Dare to be a Daniel

Our focus this week is on Daniel who was more of a statesman than he was a prophet. Having said that, I should not underestimate the significance of the Book of Daniel where Bible prophecy is concerned. Daniel’s influence on the writer of the Book of Revelation is enormous. Rev. 13, for example, is very reminiscent of Daniel 7,8, and 11 (especially 11:36-45). But Daniel’s moral leadership as a high ranking public official in Babylon and later with the Persian Empire is legendary, so much so that liberal scholars have doubted his existence even though Jesus acknowledged him (Matt 24:15) and Ezekiel referred to him as his highly esteemed contemporary (see Ezek. 14:14,20; the argument that Ezekiel is referring to a fabled Canaanite hero Daniel here is preposterous-see G.L. Archer Jr., Daniel, in Expositors Bible Commentary, Vol.7, Zondervan, 1985, p. 5).

Daniel was outstanding from the moment he arrived in Babylon as a young man along with the first wave of Israelites deported to Babylon by the Emperor Nebuchadnezzer in 605 BC. He distinguished himself as a man of faith, an able administrator, visionary, interpreter of dreams and a man of impeccable integrity. In our text today (Dan. 6) we see all that put on the line as Daniel is faced with a life-threatening predicament instigated by his political rivals who feared that Daniel was about to be appointed ruler over all of them except for “Darius” which may have actually been another name for Cyrus himself, the Emperor of the Medes and Persians (See Archer). Daniel’s enemies convinced Darius to issue an irrevocable decree that everyone must pray to Darius for thirty consecutive days and not to anyone else ostensibly as a show of loyalty and as a means of promoting unity in the empire. But this actually was aimed at Daniel, whom they knew to be a devout Jew and especially since they could not find anything at all that might soil Daniel’s reputation as an able and honest administrator (dirty politics appear even in the Bible). The penalty for non-compliance was “a permanent all expenses paid vacation among a bunch of hungry lions in the lion’s penthouse suite.

So what does “Danny Boy” do in light of this threat to his life. I like what the Bible says (6:10): “Now when Daniel learned that the degree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving THANKS to God, JUST AS HE HAD DONE BEFORE.” (Living dangerously on Thanksgiving day, if you please). I added the capital letters for emphasis. From this we learn the secret to Daniel’s powerful witness and perseverance in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation similar to ours. He had a solid and consistent walk with the Lord. He knew how to give thanks in the good times and in the bad times. He did not “put his light under a bushel” nor did he “deny his Lord before men” including his enemies. He displayed a disciplined prayer life that included study, intercession, fasting, and meditation (see Dan. 9:1 f.). There is something about a consistent and persistent engagement in the spiritual disciplines that builds character and stability in one’s spiritual pilgrimage and prepares one to endure persecution and overcome satanic attack (see II Peter 5:8 where the devil is compared to a “marauding” lion seeking who he can devour). And speaking of lions, Daniel got along just fine with them, but his enemies did not fare so well. In times like ours we need to dare to be a Daniel.