For The Glory of God
Daniel 6:1-28
June 12, 2016
I think we are all settling in with an understanding now
Of what the book of Daniel is really about.
It is a book devoted to the glory of God.
• Written during one of the darkest times in Israel’s history (the 70 year exile);
• A time when various world powers came in and out of control,
• God continues to leave no doubt regarding who is really in control.
It is God who sets up rulers and it is God who brings them down.
And the objective of all that God has done, is doing, and will do
Is to the end that He and He alone will receive the glory.
That has been clearly seen thus far in the book of Daniel as we’ve seen God teach very dramatic lessons to two of the world’s leaders.
NEBUCHADNEZZAR
• First God warned Nebuchadnezzar with a dream.
• Then God reminded Nebuchadnezzar with an appearance in the furnace.
• Then God convinced Nebuchadnezzar with 7 years of insanity.
BELSHAZZAR.
• God actually wrote his judgment on the wall and over through him that very
night.
• And by the end of chapter 5 Babylon was an afterthought.
This nation that invaded Israel, burned the temple, and deported God’s chosen people was now nothing more than a chapter in a history book.
God raised them up, and God tore them down.
So it is not a surprise to us in the least that God is at work
To display His glory and demonstrated His sovereign control.
THE QUESTION FOR TONIGHT IS:
What is my role in all of this?
This is one of those important balances to understand
Any time we discuss the sovereignty of God.
Those who reject a theology where God is in complete sovereign control of all things generally do so by arguing, “Then I guess we just sit back and do nothing.”
• “Why evangelize if God has His elect already?”
• Or “Why pray if God has already decided what He’s going to do?”
• Or “Why vote if God already picked His candidate?”
And I’ll be the first to admit there is an obvious mystery here.
I don’t understand how God’s sovereignty works with my responsibility.
There is a mystery to me how God can allow me to do and choose and request and decide, and yet still perfectly accomplish His will.
I don’t fully grasp it.
But it does pose a good question.
WHAT IS MY ROLE IN ALL OF THIS?
In particular we are talking about when we find ourselves
IN A LESS THAN FAVORABLE SITUATION.
LIKE DANIEL
He was a prisoner in a foreign land, living under a corrupt government.
So what is Daniel’s role in glorifying God in the midst of that situation?
I ask that question because
I believe the story tonight to be a tremendous example of precisely that.
More than that, I believe the story tonight
To be a story that is told (and expected) throughout Scripture.
Tonight is an example of how God used Daniel to glorify Himself.
• For Nebuchadnezzar God used insanity.
• For Belshazzar God used judgment.
• For Darius, God will use Daniel.
And to set the stage for the story
There are a couple of texts that I would read.
1 Peter 2:11-17 “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”
Like Daniel, Peter lived during the reign of an unfavorable world ruler.
• For Peter it was Nero.
And yet Peter understood that God was sovereign over all things,
And all that God was asking from him was submission.
Peter knew he needed to have
• Excellent Behavior.
• Respect for Authority
• Love For God’s People
• Trust in God.
And Peter knew that if he would maintain such an attitude
That God would use him to glorify Himself.
Later Peter wrote:
1 Peter 4:15-16 “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”
There Peter demonstrated the flip side of his previous argument.
• On one hand we glorify God through our respect and submission.
• On the other hand we glorify Him by refraining from things that He forbids.
Both indicate the reality that
Living according to God’s standard brings glory to Him.
This is implied in the often quoted statement from Jesus:
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
In short, the way we live our lives matters.
God is sovereign and He is working to bring glory to Himself,
And it is apparent that He can and will use us to do that.
Tonight I want you to see an example.
And for that we study the familiar story typically referred to as “Daniel in the Lion’s Den”
There are four main divisions in the text tonight.
#1 THE DILEMMA
Daniel 6:1-5
Now the dilemma here is not yet Daniel’s dilemma,
It is the dilemma of those who hate Daniel.
Here we find that under a new regime
There is a new style of government in control.
This style is different from that of Babylon.
• Whereas Nebuchadnezzar clearly had free reign and ultimate authority, it is obvious that Darius has more limitations.
• You will see that Darius certainly has some control, but that he is also at times bound by certain protocols and stipulations.
• But the first way his government is different is that it is clear that he has more of a delegation type system of governing.
• Under Darius would be 3 commissioners (Daniel was one)
• Under the commissioners would be 120 satraps who would be in charge of the kingdom.
All of this was done so that “the king might not suffer loss.”
Their entire duty was to protect the king and his kingdom.
And I point that out because it is apparent that Daniel was really good at it
(3) “Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.”
Yes Daniel had “an extraordinary spirit” but trust me Darius didn’t like him because he could tell that Daniel was a devout man of faith.
Darius liked Daniel because Daniel served the interest of Darius well.
