In my own life as a child, more than 50 years ago, let's
be honest, more than 60 years ago, this was one of the favorite
children's stories, Daniel chapter 6. And I realize some of you that
are younger may not be familiar with it, but you should be. So I will encourage you to take
your Bible this week, more than once even, and open it to Daniel
chapter 6 and read this chapter slowly and thoughtfully. You can do it without the TV.
You can do it without the radio. You can do it without the phone. You can do it without all that
goulash. And be attentive to God's Holy
Word and ask Him to speak to your heart and teach you. So
as we look at this this morning, I trust it will be a blessing. In this blessed chapter, Daniel
6, in the person of the prophet Daniel, We have another Old Testament
portrait of the rejection, the suffering,
the death, burial, and resurrection, the success and victory of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I often say that the entirety
of Old Testament history is God painting pictures of His Son. That's what history is, His story. History. For instance, the story
of Noah is not just about a man and an ark and a flood, it's God's Son making a way when
there is no way. The Exodus is not just about
a man named Moses and a nation of Israelites. It's God's Son
conquering Satan in judgment, overcoming death, hell, and the
grave, bringing deliverance to God's people. And so on through
the Old Testament. The distinct traits of the Lord
Jesus portrayed in this chapter is first his superiority above
all others. The opening verses tell us that
in this kingdom of the Medes and Persians, King Darius set
over the kingdom 120 princes. And then over those 120, he set
three presidents. And verse 2 says, of whom Daniel
was first. Of the 123 men, Daniel was first. Verse 3 says, then this Daniel
was preferred above the presidents. and princes. It reminds us in
the New Testament of the heavens being opened and a voice out
of heaven saying, this is my beloved Son. Hear ye Him. This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. So Daniel is first among all
the officers and positions in the Persian kingdom, second only
to the king himself. Preferred. Christ is preferred
above all others. And not only the superiority
of Daniel, but we see also projected the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Not that Daniel was sinless,
he wasn't. He was a man like any other man. But the emphasis here in this
chapter so clearly points to Christ. In verse 3 we read that
an excellent spirit was in him. Who does that sound like? In verse 4, when they sought
to find fault, they could find none occasion nor fault. For as much as he was faithful,
neither was there any error or fault found in him. Was there error and fault in
Daniel? Yes, of course. But God is not
purposing to tell us what's wrong with Daniel. He's purposing to
tell us what's right with His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I would not comment on all
these 28 verses this morning. Many of you know this story,
and I encourage the rest of you to read and learn this story. But several thoughts I'll give
us for a few minutes this morning. First, the despising of God's
Son. We don't read here in black and
white why the others despised Daniel, but they did. Christ said in John 15, 25, they
hated me without a cause. No reason for it. Isaiah 53, 3. He is despised
and rejected of men. Psalm 142, verse 4, No man cared
for my soul. Why? His superiority, His sinlessness
above all the sons of Adam, His sinless perfection, exposing
the shame and sin of all Adam's race. It was nothing more than, one
preacher said, the green-eyed monster of envy. That's why they
hated him. Solomon said that jealousy, envy
and jealousy is cruel as the grave. No mercy. No mercy. envy, despised. Abraham, because of God's blessing
upon him, was envied by the Philistines. Isaac, because of God's blessing
upon him, was envied by his half-brother Ishmael. Jacob, because of God's blessings
upon him, was envied by Esau. Joseph, because of God's blessings
upon him, was envied by his brethren. David, because of God's blessings
upon him, was envied by Saul. And Pontius Pilate, the Roman
governor, said in Matthew 27, 18, that he knew that for envy
the Jews had condemned Jesus. One writer said that envy is
an evil affection of the heart which makes men grieve and fret
at the good and prosperity of others. When is it right to envy someone
over the blessing of God in their lives. It's never right. It's never right. He thinks he's
something. She thinks she's something. Well,
they think they're something. You think they're something.
Maybe they're something. I want you to listen to me this
morning. The Lord hadn't put this on me for people who aren't
here. I didn't know who would be here. He did. Let me read that again. Envy is an evil affection of
the heart, which makes men grieve and fret at the good and prosperity
of others. The writer goes on, envy at the
good of others and malice, wishing them evil is a deep pollution
of spirit. It's like a virus. You've all
been hearing about a certain virus. Envy is like a virus, an infection,
a poison. The envious man is his own tormentor. Job 5, 2, Envy slayeth the silly
one. Proverbs 14, 30, Envy is the
rottenness of the bones. So that's the first thing. They
despised Daniel as men despise God's Son and
say don't preach in his name. We don't want to hear that name.
We hate him. We despise him. When they called
Peter and John on the carpet in the early chapters of the
book of Acts, that's what they said to them. We don't want to
hear that name. Don't speak anymore in that name. They hated Jesus. Not only the despising, but my
second thought the decrees against the Son of God. The despising,
then the decree. We see this here in the story
of Daniel. They said, we've got to get rid of this Daniel. He does everything right. He
pleases the king. He looks ahead. He makes wise
decisions. He makes wise statements. We've
got to get rid of this Daniel. He makes the rest of us look
bad. I started, I don't need to sidetrack.
