Daniel 6:6-27 Daniel in the lions’ den; deliverance; God’s kingdom shall never be destroyed.
Daniel is perhaps most famous for this passage. It is one we learn as children. It has drama, and excitement, and lions. We may also remember Daniel and the fiery furnace, or Daniel and his weird dreams/visions. These are the high points of the stories – the scary, otherworldly parts of things. How does a man survive the night in a lions’ den? Or do 3 men survive in the fiery furnace?
The drama of the end of the story is what we remember. But how does the story get this far? Similar to other stories, it starts with faith. It starts with Daniel not being willing to give up his faith, or hide his faith, or stop practicing his faith. Daniel had risen to prominence as an outsider, and that made him a target. (See Esther and Jesus)
So his enemies set him up. They get a law passed, and then trap Daniel praying. The king follows through on his law. Daniel survives the night, and then the next day greets the king. The advisors who targeted Daniel are thrown into the lion’s den and they do not survive the night.
So what are we hearing again here? Why are we hearing it again? We are hearing that we are called to faithfulness, and God responds to faithfulness. We are hearing that the faithfulness of one person may change the fate of a nation. We are hearing that jealousy and envy will attack our faith.
As we move into the season of Advent, and prepare for the birth of Christ, again, why is it important that we hear stories of individuals and their acts of faith?
