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Winter Quarter 2023-2024: Faith That Pleases God
Unit 3: The Righteous Live by Faith
Sunday School Lesson for the week of February 18, 2024
By Jay Harris
Lesson Scripture: Daniel 6:10-11, 14, 16, 19-23, 26-27
Key Verse: My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; also before you, O king, I have done no wrong. (Daniel 6:22)
Lesson Aims
- To reintroduce Daniel and introduce King Darius
- To learn how the context for the exiles changed under Persian rule and why that matters
- To explain the events that led to the religious persecution of Daniel
- To describe how Daniel lived his faith in spite of the threat of the being thrown into the lion’s den
- To show how remarkable it was that Darius prayed and fasted for Daniel’s protection
- To explore the reasons given for Daniel’s life being miraculous spared
- To ponder the effect Daniel’s witness had on Darius and the proclamation he gave
- To dig further into the blameless words and actions of Daniel to both God and the King
- To learn from the impact that Daniel’s blameless life and dealings had on his witness
The Context of this Lesson (which is different than the last lesson)
We are continuing our February Unit which focuses on the theme: “The Righteous Live by Faith.” This day’s lesson is “Faith in Times of Trouble.” This lesson, like the last lesson is taken from the Book of Daniel. This lesson also continues the same general theme of God’s people, the Jews, living out their faith in a foreign culture, while navigating the line between living
in a culture, but not
of it. The setting where God’s people lived was indifferent to their faith in the best of times, and downright hostile to their faith in the worst of times.
In the last lesson, the context was the Babylonian captivity. The army of Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Judah, the homeland of God’s people, and had taken God’s people into captivity. In that lesson, Nebuchadnezzar reigned as king of the Babylonian empire.
We learned in that lesson about four Jews who are featured in the Book of Daniel. The “Four” were chosen to be a part of a special program for a select group of exiles. The goal of this program was to treat the participants well, teach them Babylonian culture, groom them to serve in administrative positions in the king’s court, and promote good relations between the Babylonians and the exiles. The focus of the last lesson was the three who went through the ordeal of the fiery furnace: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel is the focus of this lesson. Although it was important to learn how Daniel rose to leadership under the Nebuchadnezzar “administration,” it is important to note that
in this lesson there is a new administration. A very important change in the context has happened since the story in the last lesson. The Babylonian empire was conquered by the Persian empire, and the difference that made is huge!
Cyrus reigned over the Persians when they conquered the Babylonians. Cyrus, the Persian king, was a conqueror and empire builder like the Assyrian and Babylonian conquerors before him. There were, however, very important differences that distinguished him from those leaders. Cyrus instituted a vastly different policy than the Assyrians and Babylonians before him.
We actually have a record outside the Bible of the policy that Cyrus followed. The name of this record is called the Cyrus Cylinder. It was discovered almost 140 years ago in the ancient ruins of Babylon in what is now Iraq. Its home today is in the British Museum. It tells of the conquest of Babylon and the capture of the last Babylonian king in 539 B.C. by Cyrus. It tells how Cyrus was led to bring peace, to improve the lives of the Babylonians, and to send home all the people who had been displaced by the Babylonian army. It tells of his policy to let people worship the god of their choice and not the god of the conqueror. It tells of his efforts to restore temples all across Mesopotamia and letting people go back to their way of life in their home lands.
This kind of policy was unheard of at the time. Some have called this clay “document” the first charter of human rights. The Jews are not mentioned specifically, but the record found in the Bible reflects this policy of Cyrus. According to the Book of Isaiah, Cyrus, though not a Jew, was nevertheless being used as God’s instrument. God was influencing the affairs of the nations in favor of God’s people. The salvation God was bringing would touch many nations, but God’s people Israel would know the special role they were being called to play as
God’s messengers and ambassadors.
We are not told how Daniel stayed in leadership across administrations. The Persian king featured in the story of our lesson is not Cyrus, but Darius, who followed Cyrus. Darius was the king who supported the building of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. One thing we can deduce from the situation is that Daniel elected at this point not to return to the city of Jerusalem or to the province of Judah, the homeland of his people. Many of those who were exiles along with Daniel elected not to return home. For those born in Exile, it was the only place they had ever known. They had planted roots in Babylon just as the prophet Jeremiah had advised them to do. (Jeremiah 29:5-7) Perhaps, Daniel stayed behind rather than return home in order to lead his people and advocate for them.
