Citizens of Heaven in a Land of Exile

Pastor Mike is away this week, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity to preach this morning.

We're going to take a short break from the series on the Gospel of Matthew,

and we're going to look at the well-known story of Daniel in the lion's den.

Would you turn with me in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 6?

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

If you're using one of those paperback pew Bibles, it's page 828.

The title is Citizens of Heaven in a Land of Exile.

We're going to be in Daniel chapter 6.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

This is a story about Daniel and God's people living in a land far away from home.

Sometimes that word home can be a little bit complicated.

Until I was a teenager, I lived as a missionary kid in Zaire, Africa, in Central Africa.

It's now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

And it was a wonderful life there.

I went to the market with my mom.

We played tag in the neighborhood, and there were these grassy hills behind our house,

and we would go up there and play.

And I just loved my home there.

I loved the people there in Central Africa.

I loved their big smiles and the laughter and the dancing and the fruit on the trees and the climate.

And it was just a wonderful place to grow up.

Just outdoors all the time and a slow pace of life.

But there was a tension because even though that was my home, it wasn't really my home.

You know what I mean by that?

My parents taught me the Pledge of Allegiance and the U.S. National Anthem, and I learned about the U.S. Presidents.

And people would ask me there in Zaire, where do you come from?

And I would say, Ohio.

Ohio.

That wasn't really true, but it was kind of true.

That was at least where my parents were from.

And people would say to me, where are your grandparents?

And I would say, well, they're in Ohio.

That was true, but I didn't know them, really.

I had met them when I was very young.

So it was sort of confusing because my blue passport said that I was a citizen of the United States,

but my real home was kind of in Africa, but technically my home was a place in the U.S.

where I had spent very little time.

And so then when we came back to the States permanently when I was in high school,

I was living in Ohio, and then people would say to me, where are you from?

And I would always hesitate.

Two places, I guess, right?

On the one hand, I was from Africa.

That place felt like home, but I guess technically it really wasn't.

And then on the other hand, I was in Ohio, which was technically my home, but sure didn't feel like it.

Israel, too, had a home that had been a glorious gift of God.

It was part of the covenant that God had made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

And that was where God had fought for them and delivered them from their enemies.

That was the land of Joshua and Ruth and King David and King Solomon and Elijah and Elisha.

That was where the temple was.

That was where the priesthood was.

That's where God's presence was manifested in a very special way, unlike any place else on earth.

That was Israel.

And that was where they were deeply connected to their faith and their identity as the people of God.

So when they were conquered by the Babylonians and taken into exile,

and the Babylonians tore down their temple and destroyed the priesthood

and stole the furniture and the equipment out of the temple

and brutally murdered some of the people of God and took others away into a foreign land,

there was a crisis of some sort because they were now in danger of assimilating.

They were in danger of becoming just like everybody else and losing their distinctives as the people of God

and even disrupting God's promised plan of salvation that he would bring through Christ.

Babylon and Persia were their new home, sort of, but not really their home.

It couldn't be their ultimate home because they had to remain faithful to God

even as they lived in a foreign land that was often quite hostile to them.

So the book of Daniel was written to encourage the people of God as they lived in a foreign land.

It's divided into two parts.

The first six chapters are stories about God delivering Daniel and his friends

from intense pressure and persecution at times.

They're miraculously protected by him.

And then chapters 7 through 12 are apocalyptic visions

about the fact that God is in complete control of the affairs of the world

and he will be victorious in the end.

So it's a great encouragement to God's people who are tempted to despair.

They may face difficulty and persecution.

They may be hated and despised for their faith.

But they are on the winning team.

So no matter how bad things look right now for Daniel and his friends,

God will vindicate his people.

And this is good news for us.

This is a powerful book for us because now we are the people of God living in exile.

Before we knew Christ, we were full citizens of this world.

Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 that we follow the course of this world

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

and the prince of the power of the air.

This world is destined for destruction and that was our destiny too

because we were citizens of this world.

We were strangers and aliens to God's country.

Separated from God and hostile to him.

But when we committed our lives to Christ, we defected to his country.

Paul says that we became fellow citizens with the saints

and members of the household of God.

When you think about it, most defectors, when they defect,

they move to the new country, right?

If you're a Russian citizen and you defect to the United States,

you move to the United States because otherwise it would not be safe for you.

