Segment 5 - Daniel 6
The Question of Loyalty
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Daniel Springs the Trap

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.  Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: ‘Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?’ The king answered, ‘The decree stands-in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.’ Then they said to the king, ‘Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.’ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.” (Daniel 6:10-14)

Did you notice how fast Daniel willfully disobeyed the king’s decree? Why did one of the kingdom’s highest officials publicly defy the law of the king? The answer lies in the fact that Daniel understood the motives and reasons behind the loyalty test. Daniel remembered his three friends and their fiery furnace test, and he knew he was being tested just like them. Evidently, notification of the decree came suddenly and without warning to Daniel. I find it interesting that Daniel did not go to his immediate superior, King Darius and plead his case! When Daniel learned of the loyalty test, he ran to (not from) his prayer room. This action says volumes about Daniel’s loyalty to the God of Heaven!

When Daniel humbled himself by wearing sackcloth and ashes, Daniel’s heart was ready and willing to submit, even to death, if that was God’s will. Daniel was willing to do anything God required of him to facilitate the release of his people. Daniel’s loyalty to God was extraordinary and God’s approval of Daniel was amazing. In fact, Daniel’s loyalty became the very tool that God used to glorify His name before the Medes and Persians so that He could deliver the Jews from captivity! If the plot to kill Daniel was clever, God’s use of the situation was even more so. God used the administrators’ hatred of Daniel, Darius’ affection for Daniel, Daniel’s loyalty, and ultimately, the lion’s den to set Israel free from slavery. Watch how these elements combined to accomplish God’s plan.

King Darius Humiliated

The next morning, “… 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 serve continually, rescue you!’ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the ring of the nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.” (Daniel 6:16-18)

Daniel was quickly arraigned before King Darius. When the king saw his elder statesman in sackcloth and ashes, he became furious with his administrators. He saw through their plot immediately. Daniel, “the Jew,” was no rebel and Darius knew it. In fact, Daniel was the only administrator the king could trust! According to law, however, Daniel did not offer excuses, plead his case or beg for his life. Even more importantly, he did not swear an oath of loyalty to King Darius as his highest authority. King Darius churned with grief and anger. He condemned himself all night for failing to consider the intense hatred, his administrators had for Daniel, “the Jew.” How ironic the twist of events. Darius was planning to promote Daniel, but now he would have to kill him instead. Darius knew Daniel was unjustly condemned, but not even the king himself could change the law of the Medes and Persians. With these words, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”  Darius bade farewell to Daniel. The king gave the order and with his own ring and the rings of those who hated the Jew, Darius issued the judgment requiring Daniel to be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel was at peace. Darius was in torment and the administrators were on their way to a secret celebration party.

King Darius Exhilarated

‘At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lion’s den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue from the lions?’ Daniel answered, ‘O king, live-forever! My God has sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I done any wrong before you, O king.’ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he trusted in his God. At the king’s command, the men who falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lion’s den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: ‘May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the Earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.’ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius [the Mede] and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” (Daniel 6: 19-28, insertion mine) Thoughtfully consider the profound experience of Darius that morning. Upon hearing Daniel’s voice, a pagan king was given every reason to put his faith in the God of Daniel. The tomb was opened and “a dead man” walked out! The king immediately issued another decree requiring every person in his kingdom to fear and reverence the God of Daniel, “the Jew.” The news about Daniel’s miraculous deliverance was told everywhere! When the intense hatred of the Chaldeans for the Jews is considered, the significance of Darius’ actions really stands out. Because of Daniel’s loyalty, the God of Heaven was exalted to the highest position by a heathen king! This demonstrates an interesting point that all religious people would do well to remember. The objective of serving the God of Heaven is to bring honor and glory to God, not to the superiority of one’s religion.

Israel Set Free

The Story of Daniel’s miraculous deliverance and the immediate destruction of his enemies by the same lions that refused to eat him have been closely examined in this book for some important reasons. First, remember that God’s timing is always perfect! Evidently, the lions’ den episode happened during Darius’ first year, 538/7 B.C. This allowed time for Darius to become acquainted with Daniel and to develop such confidence in him that he wanted to make him the number two man in his kingdom. As we are about to see, the timing of the lions’ den event is too perfect to be a coincidence!

God used the hatred of the administrators and the loyalty of Daniel in a way that no one could have anticipated. I believe the events unfolded as follows: When Daniel sought the Lord in sackcloth and ashes for instructions on what he should do to facilitate the deliverance of Israel, God heard Daniel’s prayer and gave him something that he did not know he was about to need. God gave Daniel peace in the face of death. This peace is reflected in Daniel’s courageous action after he learned about the law. God did not give Daniel wisdom to outfox the evil administrators, and God did not rain down plagues on Babylon like He did in Egypt. God had a better plan in mind.

