Integrity In A Wicked World Daniel 6:1-16a Introduction

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1 Introduction The story of Daniel in the lion s den is known by millions. It is one of the most familiar Bible stories. What people often forget is why Daniel winds up in a lion s den. Why is Daniel sentenced to die? Not because he did something wrong, but because he did something right! Tragically we still live in a world where people are rewarded for evil behavior and punished for righteous behavior. When a government legalizes unrighteousness; criminalizes righteousness; terrorize the innocent; it has the net effect of energizing God s judgment. We long for justice; but sometimes we live in unjust circumstances with unjust people in an unjust world. We may experience pockets of justice; and moments of equity; but until Jesus returns and reigns in perfect righteousness we simply ache for justice. Jesus told his followers to expect both suffering and persecution (John 15:19-20; 16:2; Heb. 12:9-10; 2 Tim.3:12). The Bible encourages us to trust the Lord, commit our souls to him right from the start; to realize that others suffer and to pray while we suffer (Ps.50:15; Jam.5:13). James 5:13; Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Psalm 50:15; Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. We are to patiently endure suffering in a steadfast way (Rom.12:12; 1 Pet. 2:20). We are to weigh are current suffering against God s coming glory (Jn. 16:20-21; Rom.8:18). How does your belief and behavior hold up under pressure? How does Daniel hold up under pressure? Daniel will be preferred by the King; persecuted by the world; remain persistent in his integrity or witness and will in the end be protected by God. What are the qualities necessary for the Christian to maintain godly character, to live a life of integrity in a wicked world? I believe an excellent or extraordinary spirit (v.3); faithfulness in your God given work (v.4a); a commitment to personal purity (v.4c) persistent faith; and a life-style of persistent prayer (v.10). For Daniel the answer lies in a consistent and persistent attitude of trust and faith in the living God; a consistent and persistent discipline of reading God s Word, obedience, personal purity and prayer; prayer under pressure. I read the story of a young businessman, who had risen to a position of some promience; he fell in love with a well-known and highly respected actress. For many months he was her constant companion; escorting her to many public functions. Eventually he decided he wanted to the marry girl; but before doing so hired a private detective agency to conduct a background investigation. The task was then given to a special agent, who had no knowledge of the identity of his client. When the agent completed his report it read in part; Miss has an excellent 1

2 reputation. Her past is spotless, her associates beyond reproach. The only hint of scandal is that in recent months she has been seen in the company of a businessman of doubtful reputation. Preference Given (vv.1-3) Daniel 6:1; It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; According to John Whitcomb a satrap was a Persian ruler or overseer who had responsibility over a group of people or a province. Daniel 6:2; and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. Why does the Persian King pick Daniel? He has the characteristics of a great leader. Daniel had an extraordinary spirit (v.3a); Daniel remained faithful in his work (v.4a); personal purity (6:4c); and a consistent walk with God (v.10). The overseers and rulers were accountable to Daniel to prevent theft of the kings goods and services. If everyone had to answer to Daniel, and Daniel could not be bribed, or bought or manipulated; you had better make sure you have not cooked the books. Talk about a no spin zone. Daniel was honest. He expected the people who were stewards of the kings provisions would also exercise honesty. Daniel complicates the lives of the sinister satraps; the corrupt politicians; the bloated bureaucrats. Daniel is a foreigner; yes he has been in the kings courts since his youth; he s honest and they hate him. Daniel 6:3; Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. A quick reading might cause you to miss the sarcasm, the vitriol; Then this Daniel --is not a term of endearment. The government officials are resentful, bitter, envious, jealous; they live out the motto; jealousy is the tribute that mediocrity pays to genius. The satraps hate Daniel. There are three people in the Bible who are described as having an excellent spirit; absent evil. Joseph, Jonathan and Daniel. No flaws are mentioned about them. Daniel has an excellent spirit. We live in a world of nepotism, favoritism, cronyism; yet in God s world, in God s economy, God can cause raise up leaders even in the most corrupt cultures and gross governmental systems. What kind of a person are you on the job? Do you cooperate with your fellow workers? Are you insecure or angry? Are you bitter towards your boss? Do you harbor resentments towards co-workers? Are you envious of their position? You would think with the promotion of 2

