July 31, By Pastor. Dayna Kinkade. king went to. whom you. was found. reached the. traveling with. Fiery Furnace, 1130 E.

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First Christia an Church of Orange (Disciples of Christ) 1130 E. Walnut Ave. Orange, CA 92867 714.538. 9681 orange1st@fccorange.

The king said to Daniel, May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!

1 First Christia an Church of Orange (Disciples of Christ) 1130 E. Walnut Ave. Orange, CA July 31, 2016 SERMON: The Lion s Den SCRIPTURE: Daniel 6:16-24 By Pastor Dayna Kinkade 16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you! 17 A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him. 19 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he came near the den wheree Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions? 21 Daniel then said to the king, O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also beforee you, O king, I have done no wrong. 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of thee den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. This past week I had the privilege of traveling with eight of our high school youth on a work tour trip to Stockton, CA. Early on in the week I thought maybe I had chosen the wrong story to preach on today I should have chosen a story that happens a little earlier in the Book of Daniel called, The Fiery Furnace, because that best describes our week in Stockton. It was overr 100 degrees every day and all of our work projects were outside in the sun. And yet, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we made it out alive. You will hear more about our trip next Sunday. But for today, it is the story of Daniel and the Lion s Den, whichh is a great story for kids, unless you think for two seconds about a culture that throws live humans to hungryy lions as a form of capital punishment.

2 I love how the picture books have Daniel lounging with the lions. One of my favorite titles for a children s book is Daniel for Lunch. And who doesn t want to make lion crafts out of paper sacks and paper plates. And for those who go all out you can even make lion snacks.

It s all great fun. What I have learned in revisiting this story as an adult is that it is still great fun.

something akin to an editorial cartoon. We don t really know Daniel as a person.

The first six chapters are very different from thee apocalyptic and nearly impossible to understand images of the rest

Like Joseph, who becomes Pharaoh s right hand man, and likee the book of Esther wheree a Jew becomes queen; Daniel is

Daniel was a wise man who lived in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnez zzar of Babylon came and destroyed the city.

Then along came Darius, another king that Daniel impressed.

So they convincedd the king to issue an edict that anyone who prayed to any God besides the king for a period of

3 It s all great fun. What I have learned in revisiting this story as an adult is that it is still great fun. It is exaggerated and funny and still manages to pack a powerful message of faithfulness inn the face of opposition something akin to an editorial cartoon. We don t really know Daniel as a person. The Book of Daniel is difficult to date and doesn t quite track with actual history. The first six chapters are very different from thee apocalyptic and nearly impossible to understand images of the rest of the book. This story of Daniel and the Lion s den has a familiar story line. Like Joseph, who becomes Pharaoh s right hand man, and likee the book of Esther wheree a Jew becomes queen; Daniel is a ranking official in the court of a foreign king. Daniel was a wise man who lived in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnez zzar of Babylon came and destroyed the city. The king took Daniel into his court and because Daniel could interpret the King s disturbing dreams, Daniel rose to a position of prominence. When the King died and his son took over, Daniel interpreted his dreams and was put in a position of power. Then along came Darius, another king that Daniel impressed. But Daniel s co-workers resented him because he was incorruptible. So they convincedd the king to issue an edict that anyone who prayed to any God besides the king for a period of thirty days be thrown into a den of lions. It sounds good to the king so he issuess an irrevocable edict. Daniel s co-workers couldn t wait to tell the king that Daniel refused to pray to the king, praying instead to his God, the Godd of the Jews.. Regretfully, the king has to follow through on his own edict and orders Daniel thrown into a den of lions and then hopes for a miracle. The king gets up early in the morning to see if Daniel has beenn eaten and low and behold, Daniel is alive and well. Which is very bad news for his co-workers.

4 The funny part of this story is to see the king in a position of weakness, almost pleading for Daniel s life and then falling down on his face before Daniel s god. If you were someone living as an exile, under the rule of the dynasty that destroyed your holy city and plundered your sacred temple you would think this is very funny. You might even find it encouraging. Because it is hard to be faithful to God when everyone around you is worshipping other gods. It s hard to be faithful when youu live in a foreign land, far away from all that is familiar. Indeed, that is exactly the audience of this funny, cartoonish, and exaggerated story. It is for all those Jews driven into exile, living in Babylonia, after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and Solomon s glorious temple. The lion s den is a metaphor for exile. They needed this story to find their courage and renew their determination to remain faithful to God rather than assimilatingg into Babylonian culture or violently resisting their captors. The telling of stories was one way the Jews demonstrated resistance in the face of powerlessness. Daniel was their superhero and role model and it was a great story. This story is for the powerless the conquered the colonized This story is about non-violent 1900 s, Mahatma Gandhi was consoled by the Book of Daniel, especially the story of the lion s den. Gandhi declared Daniel to be one of the greatest passivee resisters that ever lived. 1 Gandhi noticed an often overlooked detail in this story that bolstered his defiant resistance to unjust laws in South Africa. What Gandhi noticed was that Daniel not only refused to pray to Darius he flung open his windows to pray to God. In response to pass laws that segregated the population of South Africa, Gandhi said the Indians living and working in South Africa should sit with their doors flung wide open and tell those resistance to oppression and injustice. In the early gentlemenn that whatever laws they passed were not for them unless those laws were from God. 2 He got that from Daniel. He also got from Daniel that Daniel did not hate his persecutors he simply resisted the injustice and was willing to pay the price. So for another generation, in another place and time, the lion ss den becamee a metaphor of unjust punishment and imprisonment. Much like the tomb of Jesus iss a metaphor for unjust punishment. All the military might of the Romans could not keep Jesus in the tomb. 1 Interpreter s Bible, p ibid

Daniel s story, much like Jesus story, is

history for those who suffer injustice for

That There is, however, another take away

Just like Jesus who refused to compromise

And it is a choice we have to make every

5 Daniel s story, much like Jesus story, is for those who live on the undersidee of history for those who suffer injustice for those who are powerless in systems that keep them marginalized and victimized. does not describe most of us in this room. That There is, however, another take away from the story of Daniel and the lion s den and thatt is Daniel s integrity. He stood on his convictions. He found a way, in the midst of distraction and seduction, to remain faithful to God and God s ways, even in the face of danger andd persecution. Just like Jesus who refused to compromise his message of compassion and non-violence even when threatened with a cross. We live in a culture of distraction and seduction. We are tempted to put other Gods before God. We are seduced by violence. We are drugged with blindness and indifference to the suffering of others and create stories about why some people deserve their degradation. Wee are told that patriotism is the equivalent of faithfulness And yet, we choose to follow the one who showed us a different path the path God laid out in creation and in the ten commandments. And it is a choice we have to make every day. And it is a choice that puts us at odds with systems, and values, and humans who perpetuate injustice. It is a path that sometimes leads to lion s dens and crosses Thank goodness we know how the story ends.

Middle/High School Sunday School Lessons by. rfour.org

Middle/High School Sunday School Lessons by rfour.org Year 1: Session 8 No Fear Class 24: Daniel 6 Daniel and the Lions Den CONCEPTS that will be covered in the lesson Provide brief background on Israel