To see Daniel Chapter 6 without my comments click HERE.
Daniel was chief of council for 3
Presidents under Darius. Daniel was put in his position because of
his excellent spirit that was in him; V.3. As well as his Presidents,
Darius also had 120 Lords to Govern that were envious of Daniel, and
they conspired to be rid of him. Although Modern day politicians
would be fearful of such a probe of their personal affairs, Daniel
had nothing to hide. Daniel possessed no faults under Babylonian law.
His enemies (the Presidents and Lords), looked for something to
remove him from his position permanently. The only thing they could
find was in the fact that he was absolutely dedicated to Father
Yahweh; Daniel 6:5
Daniel's enemies came before Darius to
have him make a decree that anyone asking for any interdict of any
god other than Darius himself would be fed to the lions. This decree
of course was easily passed because it fed the ego of Darius. Just as King David did(Psalms 55:17), Daniel prayed 3 times a day. He relied on Father Yahweh
just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel was not detoured
by the kings edict. He opened his window toward Jerusalem just as he always
did and prayed. He was seen by the men that were his enemies. They
waited to see his actions, and the action of him praying to Father
Yahweh was promptly reported to King Darius. The laws for the Medes
were different then the laws were for the Babylonians under the rule
of Nebuchadnezzar, by the fact that once a law was made it could not
be changed even by the king himself. This meant that Daniel had to go
in with the lions.
A rolling stone door was used for the entrance to the lions den.
The stone was put on the mouth of the lions den to keep anyone from coming in. This stone was sealed with all the seals of Darius, his Presidents, and his Lords. The seals were to prevent anyone from tampering with the stone during the night. These seals were for Daniel's protection, becaused otherwise if Daniel survived the lions during the night, then his enemies could just enter the den and murder him, and of course, they would blame Daniel's death on the lions.
In the morning King Darius checked on
Daniel and found that an angel of the lord came and forced the mouths
of the lions shut; V. 22. It was Daniels faith kept the mouths
of the lions shut.
Who
through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Hebrews 11:33
In Verses 16 and 26 it's obvious that
Darius recognized the God of Daniel and followed God's laws. The
other Presidents and Lords of Darius tried to twist Daniels act of
praying to Father Yahweh into an act of sedition against the kingdom
of Darius.
Lying and bringing false witness
against the righteous is in violation of the Ten Commandments. Even
atheists will tell you that the Ten Commandments are the foundation
in which civilization is built. I also want to add that it's the
Governments responsibility to enforce Biblical laws according to the
Bible.
In Hebrew law if someone accuses
someone falsely, then they are to receive the punishment they are
attempting to put on the other; Deuteronomy 19:18-19. In the Kingdom
of God, we are forced to tell the truth. If Governments were to follow
this one law of not bearing false witness, then we would have less
false accusations, less wars, and less law suits. As Daniel's enemies found
out, it's extremely dangerous to plot against the righteous.
In the morning when Daniel's time was
up, Darius went to the den to bring Daniel out of the den. Darius who
knew the God of the Israelites, followed God's law of Deuteronomy 19:18-19
Darius cast the enemies of Daniel,
their wives, and children into the den of lions. Given the number of
lords he had in Dan 6:1 (120 men) the number of people who were
actually cast into the den could have easily numbered over 500. The
Bible does not say they were all thrown in at the same time and if
they were thrown in as they found them they might have kept the lions
fed for quite a long time. V.24.
In the end, Daniel ended up prospering
under Darius and no one else ever brought false witness to Daniel.
The lions den was shaped as an amphitheater. This is the closest picture I could find to show the general shape.
**Description of the lions den**
Notice that in this passage the stone
at the mouth of the den was sealed by Darius and his lords. This
stone had to have been made with tight tolerances, not a crude uncut
stone, but rather shaped in such a way that King Darius, his
Presidents, and lords were all able to physically put their seals
upon it.
The information I present for the
description of the lions den came directly from the Farrar Fenton
translation which has a little more information than the King James
Version. It's commonly believed that the lions den was a cave or a
small hole in the ground through which Daniel and later his enemies
were thrown into. This traditional description of the lions den is
not a biblical description.
Daniel was able to be brought up out of
it uninjured, and remember he was around 90 years old at the time.
Most likely he came back through the same door that he entered
through; V.23. We also read that when Daniels enemies were thrown in,
and before they reached the bottom of the den on an inclined plane,
they were met by lions. I am sure Daniel's enemies were grabbing the
sides of the den and anything else they could get their hands on
their downward slide. The lions met them and disemboweled them before
they reached the foot of the inclined walls.
This tidbit of information obviously
describes an amphitheater or colosseum type structure with high
sloping walls. The door in the wall was covered with a round stone
that was cut with such high tolerances and balanced so that it could
be closed and open by only one person from the outside of the den.
Then
the King commanded and they brought those men who had accused Daniel,
and flung them into the Den of Lions, they, their children and wives;
and they had not arrived at the floor of the Den before the lions
seized them, and broke all their bones.
Dan 6:25 Ferrar Fenton translation
It's not enough just to believe in the
Lord, but rather, you must rely on the Lord as Daniel did!
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