The reality was that there were Jewish communities spread throughout the Near Eastern and Mediterranean world in biblical times. In the centuries before and after Daniel, Jews were scattered by famine, war, and persecution. They were intentional about forming communities wherever they landed. During the Babylonian captivity, when the Jewish temple was destroyed, the synagogue movement started as a response. To continue their spiritual life together, God’s people gathered around the preservation and study of God’s word contained in the law, the prophets, and sacred writings, like the precious Psalms of Israel. When the temple was eventually rebuilt, they continued their “synagogue” life.
These Jews living in communities spread throughout the world are referred to as the Jews in “Diaspora” (which means “scattered people”). The literal image is that of “spores” scattered on the air to land and take root wherever they hit the soil. You get the idea that God always meant to scatter his people to be witnesses to him throughout the world. The Christian Church owes its self-understanding to this important precedent established by God. We gather in congregations, and yet we have an understanding that this vast network of congregations is united together into one Church.
It is important to understand this context for the story of Daniel that unfolds in our lesson today. As we said earlier, we are continuing the same general theme of God’s people, the Jews, living out their faith in a foreign culture, while navigating the line between living
in a culture, but not
of it. The setting where God’s people lived earlier was worse under Babylonian captivity, and it will be better under Persian rule. We learn, however, from the story of Daniel (and the story of Esther, too), that the potential for persecution is an ever-present reality when certain ingredients come together. This is particularly true the more you seek to be one of the righteous who live by faith.
The Situation that Developed Involving Daniel
Darius had stationed 120 “satraps” throughout his kingdom, which were provincial governors to help oversee life throughout the Persian empire. Over the 120 satraps, Darius appointed three administrators to whom they had to report.According to Daniel 6:3, Daniel soon “distinguished himself above the other administrators and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom.”
This was really an amazing turn of events if you think about it. Daniel was a non-Persian. It might have been more understandable if Daniel, a Jew, had been recruited to be a satrap over a smaller portion of the empire that included a higher proportion of Jews. To put Daniel over the whole system of provincial administrators shows how much faith Darius put in Daniel. Daniel had established a reputation for excellence and had demonstrated his abilities enough for Darius to elevate him to this high position.
The other administrators and satraps also thought this was extraordinary, but not in a good way. They were jealous right from the start. They tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with his work in the empire, but they could not dig up anything at all. According to Daniel 6:4-5, Daniel “was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him.” They said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel
unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”
This last statement is worth examining in greater detail. They decided that they needed to find a way to use Daniel’s “Jewishness” against him. They conspired together, came up with a plan, and went to the king to start implementing it. They said all levels of the king’s administration were agreed “that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to any god or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions. (Daniel 6:7)
Why would they think Darius would agree to such a thing? Why would Darius even think of signing on to such a plan? First of all, this was a plan that the whole network of the king’s counselors had come up with. The king assumed they were working together to bolster allegiance to king and empire which would have a unifying effect among his subjects. The belief systems that supported various empires throughout history conferred divine titles upon their imperial leaders. That was not unusual for the times. The king was less likely to see a downside to this because it was, after all, only for thirty days.
The king was not thinking enough about the policy of religious tolerance created by Cyrus and described on the Cyrus Cylinder. Most of the religions that were being practiced within the empire would not find it a problem to “mix it up” by worshiping their hometown gods and worshiping Darius. The Jews were different in that they believed that their God, the God of their ancestors, was the only God of the universe. Furthermore, the Jews alone believed that God is to be worshiped and served exclusively or he is not worshiped or believed in at all.
Those who had conspired against Daniel knew this about Daniel and his people. They knew they had found a way to lay a trap for Daniel in connection with the law of his God, just as they had set out to do. All they needed to set the trap was for the king to sign the edict:
“Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked. Therefore, King Darius signed the document and interdict.” (Daniel 6:8-9)
How do you feel about Daniel being targeted by this group? How do you feel about the group’s plan to use Daniel’s religious convictions against him?
