, that law becomes irrevocable, and it puts Daniel’s life at risk.
Vs. 10, “When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed. It says he did this, just as he had done before, meaning praying 3 times a day was a common practice for him. He prayed in ch 1 when the Babylonians tried forcing him to eat certain foods. He prayed in ch 2 when Nebuchadnezzar threatened to kill all the wise men for failing to interpret a dream. He’s praying here in ch 6 when he’s facing the lion’s den. Daniel continually went to the Lord in prayer, he continually found strength in the Lord through prayer, especially when life was hard. Where do you find your strength, when life is hard?...Where do you find your strength when work is hard, when marriage is hard, when family life is hard, when life is hard?...Daniel found his strength in praying to the Lord...But his enemies see him praying despite the law prohibiting prayer, and they report it to King Darius. Since the king likes Daniel he tries rescuing Daniel, but the leaders hold him accountable to the irrevocable custom. So the king regrettably gives the order, and Daniel’s thrown in the lion’s den.
Vs. 19, “At the first light of dawn the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish to Daniel. ‘Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions?’ 21 Then Daniel spoke with the king…22‘My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths; and they haven’t harmed me, for I was found innocent before him.’ 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to take Daniel out of the den. When Daniel was brought up from the den, he was found to be unharmed, for he trusted in his God.” Notice Daniel wasn’t saved because of his good deeds or because he was some skilled an animal trainer like the Dog Whisperer. He was saved because he trusted in the Lord, and the Lord honored his faith. This doesn’t mean you won’t ever have hard days if you trust the Lord, because clearly Daniel’s having a hard day. So it doesn’t mean you won’t ever have hard days if you trust the Lord, it means the Lord will see you through your hard days. The Lord will see you through your hard days, if you prayerfully trust in him like Daniel.
Vs. 24, “The king then gave the command, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, were brought and thrown into the lions’ den—they, their children, and their wives. They had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.” There’s a few things to notice here, and the 1st is that Daniel’s survival isn’t because the lions weren’t hungry. Clearly the lions were hungry, because they overpowered and killed all of Daniel’s enemies. The 2nd thing is the Persians had a ruthless common practice where they’d kill men and their families, if they falsely accused somebody with a death sentence. They did this so their families couldn’t avenge their death. Since Daniel was falsely accused with a death sentence, they’re now receiving his death sentence, and so are their families according to Persian custom.
Vs. 25, “Then King Darius wrote to those of every people, nation, and language who live on the earth: ‘May your prosperity abound. 26 I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end. 27 He rescues and delivers; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for he has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.’” This is really an incredible declaration that King Darius is making, because the Babylonians, Medes, and Persians believed in multiple gods. But here we’re seeing King Darius come to faith in the Lord, just like King Nebuchadnezzar does in ch 4.
Ch. 4:34-37, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my sanity returned to me. Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation...37 I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true, and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” What we’re learning is the Lord can use our lives and our hardships, to lead others to faith in him. One of our codes, one of our core values at City Awakening is to love the few so we can love the many, meaning we want to love a few people so well, that they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives. This is exactly what Daniel was doing in the lives of these pagan kings, and it eventually leads to their faith in the Lord. First King Nebuchadnezzar declares his faith in the Lord, but now King Darius is declaring his faith in the Lord. King Darius starts with a declaration prohibiting prayer, but he ends with a declaration professing faith. He starts as a pagan king believing in multiple gods, but he ends believing in the God of the bible. He ends declaring only the God of Daniel is a living God, who endures forever, and whose kingdom will never be destroyed. The Lord used Daniel’s life and hardships to lead these pagan kings to faith, and the Lord can use your life and hardship to lead others to faith. The Lord gave Daniel strength through prayer, and the Lord can give you strength through prayer. So let me ask you 3 questions, 3 application questions, then I’ll close.
