Daniel Lesson 13 - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Daniel Lesson 13

Text: Daniel 6:1-28

Intro: This is the chapter of the Lions den.

Daniels Excellent Spirit, Vs.1-5
1. Darius Sets Up Command,
  1. He Organizes His People,
    1. as we discussed last study, Darius was a General, and talented at his job.
      - That means he is used to organizing things.
    2. Learning to delegate things is an important skill to have.
      - It is the same thing Moses did,
      - Exodus 18:13-26
        
        Jethro tells Moses this is what he should do in order to not burn out… actually he said that he may be able to endure in peace.
      - Vs.21&22 “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: 22 And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.”
    3. So Darius set up princes over Babylon, 120 of them,
      - and they were to report to three presidents.
        
        And they would report to Darius.
        
        It reminds me of the story of the man and woman that who decided that he would take all the major decisions and she would do the minor ones. And of thus far, no major decisions have come up.
  2. He Elevates Daniel,
    1. It tells us that he preferred Daniel of the others,
      - because of His excellent Spirit.
        
        There is something to be said about having a good personality,
        
        Proverbs 28:6 “Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.”
        
        remember Daniel…
        
        Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank…”
    2. because of his demeanor, Darius preferred him above the others,
      - notice what it says about Daniel…
        
        his enemy looked, and could not find anything to accuse him on.
        
        He lived his life in a way he didn’t have to hide things.
    3. Just a warning here, people are always watching our lives.
      - Looking for something to accuse us of, and not only us, but also God.
      - Look at what Nathan said to David,
      - II Samuel 12:13-14 “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme…”
Daniels Enemies Scheme, Vs.6-15
1. Envy,
  1. Searching for a Fault
    1. James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
      - These men were envious of Daniel, because of who he was,
        
        the truth is, they could have lived a life that was parallel to Daniel.
        
        But the choices they made, were their choices.
        
        And you may remember what we said a few weeks ago, there are a few ways to shorten the distance in the gap between us and others, either we can elevate our standards, or we can point out their short comings.
        
        Most people prefer to bring others down.
  2. Accused In the Law of God
    1. so after searching for fault, it became clear that they would not be able to accuse him in their law,
      - but they did have another way, use the law of God.
        
        This is not the first time this was used, and it won’t be the last.
    2. Interesting that they could have put the energy into reading the word in order to help themselves, they chose to read it in order to find something that they might exploit.
    3. So they discovered something,
      - they saw that Daniel had a regiment of prayer,
        
        Does the bible ever command people to pray???
        
        it encourages it, but there is no place that says we must?
    4. But notice Daniel made a choice,
      - vs.10 even after he knew the law was signed, he still did it. As he did afore time
    5. His enemy wanted Darius to make a law, that no person could ask of anyone anything except him.
      - Playing on his pride. (how often does pride lead to trouble?)
  3. Making of a Decree
    1. so he writes a decree,
      - they way the law of the Medes and Persians worked,
      - they were binding, and once it was placed, it could not be undone.
        
        This becomes a problem for Darius in this situation.
        
        But blinded by his pride, he does it.
        
        Proverbs 29:5 “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet. ”
Daniels Night in the Den, Vs.16-28
1. Daniel put in the lions Den,
  1. Darius In a Bind
    1. after the decree, the enemy of Daniel brought to the attention of Darius what Daniel had done.
      - It reminds me of hos the Jewish people laid in wait for Jesus, and was even glad to enlist the help of Judas.
      - They assembled, and found what they had hoped for.
    2. Vs.13 there were more accusations,
      - He is not of good stock, but of a slave nation,
      - He gives you no regard,
      - He doesn’t respect your word,
        
        Darius knew all this was not true, but he also knew the decree he wrote.
        
        And Daniel was guilty of that,
        
        vs.14 he was displeased with himself, and waited until evening.
        
        vs.15, these men came again and reminded him of the law,
        
        there is a undertone of a threat here.
        
        Remember Darius was king, but he was not the supreme, that was still Cyrus.
        
        And there may have been some alluding that they might bring this to his attention.
      - So against his desire, he called for Daniel.
  2. Darius’ Faith,
    1. vs.16 “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. ”
      - after putting Daniel in the den, he rolled a stone in the way, and sealed it with his signet.
        
        Does anyone else see the parallel here and the trial and execution of Jesus?
      - Vs.18 tells us Darius stayed up and couldn’t sleep,
        
        he didn’t have any music playing, he didn’t eat.
        
        He was worried
        
        and he rose up early in the morning, and came to the den.
  3. Darius’ Question,
    1. 6:20 “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”
      - it says he asked this with a “lamentable” voice,
        
        a worried, and pain filled voice.
        
        After all, what is the likely hood that Daniel would answer?
    2. Daniels response,
      - Daniel answered in a respectful way, O King live forever,
        
        he wasn’t angry, or mad, he wasn’t going to prolong the kings agony.
    3. The angle of the Lord closed the mouth of the lion,
      - there are people who accept this, but try to explain it, but it doesn’t see the next few verses.
  4. Darius’ Retaliation,
    1. after Daniel is taken out of the den, and replaced with the men that accused him.
    2. But not just the men,
      - their children and their wives.
        
        Remember this was a cruel time, and the Medes and Persians were brutal people.
      - The idea the lions were not hungry is dispelled here, whey they were cast into the den, they didn’t even reach the bottom before the lions had their way with them.
    3. It goes on to tell Darius praised the Lord, and that Daniel prospered.