Daniel 6. 10-28: Perseverance
Daniel 6. 10-28 - Perseverance
READ Daniel 6. v.10-28
Q - What do you notice about the tactics used by Daniel’s opponents?
Daniel’s opponents found him praying and asking God for help (11). Why do you think he prayed with the windows open (10)? What was wrong with praying with the window closed so that he would not be seen? What do you think you would have done in such a situation? Be honest! Look at Matthew 6.6.
Why do you think the king was greatly distressed (14)? So why did he allow Daniel to be thrown to the lions? You might like to consider whether the king’s actions were similar to those of Pontius Pilate (Luke 23.1-25)
Q - Why do you think God delivered Daniel from the lions?
Q - What important lessons can we learn from this incident?
If you compare chapter 6 with chapter 3
Q - What important patterns can be seen?
Try to discern a similar pattern in the lives of people such as Joseph and Esther.
Q - How is this pattern most clearly seen in the life of Jesus?
Q - Why do you think God does not always act in this way when people are persecuted and suffer for their faith?
Q - Do the verses at the end of Hebrews 11 help to answer this question (39-40)?
PRAYER
Pray for one another that we may remain faithful when we are tested and challenged.
Pray for Christians throughout the world who still face the sort of persecution that Daniel faced.
May that lead us (a) to be thankful for the measure of peace we have, and (b) determine to support in real ways those who suffer for their faith.
THESE ADDITIONAL NOTES ARE INTENDED PRIMARILY FOR LEADERS, BUT ARE AVAILABLE TO ALL. THEY ARE NOT INTENDED AS THE “RIGHT ANSWERS” BUT AS A WAY OF DEVELOPING DISCUSSION.
What do you notice about the tactics used by Daniel’s opponents?
Their words were carefully constructed in that they did not refer to Daniel by his status but as one of the exiles, i.e. a prisoner of war. They showed little respect for the king and simply reminded him of his own decree. As a result the king had no choice – Daniel had to be thrown to the lions!
Lions at that time roamed from Asia Minor through the Middle East and Persia to India. Daniel would have been well aware of the lion hunt.
Daniel’s opponents found him praying and asking God for help (11). Why do you think he prayed with the windows open (10)? What was wrong with praying with the window closed so that he would not be seen? What do you think you would have done in such a situation? Be honest! Look at Matthew 6.6.
Why do you think the king was greatly distressed (14)? So why did he allow Daniel to be thrown to the lions? You might like to consider whether the king’s actions were similar to those of Pontius Pilate (Luke 23.1-25)
Daniel held high office and it seems the king had great respect for him and the work he did. Having issued a decree that could not be changed, did the king have any alternative? Perhaps he really did think Daniel would be rescued by God (14)?
Why do you think God delivered Daniel from the lions?
He had the courage to be loyal to God at any cost. If he had been faithful to the king instead then he would not have been in such a situation. It seems that this punishment was handed out to all the king’s opponents so Daniel would have been fully aware of what awaited him – yet he did not make a plea to the king for deliverance. The king, however, had a bad night (18)
What important lessons can we learn from this incident?
The lions simply lay down beside Daniel (cf Isaiah 1.6-9). The king who demanded allegiance to his kingship seems to have still been hopeful (19-20). Daniel was polite and respectful in his reply. He had been saved (1) because he had been blameless in serving God and (2) because of his faith in God. And as a result the mouths of the lions had been stopped (Hebrews 11.33). Daniel had been vindicated and God was honoured (25-27). In keeping with the practice of that time, Daniel’s opponents – with their families – received the fate they had planned for Daniel. And this time the lion’s mouths were not stopped!
A better translation for verse 28 is: So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
If you compare chapter 6 with chapter 3, what important patterns can be seen? Try to discern a similar pattern in the lives of people such as Joseph and Esther.
Belief in God can be costly. We enjoy all the benefits won for us on the cross, but a relationship with our Creator God also demands loyalty – at times costly loyalty (James 4.4). Let’s be honest with ourselves and ask: Would I be willing to pay the cost?
God promises to be with us at all times (2 Timothy 2.13). To desert us in our hour of need would mean God was not able to save and rescue.
God will rescue, but not necessarily from all the challenges we face because of our faith. God does, at times (as with Daniel and his friends) perform miraculous acts of deliverance, but he does not always do so and in no way is this because of a lack of faith. God’s ultimate rescue is from the power of death, and of that we can be assured! God is faithful and will never forsake us – do we really believe this?
We have a God who “suffers with his people, remains faithful to them, vindicates and rescues them and finally triumphs through them.”
How is this pattern most clearly seen in the life of Jesus?
Like Daniel, Jesus was faithful in his relationship to God, and to his God-given task – a task which left him vulnerable to his enemies.
On the eve of his arrest Jesus prayed (Matthew 26.36-43).
Jesus paid the cost for his faithfulness – sentenced to death, mocked executed and laid in a tomb. But on the third day he was vindicated and brought back to life.
Our faithfulness will always be met by God’s faithfulness; a God who is faithful, a God who delivers.
Why do you think God does not always act in this way when people are persecuted and suffer for their faith? Do the verses at the end of Hebrews 11 help to answer this question (39-40)?