It hearkens back to that passage in Colossians:
Colossians 3:22-24 “Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
• Daniel just did his job to the best of his ability.
• He obviously greatly benefitted the king’s own agenda.
• And so Darius wanted to promote Daniel.
And that was the dilemma.
It wasn’t a dilemma for Daniel,
But it was a Dilemma for those who wanted Daniel’s job.
(4-5) “Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”
These men went after Daniel.
They were looking for two main things.
Any evidence of corruption or any evidence of negligence.
• Was there anything Daniel did that he shouldn’t have done?
• Was there anything Daniel didn’t do that he should have done?
And they couldn’t find anything on him anywhere.
And again this is not referring to Daniel’s religious faithfulness,
This is referring to Daniel’s work for the king.
Daniel did his job well and these men could find nothing.
They had a dilemma.
They knew there was only 1 reason that Daniel would defy the king
And put himself in a situation worthy of punishment;
That was “with regard to the law of his God.”
In addition to Daniel being the hardest worker among them,
They also knew that Daniel was a man of impeccable love for God.
And this would be the only chance they would have.
NOW, STOP THERE FOR A MOMENT.
I know we talk about mission trips and witnessing opportunities and things like that.
And I’m certain that many of you have thought about
Your work place as a mission field.
If you want a good example of what that looks like, here it is:
Daniel’s co-workers knew three things about Daniel.
1) You can’t corrupt him (no corruption)
2) You can’t outwork him (no negligence)
3) He loves God
If you are looking for a good workplace testimony,
That is a great place to start.
So there is the dilemma.
#2 THE DECISION
Daniel 6:6-18
We call it the decision,
But in reality there are several decisions made in this section.
• There is the decision of the conspirators
• There is the decision of Darius
• There is the decision of Daniel
The DECISION OF THE CONSPIRATORS is to devise a plot that would get Daniel in hot water.
(6-8) “Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, live forever! “All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. “Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”
The lies and corruption here are obvious.
“all the commissioners”? (I can think of 1 who didn’t consent)
These men were lying and dirty from the get go.
It was a scheme purely for the purpose of condemning Daniel.
Isn’t it impressive however that Daniel had such a reputation
That people knew all it would take to condemn him
Was a law that said you couldn’t pray?
We live in a day where we constantly implore Christians to pray more.
I don’t even know if such a law would affect many believers,
But it did Daniel.
So they devise a plot to get the king to sign an injunction
That no one prays to anyone but him for 30 days.
What a notion!
Well, I guess we see what type of man DARIUS was BECAUSE WE SEE HIS DECISION next.
(9) “Therefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.”
What type of person so sets himself up in the seat of God that he would actually sign a bill that no one could pray to anyone but him?
• Darius obviously has problems.
• His pride is off the charts.
Nevertheless, his decision is final, his decision is law,
And his decision cannot be revoked.
So let’s look at DANIEL’S DECISION.
(10) “Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.”
Isn’t that quite a statement?
“Now when Daniel knew…he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day…as he had been doing previously.”
Windows open, right on schedule, Daniel didn’t change a thing.
Daniel wasn’t looking for trouble,
But he also wasn’t looking to hide who he was.
Sometimes the most extreme difficulties
Give opportunities for the most noticeable testimonies.
Daniel could certainly pray with his windows closed
(Jesus even mentioned not praying in front of men)
But Daniel was simply praying has he always had.
Something in him knew that this was not about praying,
But it was about being faithful no matter the cost.
Daniel prayed publicly because in this hour of testing
It was important to him that the rest of the world know
That he still prayed to God.
It is a tremendous decision by Daniel.
Martin Luther wrote:
“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is more flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”
(sited in: MacArthur, John; The Truth War, Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception; [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN; 2007] pg. 26)
Daniel is fighting the battle on the battlefield before him.
• He is not being disrespectful
• He is not seeking to start a revolt
• But he is remaining faithful to God
And that is all these men were waiting for.
(READ 11-18)
• So Daniel is caught
• Daniel is condemned
• Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den
It is true that the king regretted it.
• After all Daniel had greatly benefitted the king.
• The king wanted Daniel alive to continue to serve,
• But this king was bound by law and there was nothing he could do.
(Make a note to be careful when listening to flattery. These other commissioners flattered the king, and now they owned him)
So he gave the orders to have Daniel thrown into the den of lions.
He did so with this one word of encouragement for Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.”
This isn’t a declaration of faith by Darius,
But it is a recognition that God is Daniel’s only hope.
(I guess even Darius now realizes that praying to him won’t help)
So do you see how the stage has been set?
Through Daniel’s obedience to work hard and pray faithfully, God now has the most powerful man in the world watching to see what He can do.
God has used Daniel’s simple and humble submission
To set the stage to glorify Himself.
And as we read, the king had all night to contemplate this.
(18) “Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.”
