DEN OF LIONS

At sunset the king walked, in misery and distress, to the den of lions. Though he spent his day spent in regret and consternation, he was unable to halt the capture of Daniel. As the day grew dark, Daniel was cast into the den of lions. A vicious death sentence. That night the king walked back to the palace. He did not sleep; he fasted. In the morning, early, he rushed to the den of lions. He cried out at the sight of Daniel, alive and unharmed. God had sent an angel. The mouths of the lions were closed because Daniel believed in his God. Relief swept through the king; the king who was unable to halt the unintended consequences of his own decree.

It is a beautiful account and a familiar one. It is chock-full of lesson. But there is more to the story; what were the circumstances that landed Daniel in the den of lions? When we read Daniel's story from the beginning, we realize that Daniel was in a figurative den of lions well-before he was ever cast into the literal one... protected by God in both.

• DEN OF LIONS

Daniel rose in the ranks of the king's men from the onset. Chosen by God to serve the kingdom before Nebuchadnezzar chose Daniel to serve in his court. Chosen by God and equipped by God, he thrived in the king's court; his great faith catalyzed by God into great wisdom. So instrumental in the court that Daniel continued to serve after Nebuchadnezzar's death, after even Nebuchadnezzar's grandson's death. 

Daniel's success and longevity in the court made him well-known. Respected by the kings who relied on his wisdom, but hated by his cohorts in the king's court. The king's court, the figurative lion's den. Daniel was surrounded by people who were jealous of his esteem. For king Darius preferred Daniel over all of them, above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him. Darius set Daniel over the whole realm. Like Joseph in Genesis, Daniel had the power of the king without the title. All arranged by God. 

The presidents and princes below Daniel's rank worked to unseat him. They were actively, viciously, against him. At every occasion they were ready to pounce on Daniel. Like predators, they circled Daniel ravenously, starved for him to make a mistake. At all times prepared to pounce on him for any mistake. 

But Daniel never made a mistake. Daniel had quality faith; he followed God's counsel, not his own. He did not falter in leadership because he did not falter in faith. Annoyed, they realized that there was no fault or error in Daniel for them to expose. But they were predators on the prowl; and they would not let their prey out of their sight.

The pride of lions conspired. Proud, indeed, arrogant. None of the humility in Daniel in them. Jealous, hungry for rank, power, esteem. Too foolish, too selfish, too greedy, to realize Daniel that had inadvertently gained all of three (rank, power, and esteem) through humble service. No wiles, none of the devious or cunning stratagems they corruptly plotted.

• HE MUST INCREASE

Daniel lived and served amongst these lions. Different from them in character, but also faith. Daniel believed emphatically in the Lord. And he served the Lord steadfastly. He lived the verse John 3:30; He must increase but I must decrease. Daniel's humble service in faith enabled God to increase the exertion of His will and presence. Daniel, like all faithful, obedient children of God was a vessel, a conduit through which the people received the blessed leadership, truth and provision of God. Daniel decreased in that he suppressed his own will (his own ego), in exchange and placement of God's will.

The lions believed in idols. In things. In the desperate, at-all-costs-and-without-any-principles, pursuit of power. They salivated for it. And don't many? Those people who will step on any head to get ahead. Those people who break the tenth commandment: thou shall not covet. The men coveted and it corrupted them. The same, sad story plays over-and-over; it is Satan's own story, Ezekiel 28, a covetous spirit corrupted by its own schemes. 

So many are unwilling to decrease; unwilling to jettison our own schemes for God's plans, our own will for God's will, our own ego for God's esteem, and the result is disastrous. In varied and seemingly-small ways, throughout life, we do not decrease. Our unwillingness to suppress our own desire, our own will/ego, blocks God's unflawed protection, provision, plan and power. God is the artist of many masterpieces, we're just spilling paint. Hand the paintbrush back to Him.

• A ROYAL DECREE

Daniel did not spill any paint because he never held the paintbrush. He believed, trusted and followed God. They lions tried to use that against him. They caused conflict, which, by the way, is listed among the seven things God hates, Proverbs 6:18. Daniel had a different faith because he was from a different place: Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar had conquered it and captured its people. Daniel was among strangers-in-faith, strangers who used Daniel's absolute devotion to God and assembled against him.

