Faithfulness
Faithfulness
Daniel 6:1-28
How will God use your faithfulness? In late 1799, in a rural Southern Scottish church, a 4-year old boy walked forward and knelt at the altar to accept the Lord. Many of the elders were incensed that a boy so young came to receive the Lord; they believed he was too young to understand. He was alone at the altar until one unnamed, unknown godly man came and knelt with him. That was the beginning of the missionary call of young Robert Moffat, who became a pioneer missionary to South Africa. Moffat opened several mission stations in the interior of the country and helped to translate the Bible into the native language of the Bechuanas. How will God use your faithfulness?
The faithfulness of an unknown, unnamed saint was one of the catalysts that spurred Moffat on to reach South Africa for the gospel of Christ. Beloved, do not despise the small things. Do not despise simple faithfulness. The Lord loves to use the simple, ordinary faithfulness of His people to build His kingdom and to reach the lost for His name’s sake. Pastor Eugene Peterson defined faithfulness as “long obedience in the same direction”. How will God use your long obedience in the same direction? How will God use your faithfulness? Do you believe God will use your ordinary, long obedience in the same direction? Do you believe God sees your faithfulness and is using it?
I played high school basketball, but I was built like a football player. In football, you play for seven seconds, and then you get a 45-second rest. In basketball, you never stop moving. I was known for short bursts of intense physical play where I would hunt down rebounds and dive for loose balls. If my coach was not happy with my effort during practice, he would say, “Kiehn, you're a crowd diver. You don’t want to make the extra effort because there is no crowd to watch you and cheer you on.” Ouch. Crowd diver. I wonder how many of us are “crowd divers” in our Christian lives. Are we willing to put in the effort of ordinary, simple faithfulness when no crowd is watching? Do we live Coram Deo, before the face of God? True faithfulness is living with integrity in public and in private.
Daniel is a great example of faithfulness. As a teenager, he was exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon. He chose not to eat food from the king’s table like a Babylonian but chose instead to live before the face of his God, depending on Him alone for life and success. He served the Babylonian kings with wisdom and integrity, interpreting dreams and modeling faithfulness to the living God.
In Daniel 6, Daniel is an old man. He has lived faithfully for decades; how will he finish? This week, I read about Solomon in 1 Kings 11:4, “For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father?” This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. Solomon turned away from the Lord when he was older. What will Daniel do?
We don’t want to merely look at Daniel’s life; we want to look through Daniel’s life to our own. To that end, as we walk through Daniel 6, I want to ask you five questions that will help you assess your own faithfulness to the Lord.
First, if your life was examined, would you be found faithful?
Daniel had faithfully served the Babylonians, but because of the foolishness of Belshazzar, the Babylonian kingdom was destroyed. The Medes and the Persians received the kingdom when Darius was 62 years old.
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Daniel 6:1–3
Daniel continued to excel in service as one of the king’s officials. He was one of three whom all the other leaders would give an account to so that, “the king might suffer no loss.” They served in place of the king to ensure the kingdom would flourish. And, of these three, Daniel rose to the top because an excellent spirit was in him.
It is important to note that Daniel was excellent because of the grace of God. Remember how God’s grace has already been shown in Daniel’s life.
Daniel 1: 9, God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.
Daniel 1:17, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
Daniel 2:19, Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision in the night.”
In fact, Daniel himself would testify of the grace God had given him.
Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him. Daniel 2:20–22
Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. Daniel 2:27–28a
Even in our text in Daniel 6:3 we see God’s grace, “an excellent spirit was in him.” God gave Daniel wisdom and an excellent spirit to serve and bless the nations. Daniel was a government employee. He was not in ministry. God gave him an excellent spirit in order to be a blessing in the workplace.
God wants you to excel in your jobs and be a blessing to others. Do not despise the small things. Stay faithful in the little things. God will use them. Daniel’s faithfulness led the king to desire to place him in control of the entire kingdom. Remember at the end of Daniel 5 just moments before he is struck dead, Belshazzar makes an empty promise that Daniel will be given the position of third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel remained faithful and was about to be appointed over the whole kingdom.
But even though the king was pleased with Daniel, not everyone in the kingdom liked seeing an exile from Judah ruling from a place of power.
Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” Daniel 6:4–5
Daniel’s life was examined and scrutinized and found faithful. No error or fault was found in him. Daniel lived Coram Deo, before the face of God. He lived with integrity.
Beloved, if your life was examined, would you be found faithful? If your internet search history was scrutinized, what would it reveal? If your time spent at work was inspected, what would people discover? If someone followed you around and heard your conversations, what would people know of you? Would you be found faithful?
By God’s grace, Daniel was found faithful. And beloved, I believe that many of you would be found in Daniel’s camp. I am so encouraged by the godliness and humility of so many in our congregation. And many of the most godly are the first ones to highlight that they still have room to grow. Rejoice in the gift of grace God has given you to walk in faithfulness. Do not despise the Holy Spirit’s work in your life.
