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Context No. 787 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Context · Reflection

Daniel (Greek) 6:24-28: in context

24The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions mauled them and broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den. 25Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26“I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; “for he is the living God, and steadfast forever. His kingdom is that which will not be destroyed. His dominion will be even to the end. 27He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel has come up out of the lions' den untouched, having spent the night among lions because he would not stop praying at his open window when a law forbade it. Now the aftermath unfolds. The men who had schemed to trap him, who talked the king into the decree precisely so Daniel would be caught, are themselves thrown to the lions, and this time the animals do not hold back. The pit they dug has closed over them.

But the part that outlasts the drama is what King Darius does next. He writes to all the peoples and nations and languages of his empire, and his letter is not about his own greatness but about Daniel's God. I decree, he says, that in all my kingdom people are to tremble before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom will never be destroyed; he rescues and delivers and works wonders, and he has saved Daniel from the lions. Notice how this witness came about. Daniel never lobbied for it. He did not preach to the court or campaign for his God. He simply kept praying at his window as he always had, and stayed faithful when it could have cost him his life, and out of that quiet integrity a pagan emperor ended up proclaiming the living God to the whole known world.

Daniel said nothing; he only kept praying under threat, and a king proclaimed God to an empire. What might my quiet faithfulness under pressure become, without my ever preaching a word?

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