The Lion King | A Bible Class on the Example of Daniel

The Lion King

The Lion King (Daniel 6:1-28)

We have, in my judgment, too radically “sanitized” Scripture. There are some very sexually blunt texts (the terms “graphic” and “explicit” are, in my judgment, too closely aligned with improper depictions of sex). In the Song of Solomon, there are a couple texts that would cause us all to blush (our English translations “sanitize” those texts and you would never realize how blunt they are). I have preached two sermons on nudity:
They are: “The Naked Preacher” (Is 20:1-6) and “They Call Him the Streak” (Mk 14:51-52). “The Naked Preacher” is one of the most read sermons on my website.

I agreed to teach all the way through Genesis a few years ago. There are two passages there that made me squirm as I taught them. The English cleans them up a little bit.

In my view, a problem arises: God inspired Scripture, and God chose certain words to be used, so why do English translation gloss over them and why do we get so uncomfortable? I’m not complaining about the way others do this. There is a passage in Isaiah that paints a very ugly picture of sin. I have used that text in sermons and classes. I have never shared what the Hebrew really means.

The same holds true with depictions of violence. In Genesis the world rebelled against God, thus, God annihilated the entire human population, save eight. What do we do? We use a Noah’s ark theme in our children’s nursery. There is nothing like bringing a child into the world and putting him/her to sleep in a room that depicts God’s holy wrath! We have turned the episode into a children’s Bible class, and adults seldom ponder the eternal truths being taught (e.g., obedience, sin, death because of sin, etc.).

“The familiarity attained with these stories at an early age tends to insulate the mature reader from the serious nature and purpose of the stories, and leads to the adoption of the attitude that they are not really deserving of serious attention” (Robert A. Anderson).

“In telling these stories today, the church must exercise caution lest the relationship with God is reduced to a triumphal, commercial transaction: if you do this, then God will do that! … When God intervenes, it is to accomplish his purpose, not ours” (Paul Lederach, emphasis added). That’s almost a haunting statement.

When we surrender our lives to God, he will use those lives for his purpose, and he will answer prayer in accordance to his purpose. Jesus in the Garden: “Not my will, but your will be done.” “This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 Jn 5:14).

I find it extremely difficult to believe that Daniel knew God would deliver him. If Daniel knew that God was going to deliver him, what part did is faith play in his decision to pray? “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions” (Heb 11:32-33). Samson and David (both mentioned by name) stopped the mouths of lions. But, Daniel did, too. Samson and David killed lions. Daniel stopped the mouths of lions through his faith and courage.

God has never saved everyone who died for doing right. Cain slew Abel. The first murder in Scripture was because someone sought to please God. Zechariah (2 Chron 24:20-22). In the New Testament: John the Baptizer, Stephen, James, Antipas, and a host of others.

Why would a loving God, who says he is no respecter of persons, allow some obedient people to die while saving others?

Divine punishment worked the same way: Some who disobeyed were killed and some were not. Nadab and Abihu were killed for improper worship (Lev 10:1-2). Their brothers, Eleazar and Ithamar, in the very same chapter commit a comparable sin and live (Lev 10:12-20). I’ve heard from some “progressive” brethren that we can’t use Nadab and Abihu as examples of God’s displeasure with improper worship, because Nadab and Abihu died while Eleazar and Ithamar lived. The sin for adultery was death. Why was David not killed (especially after he had Uriah killed)?

It would seem to center on the purpose of God. “The Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” (Is 14:27). The context is the destruction of Assyria. At Isaiah 14:26, God says that he will punish the sins of all nations. It would also seem to me that this is an eternal principle applicable in many situations.

God fulfills his purposes.

  • He raised up Pharaoh to “show [Pharaoh] [God’s] power, so that [God’s] name may be proclaimed in all the earth” (Ex 9:16).
  • “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand” (Prov 19:21).
  • “David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption” (Acts 13:36).

“Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old” (Dan 5:31).
Darius plays a pivotal role in Daniel 6. However, Darius has not been positively identified to be any ruler during this time in history.

Liberals want to say that Darius was not a historical figure. It never ceases to amaze me that today’s “scholars” think they know more than people who lived 2.5 millennia ago. Many come to the text with preconceived ideas and they look at Scripture to find their assumptions. We can do the very same thing, and we must use everything at our disposal not to read the text based on our assumptions. What happens if we read the text based on assumptions? How might we not do that?

Darius has never been confirmed by archeology or other records.
Therefore, scholars cannot be anywhere close to definitive as to his identity.
There are a couple kings from Daniel’s time period that would fit. But, those guesses are far from definitive. Many details of Scripture (kings, borders between nation, etc.) have been established through archeology. Nothing has ever proven to be false from Scripture. Yet, as in the case of Darius, not every character from Scripture has been “authenticated.”

When we come across cases such as Darius, I believe we need to understand how little we know. Several species of animals are uncovered once a year or so. It begs the question: “How far back do these species go? Have they been here for centuries or has microevolution (evolution within species) caused these animals to appear in our age? Just because man cannot find everything in neat little boxes does not mean that God has made a mistake.

Daniel 6:1-9

The Medo-Persian Empire was the largest the world had ever seen at this point in history. It stretched from India to Ethiopia. Satrap means “protector of the empire.” Over these satraps were three “presidents.” The satraps were governors of districts in the empire. They had three presidents to whom they had to report. Daniel’s responsibilities would have included preventing military revolts, overseeing tax collection, and making certain that the king was not being cheated.

