Daniel 6:19-22 – 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 lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
One of the most known and loved Bible stories is Daniel in the lion’s den.
Sentenced to death for praying publicly to God as he had every day for his lifetime, every effort was made to get Daniel to compromise or be killed. Bravely, the now elderly man in his eighties or nineties chose courage over cowardice.
After spending an entire night in a pit in the ground filled with hungry lions who were supposed to eat him alive, Daniel walked out the next morning unharmed. The old British preacher Charles Spurgeon quipped that he was probably not eaten because he was all gristle and backbone.
One commentator has said that Jesus Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, handled the lions for Daniel. This may be exactly what happened. Daniel says, “God sent his angel”. Who is this angel? Angel means messenger. These, and other divine beings like the watchers, holy ones, princes, etc. appear throughout the book of Daniel. Sometimes, the Old Testament refers to “an angel” which is a created divine being that serves as a minister and messenger for God. Sometimes, it speaks of “the angel of the Lord” who is worshipped as God and therefore a preincarnate appearance of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
If that is what happened, then Jesus came and got into the lion’s den with Daniel. The same is true for us. Jesus will never leave or forsake us, even when we find ourselves in our own version of the lion’s den. And, he can deliver us as He did Daniel.
What kinds of “lion’s dens” have you been in?
In addition to this introduction to and overview of Daniel, you can find the corresponding sermons, daily devotions, men’s ministry resources, and hundreds of additional sermons and Bible teaching resources for free at markdriscoll.org or on the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.
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