After Daniel violated the king’s law, God rewarded Daniel’s loyalty with protection and enormous notoriety. (Who else has spent a night in a den of wild and ravenous lions and lived to tell about it?) Simultaneously, God eliminated an enormous obstacle that stood in the way of delivering His people. God granted Darius a legal opportunity to purge his government of men who were disloyal to the higher interests of their king. Politically speaking, the death of these administrators made releasing the Jews a manageable problem for the king, even though Darius did not know the Jews were about to be set free. After Darius destroyed the administrators who hated Daniel, the king promoted Daniel to the number two position in his kingdom and no one dared to complain!

Evidently, King Darius died soon after this event (the following year) and King Cyrus (the Persian) absorbed the territory of Darius into his expanding kingdom. Therefore, the ascension year of Cyrus over the province of Babylon was 537/6 B.C., and his first calendar year was 536/5 B.C. Because of Daniel’s notoriety from the lions’ den event and because he was the highest official in Darius’ kingdom, Daniel became well acquainted with King Cyrus during his ascension year. During 536/5 B.C., which was the final year or seventieth year of captivity, King Cyrus met with Daniel, and Daniel informed the Persian king that the God of Heaven had chosen Cyrus to be a great king before he was even born. Daniel showed Cyrus the writings of the prophet Isaiah, where Cyrus is called by name in Scripture a hundred years before Cyrus was born. (Isaiah 45:1-4) When Daniel explained to King Cyrus why he was fasting and praying – the behavior that ultimately sent him to the lions’ den – the king’s heart was moved at the loyalty and devotion of this elderly man to the Supreme God over Heaven and Earth.

Daniel told Cyrus that the God of Heaven had appointed the Persian king to set the Jews free, “without price or reward,” (Isaiah 45:13) for the purpose of rebuilding His temple. Cyrus was honored to learn of God’s approval and blessings, and he issued the decree in Daniel’s presence during the seventieth year, a Friday year, in 536/5 B.C. Free at last! Israel was free to enter Canaan a second time. It is interesting to note that Israel’s first full year in Canaan after the Babylonian captivity was a Sabbath year. This beautifully parallels their first full year in Canaan after Joshua led them across the Jordan into the Promised Land. In both cases, the slaves had been set free to enjoy the Sabbath year in the Promised Land. The Bible says, “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: ‘This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you-may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.’” (Ezra 1:1-3) The timing could not have been more perfect. The decree of Cyrus ended seventy years of captivity (counting inclusively). It is amazing how God took Daniel through the lions’ den so that he could present God’s will to a pagan king who controlled the province of Babylon, as well as the territory of Canaan. This decree was only possible because Cyrus ruled over the province of Babylon where the Jews were captives, as well as the territory of Judea where Jerusalem was located. God solved the political and economic problems. God’s timing is perfect. His ways are so magnificent! Remember, God required slaves to be released at the end of the Friday year (the sixth year), and this is exactly what He did for the nation of Israel. The captives were emancipated from slavery in 536 B.C., a Friday year.

Note: Although the Bible does not indicate that Darius died in 537/6 B.C. This point is deduced from the course of events recorded in Daniel 6 and Daniel 9 for two reasons. First, even though they were contemporary kings, Darius and Cyrus could not rule over the province of Babylon at the same time. Second, history says that Cyrus had been a Persian king for more than twenty years before his first year over the province of Babylon took place. In order for Cyrus to become king over the province of Babylon, death had to eliminate Darius from the throne in 537 B.C. If this is the correct assumption, Cyrus’ ascension year over Babylon would have been 536/5 B.C. The Bible confirms that Daniel served under these two kings saying, “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” (Daniel 6:28) One perspective of this text is that Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, which followed by the reign of Cyrus. Of course, this text can also be interpreted to mean that Daniel prospered during the co-regent reign of both kings. However, it was not possible for Daniel (in Babylon) to prosper under a king who did not rule over Babylon. Ancient history aside, the good news is that we know the seventy years of captivity were precisely fulfilled. The Bible says,  “’The land enjoyed its Sabbath rests; all the time of the desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.” (2 Chronicles 36:21)

1.      Babylon falls, ascension year for Darius

2.      First year for Darius, lions’ den

3.      Darius dies, ascension year for Cyrus

First year for Cyrus, frees the Jews

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