Daniel 6:4, 10, 16, 17 There are lots of lions dens in the world. Babylon was a lions den. The city was a lions den. Sometimes where our friends work is a lions den. Sometimes where our children are at school it is a lions den. They face fierce competition and peer pressure, greed and selfishness. Maybe even for some, their home life is a den of lions. Sometimes our minds can be like that. Could have anger and resentment. Some may have unwillingness and jealousy and envy. Dangerous lions can be our thoughts which attack us. If we don’t destroy those lions they can give us bad thoughts. It is sad but true that we could even enjoy these bad thoughts. Things like that can trouble us and cause hardships. These thoughts like lions need to be put out. If we don’t fight them then they could get into our hearts and then we will have lions in our hearts; and even sadder if our hearts become a den of lions. It will be troubling for us and others.
There are lots of things we need to fight against. An old sister at the age of 105 told us that we can walk on the sea of trouble if our mind is stayed on God. How do we fight these lions? There are these lions at our workplace. Lions circle then roar the attack. Babylon was a den of lions. Joseph in Potiphar’s house was in a den of lions. In prison he was a lot safer than in the lions’ den. There he escaped the lioness. The people found fault with Daniel. Those people were against him. They were lions. When could find no fault in him, they began to circle – Ch 6 vs 10; then the circle tightened. There they found him on his knees. How does it affect you when you see someone praying? Does it make you want to pray? Could it also cause resentment and scorn? Daniel was praying. If we go 30 days without praying, we could find ourselves in a situation worse than the lions den – on the road to a lost eternity. The fear of the den of lions could not stop Daniel from praying. There was too much at risk not to pray. Vs 13 they started to roar. Told the king that that slave doesn’t regard you. They roared out accusations. They loved to roar. Have you ever been roared at? I have been, and it is disturbing. Sometimes lions will roar out accusations. Nice to think of Daniel. I don’t think the king was affected by their accusations. He knew better. Vs 16 The lions pounced on him and gripped him and would not let him go. It was sealed with the kings signet. They cast him into the lions den — or maybe he willingly stepped in and waited for them to close it up. I believe he went willingly. There was no resistance. He was settled in the matter. I believe when he went to pray he had it all settled. He waited for them. The king stood at the door and talked to him. He didn’t try get out of the den. There was no shouting. Maybe he prayed some more.
In Ch 8:15 he received a vision of Gabriel. He was afraid and fell on his face. He feared God. But now, in this situation, it doesn’t say anything about being afraid of the lions; but he feared God, he had a reverent fear of God. Something I have tried to picture. His mouth was closed. He maybe walked around a bit. He had a rest. What was in his thoughts. He could have thought of how God had delivered others. How he delivered Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Noah; and his 3 friends from the fiery furnace. What a wonderful comfort it would have been. He could have sung some hymns, getting closer to God. In Isa 11 we read of the wolf and lamb. Here it was the lion and the lamb. What changed the story? A lamb is not a match for lions; but the lions were no match for the Shepherd. There was no roaring that night. When an animal is not well, it doesn’t do much fighting. It seeks to get away and hide. When whales are injured they go out deep into the ocean and look for a place of refuge. Some friends had a business to catch sharks and they told me if a shark is captured and in a boat it is not a threat. All it thinks about is trying to survive. The lions mouths were closed and there was no roaring. The Lord closed the mouths of the lions. It is maybe not easy to close the mouths of our accusers.
Daniel had adversaries, foes within and without. Hymn says, “Or foes without that would destroy and lure us from God’s control….” Foes within are thoughts – lions within and foes without are situations we find ourselves in. vs 18 – Then King Darius went to his palace. He had a bad night. Daniel had a better night than the king. Daniel was inside the will of God. That brings good rest. Others outside were celebrating victory and how they would divide the spoil. Daniel was in the restful quiet place. The king was there early. He cried out, “….., is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”
When the Lord Jesus came into the world, the world was a den of lions. As he went from place to place, Jerusalem also Nazareth had become dens of lions. The last time the Lord Jesus went into Jerusalem, he knew it but still went. Those lions began to circle, began to roar. They pounced, roaring accusation after accusation. In the garden they pounced. God didn’t close the mouth of the lions that night. He let them roar. After the grave, the lions’ mouths were closed. There was nothing more they could say.
God’s people at times find themselves in difficult situations. My grandmother wrote some letters about some things that she experienced in her frail body that she couldn’t escape. She was in a den of lions. There was no escape for Daniel either. Sometimes when our circumstances are like a den of lions, the only thing to do is to submit and accept. The nights he slept and had visions that were a picture of the situation in Babylon. It was a type of his situation. God could keep him, and He can keep us.
Three lessons we can learn:
First, be settled and pray. There is no situation that should arise that we should not pray. Be settled that you will be true; and may the fear of man flee from us.
Secondly, don’t let your surroundings trouble you. I spent many a night on a crowded train on a cold night. I wrapped myself up in a blanket, put in ear plugs and had wonderful meditations. The surroundings were not quiet.
Thirdly, lions have problems, too. Darius had problems. He was sorely displeased with himself. I have often been like that. Those who had Daniel thrown into the lions’ den had a tragic end. There was no solution to their problem. The world is a dangerous place. Go back and remember Daniel. Keep close to God and He will not fail you.
Truth Archive 