Daniel in the Lion’s Den: Story and Lessons

Daniel is one of the most familiar characters which is present in the Holy Bible. He has been mentioned a lot of time in various stories and versions.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den is a famous story present in the holy book of the Bible where he is portrayed as an old man who refused to take the easy way of life and then abandoned the God.

He was not afraid of the threat of death and did not change his mind about trusting God. The real meaning of his name is god is my judge and in this particular miracle, God and not the man judged him and found that he was innocent.

Background and Story Summary

The ancient middle east was a place which comprised of many stories which included one Empire rising and another Empire falling and then being replaced by another.

Somewhere around the year 605 BC, the Babylonians called the country of Israel and took many promising young men into their captivity. Out of those men, one was the brave Daniel in Lion’s den.

Some of the famous scholars of the Bible have speculated that the Babylon captivity was both an act of the discipline of God for the country of Israel and also a way for teaching them the necessary lesson and skills in commerce and the sector of government administration.

But, this particular Nation was considered to be a holy and pagan Nation that was highly advanced and organized in terms of Civilization. As a result, this particular captivity would end and all the people of Israel would take their skills back to their respective homes.

When the Daniel in the Lions den event occurred, Daniel was somewhere in his eighties. He had spent life, which was full of hard work and obedience to the almighty.

He had also grown up in the hierarchy of the political ranking and was the administrator of the pagan Kingdom.

Daniel in the Lion’s Den was a very honest and hardworking person because of which all the other government officers working with him were jealous as they were not able to find anything against him which could have caused him to be removed from the working area.

All the officers tried to use the faith of Daniel in the Lion’s Den against God. They tried to trick King Darius into passing a 30-day decree that said that anyone who prayed to some other God or even man other than the king would be thrown into Lion’s den.

Daniel quickly learned about this particular thing but did not change his habits. He followed the same routine which he had followed till now and went home and again went down on his knees and faced Jerusalem for praying to God.

All the administrators who were waiting for this particular opportunity caught him in the act red-handed and then told king Darius.

King Darius loved Daniel in the Lion’s Den very much and even tried to save him but as it was already pre-decided that anyone who has broken the law would be punished, the punishment could not be revoked.

All the persons had a foolish custom that once a law was passed, and even if it was a bad law, it could not be revoked or repealed.

Quick Read: Genesis 7 (The Flood)

Question for Reflection

Daniel in the Lion’s Den was believed to be a follower of God who was living in a world of ungodly influences. The temptation was always present in the world and he also got many chances for gaining an advantage.

In this particular case, the temptation would have been much easier to go because of the crowd which had already made it very popular in the market. All the Christians who are living today are following the sinful culture, can immediately identify and relate with Daniel in Lion’s den.

It is quite a possibility that all the people must be enduring their own personal Den of the lions at this particular moment but they should always remember the fact that the circumstances in which a person is stuck can never give a reflection about how much the almighty god loves you.

It should always be kept in the mind that the main point or the key is not to put the complete focus on the situation in which the individual is stuck but should be on all the powerful protectors of the world.

One should also ask the question to themselves that can you put your faith in God to rescue you?

Read: Genesis 6 (The Wickedness of Mankind)

In the Lions’ Den (Daniel in the Lion’s Den)

At the time of sunset, the administrators and the workers of Israel threw Daniel in the Lion’s Den to fulfill the punishment which was promised by King Darius.

The king was not able to drink or eat or sleep a night before. At the time of dawn, the king ran to the den of the lions and asked Daniel if is God was able to protect him. To this question, Daniel replied:

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” (Daniel 6:22, NIV)

Various scriptures and religious texts are present which say that King Darius was overjoyed because the prophet had survived is night wild living with the wild beasts.

God had sent an angel for shutting the mouth of the lions. Daniel in Lion’s den was brave and survived, and was brought out unharmed because he had the trust in his God.

King Darius had the man who had falsely accused Daniel and placed Daniel in the Lion’s Den. All these administrators were punished by the king and were thrown in front of the Lion in the same den along with their children and the wives.

All of them were instantly killed by the lions, who were waiting for the feast.

Because of this particular experience of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, King Darius reached to this particular conclusion about the God:

For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end. He rescues and saves his people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:26–27, NLT)

The king issued another degree and said that all the people should fear and reverence the God of Daniel. Daniel prospered a lot under the rule of King Darius and King Cyrus who was the Persian King after him.

Quick Read: Genesis 5 (The Descendants of Adam)

Lessons and Points of Interest

1. The name Daniel is considered to be equivalent to the meaning that God is my judge.

2. Daniel in the Lion’s Den is considered to be a type of Jesus Christ and a holy character in the book of Bible who foreshadowed the coming Messiah. He is also referred by the name of blameless.

In the Miracle of the lion’s den, the trial of Daniel resembled that of Jesus Christ before the Pontius Pilate and also his escape is compared with the death of Jesus Christ and then his resurrection.

3. The den of the lion is also considered to be a symbolic representation of the captivity of Daniel in Babylon where it is believed that God himself protected and sustained him because he had a lot of faith in him.

4. God was not at all concerned with the laws of the man. He saved Daniel because he always obeyed the laws which were made by God and remained faithful to him throughout his life.

The Bible encouraged us for becoming law-abiding citizens but at the same time, some of the laws were wrong and were overruled by the commands of the god.

5. Daniel in the Lion’s Den is not mentioned by name in Hebrews 11 the great faith Hall of the Fame. But, he is referred to in verse 33 as a prophet who shut the mouth of the lions quite easily.

6. Daniel was captured and taken into captivity just at the same time when Abednego, Shadrach, Meshach were also taken into captivity. When all these three men were thrown into the furnace, they exhibited the same kind of trust which Daniel showed in God.

The man expected that they will also be rescued by the god but they were not as they choose trusting God over disobeying him even if it meant death.

Read: Genesis 4 (Cain and Abel)

Conclusion

Daniel in the Lion’s Den was a character in the holy book of the Bible who was able to save his life because of his faith in God. He was a true disciple of God and has been compared with Jesus Christ many times because of the similar happenings between the two.

He refused to worship the god of someone else’s choice and worshipped his god and ultimately got saved from the punishment.

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