But we don't move right to heaven.

We defect to heaven and defect to God's country,

but we stay here.

We represent God in a fallen world and now it's complicated because we have two homes.

We have this home and we have that home.

This is the only world we've ever known,

but now we're strangers here.

We really belong someplace else.

Our real home is in heaven, but we've never been there before.

So it's not very easy.

And sometimes in this society, people think we're crazy.

We're crazy because of what we believe.

We're crazy because we follow this Jesus who lived a long time ago.

Or they think we're dangerous.

They think we're dangerous because our stance on marriage means that we're bigots and hypocrites.

Our stance on life in the womb means that we are anti-women.

We're dangerously out of step with a progressive society,

modern society, because we take our values from the Bible.

And so the question is, I mean always, what should we do?

How do we live here in exile in a faithful way, away from our home?

And I think this is one of the key things that the book of Daniel in chapter 6 addresses for us.

So let's take a look at Daniel chapter 6.

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

We can divide this short story into three sections.

Each of the sections has a little bit of a surprise for us.

There's three sections and there's three surprises.

And the first section is in verses 1 through 13.

So I'm going to read that first part and then we'll talk about it and we'll read the second part.

So please don't read ahead.

I know it's hard.

I know it's hard.

Here we go.

You're probably familiar with this story anyway.

Here we go.

It says in verse 1,

It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,

with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel.

The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.

Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities

that the king planned to set him over the entire kingdom.

At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs.

But they were unable to do so.

They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

Finally, these men said,

We will never find any basis for charges against this man, Daniel, unless it has something to do with the law of his God.

So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said,

May King Darius live forever.

The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisors, and governors have all agreed

that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree

that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next 30 days,

except to you, your majesty, shall be thrown into the lion's den.

Now your majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered

in accordance with the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be repealed.

So King Darius put the decree in writing.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published,

he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.

Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed,

giving thanks to his God just as he had done before.

Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.

So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree.

Did you not publish a decree that during the next 30 days,

anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, your majesty,

would be thrown into the lion's den?

The king answered,

The decree stands in accordance with the law of the Medes and the Persians,

which cannot be repealed.

Then they said to the king,

Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah,

pays no attention to you, your majesty,

or to the decree you put in writing.

He still prays three times a day.

So the story begins with King Darius,

who has not really been introduced to us,

except in the previous verses back in chapter 5, 30 through 31,

which tell us that Darius took over the kingdom from King Belshazzar at the age of 62.

Persia was a massive empire that stretched from India in the east

all the way over to Egypt and Asia Minor in the west.

It was the largest empire ever seen.

And it was divided into 120 regions that were governed by these satraps.

So they had to have some sort of a complex bureaucracy

because this is a very, very large empire.

And verse 2 tells us that the king had placed three high officials over the 120 satraps.

And verse 3 tells us that not only was Daniel one of these three high officials,

but he was in line for promotion to run the entire kingdom.

And why was this?

Well, because it tells us in verse 2

that he was not corrupt.

The king felt he would not suffer loss.

And in verse 3 it says that he had distinguished himself by his exceptional qualities.

Now you know how it is when someone in the office is promoted to a higher position.

Everybody grumbles and they gather around the water cooler

and they all complain and get angry.

And here the satraps and the high officials created a conspiracy against Daniel.

They wanted him gone.

But he was so exceptional and his character was so impressive

that they couldn't find any way to take him down.

Look what it says in verse 4.

It says he was trustworthy.

He was not corrupt.

He was not negligent in his duties.

In other words, he was a very, very strange government official.

So there are two hints in the story, though,

that the conspiracy was actually about more than just envy of his upcoming promotion.

Because the first hint comes in verse 5

when it says that we will bring a charge for him

in accordance with the law of his God.

And then look down at verse 13.

It says in 13 that he was one of the exiles from Judah.

Now, everybody knows that Daniel was one of the exiles from Judah.

That had been long established.

The king knew that.

They knew that.

So why bring it up?

Well, it's just insight into their underlying motives.

Maybe they thought that Daniel was not quite loyal enough to Persia.

He's not really one of us.

He doesn't belong here.

He's not a true Persian.

And so they hatch a conspiracy, and everyone is in on it.

Look at verse 7.