But I am sure there are others of you who may be feeling uncomfortable with the question, “Would you be found faithful?” because you know you have not been faithful. There is hope for you today. You can deal with your unfaithfulness by turning to the One who is always faithful, by turning to the One whom Daniel helps us see.
Second, when persecution comes your way, will you be ready?
Daniel is hated because of his righteousness. He is probably also hated because he was an outsider. The world often hates those who are not like them. And because they hate him, they work to bring evil down on his head.
Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction. Daniel 6:6–9
These officials hatch a plan to get Daniel out of the way. They knew they could not question his integrity, so they decided to create a law that would force Daniel to violate the law of his God, knowing full well that he would not violate the law of his God. And because he would not violate the law of his God, he would be thrown into the lion's den. It is nefarious. It is evil. It is wicked. They are writing laws knowing that followers of Yahweh cannot comply.
Beloved, there is nothing new under the sun. Laws are being proposed and passed month after month which, if obeyed, would violate our Christian conscience. Most of the laws directly relate to affirming someone’s gender identity. Whether it is in Washington State where children can receive hormone therapy to begin to change their sexual identity without their parents’ consent, or the Equality Act, which allows men who identify as women to freely enter a woman’s locker room like the incident at the collegiate women’s swimming finals.
Beloved, do not be surprised when the fiery trials come upon you as if something strange were happening to you. The nefarious, evil, and wicked rulers of our day will try to create laws to make us violate the law of our God. If persecution comes your way, will you be ready? Daniel was.
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Daniel 6:10
Notice that last phrase, “As he had done previously.” Daniel’s life did not change. He was prepared for persecution because he was living in faithfulness before the persecution. The persecution did not change him. There are many in our culture who would probably start praying in defiance of a law such as this, but how many of us would be guilty if it was applied retroactively. Would you be convicted if the last thirty days of your prayer life were scrutinized? Americans like to do things because someone says we can’t. We need to do things because they are right in the eyes of God. We need faithfulness.
Faithfulness is being full of faith in God, and Daniel had full faith in God. The text says, “he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.” Daniel was not praying to be seen; he was doing what he had been doing all along. He was doing what Scripture called him to do. When Solomon dedicated the temple in Jerusalem, he prayed this to the Lord,
“If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.” 1 Kings 8:46–53
Daniel was praying to God on the basis of God’s covenant faithfulness to his people. Daniel trusted in God’s faithful promises before he was thrown into the lion’s den, and he continued to trust God’s covenant faithfulness to his people after he was thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel was looking toward the presence of God in Jerusalem. God’s people must always fix their eyes on the presence of God.
Daniel was ready for persecution and the persecution came, for everyone who desires to live a godly life will be persecuted.
Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”
Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”
Daniel 6:11–15
The evil officials went on the attack against Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah. They created a law to catch Daniel following and trusting in his God, so that they had a complaint against him. And the king was distressed. He realized he had been duped, and knew that his number-one leader was in danger of death. He labored til the sun went down trying to rescue Daniel from persecution, but the law was the law. The law of the Medes and Persians could not be changed. We see that phrase three times in the text. In that culture, irrevocability of their laws was a matter of pride. The king could do nothing regardless of what he believed.
Third, when you face death, what wil be your hope?
Daniel was facing certain death in the lion’s den. Would he believe God had the ability to save him? Would you?
Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Daniel 6:16–18
The king fasted and thought of Daniel all night long. In fact, his words to Daniel are very interesting, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” Daniel’s faithfulness went before him even here. “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” Surely, the king had heard the stories of Daniel’s God. He would have heard about how he interpreted dreams. He would have heard about how God had delivered Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. He would have heard about the humbling and restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. He would have watched Daniel closely as he served as one of the three highest officials in the kingdom. Darius trusted Daniel so much that he was about to place him over the whole kingdom. Daniel had a reputation of long obedience in the same direction. Daniel was faithful. This faithful one was thrown in a tomb that was sealed with a large stone. Would Daniel, the faithful one, be delivered?
Friends, every one of us will face death. One day our bodies will fail and be lowered into the ground and a stone will be placed above us. None of us can escape death. One thing is certain in our world: all will die. We all will die because of sin. Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” Because Adam sinned in the garden, rejecting God’s good word, he brought death into the world. Friends, you and I will die because we have sinned and will continue to sin. We are not completely faithful. We may do lots of good things, but we have not done all good things perfectly. So we will face death.
But in Daniel 6:19, we get hope. And the whole story points to a living hope in the resurrection from the dead. Daniel is a faithful man, but Daniel is not perfect. And yet his faithfulness points us to One who is.
Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
Daniel 6:19–23
Daniel is delivered. Notice the king’s declaration, “Daniel, servant of the living God.” Only the living God, not the gods of stone or silver, can deliver from death. God shut the mouths of the lions to deliver Daniel. God saved Daniel from certain death. And notice the reason the text gives for his deliverance, “because he had trusted in his God.” Daniel had faith that God could deliver him from certain death.
