Daniel 6:10-11
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open 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.
11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
Daniel’s adversaries were looking for a way to trap him and they found it. In Daniel one, we are told that he ‘purposed in his heart’ and did not eat from the king’s table. He has not changed, and he still purposes in his heart to be faithful. Daniel does not close his window nor denies his God. So, he continues his prayer regimen. We see this through all the chapters of Daniel.
What did Daniel do in the very beginning of his captivity? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Daniel purposed in his heart that he was going to stay faithful to God. Daniel was a young man when taken captive, somewhere between 17 and 19 years of age. It is amazing that the influence in his upbringing made him a ‘sold out’ teenager for God. Parents are given council and we are sure that this is why Daniel was so determined to stay true. In Deuteronomy 6:6-8 we find council as parents, “6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” Nothing has more importance for our children than these words of wisdom, for this is how we build the treasures of heaven in the hearts of our children.
Daniel 6:12-15
12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
Why was Darius “sore displeased with himself”? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Darius was upset with himself because of how he allowed himself to be fooled. He realized he was duped and took on the responsibility for that. In essence, these men did a flip-flop in that they have elevated themselves up through deceit and the king has to obey or be compliant. They backed the king into a corner. Darius has concern for Daniel because of the decree.
Darius saw something special about Daniel’s character, and part of that was that he was not trying to pull for power or take over. In contrast, these other men in leadership were; besides the fact they were jealous of Daniel.
The principles that Darius demonstrate are Christlike. Taking responsibility, as Christ wants us to take responsibility for our sin. Thinking of others, Darius is thinking of Daniel rather than himself. There are good people in the world that are not Christians and there are good people in all denominations; this goodness comes from God. For those in the world, our job becomes watering and nourishing these people while praying that they develop a relationship with the One providing them with these characteristic and principles. For those inside the church, we are to encourage, uplift, and share the knowledge that we have received through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We can look at the persecutions during the dark ages. There were people who were responsible for the death of different martyrs, and when they came to the realization of what was really happening; ended up being converted. Because martyrs were willing to go through the fire, its influence had a conversion affect on some of the persecutors.
We are going to find this happening in the end of time. The Bible says that there is going to come a time when they will kill you thinking they are doing God a service. There will be some that will see this as the ‘And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her see, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Re. 12:17). Satan is going to lead people to persecute God’s people, and many of those people are going to come to a realization that something is not right about this. There will be an awaking, if you will, and they will come to see the truth as it is in Jesus resulting in conversion.
What were these men trying to accomplish? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Darius feelings went from flattery to deceived by the people he had confidence in. Darius was working hard to spare Daniel. He understood their motive was to try to take Daniel out of the kingdom. These men of leadership made a fool out of Darius, which did not set well as we will see.
We must recognize lies, deception, and flattery for what it is. When we see these things coming our way, it is time to get into our prayer closet and talk with God.
What is the deceitful, bigoted statement they told Darius? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
They were well aware of the position that Darius appointed to Daniel. In verse 13, they refer to Daniel as a captive of Judah which was an attempt to reduce him down in the eyes of the king. This happens a number of times through this story. In politics, whether in the world or the church, people will refer back to our past and they point our where we came from. This was done to Jesus throughout his life as well.
What was another lie these men told Darius? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
They tried to tell the king that Daniel does not respect him because he prays three times a day, and ‘regards him not’. These men set this scenario up with this law they tricked Darius into signing by the use of flattery. They did not include Daniel in the formation of this law, they told Darius that ‘all’ have consulted together to make a royal statute, and they defrauded not only Daniel but also Darius.
Darius knew Daniel’s character well enough to know that what these men were say was not true. Our character is the greatest witness wither for or against Jesus. In Daniel’s case, without a doubt he was seen as an upright, honest man who dearly loved his God – so he was a witness for truth and love which is imaging God’s character.
What two tactics does Satan use to accomplish his end? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the last program, we talked about Satan in heaven. The jealousy these men had against Daniel and action these men took against him is a picture of what Lucifer did to Christ in heaven. Satan used the same tactics in heaven to cause one-third of the angels to fall, as he used in these men against Daniel.
Satan is a master not only at deception, but also perception. He will cause us to perceive things that are not so. An example is the children of Israel in the wilderness. The people actually, seriously, truly believed that Moses and God was trying to kill them. Not only them but also their cattle and children. The implication is that you are a terrible person. Another example is when God swallowed up Korah’s rebellion. The next day the people came back and said ‘why did you kills God’s people’. When Satan has your mind, it does not matter what a person does or doesn’t do – you see one thing and one thing only.
Satan did this with Eve, deceived her about the consequence “ye shall not surely die” and provided her with a perception about the fruit “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat…”(Gen. 3:4-6). He did this with the Jewish leadership who ultimately murdered Christ, and we see it over and over again in the Bible.