The lions approached the king with what they thought was a cleverly devised plan: they encouraged him to establish a royal stature, a firm decree that forbid every person from petitioning to any G/god, or person except the king for thirty days. They knew that Daniel was faithful to his God; they knew that he petitioned (prayed, appealed to God's authority) on a daily basis, multiple times. They arranged that those who disobeyed the decree would be cast into the den of lions.

Establish it, they said. Sign it, and in such a way that it cannot be reversed or altered. They figuratively drooled as they laid and set the trap for their prey! For Daniel. King Darius signed the decree, unaware of their plot against Daniel. He did not perceive that these men targeted the member of his court he most respected.

• WINDOWS OPEN

Daniel was the highest-ranked member of the king's court. He knew about the decree; he knew it was signed, sealed. He went to his house to petition to God. Daniel went directly to his house to the specific thing that had just been outlawed. He was not unaware; he was not ignorant, he knew about the decree. Then he went home and disobeyed it. Not to be obstinate, not to be disrespectful, not to be a big-shot, but because he regularly petitioned to God three times per day and it was time to do so.

With the windows opened, Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem, to God and gave thanks. The king had just effectively signed Daniel's death sentence, yet Daniel gave thanks. There was no interruption in Daniel's daily prayer, no disturbance of his lifelong faith. If obedience to God meant death, Daniel accepted it. He had lived much of his life alive and unharmed in a den of lions, in the king's corrupt court. But Daniel was surrounded by death all the time; targeted and plotted against, Daniel served the Lord among the prowling lions every day. They were never able to devour him; they never even got a taste.

So Daniel prayed with the windows open. He did not fear; he did not hide. He had lived boldly, unapologetically, in faith throughout the captivity of his nation, Jerusalem, and continued to do so. He gave thanks to God just as he had done the time, the day, before. Because he was grateful and would not neglect to be so. There was no man or decree that could restrain him from his walk with God.

• NO MANNER OF HURT

But they tried. The lions caught Daniel as he prayed, and then they trapped the king in his own decree. Of course, the king found Daniel without any manner of hurt. Daniel's faith served as a testimony; the king signed a new decree: reverence to Daniel's God.

Daniel was surrounded by lions before and after the decree, but he was protected-preserved-prospered by God in both situations. The story gives us hope, and caution:

Wicked schemes are deftly disassembled by God's dexterous hand. Live in accordance with God's will and avoid the disasters caused by our own. In diverse ways and places around the planet, in our daily lives, we are the figurative prey or predator of this story. We are the lion, or we are among them. We must be aware of instances in which we do not decrease enough, thus disabling God to increase enough to fix, cause, sustain the things we will fail to do without Him. He will not fix the blemish if you will not relinquish the brush.

The hope of the story is evident. It may not be relatable on the surface (it is unlikely that we will be cast into a literal den of lions as punishment, though certainly many who follow God face death for their belief), but when we realize that Daniel was among predators throughout his life and service to God, it feels more familiar. We both feel jealousy and cause it, even unwittingly. Daniel's story reminds us that we do not need to covet others' things and positions, indeed we must not, for God will bless us abundantly. For to follow God is to step into blessing. There is no need to be jealous; when we establish God as our provider, we have a provider who knows what we need better than we do, Matthew 6:8. And there is no need to be fearful of the plots of people who are jealous of our blessing. King Darius did not perceive, Daniel could not prevent, but God perceived and God prevented.

IN THE FIRE FAITH

The third chapter of Daniel contains one of the most well-known and powerful pieces of scripture: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stand in the fiery furnace with Jesus. The story inspires awe and even envy, but . . . almost all of us overlook this obvious fact: if we want to stand in the fire with Jesus, we will need to stand in fire. And frankly, it requires tremendous faith to stand in fire. 

• AN IMAGE OF GOLD

1-7 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were members of a conquered kingdom: Jerusalem. A powerful king, Nebuchadnezzar, had chosen them (and Daniel) to be part of his court. He was not a king of their faith; and in a few instances, it caused major conflict for them. For above all, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, served in God's court; God's orders superseded Nebuchadnezzar's orders. Since Nebuchadnezzar did not believe in their God (our God, the God), their behavior would be perceived as treasonous to him. 