I don't need to sidetrack. They were bad. They were bad. And when that root of bitterness
starts springing up in you, Envy someone else because they're
making you look bad. Guess what? You are bad. He thinks he's better than us.
He was better. He thinks he's perfect. In this
text, He is. So they come up with a plan,
a decree. And they said, we'll never get
anything on Him except as concerning His God, we force Him to betray
His own conviction. concerning his God. So they wrote
out a decree, not two or three of them, not a dozen or two of
them, but verse 7 says, all the presidents of the kingdom, the
governors and the princes, the counselors and the captains have
consulted together It was a united effort, all of them, to establish
a royal statute that wasn't their place, and to make a firm decree that
wasn't their place, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god
or man for thirty days, save thee, O king, he shall be cast
into the den of lions. now all king established the
decree and signed the writing that it be not changed according
to the law of the medes and persians which alter if not where for
king to rise signed the writing and the decree make it so that no man can pray
to any god make any petition to any god or man. Don't even ask your neighbor
to borrow a cup of sugar. Don't even pray for someone sick.
Don't ask anybody for anything. They use flattery. They caught
this king off guard. and they use flattery saying
to the king in so many words you deserve this honor that no one pray to any other
than you for 30 days well King Darius he fell for it he was
caught off guard he never thought about Daniel we find later that
he's greatly grieved over this He never thought of Daniel, but
these men had no thought but Daniel. That's what it's all
about. We've got to get rid of him.
So the decree is signed. It becomes law. And then our next thought would
be the devotion of Daniel. He wasn't unaware of the decree.
He knew what was going on. He wasn't at all unaware of what
they were doing and why they were doing it. But now verse 10 says, now, when
Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he knew it. He went into his house and his windows being opened
in his chamber toward Jerusalem. He kneeled upon his knees three
times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did
aforetime." Daniel's devotion to God was
a prosperity in his possession unlike anything this world knows. And you don't know it this morning,
but whatever measure of conviction and commitment and determination
and faithfulness to God that is in your heart is a prosperity
that's not common to this world. It was a prosperity that nothing
or no one could take from him. A prosperity that floods could
not drown, fires could not burn, thieves could not steal, rust
could not corrupt, because it was a prosperity found in Daniel's
God. Is that the kind of prosperity you're
interested in this morning? I trust it is. His was a praying
devotion. He kneeled upon His knees. It was a constant devotion three
times a day. It was a thankful devotion. He
gave thanks before His God. It was a fearless devotion. His windows open toward Jerusalem. Fearless, windows plural, opened
all the windows. He didn't just open the little
bitty bathroom window where maybe nobody would see him, opened
all the windows. And it was an ongoing and an uncompromising devotion. as he did a poor time. They were watching to see what
Daniel would do. The decree was for everybody,
but I'm sure they wouldn't watch anybody else. They were watching to see what
he would do, and he did what he always did. What are you going to do if the
coronavirus comes to your house? If your hope is in God, really,
you'll do what you always do. It's a little late to try to
make a change. So he prayed. He continued on in his devotion
to God. That's what we all ought to do. And the next thing thought would
be the death of Daniel. The end of Daniel, at least they
thought. As they thought crucifying our
Lord was the end of him. They came to the king and said,
hey, Dr. King, Mr. King, not Dr. King,
that's the wrong idea. Mr. King, sir, King Darius, there's a man in the kingdom
who's violated the decree. Disobeyed, made light of the
decree that you signed. The king said, who is it? And
they said, it's Daniel. It's Daniel. And the decree cannot
be changed. That was the law of the Medes
and Persians. He must be thrown to the lions. In the minds of these men, they
had done it. They had done it. Daniel is history. He's a dead man. We're through
with him. He's out of our hair forever. So in verse 16, then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel and cast
him into the den of lions. Now here's how big God is. This is most unusual. The Persian
king. This prophet, this man of God,
Daniel, had had such an influence in the king's life personally. This is strange, what the king
said. The remainder of verse 16, Now
the king spake and said unto Daniel, thy God whom thou service
continually, he will deliver thee. What a statement that is coming
from a Persian king. Do you reckon this man really
believed what he said? I think he did. I think he did. He certainly didn't know how
God would do it, but he believed he would. And
he told Daniel so. Thy God, whom thou service continually,
he will deliver you. They threw Daniel in, put a stone
over the entrance, sealed it with the king's signet. The deed is done. Years ago, some liberal preacher
said that they threw Daniel into the lion's den, but they had removed the lions.
