Dan 6:24 | KingComments | STEP | When Daniel has been delivered from the den, it is time to judge his enemies. They have knowingly sought his downfall. Now they will be given their just punishment. They are cast into the den they had intended for another person. Here the word becomes true: “The righteous is delivered from trouble, but the wicked takes his place” ( ). With the prosecutors, their wives and children are also cast before the lions. Sin often has consequences not only for the perpetrator, but also for his family and relatives. The law states that children may not be killed because of the fathers’ sins ( ; ; ). However, this is not an event in Israel, but in a heathen country. If in Israel children die with their sinning father, as with Achan ( ), it seems that somehow they have supported sin, by which they deserve the same judgment. But the father is the main responsible person and by his sin is the cause of the judgment that comes over other family members. As soon as these people are cast into the lions’ den, the lions attack them and crush them. This happens even before they have reached the bottom. It is clear from what is happening here that the lions have not attacked Daniel because they were not hungry. The pure voraciousness of the lions makes the miracle that they have not harmed Daniel even greater. From his enemies the lions crush all their bones. The saying that whoever digs a pit for someone else falls into it himself ( ; ; ), applies not only to persons, but also to nations. For them it sounds prophetic in Psalm 9: “The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made; in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught. The LORD has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared” ( ). This psalm speaks of the deliverance of the God-fearing remnant in the end time. Then the wrath of God is poured out upon the enemies and they die in the trap they set. In the last verse quoted it is also about “the wicked”, that is the antichrist. He also perishes in his own evil works.

‏ Daniel 6:24

The Enemies Cast Into the Lions’ Den

When Daniel has been delivered from the den, it is time to judge his enemies. They have knowingly sought his downfall. Now they will be given their just punishment. They are cast into the den they had intended for another person. Here the word becomes true: “The righteous is delivered from trouble, but the wicked takes his place” (Pro 11:8 ; Pro 21:18). With the prosecutors, their wives and children are also cast before the lions.

Sin often has consequences not only for the perpetrator, but also for his family and relatives. The law states that children may not be killed because of the fathers’ sins (Deu 24:16; 2Chr 25:4; Eze 18:20). However, this is not an event in Israel, but in a heathen country. If in Israel children die with their sinning father, as with Achan (Jos 7:24-25), it seems that somehow they have supported sin, by which they deserve the same judgment. But the father is the main responsible person and by his sin is the cause of the judgment that comes over other family members.

As soon as these people are cast into the lions’ den, the lions attack them and crush them. This happens even before they have reached the bottom. It is clear from what is happening here that the lions have not attacked Daniel because they were not hungry. The pure voraciousness of the lions makes the miracle that they have not harmed Daniel even greater. From his enemies the lions crush all their bones.

The saying that whoever digs a pit for someone else falls into it himself (Psa 57:6b ; Psa 7:16; Pro 26:27; Ecc 10:8), applies not only to persons, but also to nations. For them it sounds prophetic in Psalm 9: “The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made; in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught. The LORD has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared” (Psa 9:15-16). This psalm speaks of the deliverance of the God-fearing remnant in the end time. Then the wrath of God is poured out upon the enemies and they die in the trap they set. In the last verse quoted it is also about “the wicked”, that is the antichrist. He also perishes in his own evil works.