Daniel 6 - Introduction

SERMON NUMBER SIX

LAWYERS AND LIONS

Text: Daniel 6

INTRODUCTION

I.

WHO IS DARIUS THE MEDE?

A.

John C. Whitcomb, Jr., in his book, Darius, The Mede, contends that an error was made in transcription of the Nabonidus Chronicle when two different names were both translated Gobryas.

1.

One name was Ugbaru, the governor of Gutium, who entered Babylon with the army of Cyrus and conquered the city.

2.

The other name is Gabaru, who appointed satraps.

3.

In line 22 of this Chronicle, Ugbaru is said to have died.

4.

Mr. Whitcomb suggests that Ugbaru was indeed Gobryas who conquered the city in the name of Cyrus, but Gubaru is the one who was appointed governor of Babylon and is the same person as Darius, the Mede.

B.

He is mentioned in Daniel 9:1 as the son of Ahasuerus.

1.

The fact that no cuneiform text known to us mentions the name of Gubaru's father (Darius) is no evidence that his father could not have been Ahasuerus.

C.

Gubaru was appointed governor of Babylon and the River beyond on the very day Cyrus first set foot in the conquered city, October 29, 539 B.C.

1.

He continued in that position throughout the reign of Cyrus and through more than half of the subsequent reign of Cambyses, the son of Cyrus.

2.

The great prominence given to Darius the Mede (Bubaru) in the book of Daniel is readily explained if we assume his identification with a person by the name of Gubaru whose reign extended over 14 years (539-525 B.C.)!

II.

DANIEL'S HIGH POSITION IN PERSIAN GOVERNMENT

A.

It is interesting that Daniel maintains high position in government with the drastic change of administration from Babylonian to Persian.

1.

Usually a clean sweep of former government officials is made when an Oriental king conquers an enemy's government.

2.

We would like to know some of the details of Daniel's circumstances during the change of government, but we have none.

B.

Daniel was appointed as one of the top-echelon cabinet members, a president.

1.

There were three such presidents.

2.

They sad subordinated under them 120 satraps.

3.

The Persians were great administrators, they had an excellent revenue system, public works system, postal system, etc.

4.

The satraps and the presidents were charged with seeing that the king's treasury should suffer no loss of revenue.

C.

Daniel's position was doubtless granted because of his character.

1.

Technically, he was probably well schooled in government affairs, especially of the province of Babylon, so the Persians would want to use his knowledge of Babylon people and history.

2.

Morally, he was above reproach. The Persian king had doubtless been informed or tested Daniel for himself and was assured that Daniel was trustworthy and would serve his ruler well.

DISCUSSION

I.

PERFIDY, Daniel 6:1-9

A.

Moved by jealousy and prejudice the other officials of Darius-' kingdom sought to have Daniel dishonored and deposed from office, probably in order to have a relative or friend appointed in his place.

1.

It may be simply that the excellence of Daniel's technical performance and moral integrity made him favored in the king's counsels and his contemporaries grew envious.

2.

It does not take jealous enemies to find some flaw in all of usbut not even these envious schemers could find faults with Daniel's responsibilities to his pagan ruler!

3.

This does not mean that Daniel was no sinnerbut there was no open departure from faithfulness and justice and honesty that could be brought against him.

4.

Daniel's irreproachable integrity is little short of incredible in view of his circumstances. He had come to this land against his will as a prisoner of war; he was requested by a pagan despot to study pagan literature and science and be trained to serve in a pagan court surrounded by luxury, sensuality, lust, self-seeking, idolatry, and ruthless cruelty; to serve a ruler who held his people in slavery.

5.

In the middle of all this there grew up this fair flower of a character, pure, true, holy, and stainless, by the acknowledgement of enemies, and in which not even accusers could find a fault!

6.

There are no circumstances in which a man must have his garments spotted by the world! NOT EVEN IN PRISON, AS WE SHALL LEARN LATER! In fact, unfavorable circumstances are the most favorable for the development of the godly character. Development of godly character comes not by what we draw from the things around, but by what we draw from the things from above (Colossians 3:1-4).

B.

The next move was to try to pit the godly man's relationship to God against his relationship to necessary secular loyalties.

