Daniel in the Lions Den

One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mum, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can't dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by the boy’s shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"

Tonight we have heard the account of Daniel, a man who showed no fear even when he was thrown into the Lions Den (Daniel 6:6-23) – it’s a well known story that’s regularly told to children, but it is much more than just a children’s story, because the life and faith of Daniel are a great example to us all.

Up to this point Daniel who was now over 80 years of age had been a great success in his life – he was one of 3 Governors over the whole kingdom, and was respected for his principles and character. He seems to have distinguished himself in everything that he did.

But sadly success always seems to breed envy in some people. And so some of those people decided to get up a plot to get rid of Daniel once and for all. They made up a plan to tell the king, Darius, that Daniel’s faith was directly in conflict with his loyalty to the king, and they effectively put together a law which stopped people from praying to anyone other than the King.

Of course Daniel refused to budge in his faith and his dependence on the God who has been with him throughout his life, and so very quickly he is found guilty of breaching this law, and the king reluctantly aggress to put him in the Lions Den, but even then he hopes that the God who Daniel has faithfully served will somehow save him.

As Daniel is put in the Lions Den it is sealed, and Daniel’s enemies seem to have won their battle – of course they should have realised that no seal could ever be strong enough to hold back the purposes of God. There’s a story about handling lions in fact. 2 explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. "Keep calm" the first explorer whispered. "Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run." "Sure," replied his companion. "You've read the book, and I've read the book. But has the lion read the book?"

But anyway, returning to the theme, that night the king has a sleepless night, and goes to the den the following morning hoping that Daniel has somehow survived, and sure enough he finds Daniel still alive, and surprisingly enough still faithful not only to God, but to the king himself.

And so this is a great story for children, good against bad, throwing in a few ferocious lions that like to eat people along the way, but it is also a great story for us, and makes a number of very important points.

Firstly it reminds us of the value of being committed to prayer. Through fear of persecution, even when faced with death, Daniel never stopped trusting and praying. He was willing to put his faith in God and his desire to serve God above anything else, even life on earth itself.

Secondly it reminds us that nothing can ever defeat the will and purpose of God, and we can be confident of that. The seal that was placed on the lions den was not enough to end Daniel’s life, just as the cross and the heavy stone across the tomb were not able to hold back the risen Lord Jesus and the life that he had to offer to all people.

Thirdly the reaction of Daniel when the king spoke to him that following morning reminds us that there is never an excuse to treat people without respect. Again Daniel is here living out the commands that Jesus would later give us - to turn the other cheek, to pray for those who seek to hurt us and to offer a helping and caring hand to anyone.

And finally Daniel offers all of his praise and worship to God, and tells people about it. He’s not afraid to shout out the good news that he has a God who protects, who loves, who provides and who walks alongside us through every fear and every danger, as well as every joy. This praise and proclamation has an immediate effect on the king who later proclaims himself about the God of Daniel,

‘He is the living God, enduring forever.

His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end.

He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth…’

In prayer, in faith, in our treatment of others, and in our proclamation of our wonderful God may we follow the example of Daniel. AMEN