I love the story of Daniel in the lions' den. It's so dramatic and Daniel is such an amazing hero, unflinching in his devotion to God and in the face of mortal danger. I was thinking about how Daniel was able to face such a trial with confidence. Obviously God's Spirit gave him strength, but I also think Daniel's courage had a lot to do with the fact he had a clear conscience before God.
When you read Daniel 6, his godly character and moral purity is emphasised: 'he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.' (v4) His enemies had to trap him by his faith as he was otherwise blameless before the king, and in line for a promotion (v3). His diligence and honourable conduct were unparalleled in the pagan land of Babylon.
Once the king makes the law banning prayer 'to any god or man for thirty days' except himself (v7), Daniel does not hesitate to continue praying to the LORD of heaven and earth. 'When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.' (v10) In fact, this law made Daniel even more desperate to pray than ever! He knew he couldn't go on without the sustenance of his God. He knew that his privileged position was a gift from his Creator, not something he had simply earned by his own merit. If he had thought it was, he would have simply ditched prayer for a month and carried on at the top of the tree. But Daniel's view of God makes this impossible. He refuses to compromise.
It's interesting that his windows were open 'towards Jerusalem'. He's in exile, in Babylon, yet his heart is turned towards the place of the temple, the heritage of his fathers, the faith of his people. He is consciously following the scriptures where King Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, prayed that if the people were exiled for disobedience, they should turn their hearts back to Jerusalem and pray for God's mercy once again: 'yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly’, if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you towards their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive' (1 Kings 8:47-50). Daniel was consciously engaged in this work of intercession, knowing and understanding that the exile was all part of the plan of God in disciplining his people. Daniel's regular prayer was fuelled by the hope that Yahweh would hear; He would forgive; He would bring His people home. In chapter 9 we see perhaps a clearer glimpse of this intercessory heart of Daniel, but for now it helps for us to see that to him, prayer was an absolute necessity. It wasn't something he could just drop out of his schedule. Both on a personal level, and on a corporate, national level, prayer was of the utmost importance and priority to this godly man.
Daniel knows, then, that in choosing prayer he is choosing something better than the king's approval, even than his own life. He understands that in choosing prayer, the way of obedience, he can then stand before God in a clear conscience. He can say, 'I've been faithful to You, LORD, above all others.' Daniel doesn't know if God will rescue him from the lions (much like his three friends with the fiery furnace). But he does know that if he dies, he will be able to meet His God unashamedly. That gives him a powerful courage and an ability to stand firm amongst some frightening enemies and terrifying circumstances.
It's so interesting to see the impotence of the king - ironic impotence, as the reason he is unable to help Daniel is because of the power invested in his own laws ('Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed' v15) - compared with the sovereign power of God. The king 'set his mind to deliver Daniel' and 'laboured' to do so (v14), but was ultimately powerless and ineffective. Daniel tells the king the next day 'My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths' (v22), a very clear answer to the king's question: 'has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?' (v21). There can be no doubting it: Daniel's faith is vindicated publicly.
Daniel declares God has saved him 'because I was found blameless before him' (v22). Perhaps this was something the angel told him; we don't know. But it encourages us that if we diligently follow God in faithfulness wherever He places us, then we can have courage to face any obstacles, with a clear conscience before our King.
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