1.

The enemies of God attempted the same trick against the Son of God but He defeated it in much the same way as Danielrender unto Saesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God'S.

2.

Villainous men have used the same tactics for centuries against godly people of whom they are envious. God-fearing men seeking political office even in America have been subtly vilified with innuendo and inferences that they will be less than loyal or less than humane because they are religiously conservative and fundamental. The American press has assassinated the characters of some political figures of this decade because these men were god-fearing and not afraid to say so (Lester Maddox, George Wallace, and others too numerous to mention).

C.

Communists have imprisoned, tortured, and killed millions of Christians on trumped up charges.

1.

Richard Wurmbrand tells in his book Tortured For Christ, of being kidnapped right off a public street and imprisoned because they said, ... you are telling your people to just be patient and the Americans will come and deliver them. you are also telling them the communists will not continue to rule! These are counter-revolutionary lies! He had said none of this!

2.

Haralan Popoff in his book, I Was A Communist Prisoner, tells how he and many other Christian ministers were arrested and tried as spies against the state when they had done nothing but preach the Gospel.

3.

Once Wurmbrand was released by having been ransomed with payment of $6,000. The Communists told him, Go to the West and preach Christ as much as you like, but don-'t touch us! Don-'t speak a word against us! We tell you frankly what we plan for you if you do tell what happened. First of all, for $1,200 we can find a gangster to liquidate you, or we can kidnap you. We can also destroy you morally by spreading a story about you with a girl, theft, or some sin of your youth. The Westernersespecially Americansare very easily deceived and duped.

D.

Why such perfidy against God-fearing people?

1.

Because darkness cannot stand the light (cf. John 3:19-20).

2.

Atheism, materialism, polytheism cannot tolerate the idea of God, The Only True and Holy God

3.

Wurmbrand writes, The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe. When a man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil, there is no reason to be human. I heard one torturer say, -I thank God, in whom I don-'t believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.-'

4.

Lenin wrote, Every religious idea, every idea of God, even flirting with the idea of God, is unutterable vileness of the most dangerous kind, contagion of the most abominable kind. Millions of sins, filthy deeds, acts of violence and physical contagion are far less dangerous than the subtle, spiritual idea of a God.

5.

Men cannot be kept in bondage to be exploited by selfish, wicked, ungodly tyrants if the truth of God is preached and lived, therefore those who love and serve God will be persecuted. (cf. John 15:18 ff.)

II.

PERSISTENCE, Daniel 6:10-18

A.

Daniel did the only thing he could do. He was not deliberately courting martyrdom or persecution, but if he evaded the issue he would have given the appearance of trusting his God only when it was physically profitable.

1.

He had only one alternative: submit to the decree of the king, save his neck, and declare his unbelief and cowardice. DANIEL BELIEVED GOD!

2.

These words ring down the corridors of time, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. We must obey God rather than men... (Acts 5:19-20; Acts 5:29).

3.

Wurmbrand writes, It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners. A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms. It was a deal; we preached and they beat us. We were happy preaching. They were happy beating us, so everyone was happy.

4.

Wurmbrand tells of a preacher who was tortured by being made to stand for two weeks day and night, but he resisted. They finally brought in his 14-year-old son and began to whip the boy in front of the father saying that they would continue to beat him until the preacher said what they wished him to say. The poor man was half mad. He bore it as long as he could. When he could not stand it any more, he cried to his son, Alexander, I must say what they want! I can-'t bear your beating any more! The son answered, Father, don-'t do me the injustice to have a traitor as a parent. Withstand! If they kill me, I will die with the words -Jesus and my fatherland.-' The communists, enraged, fell upon the child and beat him to death, with blood spattered over the walls of the cell. He died praising God!

B.

Daniel's sentence was to be thrown to the lions. This was no tame pack of lions, for we learn later that when the men who had conspired against Daniel were thrown in, the lions tore them asunder before they even hit the bottom of the pit.

1.

Some of the tortures Wurmbrand had to endure because of his faith:

a.

Tortured with red-hot irons and pokers and knives.

b.

Starving rats driven into his cell against which he had to defend himself.

c.

