Daniel in the Lion’s Den – Daniel 6

The Story in a Nutshell

Some 539 years before Jesus was born, the Persians and Medes conquered Babylon which had previously conquered the Israelites.  Darius, the Mede king, decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces.  The king also chose Daniel and two other Israelites to supervise the princes of the provinces and look out for his interests.  Daniel did his job so well that it made other leaders and princes jealous.  So, they started looking for ways to find fault with Daniel.  They finally came up with a plan.  They went to King Darius and convinced him to make a special law.  The law was that for the next 30 days anyone that prayed to anyone except King Darius would be thrown to the lions.  When Daniel heard about the law it didn’t change the way he prayed.  He went home and prayed to God, three times a day, just as he had always done.  The other leaders and princes went to Daniel’s house and found him praying.  They then went to King Darius and reminded him about the new law.  When he heard the news he was very angry that he had signed the law for he liked Daniel and wanted to spare him.  But according to the laws of the Medes and Persians he couldn't’t do it.  The king was forced to have Daniel arrested and thrown into the lion’s den.  The king said, “May the God you worship rescue you.  A stone was placed over the mouth of the den, and the king returned to his palace where he spent the night fasting.  Early the next morning the king ran to the lion’s den and called for Daniel.  Was he dead?  Daniel answered, “Long live the king.”  The king was very happy and had Daniel removed from the den.  Then, he had all the men that turned against Daniel and all their wives and children thrown into the den; they were immediately torn to pieces.  Darius then sent a decree throughout the kingdom praising Daniel’s God. And Daniel continued to prosper.

Review Questions

What did the king think of Daniel?

What did the other officials in the kingdom think of Daniel?

What plan did the officials come up with?

What happened when the officials caught Daniel praying to God?

What was the king forced to do?

How did the king feel about it?

What did the king find when he went to the lion’s den in the morning?

What did the king do after Daniel came out of the lion’s den?

What happened to the people thrown into the den?

Have questions about God, Jesus, and the Bible? An excellent source for answers to your questions is gotquestions.org. Check it out. gotquestions.org.

Would you like to know more about God and his plan of salvation? Then Click Here.