Daniel’s Response
We don’t exactly know how, but Daniel found out about the document that Darius signed. Those who had set the trap against Daniel knew that they had to see the king without Daniel being in attendance. Daniel however found out quickly enough.
All that remained to be seen was how Daniel would respond. Daniel’s enemies were waiting to see how the trap would be sprung. Meanwhile, we wonder how the whole Jewish community was dealing with the king’s edict. What Daniel’s enemies had done affected all the Jews living in Babylon. It all gets traced back to their jealousy of Daniel. Daniel’s Jewishness was not incidental to this whole affair. It was integral to it. The fact that Daniel was not Persian and was being given such a high position made them think that something was being stolen from them. Daniel had taken their position, and so Daniel’s enemies were taking it out on a whole group of people, the Jews.
The same thing will happen later to Esther, her uncle Mortdecai, and her people, in the book of the Bible that bears her name. What we see in Daniel’s story and Esther’s story is how God’s people can be tolerated and even held in high esteem one moment, and then in another moment be targeted as a group. When a group is targeted in such a way, we see how vulnerable they are. We see their defenselessness. We see how a violent scheme can be hatched in a moment, and take off, and escalate.
We also see the culpability of the oppressors. We see their hatred, their sadistic character, their willingness to target a whole group of people without cause. How will Daniel respond?
10 Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously.
Daniel knew that his actions went against the orders in the king’s edict. He knew that the punishment for his behavior was being sent into the lions’ den. Yet he continued to practice his faith in the way he had always done. He continued his habit of going to his house, climbing upstairs, and praying with the windows open toward the direction of Jerusalem—the holy city of his faith. It was Daniel’s practice to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him.
Because of Daniel’s strong faith, he did not change his habits to conform to this unjust law. He lived in non-conformity with the culture when it came to matters of his faith. It should also be noted that he did not try to hide the practice of his faith. He did not close his windows. He had never closed his windows before. The threat of being thrown into a lion’s den did not deter Daniel.
It should also be noted that under Persian reign, the Jews, up to this point, had been able to practice their faith lawfully. The situation had changed for the worst that quickly. Daniel had to know the likelihood of being seen with his windows open.
11 Then those men watched and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God.
The men who watched Daniel praying deduced that he was seeking mercy before his God. They must have felt very satisfied in how well their trap had worked. They approached the king and reminded him of the document he had signed and the punishment. Then, they reported that “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you.” They told the king, “he is saying his prayers three times a day.” (Daniel 6:12-13)
If they thought that King Darius was going to be enraged about Daniel’s transgression, like Nebuchadnezzar was enraged at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego years earlier, then they were mistaken. If they thought Darius was going to congratulate them, then they had greatly miscalculated. The king was horrified that something he had signed now threatened the life of his most trusted leader. Daniel was not the only who had been lured into a trap. The king had also been lured into a trap that not only threatened to end Daniel’s life, but a trap intended to trick the king.
14 When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him.
The conspirators reminded the king that he was now obligated by the law he had signed, and could not get out of it, no matter how much he might want.
16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!”
In verse 17, we’re taken through the motions of the stone being brought and placed over the door into the den of lions to keep Daniel shut in the den after he had entered. A wax seal with the king’s signet ring pressed into it would confirm whether or not the stone stayed in place over the opening into the lion’s den. If it was broken, the stone would have been moved, but if it was not broken, it meant that the stone had remained in place over the entrance to the lion’s den.
In verse 18, we’re told that “
the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no entertainment was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.” It dawned on the king, immediately, that the document he had signed into law was foolish. He did not in any way despise the Jews or their spiritual practices. He did not hold Daniel at fault for worshiping the Lord. Although he could not reverse his decision under the laws of his culture, he could pray. Imagine that! The conspirators had driven the king to join his prayers with Daniel’s prayers by fasting like Daniel would. It was the king’s desire that the God, whom Daniel served so faithfully, would deliver Daniel.
