Book of Daniel - Lesson 4 - Chapters 6-7

Last week, we heard in Chapter 4 of King Nebuchadnezzar being humbled by God and losing his mind and suffering a very unusual emotional illness, before being restored to leadership. Then we heard in Chapter 5 of Belshazzar losing his kingdom and his life because of his own pride and worship of false gods, instead of the true God. God cares for Daniel in these chaotic days, as the Babylonian empire falls and the Medo-Persian empire rises.

As Chapter 6 begins, Daniel is appointed as a trusted leader in the Medo-Persian Empire. (History of those times tells us that the Babylonian people were unhappy with their own leaders and put up very little opposition to this change of government.) Others are unhappy that Daniel has such power, though, and decide to attack him on the basis of his religious views, as a Jew. They convince Darius to make a new law that for 30 days people could pray only to Darius himself and to no one else. This was not unusual in a polytheistic world. Kings were often honored as if they were gods. This law was also made “a law of the Medes and Persians,” which meant it could not be revoked. (You can read of the “Law of the Medes and Persians” also in the Book of Esther 1:17-19 and how God worked to bring Esther to become queen and help protect her Jewish people.) The penalty for breaking this law of Darius was to be thrown into a den of lions - certain death (Daniel 6:1-9).

Daniel knows that he must be faithful to the one true God and keep praying to Him only. He does what he has been doing even since he came to Babylon as a young slave. He prays regularly toward Jerusalem and prays humbly, on his knees. (He did not have to do his praying just this way, but was following the example of others in the Old Testament. See 1 Kings 8:27-30, Psalm 55:17, and Psalm 95:6, as examples.) Most of all, Daniel keeps praying and prays only to the one True God, no matter what the law says (Daniel 6:10). His enemies know what he is doing and report him to Darius and demand his death in the lions’ den (Daniel 6:11-15). Daniel, though, is doing only what the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament teach.  See Mark 12:13-17. Daniel respects government and its proper authority and serves his government faithfully, even as it changes. At the same time, he has to give God what is God’s - his worship, and his obedience, even if he contradicts governmental law. (See Acts 4:1-12 and 5:27-32.)

Darius likes Daniel and wants to protect him, but he can find no way to do so. He must put him in the den of lions, but hopes that Daniel’s god will help him. The den is sealed. (Notice the similarity to how Jesus’ tomb was sealed, too. Yet, both came out alive, by God’s grace.) Darius fasts and cannot sleep and at daybreak hastened to the den and cried out in anguish for Daniel. Daniel answers that he is safe, for he had trusted God, and an angel has shut the mouths of the lions. Daniel is pulled out of the lions’ den, perfectly safe, and his enemies are thrown into the den, where they are immediately killed (Daniel 6:14-24). (There are other examples of God helping people in danger from lions. See Sampson in Judges 14:6 and David in 1 Samuel 17:34-37, and even Paul in the New Testament, in 2 Timothy 4:16-17.)

Darius makes a new decree that people of his kingdom are to respect the God of the Jews, for he rescues and delivers and does signs and wonders and is “the living God” who endures forever. In this way the Jews are protected even in captivity, and God cares for them, too, even though they had been so unfaithful to Him too often. Daniel himself also prospers under the Medo-Persian leaders (Daniel 6:25-28). 

With Darius/Cyrus in power, the Babylonian Empire has ended. In the New Testament, though, Babylon becomes a symbol for all evil and all the enemies of God and His will. See how Rome is called Babylon, with its wickedness and opposition to Christianity (1 Peter 5:13). The Book of Revelation also predicts the eventual destruction of Babylon and all evil, too. See Revelation 14:16, 16:19, 18:2-4, 21-23. 

Jesus does not promise that we will escape all trouble, though. He predicts trouble because we are followers of Christ. See Matthew 10:24-25 and 1 Peter 3:13-18, for example. We even face our own “lion,” the devil and his temptations. See 1 Peter 5:6-12. Jesus will help us through, and He is our own good “lion,” protecting us. See Genesis 49:9, Revelation 4:7, and 5:5.

Darius promised some earthly peace to people in Daniel 6:25. The New Testament uses the same phrase, but promises that “grace and peace will be multiplied” for us, in Christ - “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, and will guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus.” There is our confidence, in Jesus,  in life and in death (1 Peter 1:2, Philippians 4:7). 

Chapter 7 of Daniel brings some changes. Daniel speaks in “the third person” in Chapters 1-6. He and others did this and that, and God gave visions to others that Daniel interpreted, by the gift of God . In Chapter 7 and following, Daniel speaks in “the first person” - “I saw in my vision”, etc. (7:2). Daniel also tells of some of his dreams that happened in earlier days - as in the days of Belshazzar (7:1). 

In Daniel 7:2-8,17, Daniel sees a vision of four great beasts, coming out of the turbulent sea, coming from an earthly place and origin. They are a lion with wings, whose wings are plucked; a bear, leaning to one side, with three ribs in its mouth; a leopard with four wings and four heads; and a terrifying beast with iron teeth and 10+ horns. This all might seem very strange to us, but kings and nations and empires were often pictured in this way in the ancient world. As Daniel would walk through Babylon, he would see many images of lions, representing the Babylonian empire, and sometimes with wings. (Archaeologists have found such lion images in the ruins of Babylon.) If you think about it, we still use such images today in sports and in other ways, to depict power and strength. In the National Football League, we have the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, the Philadelphia Eagles, and on and on.

The beasts in Daniel represent four great kings and their empires (7:15-17), which will come and go, over time. Different picture images are used, but it is the same message as in Chapter 2, with the great statue, with four parts, like the four beasts, which represent the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires. Each empire will follow and conquer the previous empire, but none will last. These empires also are pictures of many more nations and empires that will rise and fall, through the centuries.

During the time of the 4th beast, the Roman Empire, a Stone will come in Chapter 2 to break down the rest and bring in an everlasting kingdom. That one is Jesus, as we have heard. In Chapter 7, “one like a son of man” comes, of heavenly origin, just as the Stone of Chapter 2 is not made by human hands. Again, it is Jesus, who often used the description of Himself as “the Son of Man.” He brings in an everlasting kingdom, too, unlike the earthly kingdoms. See the vision of Daniel in Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14,18, and 26-27, which is so different from the beasts, the earthly kingdoms. Next week, we will see how the New Testament reveals Jesus as “the Son of Man” and what that means for us. There is something sure and certain and eternal in this changing and decaying world; and that something is Jesus and the eternal Kingdom He brings us.

As we close, note in Daniel 7:28 that Daniel is greatly alarmed and probably turned pale, with all he sees and hears. He does not get it all, “but I kept the matter in my heart,” he says. How comforting for us, too, as we do not always grasp everything our Lord is trying to tell us in Scripture. We are called to keep listening and meditating and asking the Lord’s guidance, as we keep His Word in our hearts. He will bless us and give us more understanding, over time.