Shutting The Mouths Of Lions

As we have observed throughout the book, Daniel continues to excel and prosper wherever he’s planted. The Medo-Persian empire is now in charge and Daniel quickly rises through the ranks to a distinguished position above all the other satraps, producing envy among the other officials. However, Daniel is so blameless that the only way they can bring him down is by trapping him in a legal technicality due to his worship of God. By flattering King Darius and feigning interest in protecting the empire, they convince him to sign an injunction that disallows prayer to anyone but him for 30 days.

How does Daniel respond to a law that forbids him to pray to God? He decides he needs to pray about it! Actually, this isn’t a new or fretful response from Daniel - it is exactly what he had been doing three times a day for his whole life. Sometimes, we must obey by disobeying, which requires wisdom, but also courage. Daniel has been a model citizen in both Babylon and Medo-Persia, but he has a line that cannot be crossed. Like the apostles respond in the Book of Acts when told they cannot preach Jesus, “We must obey God rather than men.” If we don’t stand for something, we’ll go along with anything.

Why was Daniel able to have courage? It wasn’t inherent to his personality or because he believed in himself, but rather because he trusted in his God. Unlike the corrupt officials and the compromised Darius, Daniel had conviction and acted courageously. Proverbs 28:1 says "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." Daniel lived transparently before God and therefore had a clear conscience, making him unafraid of the literal lions.