The royal administrators and the prefects and the satraps

and the advisors and the governors have all agreed.

They're all ganging up on him.

And to appeal to the king's vanity,

they recommend a law that prohibits praying to anyone but the king

for a period of 30 days, just enough to prove that Daniel is unfaithful to the king.

And so the king signs a decree that cannot be repealed,

and now Daniel is in a very tough spot.

To this point, his faith and his identity as a Jew have not gotten into conflict with his role in the Persian government.

There hasn't been any conflict there.

But now they've made it an issue.

They've made it a problem.

And he can take a break from his faith for 30 days,

or he can be thrown to a den of lions.

Now I know we're all probably pretty familiar with this story,

but we don't want that to get in the way of some of the details here.

Let's take just a moment and imagine death by lion.

We don't want to minimize the threat here.

You know, there are a lot of terrible ways to die.

There are some ways to die that are not so bad,

and then there are some terrible ways to die,

and I would think that death by lions would be at the top.

The Persians had all kinds of ways that they could have killed people.

Very quick, very painless.

Take a sword, for example.

But to go through the trouble of death by lion,

you have to procure the lions,

and you have to house the lions and feed the lions.

It's a big deal.

Why would they do that?

Because it was so brutal.

We're talking about growling,

biting,

ripping,

tearing,

eating.

I mean, we can stop there, right?

It's bad.

It's bad.

It's a bad way to die.

And so what Daniel is facing here for his faith

is not being mocked.

It's not being fired from his job.

It's not going to jail.

It's not even a painless beheading or something like that.

It is death by lion.

And in verse 10,

we see the first surprise in this section,

which is that when Daniel learned what was up,

he went home to his upstairs room,

got down on his knees and prayed,

just as he had done before.

He is well aware of the trap that they have laid for him,

but without missing a beat,

he goes home,

gets on his knees,

and prays to God.

And think about the way that this is presented to us.

It doesn't,

the narrator does not present any conflict

or any inner turmoil to us.

It is just a reflex for him.

It is time to pray,

so he goes down and prays.

He doesn't care what the edict was.

But you can imagine the temptation

that he was feeling.

It is not a compromise.

It is a little compromise.

He is not actually being asked to break one of God's laws.

He is only being asked to omit a spiritual discipline.

It is not so big.

He is not actually being asked to pray to the king.

He is only being asked to refrain from praying to God.

That is not quite,

that is not idolatry, right?

I mean, I have neglected prayer

to listen to sports radio

or because I was hungry for a snack.

It is a big deal.

He could change his routine.

Why can't Daniel just pray in private?

Or why can't he just pray secretly in his head?

He could be doing other things

and praying in his head

and no one would even know.

Why not just do that?

It does not even have to look like he is praying.

And he is only giving thanks to God, it says here.

He is only giving thanks to God.

It is not,

surely that can go on hold for a couple of weeks.

But besides, if he is killed,

then he won't be able to look out

for the other Jewish exiles

and to exert positive influence

in the Persian government.

Think about the loss of good godly influence

that will be lost in the government.

Which is more important,

to thank God

or to have a faithful Yahweh honoring man

with great character in power?

I mean, surely you can take a break for 30 days.

But even though the compromise seems small,

look what it says in the text.

It says,

He went home to his upstairs room

where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.

Now, why is that detail in there?

The narrator doesn't have to tell us that little detail about Jerusalem,

but it does because it's a way of showing us

that Daniel's home was someplace else.

Daniel's true home,

he lived in Persia,

he worked in Persia,

but his true home was in Jerusalem.

And so when he got down to pray,

he faced Jerusalem,

and that was the sticking point.

The Persian conspirators knew

that this wasn't just about a little prayer.

This was about loyalty.

This was about Daniel's ultimate loyalty.

And Daniel doesn't make a big show of his prayer.

He doesn't ring the bells

and make a big to-do of it,

but he doesn't hide it either.

He simply gets down, as always, and prays.

And in verse 11,

he's discovered by the officials,

and they report him to the king,

and they interpret his prayer as a disloyal act.

Look what they say in verse 13.

No one pays any attention to you, your majesty.

He still prays three times a day.

So the immovable object of Persian law

has met the unstoppable force of Daniel's prayer,

and something is going to have to give.

So this first section of Daniel

is dominated by these conspiring government officials.

