The Lion’s Den
Sunday, July 22, 2007 – PM
By Pastor Jim May
Every child that has been to Children’s Church or a Sunday School class has heard of the wonderful story of Daniel in the Lion’s Den. It’s a story of God’s great grace and power to deliver us through the most trying of circumstances.
Have you ever felt like you were in a lion’s den?
Daniel was getting on up in years by now. He had served in the administrations of 2 former kings and was now still in exile, down in Babylon, away from the Land of Israel, and a new king named Darius had risen to the throne of the Medio-Persian Empire.
Daniel had already served under King Nebuchadnezzar and had proven to be a faithful servant even as a young man. Nebuchadnezzar had been impressed by Daniel’s ability to interpret dreams, and through Daniel’s explanation of the earthly kingdoms that would rise, he found favor and was given a position of authority in the Babylonian Kingdom.
But Daniel’s fortune changed quickly. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was overthrown by the Persian King by the name of Cyrus. Under Cyrus, Daniel remained strong in his faith.
Then Cyrus passed from the scene and a new king was on the throne by the name of Darius.
Daniel 6:1-3, It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Daniel was now getting to be an old man. He was probably in his 80’s by now, or maybe even older than that. But his life had proven his faithfulness to his God. No one could find a fault in him. Who better to trust than a man whose entire life has been an example of faithfulness and honesty?
So King Darius wanted to promote Daniel.
Has there ever been a time in your life that you expected God’s best because of your faithfulness? We all think sometimes, “God, I’m not worthy of anything, but I have done my best. Could you please send a blessing my way?” Is there anything wrong with such a prayer? Of course not.
Paul says its not wrong to want God’s blessing. In fact look at what he had to say in 1 Corinthians 12:29-31, "Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."
Like Daniel, we should desire to be used in a greater way by God. It’s not wrong to desire more, to want a higher position, to seek more authority. It only becomes a sin when those things take the place of seeking the will of God to get what we want.
When Daniel dared to stick his head above the crowd and allow God to elevate him, he placed himself in a dangerous place. Satan doesn’t want you to amount to anything. He would just as soon allow you to stay poor, broke and powerless right where you are. After all, if you achieve anything more, you become a greater threat to the kingdom of hell.
Daniel’s life had been described as faithful. He was known for his service to his Lord. So when he stuck his head above the crowd, the sneaking, conniving, underhanded, lowdown, cheating devil began to plot against him.
I like what it says that they couldn’t find anything to accuse him of.
Politics is a hard game to play. No matter what public office you run for, the opponent is going to do his best to dig up a little dirt if he can. Paralegals go to work, phone calls are made and interview are held with anyone and everyone that you may have known even casually. They are trying to dig up something that will discredit you and cost you an election. Louisiana’s politics have been in the national news almost as much as the national weather. We have the best politicians that money can buy. Why is that so? It’s because we usually get the one with fewest skeletons in his closet, but he is by no means an innocent little lamb. Even if you have nothing in your past to hide, they will dig up something and blow it up.
That’s what was happening to Daniel. The other leaders all plotted against him and forced King Darius to make a decree that he would soon regret.
Have you ever been around someone with a “silver tongue”? By that I mean someone who could talk their way out of anything, or into anything? That’s the earmark of a good politician.
King Darius listened closely as his court praised him and made him feel good. The flattering tongues of his officers persuaded him that he was more than he really was. He began to think of himself as a god; a man above the law. He was king, and he could make any law he wanted to.
Having that kind of power seems like it could be good, but in that position we better watch what we say of it will come back to haunt us. Once the law was spoken into existence, it could never be repealed.
Luke 6:26 says, "Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! …” King Darius would have been better off if he had heard that before he spoke the law into existence.
Daniel didn’t let the kings’ law bother him at all. He was determined to stay faithful to God at all costs.
He could have made up some pretty good excuses:
“Well, it is just for 30 days, what would it hurt for that short period of time to not pray openly?”
"I have to think of how much good I’ve done to date, is it really worth losing all that influence for just a 30 day time period."
"God put me here, after all we are supposed to obey the laws of the land."
"I’m sure God will understand if I don’t pray publicly, I’ll just do it quietly."
"If I pray then I won’t be able to help others later."
But Daniel wouldn’t accept excuses from anyone, especially from himself. He determined to do his duty to God no matter what the cost.
Now, in our way of thinking, we would say, “Lord, I’ve been faithful, and I am continuing to be faithful. Doesn’t that give you the opportunity to really bless me and keep me from having any problems?”
It wasn’t going to be that way for Daniel and it won’t be for you and I either. Faithfulness helps us to obtain the promises but it doesn’t guarantee us against the troubles.
Darius had painted himself into a corner because of his pride. Daniel had painted himself into a corner because of his faithfulness. Both would have to pay a price for their actions.
I want you to know that Satan is always working to trap God’s people. If he can’t get you to fall, or to fail in your faithful service, he will keep finding ways to try to silence you.
