Articles
Life in the Lion's Den
The story of Daniel in the lion’s den is often thought of as a lesson for young people. It is usually grouped in a set of children’s books alongside Jonah and the Big Fish or David and Goliath. That’s because we picture Daniel as the same young man who distinguished himself in the first chapter with his fellow “youths” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
But by the time you get to Daniel 6, over sixty years have passed. Babylon was no longer the ruling power. A new king was on the throne. And Daniel was probably past eighty years old.
All of us—young and old, men and women alike—live in the lion’s den. Our world is shrouded in darkness with dangers seemingly around every corner. Our great adversary, the devil, “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We are in this lair together.
What do we need, like Daniel, to survive in the lion’s den?
A Constant Character
What distinguished Daniel from his contemporaries was his “extraordinary spirit” (6:3). When his fellow officials tried to discredit him by uncovering some scandal or skeleton in his closet, “they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption” (6:4). In fact, they concluded that the only way they were going to remove him from power was to find a ground of accusation “with regard to the law of his God” (6:5). Daniel was outnumbered 122 to 1. But his constant character was unmatched.
If people were to examine our daily lives, would they find any evidence that we were not who we claimed to be? What signal would our text messages send and what trail would our footsteps leave behind? The world is watching to either accuse us for judging them or to justify what they’re doing. Let them see our consistency. With Daniel, even the king noticed that he “constantly” served God (6:16). It’s what we must do to keep from getting devoured.
A Respect for Right
Under the government of the Medes and the Persians, the law ruled the king. Darius, as powerful as he was, did not have the authority to make Daniel an exception. Once he signed the law that forbade anyone from making a petition to any god or man besides the king for thirty days, it “could not be revoked” (6:8). Yet Daniel “continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously” (6:10). He didn’t do so to openly show his defiance of the law, but he didn’t change the habits of his daily worship to avoid the consequences either. He had respect for a higher authority.
Such boldness is needed by all disciples of our day. We must display the courage of Peter and John who, when commanded to preach no more in the name of Jesus, said, “We cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). As the laws of our land lead people further away from the law of the Lord, we should be counted with the apostles who also testified, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Instead of cowering to political correctness, let us stand up and “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). It’s always right.
An Unfailing Faith
Even in crisis, Daniel did not give up on God. He could have easily quit serving the Lord in all those years of captivity, but He refused to forsake the One Him that had never forsaken him. When Daniel was brought up out of the lion’s den, “no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God” (6:23). It was the same faith that had delivered him from every other trial—and without fail.
Faith in God is what will see us through as well. When the Philistines seized David, he wrote, “In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me” (Psalm 56:3–4)? No matter our opposition, we must believe that God can shut the lions’ mouths of fear, worry, discouragement, temptation, and persecution. In the great hall of faith, Daniel is referenced simply among “the prophets”who “shut the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:33). How did he do that? “By faith.” Let’s be certain we have ours with us in the lion’s den.
Daniel was a man of prayer, daily prayed he three times; even when they cast him down in the den of lions.
Even then, in the den, fear could not alarm him. God did shut the lions’ mouths so they could not harm him.
Oh that all of God’s children would dare to sing this song.