Friends, the ultimate point of the narrative is not to be faithful like Daniel but to see Daniel as a type of the faithful One who came trusting in the living God. Daniel points to Jesus Christ. The similarities are hard to miss. As one scholar notes,
Christians have long noted the similarities between this story about Daniel and the New Testament story about Jesus Christ. We read in Daniel 6:6 that “the presidents and satraps conspired” against Daniel. In the New Testament we read that “the chief priests and the elders … conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him” (Matt 26:3–4). The conspirators could find no corruption in Daniel (6:4). Similarly, “the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none” (Mark 14:55). Daniel was found guilty of transgressing the law of the Medes and Persians; Jesus was found guilty of transgressing the law of the Jews; they said, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God” (John 19:7). Darius unsuccessfully tried to save Daniel (6:14). Similarly, Pilate unsuccessfully tried to save Jesus (Matt 27:24). In Daniel 6:23 we read that Daniel “trusted in his God.” In the New Testament we read that Jesus trusted his Father completely: the night before he was crucified, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if this [cup of suffering] cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done” (Matt 26:42; cf. 26:39; 27:43; 1 Pet 2:23). Daniel descended into “the pit” (6:16), his “grave” (cf., e.g., Pss 30:3; 143:7; Ezek 32:23). Similarly, Jesus’ body was laid in a tomb (Matt 27:60). Daniel’s “grave” was covered with a stone and sealed (6:17). Jesus’ tomb was also covered with a stone and sealed (Matt 27:60, 66). The king found Daniel alive early the next morning and had him lifted out of his “grave” (6:19, 23). In the New Testament we read, “Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they [the three women] went to the tomb” where an angel told them, “Jesus … has been raised” (Mark 16:2, 6). After God saved Daniel from certain death, we read that “Daniel prospered” (6:28). After God raised Jesus from death, Jesus prospered. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18).
Daniel clearly prefigures Jesus Christ. But Jesus is much greater than Daniel. God saved Daniel from certain death, but God raised Jesus after he actually died (John 19:34–35). Moreover, Daniel rose from his “grave” only to die at a later date. Jesus, by contrast, rose from his grave and lives forever. In addition, whereas God “prospered” Daniel during the reign of Darius (6:28), God “highly exalted … [Christ Jesus] and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, … and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9–11). And finally, God’s delivering Daniel from the lions’ pit gave Israel hope that God would deliver them from their “pit” of exile. But God’s raising his Son Jesus from the dead gives us hope that God will raise us also from the dead. As Paul put it, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.… Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1 Cor 15:20, 23). The point is that our God is the living God who is able to deliver even from death those who put their trust in him.
We must see through Daniel to Jesus. Just as Daniel opened his windows and prayed toward Jerusalem, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. He has died and been raised and is seated at the right hand of God.
Friends, all of us have been unfaithful, but in Christ we can all be found faithful. When we trust in the living God, when we put our faith in Jesus and His ability to deliver us from death, we will be united with Jesus. His righteousness becomes our righteousness. His faithfulness becomes our faithfulness. His sacrifice pays for our sin. Friend, if you came here living an unfaithful life, there is hope. Look to Christ. Fix your gaze on Him. Call on Him as Lord and Savior, and He will deliver you from death.
Fourth, when the world hates you, will you trust in God to work it for good?
God has not promised that all things will be good, but He has promised that He will work all things for our good if we love Him and have been called according to His purpose. The officials intended evil for Daniel. They thought they had won when Daniel was thrown into the pit, only to see him be pulled out the next day. What they intended for evil, God worked for good. And their evil fell on their own heads.
And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. Daniel 6:24
Evil cannot stand against God. It may appear like evil has won, but God will get the victory. Satan’s plan to kill the Son of God appeared to have worked until it didn’t. His evil plan came back on his own head.
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. Hebrews 2:14
The death of Christ was the destruction of the devil. His end is sure.
How much confidence should that give us? In this life we will face trouble, but take heart, God has overcome the world. Evil forces will be set against us, but that evil will come back on their own heads. We are called not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. One day God will take the evil done against us and turn it back on their own heads. He is faithful.
Lastly, when God delivers you from certain death, will you share it with others?
Throughout Daniel, it is the pagan kings who testify of the Lord to the nations,
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,
for he is the living God,
enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be to the end.
He delivers and rescues;
he works signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 6:25–28
Darius clearly testifies to everyone in his kingdom that the God of Daniel is the living God. He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders. He has the power to save.
Beloved, if it is true for pagan kings, how much more should it be said of us? Let us make it our aim in the coming week to testify to the world that our God saves. If God saved you from the lion’s den, would you not share it with everyone you met? And if God has saved you from an even worse fate, from death and an eternal lion’s den, would you not share it with the world?
Jesus Christ is the greater Daniel who went into the pit to take our sins but walked out three days later. He conquered death for us.
Jesus is the greater Daniel who invites all the unfaithful, all the weak and unstable, to come to Him and find rest for their troubled souls.
Jesus is the greater Daniel who will keep us blameless until His coming. He who called us is faithful. He will surely do it.
Jesus is the greater Daniel who will come again and rescue us from this lion’s den and take us to the land of eternal glory.
Beloved, Jesus is the greater Daniel. Fix your eyes on Him, the author and perfecter of our faith, and then share Him with the world.