He knows that if he can just silence you, then all the good that you have done will come to nothing in the end. The Christian life is one of faithfulness and commitment, but if we aren’t careful we can lose the reward of that life by stopping our faithfulness and commitment even when we are sight of the gates of Heaven. It has to continue to the end to be truly faithful. The devil knows that all of your good things can be lost in the end and if that happens, he wins.
There was a story in the newspaper some time ago about a burglar in Gastonia, NC, who broke into an apartment where he washed all the dirty dishes, mopped the kitchen floor, scrubbed the bathtubs and rearranged all of the furniture very neatly. (Some of you might want to leave your door unlocked so he can get into your house.) But all of those good things came to nothing when he walked out with the stereo equipment, TV, jewelry and everything else of value that he could carry. All the good that he did was quickly forgotten because of the bad that he did later.
1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:"
Because of the trap of the devil Daniel was thrown into a literal lion’s den, but we often find ourselves in a spiritual lion’s den as well. I can imagine that the politicians that framed him were jumping for joy. Their plan had worked beautifully and the king was such a pushover. I can hear them snickering all the way back to their homes.
The devil thinks that he has you trapped too. When you are locked away in prison cells of doubt and fear; when you are facing troubles as never before; and when you lose faith, or lose sight, of what God is doing, and you cower in fear at the devil’s roaring – Satan’s plan is working.
But its not over ‘til its over! Yes it seemed hopeless. As Daniel was let down into that den, I wonder if he thought this was the end for him too. At that point, he didn’t know that God was going to save him from the lions. I’m sure that many more before him had met their death in the lion’s den. What would stop it from happening to him?
Daniel had prayed 3 times a day, but I can imagine that he prayed now like he had never prayed before. Impending disaster always sends us to our knees in more earnest prayer. It was crunch time for Daniel. One more minute and he might the Lion’s Happy Meal.
But a funny thing happened. The Lions weren’t hungry. They just laid there and ignored Daniel. Maybe God made it where they couldn’t see Daniel. Maybe God made them feel full. Maybe Daniel just wasn’t appetizing enough. He was an old man. Maybe he looked just too tough to chew. Whatever the reason, they didn’t even lick him or take a nibble. Daniel went down into that den and spent the night with the lions while the king paced the floor and prayed.
I can just see Daniel down in that den of lions. Along about midnight, when the darkness of the night was at it worst, I can see Daniel reaching over and fluffing up the lion’s mane to make a better pillow. “Come on Jack, get your paw out from under my back and your tail out of my face so I can sleep” “Oh, and by the way, you fellows could really use a good hosing down tomorrow. And for goodness sake, brush your teeth. I don’t know what you have been chewing on but your breath smells like a dead skunk.”
Now I’m sure it wasn’t all that, but nevertheless, he slept with the lions and made it through the night.
Let that give you hope in your situations to keep on being faithful in spite of your circumstances. God isn’t finished with you. He has a plan for your life. Satan may have you in his trap for now, but look up, the day is coming when you will have the last laugh on him.
You have to be like Daniel and be persistent in your prayer life, persistent in your faithfulness to god and persistent in your trust in Him. You have to keep moving forward and never turn and run.
Australia has two animals pictured on their Coat of Arms. They are an Emu and a Kangaroo. These are some strange choices to those who don’t know why they are there. The Emu is nothing but a big, dumb bird and a kangaroo just looks funny while it hops along to escape danger. But there’s more to it than that. You see, these two animals have a very special characteristic that isn’t found in any other species. It is impossible for them to move backwards. An Emu has 3 toes and they are all on the front of its foot. If he tries to move backward, he falls down. A kangaroo can’t move backwards because it’s long and heavy tail gets in the way and trips him up. So they both must move forward all the time. They were picked to symbolize Australia as a nation that will never fall back but keep moving on against all odds.
Would Daniel have been made a ruler under King Darius if he had stopped praying? No, he would still have been thrown into the lions den and probably would have been killed there.
Will you finish this race of life as a winner if you fail to remain faithful? No, you will lose in the end. Even if the finish line is in sight, you have to keep on running with all your might and never give up.
On March 5, 1987, an Irish world record holder in the 1500 meter dash was running a qualifying heat at the world indoor track championships in Indianapolis, Indiana. With just 2 ½ laps to go, he tripped and fell. But he got up and with great effort managed to catch the leaders of the race once again. With only 20 yards left in the race, he was in 3rd place. That would be good enough to qualify for the finals. He turned to his left to see if anyone was coming close behind him and when he didn’t see anyone he slowed his pace just a little. After all, his place in the finals was in the bag.
What he didn’t see was the runner coming up fast on his right on the outside lane. In the last few yards of the race, the runner passed him and took 3rd place, bumping him out of the finals completely. Just one moment of relaxing his race cost him a chance at the championship.
Don’t be tempted to quit at the end of your race. Keep on running with patience the race that is set before you. There’s a crown of life waiting at the end. Don’t let Satan cheat you out of it!
The prize is already yours. All you have to do is finish. The finish line is in sight. Jesus is coming soon. You might feel like Satan has you in his lion’s den, but he is a toothless lion. All he can do is roar. He can’t do anything that God doesn’t allow him to do, so let him roar and keep on serving the Lord. Satan’s mouth will be forever shut in the end.
