7-25-21 Grace-Benson & Vail Sermon

Daniel 6:1-24 God’s Zoo #8

Pastor Ron Koehler

Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ

July 25, 2021

In the name of our Mighty God, dear friends, I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to train a puppy or break a horse or teach a bird to talk, but those things can be pretty hard to do! Dogs are what I have experience with. They are certainly easier to train that hummingbirds, which is my most recent hobby. Well, the Almighty God who created all animals and all things has no trouble at all when he needs an animal to do something—or not do something. As their Creator, God has control over them—the king of the jungle included. Today, God’s control over lions is highlighted as we hear about: LIONS, A STONE, AN ANGEL & A RESCUE 1. THE STORY OF DANIEL, A FAITHFUL BELIEVER 2. THE STORY OF JESUS, OUR SAVIOR Daniel was a faithful believer. He was one of those Jews carried off into captivity in Babylon in 605 BC. He worked for the king as a high official and did so well and was so trustworthy that King Darius was about to make Daniel ruler over all the leaders in the whole kingdom. Daniel’s co-workers, the wise men of Babylon, were upset and envious that Daniel was going to get the promotion. They concocted a devious plan based on the fact that Daniel was a follower of the LORD. They buttered up the king by telling him that everyone agreed that no one should pray to anyone or anything but the king himself; they said that the idea had widespread support in the kingdom. In fact, they said, if anyone prays to any god or man during the next 30 days, they should be thrown into the lion’s den to die! This sounded great to King Darius, so he issued the decree.

These evil men knew that nothing would stop Daniel from worshiping his God. This is how they would get rid of him! And Daniel did break the king’s law by praying to God. And those men just “happened” to find Daniel up in his room praying, and he was brought before the king for punishment.

This was the kind of Medo-Persian edict or decree that could not be repealed. There was no way to get around it—even though the king wanted to, because he liked Daniel and because Daniel was so valuable to the kingdom. It didn’t matter—the law stood and the punishment had to be carried out. Daniel had to be thrown into the LIONS’ den.

This, of course, was a cruel and torturous way to die. Imagine how absolutely frightening it must have been to see those huge, powerful lions--up to 8 feet long, 5 and a half feet high, and 550 pounds, roaring and foaming at the mouth as they anticipated a human dinner!

The last verse of our lesson tells us how those huge beasts could rip people apart: The king gave the order, and those men who maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den—they, their children, and their wives.

They had not reached the bottom of the pit when the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

What we call the lions’ den was very likely a big cave with an opening on one side and another in the top through which the people were lowered down. That side opening was blocked by a large stone and then sealed shut. The big STONE was probably the kind that could be rolled open and shut on a stone track. The seal on the entrance was wax or clay put around the edges and would have had the imprint of king’s and nobles’ seals. That stone could not be removed without the approval of the king and his nobles, so no one would be able to rescue those who were fed to the lions.

As we know, Daniel was a faithful believer. He trusted in God and was even willing to be thrown to certain death by the lions for praying to God. He would not give up his worship of the LORD, no matter what they threatened. There is a New Testament passage that reminds us that we must obey God rather than men. Daniel certainly felt that way too!

When Daniel said, I was found innocent in his (God’s) sight, he was talking about being innocent in regard to this law of King Darius. God certainly considered Daniel innocent because he was right to continue praying to God. Darius was the one who was wrong to make a law like that. Daniel really was innocent before Darius too. Daniel was not the kind to break laws and cause trouble for the king. He was well-respected.

He was 80 years old and had served in the government for 60 years. But despite his trustworthiness to the king and his faithfulness to his God, we know that Daniel was not perfect. The Bible doesn’t tell us about any particular sin of Daniel’s, but he was a human being, which means that he was sinful, because all people are.

Despite his innocence before God in this case and his lack of malice toward the king, Daniel was sentenced to death by lions. Daniel tells us what happened down in that sealed lion pit: My God sent his angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me… God sent an ANGEL to protect Daniel. Angels are God’s powerful messengers. They do what he sends them to do and they say what he tells them to say. This powerful angel held shut the mouths of the lions so that Daniel would be unharmed through the night. This might bring to mind some of the words of Psalm 34, a psalm of David: The Angel of the LORD camps around those who fear him, and he delivers them…Young lions may lack food and be hungry, but those who seek the LORD do not lack any good thing (7,10). What a vivid picture of happened with Daniel and those big cats! You and I can take comfort in the fact that God still sends his angels to guard us as well.