Some Christians tied to crosses for 4 days and nights; the crosses put on the floor and hundreds of prisoners had to fulfill their bodily necessities over the faces and bodies of the crucified ones.

d.

A priest, after being driven nearly insane with tortures, was forced to consecrate human excrement and urine and give Holy Communion to Christians in this form.

2.

Some of the tortures Haralan Popoff had to endure because of his faith :

a.

Locked in a filthy cell literally plastered with bed-bugs (he killed 539 his first night in the cell).

b.

Stand with face eight inches from a wall for ten days and nights without food or drink or sleep while questioned and while tormented with food and drink nearby. His blood drained from his head to his legs; his face became yellow; his legs swelled to twice their normal size.

c.

He was beaten, spat upon, thrown in an underground dungeon, made to work under the whip of prison guards, starved on one piece of bread and six-tablespoons of watery soup per day when he did get anything to eat.

C.

Others have endured as much or more

1.

The question we all ought to ask is, Would my faith in God and Christ stand such a test?

2.

It could happen to American Christians right here in America without a Russian or Chinese communist ever setting foot on our shores.

3.

Our own government could be toppled and taken over by godless Americans and the government made into a people's god.

4.

If your children were beaten to death before your eyes, could you still trust in Jesus and take Him at His word?

5.

If you had to go without eating for ten days, could you still believe God loved you?

6.

If you were threatened not to tell others about Christ, would you?

III.

PRESERVATION, Daniel 6:19-28

A.

God sent his angels to shut the mouths of the lions. Daniel's God was not impotent!

1.

This was a glorious manifestation of the power of Jehovah God against the ultimate that a pagan monarch could do.

2.

Men cannot even take the lives of other men unless God permits it.

3.

The Bible abounds in illustrations of this.

B.

Wurmbrand writes of his deliverance: ... they broke four vertebrae in my back, and many other bones. They carved me in a dozen places. They burned and cut eighteen holes in my body. Doctors in Oslo, seeing all this and the scars of the lung tuberculosis which I also had, declared that my being alive today is a pure miracle! According to their medical books, I should have been dead for years. I know myself it is a miracle. God is a God of miracles.

C.

Daniel was preserved for a purpose. Evidently God had many years for Daniel to serve Him yet in being an agent of God's revelation to the covenant people of their future. Daniel also served as a contact between pagan government and captive people.

1.

All whom God saves out of danger and death are saved for His purposes, not simply for their fleshly ease.

2.

Many never survive the persecutions and executions of physical life. THOSE WHO DO SHOULD BE THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO SERVE HIM ON EARTH! FOR CHRISTIANS WHO DO NOT SURVIVE, WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL THEY HAVE GONE TO BE WITH HIM, AND THEY DO REST FROM THEIR LABORS, AND THEIR WORKS DO FOLLOW AFTER THEM!

3.

Wurmbrand writes, I believe God performed this wonder (his release) so that you could hear my voice crying out on behalf of the Underground Church behind the Iron Curtain.

4.

Even those who die bear fruit: A Christian was sentenced to death. Before being executed, he was allowed to see his wife. His last words to his wife were, -You must know that I die loving those who kill me. They don-'t know what they do and my last request of you is to love them, too. Don-'t have bitterness in your heart because they kill your beloved one. We will meet in heaven.-' These words impressed the officer of the secret police who attended the discussion between the two. Afterward he told me the story in prison, where he had been put for becoming a Christian.

5.

Those of us who live in affluent America have no idea what it is to suffer for our faith in Christ. But why have we been spared? What purpose does God have in being so merciful and beneficent toward us? IS IT NOT IN ORDER THAT WE SHALL HAVE ABUNDANCE TO SHARE WITH THOSE ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO DO NOT HAVE. AND MATERIAL GOODS ARE NOT PRIMARILY THE THINGS WE SHOULD BE SO READY TO SHARE. WE SHOULD PUT OUR MATERIAL GOODS TO WORK IN ORDER TO SHARE WITH OTHERS THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRIST! The goods are merely means to the end of the good news!

CONCLUSION

I.

LESSONS TO BE LEARNED

A.

Popoff writes, Tritchkov's prediction that I would rot there and never get to see my family again was not fulfilled. Our lives and destinies do not depend on human ambitions and predictions but on a higher will and powerGod opened the door to the dungeon.

