For all practical purposes, when Daniel was placed in the den of lions, death was his lot. There was to be no escape. His fate was the same as that of Jesus---and that fate was death. Though Daniel did not succumb to the limits of mortality, as did Jesus, and though a hopefulness for deliverance was expressed by Darius, we can consider Daniel, when sealed into the lion’s den, as having been overtaken by death. We can be assured that his opponents celebrated a great victory, confident that they had effectively done away with one that had been oh so troubling to their plans for power and for authority. Certainly, Jesus’ opponents celebrated in a similar fashion and for similar reasons.
The record of Daniel presents King Darius as being supremely vexed by the whole situation; and we are told that “the king,” after sealing Daniel to his doom, “departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions were brought to him. He was unable to sleep” (6:18). One is left only to wonder if the same could be said of Pilate after presiding over Jesus’ trial and sending him off to His death. It is a remarkable feature of the book of Daniel, and of this story of Daniel and the lion’s den, that Darius is never criticized or condemned for the role that he played. Such is a remarkable feature of the Gospels and their accounts of Pilate, in that we do not find him treated harshly within the story.
Though Pilate disappears from the New Testament scene following the Christ-event, this is not to be said of Darius. After his fitful and troubling night, we find that “In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lion’s den” (6:19). There is an interesting measure of hopeful trust on display in this action by Darius. By this, he appears to have taken quite seriously whatever it is (likely the twenty-second Psalm, as previously discussed) that Daniel had said leading up to his being deposited into the den of lions. Strangely, at least as it would sound in the ears of the king’s attendants, “As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice” (6:20a). So not only has the king rushed to the lion’s den, but now, for some reason, he is calling out to the man that has been tossed into that place only to experience the certain death that has overcome every other person ever relegated to that place.
Is this not odd? Is this not what is being done by those that call out to Jesus? Indeed, it does seem to be the case that those that call out to Jesus are in fact calling out to one that was presumed to be dead, with that calling out based upon a hopeful trust in the God that is called upon and referenced as a God that delivers. Darius is indeed cast as an instructive and sympathetic figure in this drama.
Darius called out to Daniel and said, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?” (6:20b) Here, reinforcing one of our guiding premises, Darius essentially quotes Psalm 22:21, in which the Psalmist has said, “Rescue me from the mouth of the lion” (22:21a). We go on to learn that “Daniel spoke to the king” (6:21a). Can we not imagine what was felt by Darius upon hearing the voice of Daniel? Darius know that he, through agreeing to a careless and somewhat conceited course of action, has, by any reasonable consideration, brought death to the man who was his most highly trusted adviser. Now, he is hearing Daniel speak. The one whom Darius had sent to death has been, almost before his very eyes, raised up to life. This is nothing short of a virtual resurrection, though we know from Daniel’s words that “God sent His angel and closed the lion’s mouths so that they have not harmed me” (6:22a), so there has been no actual death and resurrection here.
The very first words that Darius heard from Daniel were “O king, live forever!” (6:21b) This was followed by his report about the angel, the lion’s mouths, and the lack of harm. To this he added, by way of explanation, “because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king” (6:22b). Daniel has confirmed the king’s Psalm-ic inquiry, effectively answering the Psalmist’s pleading words in regards to the lions from the verse previously quoted, with more of the Psalmist’s words, which were “You have answered me” (22:21c). When Daniel speaks to the king and says, “live forever,” we hear the Psalmist saying, “Let those who seek His help praise the Lord! May You live forever!” (22:26b). When Daniel speaks of not having done any harm to the king, we hear the Psalmist declare, “You loyal followers of the Lord, praise Him!” (22:23a).
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