Major conflict arose: Nebuchadnezzar erected a 135-foot and 9-foot wide image of gold in the province of Babylon. He then called the people of his court to come to the dedication of the image. He commanded all of the people to worship the golden image. Whoever refused to worship the image would be "cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace." So the people came and worshiped the image/statue. 

• THEY SERVE NOT THY GODS

8-13 But a few did not, and their enemies noticed. Certain "Chaldeans" (rulers in Babylon) accused the "Jews" (people of the conquered-kingdom of Judah) of refusing to worship the image. They stood before the king, with flattery, and redundantly asked if he had indeed made a decree that commanded every man to worship the image. They knew that the king had made that decree, of course; they simply wanted to report Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for their refusal to do it. They wanted them to be sentenced to death. 

The Chaldeans told Nebuchadnezzar that those of Judah did not worship his gods, and did not regard the king himself highly-enough. Nebuchadnezzar was furious. He was a powerful, arrogant leader. To him, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's behavior equated with insurrection. They were not unknown, random people, (though they would have been in trouble too). These three men were chosen by the king for their excellence, their intelligence. They had power in their own right; Nebuchadnezzar likely recognized that. For even if he did not realize that they stood out because of their God, he would have noticed that they did stand out. As wise men, prominent, capable. A capable threat against his reign, if they were in fact against him. And their behavior seemed to suggest that they were.

14-23 But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not so much against Nebuchadnezzar as they were for God. They accepted that it was God's will for them to serve in the king's court. After all, it was because of God's blessings that they were chosen in the first place. As long as they did not receive any commands that contradicted commands given by God, they served the king's court peacefully and efficiently, without any plans of mutiny. 

Therefore, Nebuchadnezzar already had what he wanted from them. If he hadn't let his arrogance ignite his anger, he might have realized that peaceful, efficient members of court was the ultimate goal, achieved. Instead, he craved absolute control. He needed to feed his ego. Incensed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, King Nebuchadnezzar confronted them.

• IF IT BE SO

He asked them: is it true? And then he offered them a second chance to bow before his golden image, to worship it. It was an ultimatum: either they worshiped it or they would be put into the fire. He asked them: who shall deliver you? He mocked them; it was an effort to persuade them to worship. Nebuchadnezzar did not believe that the God they chose to serve instead of his was capable of saving them from their fate should they refuse.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were frank with Nebuchadnezzar. They told him that they would not skirt around the issue; they would not be careful with their words. Their answer was a flat, confident, fixed no. And even though Nebuchadnezzar's question about their God was mocking and rhetorical, they answered it. God could save them, if He would. If it be so, they said, meaning: if He chose to do it, he [would] be able to deliver [them] from the burning, fiery furnace.

They continued: but if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. That is stand-in-the-fire faith. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego served God so perfectly, loved Him so thoroughly, that they would embrace flames rather than worship a false god. They knew that God was capable; He could protect them from death by fire. Tremendous faith, certainly. But even more tremendous , they would continue to serve Him and love Him, they would still refuse to worship another supposed-god even if God chose not to save them from the fire.

• BUT IF NOT

This "but if not" type of faith is stand-in-the-fire faith. A lot of people love God in the good, but abandon him the bad. Others cling to him in the bad, but forget Him in the good. Not many have steady, concrete faith that remains determined and succeeds throughout life, and in the face of fire. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, knew that God could save them. That is a laudable, comprehensive understanding of God's character and capability. Yet they also trusted Him; they had faith to believe that He could save them... but more amazingly, they had the faith to trust His plan even if He chose not to save them.

Fear did not persuade them to abandon their faith. As Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, whosoever shall lose his life for my sake will find it. In tangible terms, that means that those who will stand, unyielding, despite even threats to their very life, for God, would ultimately retain their life. And the reason why we should do so is not because of pride or stubbornness or even merely commitment to God. We stand for God above everything, willing to lose everything, because to stand for God is to stand for justice, compassion, righteousness, truth, mercy, love, hope, for all manner of life, throughout life. To stand for God, is to stand against injustice, negligence, corruption, deception, destruction, hopelessness.