What do you think of the jealousy that drove the actions of the officials to set a trap against Daniel? What do you think of religious intolerance being used as a weapon? How did the religious intolerance of the king’s officials differ from the true thoughts of King Darius? What factors do you think led King Darius to sign the document that jeopardized the life of his friend and most trusted advisor?
Daniel’s Deliverance and the Reasons He Was Delivered
How would Daniel’s prayers and the king’s prayers be answered? The king’s sleepless night ended when morning came.
19 Then at dawn, the king got up and at first light hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Although the odds would seem to be against Daniel, we can imagine Darius waiting for the sound of Daniel’s voice to signal that perhaps he had survived, despite the odds. Imagine his joy when he would hear Daniel speaking.
21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So, Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him because he had trusted in his God.
The king was exceedingly glad. The king commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den of lions. It was confirmed that no evidence of harm could be found on Daniel. Indeed, the lions’ mouths had been shut. Daniel believed an angel had been sent to keep the lions from wanting to go after Daniel.
The interdict that the king signed did not specify that the violator had to
die in a den of lions. It just specified that the violator had to be
thrown into the lions’ den. Spending the night in the den of lions satisfied the demands of the hastily enacted law.
Now that Daniel had emerged unharmed from the lions’ den, Darius turned his attention to the conspirators who had tricked the king and set the trap for Daniel. Darius had the conspirators brought before him who had maliciously accused Daniel and, as a result, placed Daniel’s life in peril. He had them thrown into the lions’ den, where they received justice and met their end.
The scripture gives three reasons for Daniel’s deliverance. First of all, we must point to God’s power and sovereignty. God is the One who dispatches angels. God is the One who has his eye on the oppressed of the world, especially the people with whom God made covenant beginning with Abraham and Sarah.
A second reason for Daniel’s deliverance from the mouths of the lions is Daniel’s trust in God, as verse 23 emphasizes. Nowhere is that trust demonstrated more clearly than in Daniel’s prayer life. Daniel had modeled prayer enough for Darius that Darius also prayed to God and fasted when Daniel’s life was in peril. Because Daniel opened the windows of his house, Daniel’s prayer life was seen and was able to be a part of his witness.
The third reason for Daniel’s deliverance is the reason that Daniel referred to in the words he spoke to Darius from the den of lions when Darius called out to him the next morning. Daniel said it was “because I was found blameless before God.” Daniel’s blamelessness extends beyond being blameless before God. Daniel said, “also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”
How would you apply what God did for Daniel to what God does for others in our own time? How do we demonstrate our trust in God? If an edict was made where it was illegal to demonstrate your faith, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Why do you think Daniel would emphasize his blameless life before God? Why do you think Daniel would also emphasize being blameless before Darius?
Living Blamelessly and Our Witness
Daniel was equally blameless before both God and King Darius. It was important for Daniel to be blameless before both. Living under the authority of Darius was important to Daniel, which is why Daniel wanted to be blameless in the eyes of Darius. It was also important to set an example before his fellow Jews who would be watching Daniel.
When Daniel knelt and prayed to God with the upstairs windows opened, he knew that he was disobeying the edict that Darius has signed into law, but he also knew how Darius had been committed to letting the Jews worship God as the dictates of their hearts led them. Somehow Daniel knew that the hastily signed law was not in the character and spirit of Darius. He gave Darius the benefit of the doubt, and Daniel was not wrong.
When we can live blameless before the governing authority and also live blameless before God, it pleases God according to Romans 13:1-7. According to Paul, we obey the governing authorities not only to avoid the wrath of the authorities, but also to keep our conscience clear.
There’s a lot to be said for keeping our conscience clear. There’s a lot to be said for Daniel having the good will of King Darius. Daniel had earned the respect of Darius through a reputation for faithful service.
We should note that the situation of Daniel under King Darius and Persian rule was different than the situation of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego under King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylonian rule. In the third chapter of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar “blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” when “they
disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.” (Daniel 3:28)
The righteous live by faith. The more we want our righteous living to stand out from the culture in which we live, the more we may expose ourselves as a target for ridicule or criticism. It is therefore all the more imperative to be blameless in our actions. If we live a life characterized by a general lawlessness, carelessness, callousness, or defiance, then our witness won’t amount to a hill of beans.