There were no lions present in the den at the time. He didn't
read the Bible, did he? Verse 16 does not say they cast
Daniel into a lion's den. It says they cast him into a
den of lions. They were there. The lions were
there. And everybody but the king believes
Daniel is dead. History says they had starved
those lions for days, making them anxious to devour
whatever was thrown into them. And so everybody thought surely
nothing is left of Daniel, but God. That's the story of history,
but God. That's the story of my life,
but God. That's the story of your life,
but God. Excuse me from this proud religious
mess That I've always done everything right, and I'm happy about all
the decisions I've made in life, and stay away from me. Nobody's been that good. But
God, that's the reason you're here today. Ever last one of us oughta been
in hell a long time ago. But God, he makes the difference. And so it is here, but God, but
God. Life's thought, Daniel's deliverance. We read in verse 18. The king never ate that night. The chef probably had him a big
steak. Laid out the thaw. He never ate that night. He didn't want any music that
night. He never slept that night. Verse 19, then the king arose
very early in the morning. I know people disagree about
what early is. Not everybody I know does. But
the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste unto the den
of lions. And when he came to the den,
he cried with a lamentable voice. That is a regrettable voice unto
Daniel. And the king spake and said to
Daniel, O Daniel, Servant of the living God, is thy God, whom
thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king,
O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lion's mouth,
that's spoken of over in Hebrews 11, shut lion's mouths. That they have not hurt me, for
as much as before him, innocence he was found in me. Now that statement has to be qualified. Daniel had done nothing specifically
criminal wise to be thrown in there. It doesn't mean he's sinless,
innocent in that way, but our Lord Jesus Christ is, was. Innocency was found in me, and
also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Only Daniel could say to the
king, I haven't done you wrong. Only Christ could say to his
father, I haven't done you wrong. All the rest of us have to say,
oh God, I've done you wrong. The king commanded, pull him
out of there. Then he commanded, And we read on that all that
were part of this conspiracy, this injustice, he
said, throw them in and their wives and their children. You say, oh, how cruel. If you and I had just a glimpse,
just a glimpse, of how holy God really is. And how corrupt your filthy heart
really is. We wouldn't have a problem with
this. Throw them in. Wives, children,
the whole bunch. You say children hadn't done
anything bad? Well, as many a baby rattlesnake,
it's never bitten anyone. But it's coming when they get
the chance. They'll do the damage. And that sweet little angel that
you hold, child, grandchild, great grandchild, most of your
soul, great grandchild, what it is, the little angel the little
darling. Yeah, not hardly. It's going
to turn out to be the same mess that you are. They threw them in. And verse 21 says that before
they hit the bottom, the lions caught them in mid-air. Crushed
their bones. Devoured them. So how many of them were there
to eat all those men and women and children? Don't say they
did it all that day. Imagine being locked up knowing
what you were facing. See? Well, this chapter closes
with King Darius making another decree. This one wasn't handed to him
by those evil men wanting to destroy Daniel. He makes this
decree. And I'll read this as we see
further the God-given faith of Darius and his respect for Daniel
and Daniel's God. Verse 25, Then King Darius wrote unto all people, nations,
and languages that dwell in all the earth. That was the known
world at that time. This was what used to be the
Babylonian Empire. He wrote this and said, peace
be multiplied unto you. That sounds like a New Testament
a pistol, don't it? I make a decree that in every
dominion of my kingdom, men tremble in fear before the God of Daniel. Those other guys that said, oh,
King, you ought to make a decree that people have to fear and
tremble before you. But here he says, no, you fear
and tremble before the God of Daniel for he is the living God and steadfast forever and his
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed and his dominion
shall be even unto the end who told him that who told him that
God told him Daniel had such an influence in his life Well,
this man's out there right now, that Daniel's God. He's with
it. He's above all and he's going
to be from now on. He delivereth and rescueth. He just does whatever he wants
to. I don't know many people believe that about God now. Most people I know thinks God
can only do what you let him do. Who needs a God like that? He delivereth. He rescueth. He worketh signs and wonders
in heaven and in earth. He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will. I decided I'd poke Ephesians
1 in there. This is the God who had delivered
Daniel from the power of the lions. One fool said concerning the
Titanic, that maiden voyage, even God couldn't sink this ship.
He did. This is God who had delivered
Daniel from the power of the lions. This is the King saying this.
Daniel's God. has made a disciple out of Darius,
the king. There's no God like Daniel's
God. Verse 28 says, So this Daniel
prospered in the reign of Darius. He not only outlived all those
birds that wound him dead, but he prospered throughout the reign
of Darius and even owned him the reign of Cyrus. the Persian. It's not over till God says it's
over. It's so in my life. It's so in
your life. People will tell you you're about
washed up. And if you don't listen to anybody, the devil in the
stillness of the night will tell you, you've blown it so bad. There's no hope for the likes
of you. You make God sick. But the God we've been reading
about and the God you'll find in this Bible if you'd open it
is a God of mercy, a God of grace. This man befriendeth sinners,
they said. Boy, don't that fit you? It fits
me. Amen. So, I exhort you to cry
to Him. Ask Him to work in your heart,
to change your life, to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. See, this is a lot bigger than
turning over a new leaf. I done tried that. You don't
have a new leaf. It's as filthy on that side as
it is the other side. You done turned it over too many
times. need a new heart, a new heart
that only God can give. So I challenge you this morning,
cry to Him.