Dan 6:24-28 | 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 6:24-28

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.

Darius’ Decree

The testimony Darius gives about God and His power goes beyond what Nebuchadnezzar has ever testified. Nebuchadnezzar bears personal witness of Him (Dan 2:47 ; Dan 4:1-2), and has given his people only the command that no derogatory things should be said about God (Dan 3:29). But Darius commands that all peoples in his empire must fear and tremble before God, which means that everyone has to take account of Him in their lives. It is an appropriate testimony at the end of the historical chapters. What Darius says clearly applies to the kingdom of peace. He represents and is the mouth of the nations that will be in the realm of peace. They shall proclaim and praise the glory, honor, and majesty of God. Great respect fits towards that great and mighty and awesome God.

Again he calls God “the God of Daniel”. Daniel is a picture of Israel’s faithful remnant that will also pass through a time of great distress and will be delivered from it by God. The peoples and nations will bear witness to this, they will acknowledge that He is the redeeming and delivering God, He “Who has [also] delivered Daniel from the power of the lions”. Darius also calls God “the living God”. That is also an expression that goes far for a heathen monarch. Often God is so named to indicate the contrast with the dead idols.

He also acknowledges that the Being of God and His kingship are unchanging and eternally inviolable. No outside power can exercise any influence on His Being or His dominion. His power is so great, that He carries and leads the entire world dominion. In doing so, He does not lose sight of any of His own, not even the little ones and the few, but redeems and delivers them.

He does this with means which as signs and wonders refer to Him. He does these signs and wonders both in heaven and on earth. He is the sovereign Lord to Whom all things belong and Who has all things at His disposal to use them for His purpose. That these things are so, He has shown in the delivery of Daniel from the power [lit. hand or claw] of the lions. The first thing a prey has to deal with is the lion’s claws, only then does the lion’s mouth come into play.

Success of Daniel

The last message in the historical chapters about Daniel is that he enjoys success in the reigns of the second world empire. But here too there is a prophetic picture. It is more than just a communication about Daniel’s success. We have seen in the previous verses that Darius in his testimony of the God of Daniel, the living God, represents the hearts of the nations in the realm of peace.

The mentioning of Cyrus expands that image even further. We can see Cyrus as a picture of the Lord Jesus. What is said of him by the prophet Isaiah, at least reminds us of this. We read that the LORD says of him:

“[It is I] who says of Cyrus, ‘[He is] My shepherd!

And he will perform all My desire.’

And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid” (Isa 44:28).

Also the next verse about Cyrus strongly reminds us of the Lord Jesus:

“Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken by the right hand,

To subdue nations before him

And to loose the loins of kings;

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut” (Isa 45:1).

Cyrus is called “My shepherd” and “His anointed” in these verses, names that remind us directly of the Lord Jesus. In addition, Cyrus was the tool in God’s hand to deliver His people from the hand of Babylon. All in all, it seems justified to see in this last verse a picture of the kingdom of peace, where the faithful remnant will live in peace and prosperity under the blessed reign of the Messiah. The nations will rejoice in their peace and prosperity and share in it. For everything honor and glory will go to God. He is the Processor and Maintainer of it.