Daniel chapter six. I will be reading verses one through 28. Here for this is the word of the Lord. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom. And over them three high officials of whom Daniel was one to whom these satraps should give account so that the king might suffer no loss Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel, unless we find it in connection with the law of his God. Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, O king Darius, live forever. All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition to any god or man for 30 days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked. Therefore, King Darius signed the document an injunction. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction, O king, did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes petition to any God or man within 30 days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, the thing stands fast according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked. Then they answered and said before the king, Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed. Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, may your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you. And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lord's, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions? Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth. And they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him. And also before you, O king, I have done no harm. Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions, they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth. Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree. that in all my royal dominion, people are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Thanks be to God for his holy word. Over the centuries, there have been various misunderstandings about the Christians' relationship to the broader society. Throughout church history, there were those who on the one hand withdrew from society in an attempt to live separate and holy lives, but in their withdrawal, they also withdrew a gospel witness to the world. They weren't fulfilling the Christian's calling to live in the world, but not of the world. Then on the other hand, there were those who were so intent on transforming the world and the society to a so-called quote-unquote Christian society, that they replaced the gospel priority with the priorities of this world. It became legalistic and the gospel of grace was lost. The gospel was replaced with unbiblical laws and trying to control behavior. See, we tend to forget that all Christian men are still men at best, and we can get things completely wrong. And we need to consider the scripture to correct our own errors. In this regard, the book of Daniel is a good place to consider. So what is the Christian's role in relation to the world around us? And what should mark our lives? Well, it can be summed up in one or even two words, a pilgrim or an exile. Daniel's life was a pilgrimage as he lived in exile. And this comes to the forefront in this new reign of Darius. Belshazzar and the Kingdom of Babylon have been replaced by Darius and the Medo-Persian Empire. Now this means there is another pagan king in which Daniel will serve. So we'll see what it means to live a pilgrim's life. We'll consider the pilgrim's prayer, where a pilgrim finds his deliverance, and a pilgrim's witness. First, what we see exemplified in Daniel's life is that he lived a pilgrim's life. During Darius's reign, it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three officials of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. So it seems that King Darius honored the reward given to Daniel by King Belshazzar before him. Daniel was to be the third ruler in the kingdom. We see this in chapter five, verse 29. But not only that, under Darius, Daniel was to be promoted to an even higher rank. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Daniel was going to be promoted to number two, like the vice president, or like Joseph in Egypt. See, to be a pilgrim does not mean you totally withdraw from the world. To be a pilgrim does not mean you don't pursue worldly excellence. To be a pilgrim does not mean you break from all material things or wealth, no. Rather, to be a pilgrim is to be faithful in all things. By this time, Daniel had been serving pagan kings for about 70 years, and he has been faithful to all of them. So notice that Daniel never withdrew from the world. He drew lines in the sand which he would never cross yet he didn't withdraw. In fact, he assimilated into the culture of the world insofar it didn't violate God's law. He learned the language, he learned the history, he wore the clothing, even a gold chain around his neck. Eventually, he would eat the food and drink the wine as we see later in chapter 10. What sets Daniel apart from everyone else was that no matter his position or possessions, he was faithful to God and to his calling as both prophet and a servant. Even though in many ways he went along with the culture, the sins of the culture around him did not affect his moral duties and his relationship to God. That is what it means to be a pilgrim, living in the world, but not of the world. The pilgrim doesn't completely withdraw from the world, but he can sort through what he can admire and accept in the culture versus what he is to reject. But being a pilgrim also attracts enemies. When you seek to be faithful among corrupted people, you will make enemies of them. and Daniel had powerful enemies out to get him. The high officials and the governors sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel, but they couldn't because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him. That is a true testimony for God's people when our enemies have nothing bad to say about us. This is what Peter urged of us as sojourners and exiles, as he called us. He said, keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. But