They're the only ones who speak,

and the narrator presents them as a large group,

all in agreement,

who are scheming against Daniel.

Daniel wasn't provocative.

He didn't cause any trouble.

He got up every day,

and he went into the office,

and he worked hard for the good of the Persian Empire,

and he did what was best for the king,

and for the welfare of his society,

and he lost sleep over their problems,

and he built relationships and networked with them,

but at night,

he went home and prayed toward Jerusalem.

He lived in Persia,

but he knew where his true home was.

So when he was commanded to neglect

even a small aspect of his faith,

only a daily thanksgiving prayer,

when his ultimate loyalty was challenged,

he would not compromise even an inch.

And we've seen this before in the book of Daniel.

Back in chapter 1,

Daniel and his friends are accommodating to the Babylonians,

and they learn their language,

and they eat their food,

and they take Babylonian names,

but it says,

Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself

with the unclean food.

He drew a line, a hard line.

He said,

I will live in this land,

and I will flourish in this land,

but I will do nothing,

no matter how small,

that betrays my loyalty to God

and my true home.

And in chapter 3,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

are commanded to worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden image,

or be thrown into a fire and burned alive.

And they refuse,

and they say,

we will not worship your gods

or the golden image that you have set up.

And now here in Daniel 6,

the decree goes out,

no praying to God for 30 days,

or you will be ripped open

and eaten alive by lions.

And Daniel says,

what can I do?

I will not compromise

when it comes to my faith.

So Daniel serves as a model for us

because life in exile can be tricky.

In some countries and in some times,

we have more freedom than others.

But when the conflict comes down

to a matter of our ultimate loyalty,

we choose our identity as the people of God.

We draw a line,

and we say,

with God's help,

I will not cross that line.

I will not serve what is apostate.

I will not cease to serve the living God,

no matter the consequences.

Someone might say to us,

well, it's not a gospel issue.

It's not really a key point of Christian doctrine.

Well, maybe so,

but I will not deny

what God has revealed to me.

Someone might say to me,

well, but if you make this small compromise,

it might open up other kinds of opportunities

and influence for you.

No.

And they might say,

well, this little issue isn't worth your job.

I mean, this little issue,

it's not worth fighting over this

for your reputation.

It certainly isn't worth your life.

Yes, but this is not my home.

When loyalty to the land of our exile

is in conflict with loyalty to God,

no matter how small that issue is,

we choose God.

Daniel would rather be eaten by lions

than take a 30-day break from his prayer.

Let's look at the next section

in verses 14 through 22.

It says,

When the king heard this,

he was greatly distressed.

He was determined to rescue Daniel

and made every effort until sundown to save him.

Then the men went as a group to King Darius

and said to him,

Remember, your majesty,

that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians,

no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.

So the king gave the order,

and they brought Daniel

and threw him into the lion's den.

The king said to Daniel,

May your God, whom you serve,

continually rescue you.

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 Daniel's situation might not be changed.

Then the king returned to his palace

and spent the night without eating

and without any entertainment being brought to him,

and he could not sleep.

At the first light of dawn,

the king got up and hurried to the lion's den.

When he came near the den,

he called to Daniel in an anguished voice,

Daniel, servant of the living God,

has your God, whom you serve continually,

been able to rescue you from the lions?

Daniel answered,

May the king live forever.

My God sent his angel,

and he shut the mouths of the lions.

They have not hurt me

because I was found innocent in his sight,

nor have I done any wrong before you,

your majesty.

Now it says in verse 14,

when the king heard this,

he was greatly distressed.

And right here at the front of this section

is the first surprise,

is the surprise in this section here.

The surprise here is that

we expect the king to be greatly distressed

because one of his top administrators

has been disloyal to him.

But that's not why he's distressed.

The reason he's distressed

is because Daniel is in trouble.

Look what it says.

It says in verse 14,

It's instructive for us

to compare this reaction

to King Nebuchadnezzar

back in chapter 3

with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

When King Nebuchadnezzar

finds out

that three Jews

have refused to bow down

to his image,

listen to his reaction.

He says in 3.13,

it says,

He taunts them in verse 15.

What God will be able

to rescue you out of my hand?

He says in verse 19,

It was furious with them

with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

and his attitude toward them changed.

And in verse 22,

His command to throw them

in the fire was urgent.