Stand-in-the-fire faith is the faith of the individual who, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, serves God above all else. Even above the preservation of self (knowing that, ultimately, the sacrifice of oneself for the kingdom of God is preservation of self). Stand-in-the-fire faith is the faith of the individual who actually steps into the fire.

• LO, I SEE FOUR

19-30 Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace heated seven-times hotter (for such was the level of his own outrage). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were bound and thrown into the furnace. The fire, so hot that even the guards who brought the three men toward the fire, in mere proximity to it, were engulfed and killed by its heat. 

Still, none of them changed their mind. They fell down in the burning, fiery furnace and Nebuchadnezzar watched, likely smugly. But as he watched, something confused him. Startled, he asked his men: did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered: True. Three bound men. 

But in the furnace stood four figures without bonds. Unharmed. Untouched by flame. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and the fourth form... the Son of God. A sobering moment for Nebuchadnezzar's smug indignance. A sobering moment for us; for we must always remember that followers of Jesus must walk where He walks. And Jesus has walked through scorn, betrayal, temptation, and here: fire, and other forms of figurative fire. Unscathed in Spirit, indeed polished of spirit, yet a walk not without flames, blood, bruises, sorrow, and pain. All steps taken with purpose for purpose, but an arduous walk. Arduous for its requirement of courage in faith, but possible, and even blessed and glorious if the destination, as well as the motivation is God.

• AS YOU HAVE BELIEVED 

In no way should one be dissuaded from a walk with Jesus. This is encouragement to stand in the figurative flames. To defy the figurative king. To fight for justice. To stand for truth. To uncover deception. To disassemble corrupt systems. This story is a practical explanation of what that looks like, what it requires, not so that you are dissuaded, but so that you are prepared. So that you build the unyielding trust, the thorough love, and comprehensive knowledge of the character and capability of God that persevered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego through their walk with Jesus for God.

Two men in Matthew 8 had stand-in-the-fire faith. A man with leprosy, a chronic disease, approached Jesus and stated that he knew if Jesus would, he could heal him. Jesus healed the man. Another approached Jesus, a centurion (commander in the Roman army), who stated that he knew if Jesus would declare his soldier healed, he could be healed. Jesus healed the soldier and marveled at the centurion's stand-in-the-fire faith. Jesus marveled because even among those who were raised in this faith, who claimed to believe in and follow God (posterity of Noah, Abraham, and Jacob) that level of faith was rare, even nonexistent. 

And here we come to the main, and final point. Jesus told the centurion: Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. There is a deeper message in that salutation: as you have believed, so be it done unto thee. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed that God could/would save them from the fiery furnace. As they had believed, so it was done.

The outcome of stands-in-the-fire faith is survives-in-the-fire faith. If you have the faith to believe that all is possible with God, all is possible. God will exert that omnipotent power throughout the length, and breadth, and width of your faith. He will exert His power within the boundaries you set for Him in regard to your life. So be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, don't set any boundaries! Boundless faith equates with boundless blessing.

In this life of free will, God knocks (Revelation 3:20) and though He could force entry, He waits to be invited inside. In this life of free will, God invites you to knock (Matthew 7:7) and though He could force you to enter, He waits until you request to come inside. Your faith does not determine the amount of His power, it determines how much of it you invite into your life.

A DAILY PROVISION

Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, conquered Jerusalem. It was the fulfilment of God's prophecy in Jeremiah 27; that Judah, as a result of its collective, unrepentant wickedness, would be taken captive. The kingdom was given to Nebuchadnezzar by God, which meant that God had a plan for Nebuchadnezzar's reign. The ultimate purpose of God's plans are consistently to draw the children of God back to Him, (or to keep the children of God with Him).

Although the majority of Judah abandoned God, there were faithful people within the city who fell under Nebuchadnezzar's reign. In the Book of Daniel, we read of four such people: Belteshazzar/Daniel, Shadrach/Hananiah, Meshach/Mishael, and Abednego/Azariah). Their unparalleled faith in God brought them to the forefront.