these foolish people resolved to get Daniel no matter what. They just had to find some kind of fault and they would use their own power to do so. And they concluded that the only way they would find any ground for complaint was in connection with the law of Daniel's God. So they were basically saying, we'll make it so that the law of God is against the law of the Medes and the Persians, then we'll get him. That is a very popular and well-known technique. But this was an honor for Daniel because they couldn't catch him on anything else besides the fact that he was faithful to his God. They wanted to make him seem as if he was untrustworthy. even though Daniel held a high rank in the Medo-Persian empire, they would make him out to be a quote-unquote Jewish foreigner loyal only to his God. They wanted to make it seem as if that his loyalty to God was at odds with his loyalty to the king and the empire when it was not. They may have done this out of jealousy for sure, but I think even more so was the fact that since Daniel would be close to the top, he would be number two in authority over them, they can no longer use the system for whatever they wanted. They can no longer use the system in their own favor. Remember, his role of authority over them was that the king would suffer no loss. So that was to hint at the fact that these governors were stealing from the king. Now, consider the nature of politics today. It's not so much different than the days of Daniel. A historian recently made a claim that in his study of every US president, he only found one man whom he did not find any evidence of corruption. I'm not gonna tell you who that is, you can do that on your own, do your own research. He said that every president, except this one man, was involved in some form of corruption during his time in office, which could have gotten him impeached, whether it was hush money, oppressing certain people, or manipulating events to go in a favorable direction. It may sound shocking to some, but if you have a biblical view of the world, it shouldn't surprise you. In order to reach the higher ranks, it becomes more and more difficult to remain free from corruption, and if you do, you will make enemies. Very powerful enemies. But by God's grace, this was the example of Daniel. There were people out to get him, yet they could not find any fault or complaint against him. He was faithful in his service to the Medo-Persians. He was faithful to the king and to the empire, and so he was promoted. And this led to false accusations and persecution. Now, who does this remind you of? Wasn't it Jesus when he was revealing who he was to the Jewish religious leaders? He asked them, which one of you convicts me of sin? And others who bore witness to Jesus' innocence. Judas, after betraying Jesus, sought to undo what he had done and said, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. After, Interrogating Jesus, Pilate asked the crowds who were calling for Jesus to be crucified, why? What evil has he done? Remember the confession of the thief on the cross who said to the other thief who was railing at Jesus, said of Jesus, this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus was the most faultless and faithful servant, the most, utmost pilgrim, He knew what it meant to have people out to get him and falsely accuse him. Living up to what Paul said, indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And this is what happened to Daniel. So what aspect of devotion to God do you think they would attack? They couldn't attack him as a faithful servant to the kingdom, so instead they attacked his personal and private devotion to God. They went after his prayer closet. They had King Darius establish a certain ordinance and sign a document, an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for 30 days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Notice, just 30 days. It wasn't a longstanding law, but just long enough to catch Daniel in the act. And on top of that, this law cannot be changed or revoked according to the law of the Medes and the Persians once the king signs it. Therefore, King Darius, out of ignorance of what was truly going on, signed the document in injunction. Now, Darius would have viewed this edict as a political strategy to unite the people underneath him. He wasn't declaring himself to be a god, yet its function was still similar to the unity that was called for under Nebuchadnezzar when he erected the golden statue and further back of the Tower of Babel. Now, what do you think Daniel did once he heard of this document? Notice, he didn't make a public spectacle about it. He didn't go before the king or the officials in protest. He just did what he always did. He prayed. He went to make petitions to his God. He went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. Now, God never commanded that his people pray in this way. The reason why he prayed toward Jerusalem is given to us later on in chapter nine where it tells us that Daniel sought the Lord's favor for himself, for God's people, and for the promised land of Jerusalem. His face turned toward the temple, interceding for Israel, was fulfilling what Solomon pleaded for in 1 Kings 8, specifically verses 46 to 50. If God's people found themselves in exile, that if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and prayed to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you, O Lord, have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, Solomon pleaded for the Lord to hear their prayers and forgive the people of their sins. So Daniel's windows, were open toward Jerusalem where he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously. He was faced with a choice. Obey the Medo-Persian authorities or obey his God. He chose the latter. And his enemies knew he would do this. They knew he would rather die than to put his relationship with God on hold or make him second place in his life. Now, we should all feel convicted by this, shouldn't we? For us, we don't need this kind of injunction to make God second place. We do that all on our own. 30 days? What's 30 days without prayer? No big deal, that's not that long. But what his enemies knew about Daniel was that he would be in his prayer closet. Shouldn't that convict us? Do people know us for our devotion to God? But notice that this situation didn't drive him to prayer. We're very reactionary. I can imagine the protest of millions gathered if the government ever declared that we're not allowed to pray in public or in private. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but were we praying when we were free to pray, is the question. And notice that true Christian civil disobedience is knowing that we will face consequences for disobeying an unjust law. He prayed knowing that he was going to face the harsh consequences. But he didn't just pray in response to this edict. He just continued to do what he had always done. He prayed. And not only did he pray, but he gave thanks. He gave thanks. He was about to face death and persecution, and instead of grumbling and complaining about his circumstances or about his enemies, he gave thanks. Not that there is never a time to lament, even lament our enemies, but there is always a time to give thanks. Does that reflect your prayer life? God has blessed us with far more than we deserve or care to recognize. Think of Daniel's circumstances. God did not promise Daniel an easy road. Even though Daniel was devoted to God, God would lead him through this tough time of persecution and trial. Yet his faith led him to give thanks to God. Shouldn't we learn from this? God has not promised to submit to our desires for comfort. But what he has promised is to be with us through our times of discomfort, and this is what we'll see in the path ahead for Daniel. So we ought to remember what Paul said to the Thessalonians, even during tough times, to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. And of course, Daniel's enemies were waiting and watching until they caught him in the act so that they can rat him out to the king. They said to the king, didn't you sign the injunction? Anyone who makes a petition to any god or man within 30 days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. The king responded, yeah, yeah, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, it cannot be revoked. Well, these men answered and said, Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, the foreigner, they wanted to make clear that he was an outsider. He is not one of us. And because of that, he pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day. He is faithful to God, but not to you, O king. Now, when the king heard these things, he was really distressed, and he set his mind to deliver Daniel. He had a concern for Daniel. Daniel was a faithful servant. Daniel was to be his second-in-command, so he was concerned about Daniel's deliverance. He labored till the sun went down to rescue him. He tried to do what he could do to reverse the consequences of this injunction for Daniel, but of course, these men came by agreement to the king. And this is repeated throughout this text as a reminder of their conspiracy to get Daniel. And they reminded the king of how according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed. Now the question is, is that true? Well, no, of course not. Of course he can change the edict. He was the king. He would actually issue a counter-edict later on. But it wouldn't look good for him if he changed this edict. It would make him look like an undecided and confused leader. It wouldn't be good for public relations. So he commanded that Daniel be cast into the Den of Lions. And you can imagine the sad tone in which Darius declared to Daniel. May your God whom you serve continually deliver you. And for security purposes, so that none of the Jews could rescue Daniel, a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lord's, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. He was in distress and so he lost sleep over the supposed execution of Daniel and he just didn't want to be bothered. But while Darius was in distress, Daniel's God would show up. Daniel's God would show up once again just as he showed up for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. Although Darius would fail to deliver Daniel, Daniel's God would not fail to deliver him. A long night with little sleep, a break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, oh Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions? Daniel said to the king, oh king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth. Can you imagine being surrounded by hungry lions, yet they were calm? So calm that you can fall asleep and get a full night's rest in their presence. I don't think I would have slept with my eyes closed. But here the difference maker is that he wasn't alone in the presence of these lions. He was also in the presence of an angel of the Lord, This was a miracle. You can imagine Daniel petting the mane of a lion while conversing with an angel and the peace of God filling that den as the angel kept him safe. The difference maker was that the Lord was present with Daniel. He said that the lions have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him and also before you, O king. I have done no harm. Daniel was delivered by God because Daniel was found blameless before him. And not only before God, but also before Darius. The officials tried to make Daniel out to be a traitor or at odds with Darius, but all along, he wasn't at odds with him. Just as Peter called Christians to be subject to their masters, Daniel was subject to his masters with full respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. but also Daniel sought the Lord first to be his deliverance. It says that after he was taken out of the den, no kind of harm was found on him because he had trusted in his God. This sounds like Jesus, who