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.

Daniel Chapter 6 Verses 15-17

15 Then these men came by agreement to the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance which the king establishes can be changed.” 16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.

Darius is again reminded of his decree, and finally he resigns himself to carrying it out.

Still concerned, however, he goes with Daniel to the pit, and Daniel is thrown into the pit. (Recall that Daniel was at least 83 years old at this time.)

Darius calls out to Daniel hoping that God would deliver him. (We often talk about the faith of Daniel, but the faith of Darius is impressive as well!)

The pit is closed and sealed by Darius and the others who are present.

Seals of this sort have been found. They consist of a cylinder that is rolled across a clay tablet.

Why was the pit sealed? Darius may have been concerned that Daniel’s enemies might decide to give the lions a little help.

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Daniel Chapter 6 Verses 13-14

13 Then they answered before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no heed to you, O king, or the interdict you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed, and set his mind to deliver Daniel; and he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.

The charge made against Daniel is similar to the charge made against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:12.

Daniel 3:12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no heed to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."

This was a false charge. Daniel did pay heed to the king. He just did not give his ultimate loyalty to the king – that belonged to God.

Darius’ response is not what the conspirators had hoped for!

When the real reason for the decree finally dawned on him, he became greatly distressed.

He had been duped by Daniel’s enemies, and I am sure he now regretted not having discussed the matter with Daniel personally.

He no doubt respected Daniel for his loyalty to his God, and he tried to save his life. But there was nothing he could do.

Providing Daniel with armor, or feeding the lions ahead of time would have undermined the law of the Medes and the Persians.

A miracle was Daniel’s only hope.

How did Darius know so much about God?

He may have learned from Cyrus. Read Ezra 1:2 again.

Ezra 1:2 "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Cyrus seems to have known a lot about God! Perhaps he told Darius about God as well. Darius, at least, would have been familiar with the decree found in the book of Ezra.

He may have heard about God from Daniel. We already know that Daniel had become a very trusted advisor. It would seem unlikely that Daniel had never talked to Darius about God.

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Daniel Chapter 6 Verses 11-12

11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. 12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the interdict, “O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that any man who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”

This group waited around for Daniel to pray, and then went and reported to Darius as soon as he did.

Notice in verse 12 the word “you.” Suddenly this law has become the king’s idea!

Darius is reminded of his decree. Darius remembers and also points out that the law of the Medes and Persians cannot be revoked.

This passage provides absolute proof that Daniel did not believe that a separate Median kingdom conquered the Chaldeans prior to the Persian kingdom under Cyrus.

The late-date hypothesis that the second kingdom is Media and the third kingdom is Persia is shown to be ill-founded.

Daniel treats Media and Persia as a unified kingdom – which historians tell us is what they were.

Why couldn’t the law be changed or revoked?

Having a law that stood even above the despot was a very politically sophisticated system of government. Although we take it for granted, it was quite rare at the time.

Although we can only speculate about the reason for this system, this same requirement provided the drama in the book of Esther after the decree went out to kill the Jews. (See Esther 1:19 and 8:8.)

History tells us that it also played a role during the reign of Darius III who ruled from 336 to 331. It is said that he put a man to death who he knew was innocent because “it was not possible to undo what had been done by royal authority.”

We are about to watch God as he changes and revokes a law that cannot be changed or revoked!

Please visit ThyWordIsTruth.com for free audio lessons on Revelation, for a unique daily Bible reading calendar, to read about God's plan of salvation, to read the answers to hundreds of questions submitted by our readers, and for much, much more.

Daniel Chapter 6 Verse 10

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem; and he got down upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

Note that verse 10 tells us plainly that Daniel at some point learned that the document had been signed. Thus, whatever he does next is not done in ignorance of the decree. He knows the new law and he knows the penalty for breaking it.

Daniel’s prayers had been his lifeline all these years under the corrupting Babylonian influences. What would he do now?

1. He could compromise and simply not pray for one month. (For many of us this would hardly be noticed!) From the world’s standpoint this would be reasonable and prudent.

This plan would have several advantages.

First, it would be the most peaceful plan. Nobody would get upset. But Daniel knew that peace at any price was too costly if the price turned out to be disobedience to God.

Luke 12:51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

The truth always creates a division. Some accept it and some do not. Jesus was often accused of creating division – and he never denied the charge.

Second, this plan would allow Daniel to follow the path of least resistance. It would be the easy way out. But Daniel knew that the path of least resistance never intersected the path of righteousness. In fact, for Daniel, the path of righteousness was the path of most resistance!

Daniel could not simply do nothing and hope for the best. He knew like James that:

James 4:17 Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Daniel had to act. To do nothing would have been a sin.

2. He could have gone underground and prayed silently or at night when no one could see him.

Sadly, many seem to have adopted this plan ourselves. God, however, has never put out a call for secret agents.

We must speak out and let the world know where we stand. If we are on God’s side then we must let the world know.

This plan might appear to be the best of both worlds. Daniel could please both God and man by just praying silently. Wrong! It is not possible to please God if at the same time you are trying equally hard to please men.

Galatians 1:10 Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of Christ.

Sometimes it is easy to just ignore what we might consider the “little” compromises. But the little things are training for the big things!

Jeremiah 12:5 If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you fall down, how will you do in the jungle of the Jordan?

The time to take a stand against the world is early before it gets a foothold because once it gets a foothold it may be too late.

3. He could have rationalized. Just think how much good he could do if he stayed in power. He had just gotten his power back after being without it for so long. God wouldn’t want him to loose it again so quickly, would he?

We too are faced with choices every day.

Remember what Joshua told the people in Joshua 24.

Joshua 24:14-15 "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

I think that we often follow the advice of that great philosopher Yogi Berra who once said “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!” But we cannot do that. We must make a choice.

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.

God has given us a choice, and God is begging us to choose life.

We must choose whose side we are on, and once we do that all of our other decisions will be easy.

Should we compromise with the world or should we do what we know is right and stand with God? Listen to Paul’s answer:

Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Isn’t this exactly what Daniel did? Not only did he did not take part in the wicked plan, but he exposed the wicked plan.

4. He could concern himself with pleasing God instead of pleasing men and not worry about the consequences – and that is exactly what he did.

The decision was easy. In fact, there was no decision to make. Daniel had made the decision to follow God long ago, and whether he was 13 or 83, he would not compromise with the world.

What a wonderful example of faithfulness and loyalty to God!

Why did Daniel pray toward Jerusalem?

1 Kings 8:10–11 tells us that God’s presence resided in the temple.

1 Kings 8:10-11 And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

While Ezekiel 11:23 tells us that this presence left prior to the destruction of the city in 587, Ezekiel 43:2 tells us that God promised to return – and in fact Cyrus’ order to rebuild the city had probably already been given.

Ezekiel 11:23 And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

Ezekiel 43:2 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east; and the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with his glory.

What was Daniel praying for?

In Daniel 9:1–2 we will discover that since Darius had begun to reign Daniel had been reading Jeremiah with regard to the 70 year period of exile.

Daniel 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chaldeans – 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years which, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

Thus Daniel knew it was time for his people to return from their exile and indeed many may have already returned.

Thus, the returning captives may have been the primary item on Daniel’s prayer list, and he could hardly stop praying for them now that they needed his prayers the most.