B.

Wurmbrand writes, There is only one method of resistance to brainwashing. This is heartwashing. If the heart is cleansed by the love of Jesus Christ, and if the heart loves Him, you can resist all tortures.

C.

Wurmbrand, One great lesson arose from all the beatings, torturings and butchery of the communists: that the spirit is master of the body.

D.

Preachers in the West usually assume that those whom they have in church are really convinced about the main truths of Christianity, which they are not. You rarely hear a sermon proving the truth of our faith. But behind the Iron Curtain, men who have never learned to do it give their converts a very serious foundation.

II.

LEADERS TO BE CONVERTED

A.

Darius may not have been converted, but he was forced by the facts to admit the existence of Daniel's God and he acted in accordance with that.

B.

Wurmbrand writes, But can a communist leader be converted? Surely, because he is unhappy and insecure just like his victim. The communists, who very often are as sincere in their beliefs as Christians are in theirs, are passing through a great crisis. They had believed that communism would create a brotherhood among nations. Now they see that communist countries quarrel with each other like dogs. They had really believed that communism would create an earthly paradise, opposed to what they call the illusory paradise in heaven. And now their peoples are hungry. The communists had believed in their leaders. Now they have read in their own newspapers that Stalin was a mass murderer and Khrushchev an idiot. There is a void in the hearts of communists. This void can be filled by Christ alone. There is something positive in the enormous amount of drunkenness in communist countries. There is the longing for a wider life, which communism cannot give. The average Russian is a deep, great-hearted, generous person. Communism is shallow and superficial, He seeks the deep life and, finding it nowhere else, he seeks it in alcohol. He expresses in alcoholism his horror about the brutal and deceiving life he has to live.

We must win rulers: political, economic, scientific, artistic personalities. They are the engineers of souls. They mold the souls of men. Winning them, you win the people they lead and influence.

C.

There is only one force which can overthrow communism or any other pagan power over men... This force is the truth of God in the Gospel of Christ.

The underground church has already won communist rulers for Christ. Gheorghiu Dej, Rumania's prime minister, died a converted man after confessing his sin and changing his sinful life.
In communist countries there are communist members of the government who are hidden Christians. This can spread.

D.

IT HAPPENED IN DANIEL'S TIME. IT HAPPENED IN THE APOSTLE PAUL'S TIME. IT HAPPENED IN ALEXANDER CAMPBELL'S TIME. IT CAN HAPPEN IN OUR TIME!

IF WE FEAR GOD AND ARE NOT AFRAID OF LAWYERS AND LIONS!

EXAMINATION SIX

REFUTATIONS

(Answer the following by giving the argument which will correct the statement)

1.

Darius was the conqueror of Babylon. Refute!

2.

Daniel did not serve Darius well because he felt he was not obligated to serve a pagan king faithfully. Refute!

3.

Darius took pleasure in committing Daniel to the lion's den for disobeying the king's edict. Refute!

ASSOCIATIONS
(Associate the persons or events of column one with the
correct person or event of column two)

1

2

Darius

Medo-Persian origin

president

concubine

Cyrus

Ugbaru

Cambyses

Belshazzar

Gobryas

Gubaru

Aryans

lake

Elam

mountain

law

son of Cyrus

lion

king of Persia

angel

administrator

Medo-Persian territory
city of Jews
unalterable
execution
deliverance

MEMORIZATIONS
(Fill in the blanks:)

... That in all the ______ of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the ______ of Daniel; for he is the ______ God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be ______: and his dominion shall be even unto the end: he delivereth and _______, and he worketh ______ and ______ in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the _________.

EXPLANATIONS

1.

Explain who Darius the Mede was.

2.

Explain why the enemies of Daniel persuaded the king to make an edict about praying to any other God except the king.

3.

Explain why the king was so concerned about the safety of Daniel after he had ordered Daniel thrown to the lions.

4.

Explain why the king commanded the accusers of Daniel and their families to be thrown to the lions after Daniel had been delivered by the angel of the Lord.

5.

Explain why the law of the Medes and Persians could not be revoked.

The Four Symbolic Beasts