In an act of love and protection, the angel of God RESCUED Daniel from death. Not only was Daniel alive, there wasn’t a scratch on him! God also rescued Daniel from the death sentence entirely. The King was overjoyed that God had saved Daniel and had him lifted out of the pit. Daniel would not be thrown back in. In fact, as we heard, the evil men who had tricked the king into making the law would themselves be crushed and torn apart by the lions. God had rescued his faithful follower Daniel. What an incredible true story!

There is another true story I’d like to tell you about this morning. It is also the story of a LION, A STONE, AN ANGEL, AND A RESCUE. It is the story of Jesus.

I mentioned before that Daniel was not perfect, but sinful like every other person, going all the way back to Adam and Eve. They committed the first sins and lost their perfection. Every child they had and every person who followed them was also then imperfect, right down the line to you and me today. We all are sinful by nature.

As we try to live for God, we fight that sinful nature and fight a LION every day. Listen to these words from 1 Peter: Have sound judgment. Be alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (5:8-9).

God tells us that the devil goes around like a lion does—on the prowl looking for Christians to attack! Like the lions would tear apart a person thrown into that pit, so the devil would like to “eat us alive” spiritually.

How does he go about that? Well, he’ll tell you that going to church isn’t important.

He’ll convince you that the Bible is some crusty old book that isn’t relevant to modern life. He’ll say that you can go ahead and sin because you can always ask to be forgiven later. He’ll say to parents, “Let your children make up their own minds about God” knowing full well that many of them will end up following the sinful nature and not God. He’ll make you think that some sins don’t matter. He’ll whisper, “Everyone does this; it’s not that big a deal.” He uses twisted words and worldly reason.

That lion will not always be roaring; you won’t always know he’s coming. He’ll sneak up on you on a surprise attack. He’ll try to catch you off-guard. I watched a cat on our wall last week. He was absolutely still and poised for attack—probably waiting on the lizard that lives there. You know a lion lies in wait like this, then inches forward, low to the ground so that he doesn’t scare off his prey. Then, at just the right moment, he pounces, goes for the jugular, makes the kill, and rips apart the animal. That’s what the devil can do to you and me! This LION is capable of not only tearing your life apart here on earth, but also ripping to shreds your hope of eternal life in heaven. We were in need of someone to shut this lion’s mouth.

This summer, we haven’t just talked about animals. We have, more importantly, talked about Jesus. We have been reminded that the sinless Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for sin in the Father’s eyes. The cross brought about his death. And an interesting thing happened after Jesus died. He was put in a cave tomb, a STONE was rolled in front of the entrance, and a seal was put on the stone! This sounds just like Daniel, doesn’t it?!

Pontius Pilate was the one who had the seal put on this stone. The Jewish leaders asked him to do it because they wanted to be sure that no one came and took Jesus’ dead body out of it, just like Babylon’s leaders didn’t want Daniel’s live body taken out the lions’ cave. The stone with the seal on it was supposed to be like that law of the Medes and Persians; it was supposed to be permanent. Did the stone accomplish what it was supposed to with Daniel? No, because God was in control! Did the stone accomplish what it was supposed to with Jesus? No, because God was in control there too! Jesus did indeed shut the lion’s (the devil’s) mouth when he rose from death!

ANGELS were involved both times too, weren’t they? Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday morning just as he said he would. We know that it’s true, not just because the cave-tomb was empty, but because of an angel of God. Some of the women who followed Jesus went to that tomb early that morning and an angel met them there and told them: Do not be afraid! I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen, just as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay (Matthew 28:5-6).

The angel, the messenger of God, was sent to that cave to give the glorious news that fills us all with joy and hope, because we also remember Jesus’ promise that because he lives, we too will live!

That’s God’s RESCUE of us! Our sins put us in a position before God where he had no choice but to damn us to hell. He is a loving God, but also a righteous judge. Sinful beings are not fit to live in heaven with God. But Jesus’ payment for sin means that our sins are forgiven and gone! Jesus’ payment means that our lives here on earth are filled, not with guilt over our sins or fear of that lion, the devil, but with joy and hope.

God didn’t only rescue us from sin, he rescued us for heaven.

The story of Daniel teaches us about God’s love for his faithful people. LIONS, STONES AND SEALS can’t keep God from RESCUING his children.

The story of Jesus teaches us even more about how much God loves us. He sent his only Son to save us from an eternal death sentence. A LION like the devil or a STONE sealed on Jesus’ tomb could not stop our Savior’s victory, nor could they stop the ANGEL’s message of the risen Christ that has also reached our ears and hearts. May you rejoice and give thanks over God’s RESCUE of you, just as Daniel did over God’s rescue of him. Amen.

Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.