This is a hostile king

who was angry at these three guys

and couldn't wait

to chuck them

into the fiery furnace.

But here in chapter 6,

Darius' reaction is the opposite.

Look what it says in verse 13.

Sorry.

Look what it says in verse 16.

It says,

May your God whom you serve

continually rescue you.

Verse 18,

He spent the night without eating

and without entertainment.

He could not sleep.

At the first light of dawn,

he hurried to the lion's den.

He was speaking in an anguished voice

when he said,

Daniel, servant of the living God,

have you been rescued?

Here's the question.

Why does the king

care for Daniel like this?

Why is he so concerned

to rescue Daniel

instead of hastening his death?

We expect the king

to be offended.

This law was supposedly

about loyalty to himself

that no one could pray

to anyone but him.

And now Daniel,

his trusted advisor,

has broken it.

And instead,

he's up all night.

He doesn't know what to do.

How is he going to

find a loophole

in this Persian law

and find a way

of rescuing Daniel?

He's trapped

by his own law.

He's frantic.

What is he going to do here?

When he goes down

to the lion's den,

Daniel calls out to him

in verse 21,

May the king live forever.

That's Daniel's answer

to say,

I am alive.

May the king live forever.

Now, Daniel's response

in verses 21 and 22

is important

because these are

the only two verses

in the entire story

where Daniel speaks.

So if we want to know

what Daniel thinks

about all of this,

here it is.

Here's our chance

in verses 21 and 22.

First of all,

in verse 21,

when he says,

May the king live forever.

This is exactly

the same way

that the other administrators

in satraps

addressed the king

back in verse 6.

It's subtle,

but it suggests

that he is just as loyal

to the king

as they are.

In fact,

based on the fact

that they're conspiring

and trying to trick the king,

I think Daniel's actually

more loyal to the king

than they are.

Then he says in verse 22,

My God sent his angel

and he shut the mouths

of the lions

and they haven't heard me

because I was innocent

in his sight.

I have not been unfaithful

to God.

But then he says,

Nor have I done any wrong

before you,

your majesty.

I am faithful to you,

O king.

I am faithful to you.

In other words,

he was loyal both to God

and to King Darius

and it's like he's saying,

Just because I pray

to my God

and my priority

is to my God,

that does not mean

that I am not also

loyal to you.

So this tension,

the king's concern

for Daniel

and Daniel's loyalty

to the king

suggests something

very important

about Daniel's approach

to living in exile.

Even though

he is absolutely

unbending

and uncompromising

about his true home

back in Jerusalem,

he is equally invested

in working

for the good

of his present home,

the king.

We've already seen this

at the beginning

of the story

that Daniel

distinguished himself

in his government service,

that he was trustworthy,

that he had integrity

and fulfilled

all his duties.

And now,

when he comes out

of the den of lions,

he says to the king,

I am faithful to you.

Daniel,

at this point in the book,

is about 70 years old

and he has proven

over a lifetime

of service

that he is committed

to the good

of the Persian empire.

It's not his ultimate home,

but it's his home for now.

And so his character,

compelled by his faith

in God,

causes him to work

for the good

of the king

and the nation

and that has earned

the king's respect.

Daniel has dual citizenship.

It has a hierarchy.

He knows

to whom he really belongs,

but at the end of the day,

that is not a threat

to the king

because he has proven himself

day after day

after day.

If the government

makes his faith

incompatible with Persia,

he will choose

his faith.

But otherwise,

Daniel will be

a loyal Persian citizen.

As Paul says

in 1 Timothy,

he will live

a peaceful

and quiet life,

godly and dignified

in every way.

Daniel is a model

for us

to live joyfully

and responsibly

and engaged

in our land

of exile as well.

This is a little bit

of a difficult balance

for us sometimes

because it's easy

when we're trying

to walk this narrow road

to fall into the ditch

on either side.

On the one hand,

we can sort of fall

into the ditch

of compromise,

to become like

everybody else,

to betray our faith,

maybe not even

without thinking about it,

to accept the values

of our culture

and just sort of

think like everyone else

and to neglect

our heavenly citizenship.

That's one ditch

that we can fall into.

But then on the other

side of the road,

we can overcorrect

and we can fall

in that other ditch

and that is

that we get rigid

and bitter

and angry

and we just,

we just can't wait

for the world to burn.

