Daniel Chapter 6 Verses 18-20

18 Then the king went to his palace, and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. 19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 When he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish and said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

The king returned to the palace very troubled.

Darius and Pilate share some similarities. Both were forced by circumstances against their will to put someone to death who did not deserve it. However, Darius seems to have been much more concerned about his decision than Pilate was. Darius certainly never washed his hands of Daniel’s blood.

The king ate no food, enjoyed no entertainment, and could not sleep.

As soon as it was light, he ran to the pit to check on Daniel.

Do you think the conspirators may have been worried by the king’s behavior? They should have been! I think they were starting to sweat.

Darius refers to Daniel as the servant of the living God.

To Darius, this test would determine whether or not Daniel’s God was living.