when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. That was the source of his peace in the lion's den and should be the source of your peace. That your God is faithful to you and he will deliver you from whatever you may be facing. Now, there is no promise in this text that says if you are found blameless, you will be delivered from all physical harm. But we can trust that the Lord will be with us. His presence makes all the difference in the world. He will preserve us even if it is not in our mortal bodies. And there is a contrast here between the fate of Daniel versus the fate of his false accusers. The king was exceedingly glad that Daniel was delivered. Then he turns his attention to the false accusers. As false accusers, they were to suffer the same fate that would have befallen on Daniel. We see this even in God's law in Deuteronomy chapter 19, verses 16 through 21, how the charge of false accusers will fall back on them. But it was also practiced by other ancient Near Eastern societies as we see here. After the king commanded that Daniel be taken out of the den, He commanded that the men who maliciously accused Daniel be cast into the den of lions, they, their children, and their wives. And I bet by this time, the lions were pretty hungry. And we see the opposite happen to them from what happened to Daniel. Before they even reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. Now, this is what it means for a pilgrim to be a witness. It led King Darius to write a counter-edict or a counter-decree. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth. Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in all my royal dominion, people are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. We all know that a decree to fear God doesn't make anyone fear God, right? But this was a testimony to God's work in Daniel's life, which convinced Darius that God is real. God is the one who raises kings up, and he is the one who brings them down, and that God and his kingdom was the only kingdom that would last forever. God has humbled yet another king. And this king gave him the glory. Again, Daniel fulfilled the life of a pilgrim, letting his light shine, his good works were seen, and a Gentile king glorified God his father in heaven. It says that Daniel was delivered because he was blameless and he trusted in his God. This is what it means to be a gospel witness to the world. And it says that this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Although he was a pilgrim and an exile, yet God would preserve him throughout his service to both the Babylonians as well as to the Medo-Persians. And not only that, God would also cause him to prosper. And his prayers would be answered in Cyrus the Persian, who would be the one whom God chose to return some of God's people to the promised land. Now it is believed that Daniel would never return to Judah. He would not see the Promised Land again. His ultimate reward awaited him in the Jerusalem above. But in Daniel, God proved that he is able to preserve his people in their exile in this world. For this world is not our home, as the author of Hebrews says. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. because our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Just like Daniel, we too are strangers and exiles in this world. Pilgrims just passing through. But also let us remember what this text is truly about. There is no promise that if we're faithful, we will be delivered from physical harm. This is truly not the case for many Christians around the world, as we heard this morning, who are being persecuted right now. This text is not about dare to be a Daniel and how we are to withstand persecution. We must confess that in our day-to-day lives, we have not been blameless like Daniel. This text is about how God's verdict on his people will be reversed. Our judgment that comes from God will be reversed. And on the last day, we will be vindicated by our king. Believers will be saved from the lion's den of this world, while unbelievers, like the false accusers, will face judgment. All who are in Christ will be delivered, while all who are in Adam will be judged. The only way we are delivered is if we trust in the One who fulfilled the life of Daniel perfectly. Like Daniel, Jesus was falsely accused by his enemies. He was brought before a ruler, Pilate, who saw his innocence and sought to deliver him from this guilty verdict before he was pressured to hand him over to a cross to die. Then he was buried in a tomb that would be sealed so that no one could steal his body. Now the difference is that Jesus actually died. He wasn't delivered by an angel. He faced death alone for sinners, the death we all deserve. And that stone would not be rolled away until three days later where he would come out alive. Why? Because he was completely blameless. He was not at all guilty. He was perfectly faithful to his father. And he accomplished all this so that one day when we face death and we face judgment, our verdict would be reversed and we would be acquitted of all guilt, even though we are actually guilty. Ian Duggett says this, when Daniel came forth from the lion's den, he came out alone. No one else was saved by God's deliverance of him. But when Jesus came forth from the tomb, he came out as the head of a mighty company of people who have been redeemed from the pit through his death. And this is true of all who have placed their faith in Jesus alone for salvation. Though you are guilty and you deserve to be thrown in a den of lions, Jesus, through what he has done, has freed you from all guilt and cleansed you from all guilty stains. More than a call to dare to be a Daniel, this is a call to dare to trust in Jesus. Your deliverance doesn't depend on whether you match up to Daniel's example, but whether or not you have believed in Jesus. This is our peace. This is our rest. This is our only deliverance. from a world full of lions. So turn your face to Jerusalem above and trust in this Savior. Amen.