Daniel would only have been given his responsibilities if he had demonstrated the highest level of integrity. He would have been responsible to prevent military revolts and oversee the collection of tax revenue for the king and to make sure the king was not cheated.

Darius knew that he could trust Daniel. “Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom” (v 3). Once again Daniel is rising in the ranks of a secular kingdom.

How had Daniel demonstrated his integrity?

Daniel was promoted politically because of his integrity. How might we be promoted if we demonstrate integrity? What steps can we take to show our integrity? What can we do if our character is ever compromised? Can you think of biblical examples where people recovered from a lack of integrity?

The other two administrators and several of the satraps sought a way to bring charges against Daniel. “But they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God’” (vv 4-5). If we are all sinners, why could the administrators not find error or fault in Daniel? Would people have a hard time finding error or fault in us?

The decision was made to find fault in Daniel based upon his following the will of God. Do people often find fault in those who seek to honor God?

What fault can people find in Christians? How do we keep people from finding fault in our Christianity? How should we live? “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (2 Pet 3:11-12).

The presidents, prefects, and the satraps came to the king with an agreement. The agreement they had reached said that declared no prayer could be made to any other god except Darius for thirty days. In order for this scheme to work, two things were necessary:

  1. Daniel needed to be resolute in his devotion to God. Think about how faithful must have been that the leaders of the kingdom knew he would continue to pray! How can we help people see us in that same light? How can we be as faithful to God as Daniel?
  2. The laws of the Medo-Persian Empire could not be revoked.

Let’s think about Darius for a moment. Why would he be willing to make a decree that no one could pray to another god for 30 days?

There is absolutely no record of a Persian king making himself a deity. In fact, scholars are not certain who Darius is. Skeptics say that he is a fictional character. Some believe that he and Cyrus are the same person. We’ve said before that simply because secular history refuses to record an event does not make it less real. However, many biblical scholars think that Darius was not making himself a god here. The idea advanced by some is that the people were to make “prayer requests” and the like known to the king. The object would be for the king to learn the religions of his people; some might argue that he could better govern after this.

One other thing to consider is that Darius, unlike Nebuchadnezzar, was bound by the law. In that way, Darius was not an absolute monarch. Nebuchadnezzar could exempt himself from any law. Darius could not.

The Babylonians burned criminals, but because the Persians worshiped fire, they threw their criminals to lions.

In what ways might Christians suffer persecution in this country? What makes the persecution of Christians attractive to some people? How should we view persecution? Do you think the church can endure persecution? Do we need to prepare ourselves for persecution? How might we go about doing so?

Daniel 6:10-15

Daniel went and prayed as was his custom. Jesus taught us not to flaunt our faith. Matthew 6:5-6. Granted, Jesus did not speak these words until long after the time of Daniel. However, the ceremonial law was set aside, not what is right and wrong. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). Why, therefore, would Daniel have ever thought it appropriate to pray in such a public way?

Why did Daniel not go somewhere private to pray for these 30 days? Daniel is one of the most righteous men ever to have lived. “Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it [Jerusalem], they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God” (Ezek 14:14). “Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness” (Ezek 14:20). Surely God would have understood Daniel’s predicament!

Daniel gave thanks “before his God, as he had done previously.” The issue wasn’t simply if Daniel continued to pray or not. The issue was whether or not Daniel would continue to honor God in the future as in the past. If Daniel had closed his windows or gone to a shelter, he would compromise the example he had been setting. What might be some ways that we might be tempted to compromise? How can we keep from compromising?

Daniel’s enemies came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Obviously, these men are lying in wait to catch Daniel. That’s significant.

Daniel prayed at the same time daily. That is the clear implication of the text. Three daily prayers were offered by devout Jews. “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice” (Ps 55:17). This indicates Daniel’s persistence in prayer. How persistent are we in prayer? How can we become more persistent in prayer?

Daniel prayed at the same time daily. Those who were wanting to capture Daniel knew the times that he prayed.

What type of example was Daniel in his prayer life? How can we set such an example?

Jesus taught us to go into our inner closet and pray. “When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:5-6). Would it ever be appropriate for people to know we’re praying? Why or why not?

Daniel would rather face the lions than go a month without praying! Can we say the same?

Lying in wait demonstrates just how dedicated these men are to catch Daniel in the act. Is it possible that people might lie in wait to catch us? Might they try to find fault with us to discredit our faith? Might they try to cause problems when they see that we act the same way?

Notice that Daniel goes and prays when he knows his life is in jeopardy. What courage! In what way(s) does Daniel’s actions here demonstrate courage? How might we gain courage when we need it? What faith! How does Daniel express his faith in God? How faithful would we be under the same circumstances? How might we gain the faith necessary to endure persecution?

Daniel prays toward Jerusalem. This appears to have been a common practice during the exile. “When the young man went out, he lifted up his face to heaven toward Jerusalem, and praised the King of heaven” (1 Esdras 4:58).

Prayer toward Jerusalem indicates that Daniel is concerned about spiritual renewal in his homeland. “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance” (1 Kgs 8:35-36).

Daniel showed faith, not only in praying in plain sight, but his prayer toward Jerusalem also demonstrated great faith. Jerusalem was in ruins; prayer toward Jerusalem indicates a faith that God would keep his promise and restore the homeland.

Do we see the church in ruin? What are some of the major factors that are harming the church? What hope do we have that God can and will right those wrongs?


This Bible class was originally taught by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at the Dale Ridge church of Christ in Roanoke, Virginia.

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