Sermon - Daniel 6:19-28 - God Works - Littleby Baptist Church - June 14, 2020
In chapter six we have seen Daniel proving himself to be
someone that king Darius could count on and trust. The king was thinking about
placing Daniel in charge of the entire kingdom. Daniel’s peers and those that
reported to them did not like that idea at all. So, they dug and dug to try and
find something that would knock Daniel down a notch or two in the king’s eyes.
They came up with a plan to make Daniel choose between
serving the king and serving his God. They convinced the king that it would be
a good idea to pass a law that required everyone to pray to the king and only the
king for the next 30 days. The law was passed, and the trap was set for Daniel.
Daniel continued to pray to his God, not as an act of
defiance to the king but as an act of faithfulness to his God. He did not bow
to man’s wishes but honored God above all else.
The trap was sprung, but the king was not happy. He tried to
find a way out of this, but the law of the land was solid. The king had no
choice and he had to throw Daniel into the lions’ den.
Daniel 6:16
“16 So the king gave the order, and
they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel,
“May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you!””
The king had no hope of his own, so he was hoping the stories
he had heard were true and that Daniel’s God could rescue him. You may never
know how someone is touched by us simply living our lives differently than the
world does. Each day as we walk in faith the lives of others are touched.
Daniel knew the risk of praying to his God and he did not
let that stop him. There will be a point in our lives that we will be risking
something when we step out in faith to follow Jesus. Today it may be risking
friendships, jobs, promotions, and more. As time goes on, as we draw closer to
the second coming of our Lord, those risk will be greater. Our faith will be tested,
and we will need to cling to our God and His Word.
Chances are Daniel was holding onto God’s Word and how God
had worked in his life up until this day as the stone was rolled over the
entrance of the lions’ den.
Then morning came.
Daniel 6:19-20
“19 At the first light of dawn the
king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 20 When he
reached the den, he cried out in anguish to Daniel. “Daniel, servant of the
living God,” the king said, “has your God, whom you continually serve, been
able to rescue you from the lions?””
The king did not wait a minute longer than he absolutely had
to and rushed to the lions’ den in hope beyond hope that Daniel’s God was
faithful. The king turned his earlier wish that Daniel’s God would protect him
from the lions into a question. A question that he probably expected to be
unanswered.
Daniel 6:21
“21 Then Daniel spoke with the king:
“May the king live forever.”
‘May the king live forever’… the king cried out in anguish,
panicked for his trusted administrator and Daniel responds in a calm,
collected, and official manner. Daniel responded almost like the king walked into
Daniel’s office as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
Daniel 6:22
“22 My God sent his angel and shut
the lions’ mouths; and they haven’t harmed me, for I was found innocent before
him. And also before you, Your Majesty, I have not done harm.””
Daniel was saying, ‘It was ALL GOD!’ Daniel did not subdue
the lions it was all God!
Daniel’s point about being innocent before God and the king,
re-enforces that Daniel’s act of praying was about being true to his God, not
an act of defiance to the king.
We are called to follow Jesus and to not conform to the world.
We are to faithfully follow Him, His teachings, and the guidance of the Holy
Spirit. We are to live our lives in a manner that sets us apart from the world.
We are to choose following God over anything else.
Daniel was put into a position to choose to honor God or
follow man. He chose to be faithful to his God, and while he did not follow the
king’s edict, he did not do it out of defiance to the king. Daniel was motived
solely by his faith. Meaning he was faithful to his God and did not do anything
to hurt the king.
God blessed His faithfulness and when we are faithful, we
can count on our Lord to be faithful. Does not mean that God is going to take
us out of the situation at hand. Does not mean we are not going to face any
trials. What it does mean, is that we will not face any of the trials before us
alone. It does mean that when the time comes, we will be with our Lord in Glory
for an Eternity.
Daniel 6:23
“23 The king was overjoyed and gave
orders to take Daniel out of the den. When Daniel was brought up from the den,
he was found to be unharmed, for he trusted in his God.”
Daniel’s trust in God was not dependent on a miraculous
deliverance from the lions. His faith was blind to the events around him. His
faith was based on the fact that he knew that his soul belonged to his God. It
had nothing to do with his circumstances and had everything to do with who God
is. Our faith cannot be based on what God has done, is doing, or will do… our
faith must to be based solely on Who God Is!
Daniel 6:24
“24 The king then gave the command,
and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into
the lions’ den—they, their children, and their wives. They had not reached the
bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their
bones.”
A cruel punishment to inflict on the entire family. Not the
Biblical way of doing things but was the Persian way, but in reminds us how
much of a miracle this was. It was not as simple as God keeping the mouths of
some sleepy lions shut. God kept hungry ferocious lions subdued from the point
Daniel was tossed in until he was lifted out. Complete protection from a
certain death.
Daniel 6:25-27
“25 Then King Darius wrote to those
of every people, nation, and language who live on the whole earth: “May your
prosperity abound. 26 I issue a decree that in all my
royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For he is
the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will never be destroyed, and
his dominion has no end. 27 He rescues and delivers; he
performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth, for he has rescued
Daniel from the power of the lions.”
The king that people were supposed to pray to instead of
their gods is now telling everyone that there is only one God that they ‘must
tremble in fear before’.
Let’s break this decree down a bit.
Tremble in fear before the God of Daniel
Psalm 99:1-3
“The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned
between the cherubim. Let the earth quake. 2 The Lord is
great in Zion; he is exalted above all the peoples. 3 Let
them praise your great and awe-inspiring name. He is holy.”
Our God is a Holy God and with all that we have
accomplished, all the great things we have done, with all the power we have
available to us, the knowledge at our fingertips, we do not compare to how
Awesome our God is. He is Holy! He deserves all of our Praise!
He is the living God
Jeremiah 10:10
“But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and eternal
King…”
Our God is the Living God. None of the other gods the pagans
were worshipping can see, hear, or help. None of the things we put our faith in
today, money, jobs, lottery, government, can really help us. There is Only the One
True Living Eternal God and King. He is where our faith belongs.
He endures forever
1 Peter 1:24-25
“24 For All flesh is like grass, and
all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the
flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And
this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.”
The things of this world will fall away, His Word is
eternal, He Love will endure forever, and He is with us always.
His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion has
no end
Psalm 145:13
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your rule is for
all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his
actions.”
We know that our God existed before time began and Scripture
promises that those who believe will spend an eternity in his presence. There
is no limit to our Lord’s Kingdom, there was no beginning and their will be no
end.
He rescues and delivers
Colossians 1:13-14
“13 He has rescued us from the domain
of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. 14 In
him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
When we choose to follow Jesus and repent of our sins, we
are rescued from our sins, we face judgement as one who has been washed in the
blood, we will be delivered from the judgement we earned.
He performs signs and wonders, for he has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.
Luke 2:11-12
“11 Today in the city of David a
Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This
will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and
lying in a manger.”
There is prophecy after prophecy found in the Bible that
points to the truth about who Jesus is.
Daniel 6:28
“28 So Daniel prospered during the
reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”
Based on the leading theory and the historical fact that
things attributed to Darius in the Bible are attributed on Cyrus in history,
this verse should say. “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius who is, Cyrus
the Persian”
God is absolutely amazing! Daniel was a faithful servant,
but it was God at work in him that made all of these things possible. Daniel
could not rescue himself; it was God who worked in that situation and rescued
him.
Our God is truly an Awesome God and regardless of what goes
on in this world, honor Him in all that you do.
May the Lord Bless You!
Robert
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