3 Daniel there would be cheers and celebration! Finally a leader who will honor God and who shows godly character! With advancement comes advesaries. The Babylonian bureaucrats are going to make every effort to get rid of Daniel. Plots Against Daniel (vv.4-9; 11-12, 14-16). Daniel 6:4; So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. The governors and the satraps begin to sift through Daniels laundery; looking for stains, for dirt, for soiled circumstances. The man s character was spotless, his service exemplary. They check into every decision, every daric (dollar) spent; every official transaction. They dogged him, they followed him, they hounded him out of pure envy. Their hearts burned with rage. The old Scots preacher Alexander McClaren writes: It s remarkable that a character of such beauty and consecration as Daniel s should be rooted and grow out of the court where Daniel was. For this court was half shambles ad half pigsty. It was filled with luxury and sensuality and lust and self-seeking and idolatry and ruthless cruelty and the like. And in the middle of this there grew up that fair flower of character, pure and stainless by hte acknowledgment of his enemies. You think its bad now. You think Washington is a cess-pool; you think Denver politics are corrupt; I am hard pressed to describe the decadence and wickedness of a court run by King Darius. History has not been kind to that king. John C. Whitcomb has convincingly demonstrated from ancient documents that Darius the Mede was a subordinate under the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great. The vice-roy s name was Gubaru; and title Darius the Mede--indicated his rule over the province of Babylonia. You will remember that Darius received the kingdom(dan.5:31) Daniel 6:5; Then these men said, We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God. How wicked is that? They want to use Daniel s integrity as a weapon against him! Daniel 6:6; So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: King Darius, live forever! 3

4 I am once again reminded at how sheer numbers often subsitute for integrity. The vast majority of the ruling elite thronged the king. Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their chords from us (Ps.2:1-3). Daniel 6:7; All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. How do these wicked rulers plan to trap Daniel? They will use two tried and true weapons; flattery and falsehood. First they lie to the king. Did al the governors and administrators and satraps and counselors and advisiors, consult together? Did they consult Daniel? Second they flatter the king to get him to agree to the foolish God dishonoring law! They assured the king of great wisdom, his great power, his exclusive wisdom, his exclusive power! Everyone should ask you! What manipulation! They are flatterying him with wisdom and power--but using him--like a puppent to place Daniel in a lion s den! I beg you to learn the lesson of this text. All opposition to God in the last anaylsis, all opposition to the will of God and the Word of God must be considered dishonest. Opposition to God can never be consistently honest. There will always be an element of deceit; because it is based on the principle of self-deceit. It is rooted in the lie that has been exchanged for the truth of God (Rom.1:25). And there is another lesson--another principle; the conflict in Daniel s life; the conflict that will take him to a lion s den; is an expression of a greater and eternal conflict; the conflict between darkness and light; the conflict between good and evil; the conflict between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan; the conflict between right and wrong; the word of God and the lies of Satan. The conflict in our country and every country; and the conflict in your soul; and every soul. This conflict will be expand in chapters 7-12 with sharp focus in chapter 10. The lion pit--is only an historical reminder of the roaring lion; who goes about seeking whom he may destroy. The New Testament tells us that men everywhere ought to pray, to petition the God heaven. Men ought always to pray to God, lifting up holy hands (Luke 18:1). Daniel 6:8; Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter. The rulers, the leaders, set aside their petty jealousies, and their individual resentments, for the one great hatred, the one great resentment; Daniel and all that Daniel represents. The leaders are willing to cross party aieles; close ranks and unite together to destory the Servant of God. Why? 4

5 Why? Why was Daniel such a threat? Because his honesty revealed their deceit; his integrity revealed their perverse selfish rule; they sensed his righteous leadership would put provide a serious set-back for their sinful agenda. Honoring the God of the Bible; defending life; pursuing justice; weren t on the Babylonian platform. Daniel 6:9; Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. Why would the king be so foolish as to sign such a law? Because the Persian kings thought themselves infallible. They genuinely believed they were incapable of making a mistake. Since the divine king was incapable of making a mistake, no law could be revoked or changed. If the king ever tried to change what he had written, it would be an admission of fault, failure, mistake, fallibility; unthinkable to the general population. Why didn t the foolish king have the courage to say; What does Daniel think about this proposed legislation? Leaders want the Christian vote; but they don t want the Christian worldview. The leaders were fully conscious that the most important, the wisest, godliest, person was absent the discussion. Daniel was godly, Daniel was honest, Daniel was loyal. But loyal Daniel would not set aside his devotion for God; for loyalty to a king, a king who legislates immorality. The trap is set. The bait is put in place. The leaders must have thought; Check-mate. Daniel you are a Judean lion snack. Babylon s Motto: Do unto others before they can do it to you. The king has exchanged the truth for a lie and signed it into law. The king has fallen into an age old trap; he believes the lie you will be like God (Gen.3:5). Who needs God when we have you O king? Who needs God when we have you O government? Persistent Witness (vv.10, 13) Daniel 6:10; Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. The text draws attention to the fact that Daniel knew that the king signed the petition; for the next 30 days prayer to any god was illegal. Can you imagine prayer becoming illegal? I am going to suggest to you that his windows were typically open. He did not open the windows to flaunt his faith or invite disaster. He did not close the windows in act of cowardice. Daniel knelt down; he assumed the position of humility. It was Daniel s custom to pray. Daniel s prayer life was one of discipline and regularity. Daniel had a busy schedule, but he finds time to pray. 5

