Daniel 6:6–10, 13–16, 19–22

Bible Studies for Life
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University

Act Faithfully

Daniel 6:6–10, 13–16, 19–22

From the time of Assyria’s rise to power in the 8th century B.C., the sister kingdoms of Judah and Israel had suffered under the rule of foreign imperial states. Far more difficult than adapting to a new political reality was the matter of figuring out how to stay faithful to God’s law in a culture that revered neither Israel’s law nor Israel’s God. It is this issue that dominates the pages of the book of Daniel. In each chapter the young heroes of the book — Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah — must maneuver through the minefield of life in the court of a foreign king, attempting to live both as faithful servants and as faithful Jews.

Daniel and his companions were willing to let their names be changed to Babylonian names. They could submit to learning the language and customs of their Babylonian rulers. When it came to the issue of eating the Babylonians’ non-Kosher meat, however, they had to draw the line. Taking a stand did not necessarily mean outright defiance. With a mixture of shrewdness and courtesy the youths were able to negotiate a diet that would still allow them to keep true to their beliefs.

But when commanded by Nebuchadnezzar to bow down and worship the king’s statue and idol, the Jewish youths chose to defy the king’s command even though it meant their own deaths. They informed the king that their God would deliver them from any harm the king might devise “but if not” they still would not bow. On that day only God’s miraculous intervention saved the youths from the king.

Nothing should deter us from our faithful worship and walk with God. (6–10)

In Chapter 6 we find Daniel once again in a position of having to risk his life to remain faithful to his God. The backdrop in this story has changed: Babylon’s rule has been replaced by Persian hegemony. Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar are gone and a figure named Darius rules instead. The challenges of maneuvering through the dangers of palace intrigue while maintaining faith and integrity remain the same, however. Now a cabal of Persian leaders jealous of Daniel’s position conspire to use his faith as a means of effecting his downfall.

Faithfulness to God often results in opposition. (13–16)

It was Daniel’s practice to pray toward Jerusalem three times each day. Knowing this his Persian opponents in the royal court seek to convince the king to issue an edict banning prayer to any save the king himself. Unaware that his favored servant, Daniel, was in the habit of praying otherwise, the king issued the edict commanding death for any who would violate it. Knowing full well the consequences Daniel did violate it, openly praying to the God of Israel just as he had done before.

God uses our faithfulness and integrity to point to Him. (19–22)

Distressed but also bound by the force of the edict the king reluctantly ordered that Daniel be thrown into the lions’ den, there to be killed as the royal edict had decreed. 

As with the three Hebrew youths in the fiery furnace, however, the king’s sentence proved unenforceable. Daniel was miraculously preserved from the lions’ jaws; their appetites being satisfied instead by the courtiers who had conspired against Daniel. Once again the book of Daniel holds up as an example of fidelity in difficult circumstances the character for whom the book was named.