When Hebrews 11 talks about the giants of the faith, it includes those who “shut the mouths of lions” and “quenched the power of fire.” (Hebrews 11:33-34) Those who shut the mouth of lions and quenched the power of fire did not do those things on their own. It was God who did those things in response to their blameless and faithful life.
In the last lesson, we mentioned those whose acts of civil disobedience during the civil rights movement helped change the conscience of a nation. Riding in the front of buses and sitting at segregated lunch counters were their ways of committing civil disobedience against unjust laws. It is moving to read the accounts of their training in how to conduct their disobedience in non-violent ways, refusing to retaliate, and instead be praying when curses and beatings were inflicted upon them. To the degree they were blameless, it made the actions of violence, hatred, and white supremacy stand out for their cruelty and sinfulness.
After Daniel was miraculously spared and those who conspired against him were punished, King Darius issued a proclamation.
26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people shall tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God,
enduring forever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion has no end.
27 He delivers and rescues;
he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;
he has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
Daniel won protection for his people from persecution, at least for the time being. Moreover, he provided a witness to Darius, so that Darius became a witness through his proclamation. The result is a king of an empire telling everyone that he can about a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, a God whose dominion has no end, and a deliverance that involves signs and wonders in heaven and on earth.
In what ways are we called to defy the conventional, unwritten “rules” of the culture? Why do we also need to be blameless when we live such a life? What ingredients would you name in Daniel’s witness before King Darius? What stands out to you in the proclamation of King Darius?
Our Stance in the World and Our Witness
We have mentioned the phrase “living in the world but not of it,” which does not actually appear in the Bible word for word, but is nevertheless described in John 17, which is a prayer. The phrase summarizes the intent of Jesus’ prayer for his followers.
In his prayer, Jesus explains how his followers are those who have been given God’s word. The more they try to live according to God’s word, the more they face hostility from the world because “they do not belong to the world,” and Jesus himself also does not belong to the world. (John 17:14)
Then Jesus prays, “I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:15) Clearly, Jesus wants his followers to live in the world. With this in mind he prays for their protection, and then he prays for God to “sanctify them in the truth,” which is the truth of God’s word. (John 17:17) To “sanctify” means to set apart for a holy purpose. Jesus wants his followers to inhabit the world, but also to live into and lean into their “set-apart-ness.” Jesus wants his followers to live blameless lives according to the truth of God’s word.
Then Jesus prays to the Father, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18) Jesus wants us to inhabit the world, because the world is where our mission is. Although Jesus wants us to lead blameless lives, and be set apart in that sense, he wants us to maintain our contact with the world. He wants us to maintain our engagement with the world for the sake of God’s mission, which is, at the heart of it, a mission of love.
Jesus prayed, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:19) Jesus was already being set apart for the holy purpose of offering his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. As John’s gospel tells us, “For God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” for our salvation. The mission of Jesus is a mission of love to the world.
Bill Hybels uses the following formula to talk about becoming a “Contagious Christian.” He says that “High Potency + Close Proximiity + Clear Communication = Maximum Impact.” Our witness has high potency to the degree we live a blameless life in the context of our culture. We achieve close proximity through our loving engagement with people in the world. Clear communication comes from the capacity to know who we are in Christ and share that witness with others. All this adds up to maximum impact through our witness.
How are you striving to live in the world, but not of it? What assessment would you give Daniel as a witness, and how would you come to that assessment based on what you have learned from this lesson? Between high potency, close proximity, and clear communication, in which of the three are you strong and in which ones are you weak?
Prayer
O God, who graciously sent us your messengers, Strengthen and guide us to live blamelessly in the culture and lovingly engage your people, that we may make an impact in Your name and for Your sake in our corner of the world, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever, Amen.
Dr. Jay Harris serves as the Superintendent of Clergy and District Services for the South Georgia Conference. Email him at jharris@sgaumc.com. Find his plot-driven guide to reading the Bible, the “Layered Bible Journey,” at www.layeredbiblejourney.com.