6 Daniel had studied the prophet Jeremiah (chapters 25 and 29) and knew the captivity was coming to a close. Daniel knew the time of restoration was at hand. Daniel knew the 70 years of captivity would close and the remnant would return to the land. Under such circumstances did it make sense to put his life on the line? Daniel would lose his life, he would never live to see the day, the day he longed for, the day God s promise to the captives would come true! Once again there were so many reasons to compromise! The king was not demanding idol worship; simply refrain from petitioning your God! And then only for a month! It wasn t like he was asking for a year or a life-time! What would happen if prayer were banned from the churches for the next 30 days? The results would be both startling and embarrassing! Since prayer is so neglected and so forgotten a discipline; it would make little difference in the lives of many people. Did you pray today? We fight to retain prayer in schools--banned since We are willing to fight for the right to pray--but refuse to combat the evil presence of prayerless in our lives and the life of our church. I suspect we cannot blame Satan for our prayerlessness. I suspect the fault lies deep in our own hearts. In other countries, where saints learn to pray like Daniel, persecution and suffering prevail. With equal degrees of wisdom and courage Daniel saw through the wiles of his advesaries and continued to pray to the only living God. Protected by the whole armor of God Daniel stood strong in the day of evil. All his previous tests--were simply that--tests--preparation--for the final examination. Daniel did not see the trial as an excuse for faithfullessness; but rather the pinacle, the mountain, the culmination of a life of faithfulness. The lifestyle of the kingdom of God; is not like the lifestyle of the kingdom of darkness. Some scholars have interpretted this passage to mean that Daniel had a prayer chamber built with windows permanetly open towards Jerusalem. It was an act of faith on the part of an exiled Jew to pray toward the land from which they had been taken captive. It was, in essence, a way for them to say by their very posture in prayer, God, we believe Your promise that You will someday return us to our land (see The Handwriting On The Wall; Secrets From the Prophecies of Daniel; Dr. David Jeremiah; Vol.1; p.120). Daniel will continue to pray to the living God. Daniel will continue to praise the living God. He does so in spite of the king s edict. He knows his commitment to the true and living God will result in a pronouncement of guilt; and the inevitable visit to the lion s den. 6

7 Daniel 6:13; So they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day. Protected By God Daniel 6:14; And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. Daniel 6:15; Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed. The government officials got the law on the books; and demanded the law be enforced. Part of their arguement seems to be that--it does not matter if the law is right or wrong, just or unjust, wicked or righteous, moral or immoral, it must be enforced. This is the same argument used by the religious leaders to crucify Jesus. John 19:7; The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God. Imagine a law that states; You can t pretend to be the Son of God. But what if you are the Son of God really? On the surface it seems to make sense; people shouldn t pretend to be something they aren t. Religious persecutions have often been done in the name of the law. And in the name of the Law war is waged against the saints. In the name of the Law preborn children are slaughtered under the judicial guise of reproductive rights. In the name of the Law perversion is called sexual freedom and sexual expression. In the name of the Law freedom of speech includes the freedom to blaspheme God, slander Jesus and imprison dissenters. How does Daniel react? Daniel refuses to fuss, to fight, or even to argue the King s decision. Daniel does not become furious. He calmly and quietly trusts the Lord; He makes up his mind to trust the Lord, and obey the Lord. Daniel 6:16; So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you. Can you imagine? In the lion s den nobody criticized Daniel s right to worship, or to pray! Conclusion 7

8 Abraham Lincoln once wrote: I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong. In his lifetime Lincoln was often met with profound opposition. Daniel s life was marked by a consistent integrity. Don t mistake one battle for the entire war. Daniel was called as a young man; and continued to be challenged as an old man. The chapter reminds us that faithful men and women seldom receive what they deserve. Whether criticism or honor; don t expect the world to applaud when you decide to honor God. So don t expect honor from the unrighteous. We will receive what is best from God. Even though we may be disappointed in God s timing; God will always supply exactly what is necessary to honor Him. So don t doubt Him. We will be able to handle human injustice and divine goodness in direct proportion to our willingness to walk with God; pray to God; and submit to God. Only then will you be able to bear unfair criticism and wait for God s certain promise. Someone has rightly remarked that few men, even good men, finish well. 8