Commentary - Daniel 6:16-28

Bird's-eye view

The story of Daniel in the lions’ den is far more than a flannelgraph lesson for Sunday School. It is a stark political drama that reveals the universal sovereignty of Jehovah over all earthly kingdoms. The central conflict is not between Daniel and some hungry cats, but between the unchangeable law of the Medes and Persians and the unchangeable law of the living God. Daniel, a man of unwavering faithfulness, is caught in the middle, and his predicament forces a pagan king to confront the limits of his own authority and the absolute authority of Daniel’s God. This passage is a case study in godly defiance to tyrannical overreach, the quiet confidence of faith in the face of certain death, and the glorious vindication that God grants to His servants. It demonstrates that when the kingdoms of men set themselves against the kingdom of Christ, they are setting themselves up for a fall. God’s kingdom is the one that endures forever, and He is perfectly capable of shutting the mouths of lions, whether they have four legs or sit on thrones.

What we see here is a preview of the gospel. A righteous man is condemned by the law of the land, delivered to a place of death, sealed in with a stone, and is brought out alive and unharmed the next morning, leading to the judgment of his accusers and a confession of the true God’s power among the nations. The parallels to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus are not accidental. Daniel is a type of Christ, showing us that the path of faithfulness often leads through the valley of the shadow of death, but it ends in resurrection, vindication, and the expansion of God’s kingdom.

Outline

Context In Daniel

This episode is the sixth and final historical narrative in the first half of Daniel. These stories (chapters 1-6) all highlight the faithfulness of Daniel and his friends in the midst of a pagan, and often hostile, imperial court. A recurring theme is the clash between the laws of God and the decrees of autocratic rulers. From the refusal to eat the king's food (ch. 1), to the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams (ch. 2, 4), to the fiery furnace (ch. 3), and the writing on the wall (ch. 5), the message is consistent: Jehovah is the Most High God who rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He will. This story is the climax of that theme. Here, the law of God and the law of man are set in direct, irreconcilable opposition. Daniel’s deliverance serves as the final, emphatic statement on which kingdom is supreme.

Verse by Verse Commentary

16 Then the king said the word, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself save you.”

The king is trapped. He has been outmaneuvered by his petty, jealous bureaucrats, and now his own unchangeable law forces his hand. He must condemn the one man in his kingdom he trusts and admires most. This is the nature of godless law; it is a machine without a soul, a trap that often catches the very people who set it. Darius gives the command, and the machinery of the state carries out its grim work. But notice his words to Daniel. They are not the words of a man confident in his own power. They are the words of a man at the end of his rope, hoping against hope that a higher power exists. He acknowledges Daniel’s God, and he notes the defining characteristic of Daniel’s faith: he "constantly" serves Him. This isn’t a weekend hobby for Daniel. His service to God is relentless, consistent, and public. Darius has seen it. And now, his only hope is that this constant service has been directed toward a God who is actually able to do something. It is a desperate, foxhole prayer from a pagan king. He has reached the limits of his own sovereignty and now must see if Daniel’s God has any.

17 And a stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel.

The scene is one of absolute finality. A stone is rolled, not unlike the one that would later be rolled over our Lord’s tomb. And it is sealed. The seal of a king was the ancient equivalent of a time-locked vault. It was a statement of immutable, sovereign authority. Here, we have a double seal, the king’s and that of his nobles. This ensures that no one can interfere. The nobles want to make sure the king doesn’t mount a rescue mission in the middle of the night. The king, perhaps, wants to make sure the nobles don’t go down and throw spears at Daniel to finish the job. The point is that, from a human perspective, the situation is sealed. The matter is settled. The verdict is irreversible. This is what the world does; it pronounces its final judgments and seals them up tight. But the signet rings of mortal men are nothing to the God who made the hands that wear them. The seal is meant to declare that "nothing would be changed," but God is in the business of changing everything.

18 Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.

While Daniel is spending the night with lions, the king is spending the night in torment. He fasts, he refuses entertainment, he cannot sleep. Who is really in the pit here? Daniel is in a den, but he is in the hands of his God. Darius is in a palace, but he is wrestling with his conscience, his impotence, and his fear. The king’s sleepless night is a testimony to the power of a righteous man’s life. Daniel’s integrity has so impressed this pagan ruler that the king is the one who is afflicted. This is the effect that true Christian faithfulness should have on the world. It should be disruptive. It should trouble the sleep of potentates. A world that can sleep soundly while the righteous are persecuted is a world that is already dead.

19 Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and hurriedly went to the lions’ den.

