17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed.

18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

21 Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den, and when Daniel was lifted out of the den, no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Matt Radloff

“Has your God been able to save you?”. Darius’s question is an important one for all of us to grapple with. Is the God you serve powerful enough to rescue you? At the beginning of these verses, Daniel’s fate is apparently sealed as he’s locked in with the deadly lions. His situation is set by the heavy stone placed over what looks to be his permanent tomb. There’s no hope of an outside rescuer as the king's ring and the rings of his nobles outlaw any attempts to interfere. After the worst night of the king's life, he rushes to the den and asks, “Has your God been able to save you?!” As Darius hears Daniel’s reply, he learns about the power of Daniel’s God.  About the power of our God, who alone has the power to save. 

From God’s miraculous salvation of Daniel, we are reminded of the far greater salvation that God worked in raising his own son from the dead.  Just like Daniel, Jesus was an innocent man sentenced to death. He was thrown into a hole in the ground, and a heavy stone was set across to bar the way. The authorities in Jesus' day also took measures to make sure no one could interfere. And yet God’s salvation of his perfect Son Jesus eclipses Daniel’s as He saves his innocent one, not just from the jaws of the lion, but from the jaws of death itself.  

We can have confidence that the God who saves is on our side. The God who raises the dead to life is with us. And so, we have nothing to fear! Not even death. God answers Darius’ question, “has your God been able to save?” with a resounding “yes!” This is the confident hope that every one of us can have as God’s people. As the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:11, “…if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Matt is one of our Student Ministers.