• CHOSEN

Nebuchadnezzar valued wisdom. He was an arrogant man; likely caused and sustained by the power he had. To retain that power, he sought to surround himself with wise people. He directed his officials to procure people who were "without blemish, well favored, cunning in knowledge, understanding of science," and who had the ability to stand in the king's palace and teach the conquered people the language of their conqueror: a dialect of Aramaic. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were chosen.

• A DAILY PROVISION

Those chosen were to be nourished on the king's meat and wine for three years. At the end of three years, they would be presented to Nebuchadnezzar. For all intents and purposes, those chosen belonged to the king. Whatever plans he had for them, they had to follow. In many ways, it was a privilege to be chosen: it was an opportunity to serve their conqueror in a respected, official capacity, rather than as an unacknowledged slave. It would seem that refusal to comply with the king's orders would be unwise, and certainly dangerous. But refuse is exactly what Daniel did. 

Daniel was a wise man of great faith. He accepted that the king had chosen him as God's plan for him; but ultimately, Daniel served the Lord. And when Nebuchadnezzar ordered the chosen group to eat of his own meat and wine, Daniel refused. Again, you would think it would be ridiculous to reject the provisions the king himself ate. But Daniel rejected the food; he stated that it would defile him. And because he rejected it, a man of great faith, we know that the food was either improperly prepared (therefore: unsafe) or generally unhealthy (not listed among the foods we are advised to eat in scripture: Leviticus 11). 

In effort to comply, but with stipulations particular to his faith, Daniel appealed to the man who oversaw the king's chosen group. Typically, a conquered man's requests would be laughed at, and promptly rejected. But Daniel's heart was with God, so God was with Daniel. By God's arrangement, the overseer had compassion for Daniel. But he, unlike Daniel, was afraid to refuse the king. Nebuchadnezzar had ordered a specific diet because he expected specific results from it. 

Daniel made a deal with the overseer. He wanted the chance to eat "pulse" (of the seed/pod: vegetables, legumes) and water to drink for ten days, instead of the king's meat and wine. At the end of the ten days, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were the healthiest among the group and were thus allowed to continue with the diet that God approved.

• WISDOM AND DREAMS

God remained with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king was in search of wise men and he would find them in these four, for God gave them learning, wisdom and understanding and in Daniel's case: the ability to interpret prophetic dreams. The wisdom and reinforcements from God enabled the four to be the ones who would stand before the king. They were ten times more useful to Nebuchadnezzar than any of others, charlatans that they were. 

• PURPOSE

Neither Daniel, nor Shadrach, nor Meshach nor Abednego were purposeful in faith for their own benefit. Neither did they regard the position or the provision gifted to them by the king. Rather, they accepted their role in God's will. They stood before the king as servants foremost of God.

These four men stepped into executive offices. The arguably most powerful person on earth would heed the advice that came from their mouths. Indeed, through their mouths, but directly from God. 

They were not influenced nor consumed by the supposed-wonders of power and prominence. They were not ravenous for, nor impressed by, the fancy-fad food and wine of the king. We must ask ourselves: "would I be impressed, influenced and summarily consumed by what the world values, if it came in a place or position deceptively-veiled in prestige?" Hopefully not, as assuredly, every place, and every position is meant to promote God's agenda... and certainly not oneself, not your own agenda. 

And, "Would I be faithfully-bold enough to refuse?" We need the faith not merely to recognize what is wrong, but to stand for what is right. Daniel had the faith to do both. Because, frankly, Daniel only cared about God's opinion of him. He was not afraid to lose the prestigious position, the favor of the overseer, or his life to the king. Daniel is the manifestation of Jesus' words in Matthew 16:25, Paul's words in Galatians 1:10.

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." 

Matthew 16:25 

"...do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." 

Galatians 1:10

Such questions are our daily provision. The questions we are prompted to ask ourselves while reading scripture. They reveal our weaknesses, our blindness, and compel us to pray in faith to God for strength and sight. Our faith is an invitation and the initiation of a trade. Our will for His. We invite Him to take control; we release it. His gift to us is free will, our gift to Him is the returning of it. Daniel & company executed this perfectly (and will continue to do so in the next chapters). They showed us what it looks like to actually live in accordance with God's will, as a servant of God. To step into places and positions as adherents of God's will, and therefore productive conduits for God's will.