The Dilemma, The Decision
#3 THE DELIVERANCE
Daniel 6:19-24
• It is clear that the king was watching for the sun to peak over the horizon.
• He had spent the night wondering if Daniel’s God could in fact deliver this man whom the king valued so greatly.
The king ran to the tomb and yelled in, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
It’s clear that Darius is confused.
He knows God to be “the living God” but doesn’t know if He is “able to deliver”.
He’s about to find out.
(21-22) “Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.”
Apparently God is able.
It is one of the greatest deliverances in the entire Bible.
• And yes, we know that God doesn’t always do this.
• Many genuine believers were fed to the lions under Nero in the New Testament.
But it is a tremendous reminder here
That God can accomplish anything He desires
When it fits His purposes.
That includes rescuing His children
From the flame or from the mouth of the lion.
God is able!
The king certainly rejoiced and then gave orders
For Daniel’s accusers to receive the fate they planned for Daniel
And we see what the lions were really capable of.
So God delivered Daniel.
#4 THE DECLARATION
Daniel 6:25-28
And there we have it once again.
• God’s sovereignty has been put on display and yet another foreign ruler is declaring that God alone is in control.
• And now Darius understands the pure insanity of declaring that men should pray to him.
Darius couldn’t rescue Daniel from the lions, only God could do that.
All men should pray only to Daniel’s God.
“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.”
This chapter began with Darius being an arrogant man
Only interested in who could best protect his reign.
Darius ends by being a worshiper of the living God.
HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
God used a humble and submissive servant.
Think about it. This story isn’t even like some of the other great ones.
• Daniel didn’t fight any giant.
• Daniel didn’t build an ark.
• Daniel didn’t go to battle against a foreign army.
What did Daniel do?
• He worked hard for the king
• He prayed faithfully to God
• He let God use his life for whatever purpose best glorified Him.
There is not a person in this room who can’t have that testimony.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
1 Peter 2:11-17 “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”
That is the type of testimony God has called for throughout Scripture.
But if I can show you one more, I’d show you that this was also the exact type of testimony that Jesus gave as He sought to glorify God.
• In the upper room the Bible says that Jesus gave the sop to Judas who took it. The Bible says that Satan entered him and Jesus told Judas to go do what had set out to do.
• Once Judas left and the entire process had been set in motion, here is what Jesus said:
John 13:31-32 “Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.”
• Jesus knew that His decision to submit to God’s plan would in fact bring glory to God.
Want to see the parallels?
1) DANIEL WAS INNOCENT
They could find no grounds by which to accuse him.
JESUS WAS ALSO INNOCENT
He had never sinned, nor was there any deceit found in His mouth.
2) DANIEL WAS ACCUSED BY FALSE WITNESSES
They said all the commissioners were in agreement when they clearly were not.
JESUS WAS ALSO FALSELY ACCUSED
False witnesses were produced many times to condemn Jesus as He stood before Caiaphas.
3) DANIEL WAS TRIED IN A CORRUPT COURT
It wasn’t the judge who ran the show (Darius) it was the conspirators who ran the show.
JESUS WAS TRIED IN A CORRUPT COURT
Many illegal procedures occurred during His trial that should not have been allowed and it was the accusers who won the day, not the actual judge.
4) DANIEL WAS CONDEMNED BY A WEAK RULER
It may have been true that a Persian injunction could not be overturned, but that doesn’t mean Darius couldn’t save Daniel.
Darius just couldn’t save Daniel and save Darius at the same time.
JESUS WAS ALSO CONDEMNED BY A WEAK RULER
Pilate could have saved Jesus. Pilate just couldn’t save Jesus and save Pilate so he decided to let Jesus die.
5) DANIEL’S JUDGE MADE A HALF-HEARTED DECLARATION AS DANIEL WAS LED AWAY.
It is quite humorous to hear Darius declare how God would protect Daniel.
JESUS’ JUDGE ALSO MADE A HALF-HEARTED DECLARATION.
We actually see Pilate nailing a sign above Jesus’ head that He is king of the Jews.
6) GOD DELIVERED DANIEL FROM DEATH
God shut the mouths of the lions.
GOD DELIVERED JESUS FROM DEATH
7) THE LIFE OF DANIEL MEANT DEATH FOR HIS ACCUSERS
THE LIFE OF JESUS ALSO MEANS DEATH FOR HIS ACCUSERS
8) DANIEL’S HUMBLE SUBMISSION LED TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
JESUS’ HUMBLE SUBMISSION ALSO LED TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
The point is that Daniel’s blueprint for glorifying God
Is not a unique one.
• Daniel did it.
• Peter commanded it.
• Jesus did it.
It is what is expected from us in a backward world.
Submit yourself to God.
Do the things He requires with all your heart
And trust that He will use these things to bring glory to Himself.
He has done it time and time again…
1 Peter 4:15-16 “Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.”
