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Daniel in the Lions' Den as Told by King Darius
The Verse
"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells in Him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and power." Daniel 2:22, 23
The Story
The King’s Palace in Babylon
The Evil Plot
I am Darius the Mede, co-ruler with Cyrus the Persian, and king of the Babylonian empire. Today, I have decided to set Daniel over my whole kingdom. For he has a long reputation in Babylon.
He interprets dreams and sees mysterious visions. Where the magic of Babylon’s magicians, conjurers, and sorcerers ends, the miracles of Daniel’s God, the God of Israel, begin.
There are whispers in the halls of the palace of Daniel explaining the handwriting on the wall to King Belshazzar during his mockery of a feast with thousands of lords present. They drank wine from gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem. It was, of course, his last feast.
The knock at my door jolts me. “Come.”
“Forgive me, Oh King, live forever! Your governors and satraps and others, in numbers too big to count, request a moment in your presence,” said the servant of the king.
“Of course, send them in.”
They bow to me, my trusted men.
“Oh King, live forever! We, your governors and satraps and counselors and advisors, have come up with the most excellent plan. For the next thirty days, the entire kingdom shall worship no other god or man except you, oh King. It is a firm decree to honor you. What do you say?”
“Indeed! I shall sign, seal, and so decree.” And I sing:
They call me Darius the Great,
I am King Darius the Mede,
I, the King, shall live forever!
It is signed, sealed, and so decreed.
My men count the coins in my coffer;
Then they add what I take from my foes;
I’m chest-deep now in precious silver,
As my empire grows and it grows!
Bow down before me King Darius;
The ruler of all my dominions,
And those who bow down to another,
I shall throw in the den of lions.
My trusted men cheer and dance and, like a choir, sing:
They call you Darius the Great,
You are King Darius the Mede,
You, oh King, shall live forever!
It is signed, sealed, and so decreed.
Now they turn as one and march to deliver this firm decree to all people.
Bow down before him King Darius;
The ruler of all his dominions,
And those who bow down to another,
He shall throw in the den of the lions.
The Lions’ Den
I summon Daniel to tell him the news.
There’s a knock at the door. “Come in, Daniel,” I call.
But it’s the governors and satraps and counselors and advisors. They bow to me. “Oh King, live forever! Your man, Daniel, has made a fool of you. He opens his window toward his home, Jerusalem, he kneels, and he prays to his God three times each day. Yet, he refuses to bow to you, oh King. What do you say?”
My decree! According to the laws of the Medes and the Persians, I cannot alter it. What have I done?
“Shall we take him now, oh King?”
“No, wait until sundown. Now, I wish to be alone.”
They leave and I summon my servant, “Bring me all the laws written by the Medes and the Persians at once.”
I labor over the laws until sunset. My eyes burn, and my body cramps from hours of bending and reading over the scrolls.
At sundown, the governors and satraps and counselors and advisors return.
“Your decree! According to the laws of the Medes and the Persians, you cannot undo what you have done. It is time, oh King.”
I had signed Daniel’s death sentence and there was no law within my power to reverse it. My governors and satraps look at each other. Deception darkens their eyes. Then suddenly I realize this was a plot against Daniel from the beginning.
They leave me no choice. I close my eyes to wish this nightmare away and then nod. They cast him into the lions’ den.
“Your God will deliver you, Daniel,” I lament, “just like he delivered your friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, from the fiery furnace long ago.”
They lay the stone on the mouth of the den. I sign, seal, and so decree.
The Deliverer
In my bedchamber I fast in silence. Sleep takes wings like a sandpiper, and it flees. I search the horizon for morning. But time has stopped.
Then dawn breaks through the night.
I run down the corridors to the den of the lions and command my guards, "Remove the stone!" I call into cave, “Daniel, has the living God, the God you serve, delivered you?”
Daniel's words echo, “Oh King, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him, and also, Oh King, I have done no wrong before you.”
After my guards pull Daniel from the den, I order them, “Cast the governors and satraps, their wives, and their children, into the lions’ den.”
The sounds of teeth gnashing and voices screaming are now muffled by the stone laid over the mouth of the den.
I summon the people of Babylon to the city gate. With Daniel by my side, I make a decree that in all the dominions of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;
For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
It is signed, sealed, and so decreed.
Daniel was a young boy when he was exiled to Babylon from Judah, but he remained faithful to God. God used him to become an advisor of kings. Daniel was a prayer warrior and a prophet to whom God revealed the meaning of visions and dreams.
Just like Daniel, God can use you wherever you are when you trust Him and obey His will. The same God who delivered Daniel from the lions' den will deliver you.
*Retelling of Daniel 6
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