Question #1 = How valuable is prayer to you? How valuable is prayer to you? Prayer was extremely valuable to Daniel. If you think about it prayer was more valuable to Daniel than his very own life! I mean he knew praying to the Lord meant he’d face the lion’s den, but he’d rather face the lion’s den over losing his prayer life. He valued prayer more than his life! That’s convicting to me, because I’ll sometimes sacrifice my prayer life for things far less than a lion’s den. I’ll sometimes sacrifice my prayer life for things like sleeping in or binge watching something on tv. But Daniel would rather die than give up his prayer life. He’d rather die than give up his time with the Lord. He valued prayer, more than his life. How valuable is prayer to you?
Question #2 = Are you willing to make prayer a priority? Are you willing to make prayer a priority? Another one of our codes here at City Awakening is we want prayer to be our 1st response, and our continual response, meaning we want prayer to be a priority in our lives. Daniel valued prayer so much, that he made it a priority in his life. He prayed 3 times a day, meaning he made prayer a part of his daily routines. The great John Wesley trained himself to pray every hour on the hour, because he wanted to start and continue his day with the Lord. Both Daniel and Wesley valued prayer, they valued spending time with the Lord, and they made it a priority in their life. They knew the only way to make it through the hardships of their day, is to find strength in the Lord by praying throughout their day. My wife and I are trying to teach our children to do the same. We’re trying to teach our children to grab their bibles before they grab their phones, and to live the text they study as they go through the day. We’re trying to teach them to make prayer a priority in their life like Daniel. What about you? Are you willing to make a prayer a priority in your life?...What habits do you need to create or break, to make prayer a priority in your life?...How valuable is prayer to you, and are you willing to make it a priority?
Question #3 = Where will you find your strength, when life is hard? Where will you find your strength, when life is hard? See one of the reasons we don’t value prayer and make it a priority as much as we should, is because we value our self-reliance more than we should. We think we can handle everyday life without the Lord, instead of being prayerfully reliant on the Lord. But eventually something will happen in life you can’t overcome. Something will happen that’ll break your self-reliant knees, and where will you find your strength then? What will you turn to for strength then? I mean everything you’re relying on for strength, security, satisfaction in life can be taken away within seconds. Your house isn’t eternal, your wealth isn’t eternal, your health isn’t eternal, your family isn’t eternal. You can lose the mini kingdom you’ve built within seconds...There isn’t a single thing you can rely on in this world for eternal strength, security, satisfaction except for the Lord. The book of Daniel teaches us only God has the power to shut the mouth of lions. Only God has the power to help us survive the lion’s den. Only God has the power to help us survive our hard days. The book of Daniel teaches us that in the end only one kingdom will be left standing, and it’s God’s Kingdom like King Darius said. We must find our strength in God and his Kingdom, because only God and his kingdom will be left standing in the end. Eventually everything else you turn to for strength will fail, something will happen that’ll break your self-reliant knees, and the only hope you’ll have left is to bend your knees in prayer.
The Big Idea:
The big idea of the message is to find your strength from above, not from within...Find your strength from above, not from within...Daniel shows that having strength in your prayer life, can give you strength in the lion’s den. Having strength in your prayer life, can give you strength in your hard days, and some of you’ve been having hard days. Some of you came in here today on crutches, busted up from trying to fix your marriage, crushed by the challenges of parenting, discouraged by the burdens of your career or the burdens of everyday life. Some of you came in here on crutches, but you need to leave here on a stretcher fully reliant on Jesus carrying you. You need to leave here on your knees praying, surrendering your marriage, your family, your career, whatever lion’s den you’re facing into the loving hands of Jesus.
When Jesus rose from the dead he proved he’s the only eternal God with an eternal kingdom, and the good news of the gospel is he’s willing to save and strengthen anyone who prays to him. The good news of the gospel is Jesus went into the lion’s den on our behalf, when he died for our sins on the cross. His death on the cross proves he cares and that he’s willing to walk with us daily in prayer. If you walk with Jesus daily in prayer, you’ll find strength to make it through whatever lion’s den you’re facing today. You’ll also have the hope of enjoying Jesus in his eternal kingdom in the future, where you’ll never face another lion’s den again...So let’s all turn to Jesus in prayer. Let’s take whatever lion’s den you’re facing, and turn to Jesus in prayer.