He can’t wait. There is no leisurely breakfast, no morning briefing. At the very first crack of light, he is up and running to the den. His haste reveals his heart. He is clinging to a sliver of hope. Has the God whom Daniel serves constantly shown up? Or has the law of the Medes and Persians had its final, bloody say? This is the great question that hangs over all of human history. Will the decrees of man or the power of God triumph in the end?

20 When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to save you from the lions?”

His voice is "troubled," or anguished. He is not shouting in triumph, but in fear and fragile hope. Notice the development in his theology. Yesterday, it was "Your God." Today, it is "servant of the living God." The sleepless night has clarified things for him. The issue is not just whether Daniel’s God exists, but whether He is living. Is He an active, powerful agent in the affairs of men, or is He just a name, a concept? Can He act? Is He able? This is the question every man must face. Is the God of the Bible a living God, able to save, or is He a relic for the history books? Darius is about to get his answer.

21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have done no harm.”

The voice from the pit is not one of panic or even relief. It is calm, respectful, and triumphant. He begins with the customary greeting, "O king, live forever!" There is no bitterness, no "I told you so." Daniel understands the principles of authority and gives honor where honor is due, even to the man who sent him to his death. Then he gives his report. It was not that the lions weren’t hungry. It was that God sent His angel and shut their mouths. This was a direct, divine intervention. And Daniel gives the basis for this deliverance: he was found "innocent before Him." This is the crucial point. Daniel’s deliverance was a vindication. God was acting as the judge, overturning the verdict of the earthly court. Daniel makes it clear that his innocence was twofold: vertical, before God, and horizontal, toward the king. He had broken the king’s new law, yes, but in doing so he had done no harm to the king. His civil disobedience was not rebellion; it was an act of higher obedience.

23 Then the king was greatly pleased and said for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no harm whatsoever was found on him because he had believed in his God.

The king’s joy is extravagant. His friend is alive, and his newfound hope in the living God is confirmed. Daniel is lifted out, and the inspection reveals not a scratch on him. The text gives us the reason, and it is essential. It was not because Daniel was a nice man, or because the lions were well-fed. It was "because he had believed in his God." Faith was the instrument. Daniel trusted God to deliver him, and God honored that trust. This is the principle that runs through all of Scripture. We are saved, delivered, and vindicated through faith. Faith is not a blind leap; it is a confident trust in the character and promises of a God who has proven Himself faithful, time and again.

24 The king then said the word, and they brought those men who had brought charges against Daniel, and they cast them, their children, and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Now the story turns, and the justice is swift and terrible. The same king who was trapped by his own law now acts with decisive authority. The accusers are brought, and they face the very fate they had engineered for Daniel. But there is a crucial difference. The lions had no appetite for the righteous man, but they are ravenous for the wicked. The speed of the carnage, before they even hit the floor, is recorded to show that Daniel’s deliverance was no fluke. These were not tame lions. This was a supernatural event. The inclusion of the families is jarring to our modern sensibilities, but it was standard practice in the ancient Near East. It demonstrates the principle of federal headship in a brutal, negative way. The sin of the fathers brought judgment upon the entire household. This is a terrible picture of how sin works, but it also points us to the glorious truth of our federal headship in Christ, where the righteousness of our Head is imputed to His entire household.

25 Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue who were inhabiting all the land: “May your peace abound! 26 I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and be in dread before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be unto the end. 27 He saves and delivers and does signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has also saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

What began as a plot to eliminate one man now results in a worldwide evangelistic proclamation. Darius, the pagan king, becomes a preacher. His decree is a magnificent doxology. He commands all his subjects to fear the God of Daniel. And why? He gives a systematic summary of God’s attributes. He is the living God. He endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion is unto the end. He saves and delivers. He does signs and wonders. This is a pagan’s confession of faith, prompted by the faithfulness of one man and the undeniable power of God. The very purpose of the plot, to stamp out the worship of Jehovah, has backfired spectacularly. God used the wrath of man to praise Him, and the result is a decree that promotes His glory to the ends of the earth.

28 So this Daniel enjoyed success in the kingdom of Darius and in the kingdom of Cyrus the Persian.

The story concludes with this simple summary. Daniel not only survived; he prospered. His faithfulness did not lead to his ultimate demise but to his promotion and success. He served under multiple administrations, multiple kings, multiple empires. He was a constant, a rock of stability and wisdom, because he served a God who is a constant. This is a promise for all who are faithful. Our ultimate end is not destruction, but success and honor in the kingdom of our God. We may have to spend a night in the lions’ den, but morning is coming, and with it, vindication and glory.