November 7 Daily Discovery - Read Daniel Chapter 6

This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).  

Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.

[1] It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
[2] And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
[3] Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
[4] Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
[5] Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
[6] Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
[7] All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellers, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
[8] Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
[9] Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
[10] Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
[11] Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
[12] Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
[13] Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
[14] Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
[15] Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
[16] Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
[17] And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
[18] Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
[19] Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
[20] And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
[21] Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
[22] My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
[23] Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
[24] And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
[25] Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
[26] I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
[27] He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
[28] So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

The Excellent Spirit of Daniel

As beings created in the image of God, we are more than material. We have a body, af soul and a spirit. We are physical, emotional and spiritual. The spiritual part of us is fully dysfunctional until it is animated by the presence of the Spirit of God. In this covenant, believers in Jesus Christ have the continual abiding presence of His Holy spirit within them. Under the old covenant, the Spirit of God would come upon people but not necessarily continually inhabit them as He does today.

Daniel walked according to the law of God in deep conviction and always sought to please God. His faith in God resulted in him having God's Spirit upon him during the time that he was serving this pagan king as well as other pagan kings. Daniel's closeness to God created this spirit within him. He was absolutely honorable and respectful and moral. God had also given him great wisdom and insights and he did not become proud. H e continued to walk in a spirit of humility as well giving honor to God instead of accepting it for himself. He had a excellent outlook. He had a positive attitude. He's so impressed Darius that he was thinking,  "I think I might just put Daniel over the entire kingdom!"

His Enemies

Most of the persons that had places of authority in the government of darius were likely babylonians. It was known that daniel was highly favored and they were jealous of his promotions. However daniel. An actions were such they could not find anything that they could accuse him of to try to bring him down. They knew of daniel's absolute commitment to god and they knew this is where we can get him we just got to work something out that would make him compromise his devotion to his god and we've got him.

If you are walking in fellowship with God and you're walking upright you can be sure that there is going to be plenty of persons that notice this that will try to get you off course and knock you down or pull you down.

His Integrity

Certainly they had been spying on Daniel for some time and observed his devotion in his prayers to God three times a day. "Now we've got him!" they said. "we'll just convince Darius to make this a no-no and Daniel, because of his integrity, will not be allowed to follow it. This is how we can get rid of him!

They played upon the king's pride and convinced him to create an image of himself that everyone have to worship alone for the next 30 days. If anyone was caught violating this they would be thrown into the den of lions. They were sure that D aniel was going to become a meal for a bunch of lions. They knew he could not help but pray and they knew that he was certainly not going to bow down to an idol.

His Deliverance

Well Darius was lassoed by his own law. He labored to try to find some way out of this the entire day and could not, and finally resigned to have Daniel thrown into the lion's den. The king offered this encouragement to daniel: "Your God will deliver you." Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, it was covered with a stone and sealed with the king's seals. The pagan king fasted through the entire night while Daniel was in the lion's den. We are not told that he prayed, but he certainly humbled himself and usually prayer accompanies fasting. The next morning the king hurried to the lion's den and  called out for Daniel, "Was your God able to deliver you?" Of course, God did deliver him. Daniel's accusers and all their families were taken and thrown into the lion's den and we're all devoured.

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Continue Your Search

From this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?

See: Berean Fellowship Bible Study Method