We look at everything

around us,

our culture,

and we just say,

I just can't wait

until this place burns

and I go to heaven.

That's the other ditch,

right?

And Daniel is a model

of walking that thin line.

He is both uncompromising,

in his faith,

but also fully engaged

in his present land

for its good.

When loyalty to the nation,

whichever nation that is,

is not in conflict

with loyalty to God,

we should be the best

of citizens.

Loyal,

serving,

doing what is right,

working hard,

innocent before God,

and faithful to the king.

Finally,

let's look at the last section

in verses 23 to 28.

The king was overjoyed,

right?

There was this moment

of suspense.

Daniel,

are you in there?

Are you alive?

Long pause.

May the king live forever.

Oh,

he's alive.

The king was overjoyed

and gave orders

to lift Daniel

out of the den,

and when Daniel

was lifted from the den,

no wound was found on him

because he had trusted

in his God.

At the king's command,

the men who had falsely

accused Daniel

were brought in

and thrown into

the lion's den,

along with their wives

and children,

and before they reached

the floor of the den,

the lions overpowered them

and crushed all their bones.

Then King Darius wrote

to all the nations

and the peoples

of every language

in all the earth,

may you prosper greatly.

I issue a decree

that in every part

of my kingdom,

people must fear

and reverence

the God of Daniel,

for he is the living God

and he endures forever.

His kingdom

will not be destroyed.

His dominion

will never end.

He rescues

and he saves.

He performs signs

and wonders

in the heavens

and on the earth.

He has rescued Daniel

from the power

of the lions.

So Daniel prospered

during the reign of Darius

and the reign of Cyrus

the Persian.

The surprise here

is that while Daniel

has been saved,

which is a shock,

his enemies

have been destroyed.

The king has lifted Daniel

out of the den of lions

and no wound

is found on him.

It's not like he was

down there all night long

with a stick,

you know,

fending them off

and when they pull him

out of the lion's den,

he's just a wreck, right?

He's just a mess

and he's got to go

straight to the ER

because he's barely alive.

No, there's no wound

on him at all.

It was a miracle.

God shut the mouths

of those lions

and saved him.

Why?

Because of what it says

in verse 23,

because he had trusted

in his God.

The narrator does not

want you to miss that.

You might be able

to pick it up

on your own,

but the narrator

doesn't want you

to have to figure that out.

God protected Daniel

because Daniel

put his trust in God.

And in verse 24,

Daniel's accusers

are thrown to the lions

along with their wives

and children.

And this verse tells us

two pretty important things.

First of all,

it tells us that Daniel

was saved only

by the power of God.

I've read some scholars

on the book of Daniel

who have said,

well, maybe the lions

were ill that night.

Maybe they just

weren't really up to it.

They weren't feeling well.

Or maybe they had been drugged

by some ancient drug.

Or maybe they had been

fed previously that day

and they just weren't hungry.

But here,

when the men

and their wives

and children

are thrown into the lion's den,

before they even

touch the ground,

the lions crush

and kill them.

Did Daniel fight

off the lions?

No.

God's angel

had shut their mouths

and no matter

how hungry they were

as they prowled

and looked at him,

they could just drool.

There's nothing

they could do.

There's no way

that they could touch him.

But not only was it

a miracle,

but verse 24

also tells us

that not only

is God's servant

Daniel saved,

but God's enemies

are destroyed.

That is good news.

Maybe it feels

a little bit

uncomfortable to us

to be cheering

over the hideous death

of Daniel's enemies,

but for God's

oppressed people,

oppressed and

persecuted people

who are suffering

terribly,

who are tormented

and abused

by evildoers,

this is great comfort

to know that God

will fight for his people

and that his justice

will prevail in the end.

This is an incredible miracle

and look how it affects

King Darius

in verses 26 and 27.

Let me read this again.

He is the living God,

Darius says,

and God endures forever.

His kingdom

will not be destroyed.

His dominion,

that other home,

the home of Daniel,

will never end.

He rescues and saves.

He performs signs

and wonders

in the heavens

and on the earth.

He has rescued Daniel

from the power

of the lions.

And in a great irony,

here at the end

of the story,

we learn about

the nature

and the power

of God

from the mouth

of a pagan king.

The story concludes

in verse 28

that Daniel is prospering

in his land of exile.

Daniel was miraculously saved

because he had trusted in God.

If he had primarily been

a citizen of Persia,

then he would have attempted

to solve his problem

through Persian means.

Right?

He would have tried

to exploit

some kind of legal loophole

or political maneuver.

Maybe he would have

called in some favors

from some other

politicians

or bribed some officials.

He would have used

some kind of Persian tactics.

But Daniel is not

ultimately a citizen

of Persia.

He is a citizen

of heaven.

And that is to whom

he belongs.

That's why

when he hears

the decree

about being chucked

in the lion's den,

he doesn't call up

his social network.

He doesn't get a lawyer.

He doesn't huddle

in some dark room

with some advisors

to figure out

what they're going to do.

He gets home

and he gets down

on his knees

and he prays to God

and asks him for help.

And that is why

he will not compromise

his faith

because he knows

that God is the ultimate

answer for what he needs.

And his faithfulness

is rewarded.

God is the living God.

His dominion,

Daniel's true home country,

will never end

and God will be victorious.

God has saved

his servant Daniel

and he has destroyed

his enemies

and he has brought

glory to himself.

God's miracle proves

that he is the one

who is worthy

of respect

and honor

and ultimate loyalty.

This story is a paradigm.

It's not a rule.

It's a paradigm.

It's a model for us.

It's a pattern.

And patterns

sometimes have exceptions.

So it's true

that God does not

always deliver

his people

from martyrdom

in their land of exile.

Sometimes

God's people

suffer terribly.

Terrible persecution.

Terrible marginalization

and death.

They suffer

and they're

exploited

and imprisoned

and poor

and chased

from one region

to the next.

Even in Daniel chapter 3

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

Shadrach, Meshach

and Abednego

tell the king

our God can save us.

We don't know

if he will save us

but even if he does not

we're still not going

to do what you say.

So there's a recognition

there that sometimes

God does not save

his people

and he lets them

suffer terribly.

But ultimately

God wins

and that's the point

of the story.

His people always

end up victorious

if they trust in him.

When we experience

pressure to conform

when we're persecuted

for our faith

when we are rejected

because of our values

we can have confidence

in the final victory

of God.

We will go

to our own country

and we will finally

be home.

It says in Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

13 through 16

that the people

of God

have acknowledged

that they were

strangers

and exiles

on the earth

but they desire

a better country

that is a heavenly one

for God has prepared

for them

a city.

So when we struggle

in this land of exile

and we start

to get discouraged

when someone asks us

hey where are you from

we hesitate

right?

I guess I have

two homes.

When King Darius

watched Daniel

stay true

to his God

and then watched

God deliver Daniel

the king said

he is the living God.

and he endures

forever.

His kingdom

will not be destroyed.

His dominion

will never end.

He rescues

and saves.

He has rescued

Daniel

from the power

of the lions.

Let's pray.

Father we thank you

for your word.

We thank you

for the reality

that is here

the realism

about what Daniel

faced

about the kinds

of things

that your people

have faced

throughout history.

We are not

flippant

about the challenges

of persecution

and the difficulties

that Christians

face today

in different parts

of the world

and we pray

Lord for your people

everywhere

who suffer

sometimes even

to the point of death

because of their faith

in you.

We pray that you

would strengthen them

and help them

and make your presence

known to them.

We pray that by the power

of your spirit

you would give them

grace to stand true

to the gospel

to stay true

to their faith

and their trust in you.

We pray

that you would deliver them

from their enemies

that you would ruin

their enemies

that you would ruin

those people

who have set their face

against you.

And for all of us

Lord

we pray here

that you would

teach us

to serve you

with total commitment

and unrelenting allegiance.

We don't know

all the things

that you have called us to.

We don't know

what the future

of each of us holds

but we pray

that you would help us

to serve our world here

in each of our spheres

of influence

with integrity

and diligence

and love

toward other people.

We pray that you would

help us to be

the best citizens

of Kenosha

and of Wisconsin

and of the U.S.

But we also pray

that we would be wise

to know when

and how

to be uncompromising

in our loyalty to you.

Lord

we are looking forward

in the future

to seeing

your ultimate victory

and to seeing

our eternal home

with you.

And so we pray

with the Apostle John

even so

come Lord Jesus.

Amen.