Daniel 6
THE name of the king that conquered Belshazzar was Da-ri-us. He was a proud Man, and he worshipped idols: yet he liked Daniel very much; and he set him over all the other judges and lords, and told all the people to obey him. Daniel was a very wise old man, and he was fit to be a ruler. There were many great men who hated Daniel, because the king told them to obey Daniel, and because the king liked Daniel better than them. These men were envious of Daniel. They were like Cain, who was envious of Abel; and like Joseph's brothers, who were envious of Joseph; and like Saul, who was envious of David.
Perhaps, my dear child, you have sometimes felt envious, when you have heard people praise another child and give it presents. Then you were like Satan. You must pray to God to keep you from being envious, for we are very apt to be envious, because we have wicked hearts.
These wicked men wished to hurt Daniel, and to get him into disgrace with king Darius: but they did not know how to get him into disgrace; they never saw Daniel do anything wrong. I suppose they were afraid of telling the king lies about Daniel, lest they should be found out. But at last they thought of a way to get Daniel into disgrace. They knew that he prayed very often to his God; so they went to the king and asked him to make a law, that no one should pray to any God or man, but to the king himself, for thirty days; and that if any one did pray to anyone else, he should be cast into a den of lions. Now the king did not know why these men asked him to make this law: if the king had known that Daniel always prayed to his God, I do not think he would have made this law, for the king loved Daniel.
The king was so foolish as to say that he would do as these men wished, because, you know, the king was a heathen, and he did not love the true God. So he wrote down the law, and promised not to change it.
Daniel heard of the law that the king had made.
Do you think that he went on praying? Daniel would have thought it very dreadful not to pray to God for thirty days. He wanted to praise God very often, and ask Him to bless him.
He used always to pray before the open window in his room. Perhaps you wonder why he did so. The reason was, he liked to look toward Jerusalem. He could not see Jerusalem from his window, because it was so very far off; but still he knew which way it was, and he knew that God loved Jerusalem, and that God used to come down into the temple, before it was burnt: so Daniel liked to look that way when he prayed. And God had promised, that if His people were scattered, yet if they looked toward Jerusalem when they prayed: then He would hear them.
He knelt down three times every day, and prayed, and thanked God for all His kindness to him.
The men who hated Daniel heard that he went on praying: so they went one day to look at him praying, that they might tell the king that they had seen him.
Then they asked the king, 'Did you not make a law that if any one prayed to any god or man, excepting you, that he should be cast into a den of lions?'
And the king said, 'Yes, it is true, and I cannot change the law.'
Then the men said, 'That Daniel, who was brought from Jerusalem to be a slave, does not mind you, nor your law, but prays three times a day.'
Then the king was very sorry that he had made a law against praying, and tried to think of some way of not letting Daniel be killed; but he could think of no way. In the evening the men came to him and said, 'You cannot alter the law that you have made, for in our country laws may not be altered.'
Then the king ordered Daniel to be brought, and he was cast into a den of lions; the lions lived in a deep place underground. Lions are always very hungry in the evening, and roar for their food. Would they not eat up Daniel as soon as he was thrown into the den?
But Darius knew that Daniel's God was a very great God, and he said to Daniel, `Your God Whom you serve always, is able to deliver you.'
I think Darius must have heard how God once saved three men from being burnt in the furnace. A stone was brought, and laid upon the top of the den: and the king put his seal on it, that none might take away the stone, and he put on it also the seal of the men that hated Daniel.
Why did the king put his own seal on it? That he might find out if any one came and took Daniel away, for no one else had a seal like the king's; so if any one broke the seat the king would find it out. Why did he put the wicked men's seal? That they might see that the king did not take Daniel out in the night.
The king went to his palace that evening but he was so unhappy that he could not eat, and he would not let his servants play music to him as usual, and when he went to bed he could not sleep.
He got up very early in the morning. Where did he go? To the den of lions. When he came to the den, he cried out in a very sad voice, 'O Daniel, is thy God, Whom thou servest always, able to deliver thee from the lions?'
The king longed to hear Daniel's voice—and he heard it.
Daniel said, 'O king, live forever. My
God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: because I had done nothing wrong.'
Then the king was very glad indeed, and he desired that Daniel should be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up and he was not the least hurt.
Why did God take such care of Daniel? Because Daniel loved Him, and trusted Him, and God wanted to show the king that He was able to save Daniel, and that He was the true God.
The king was very angry with those men, who had asked him to put Daniel in the den, and he commanded them to be thrown down into the den, with their wives and their children. It was very cruel of the king to have the wives and children put into the den, but the wicked men deserved to be put there The lions ate them up in a moment, and broke all their bones before they came to the bottom of the den. So you see that the lions were very hungry—though they did not eat Daniel.
Then king Darius wrote a letter, and sent it to all countries, and said that he had made a law that everyone should fear the God of Daniel, because He was the true God, Who could do wonders, and Who had saved Daniel from the lions.
Do not you wish that everybody had minded this law, and feared the God of Daniel? But, they did not; they still went on worshipping idols. You see, my dear child, how much Daniel loved God: he would rather have died than not have prayed to God.
Shall you be cast into a den of lions, if you pray to God? No, you may pray to God without fear. I hope you do pray very often. You should pray in some quiet place:
God can see you in every place, and He will hear you if you pray with your heart, whether you are kneeling by your bedside, or in a corner of the room, or in a little room by yourself. He will even hear your prayers when you are walking in the street, or in the garden.
If ever you should be sleeping in a room where there are wicked people, who would laugh at you for praying, and for reading the Bible—still you should do it. You should be more afraid of making Him angry than of anything else.
Some people forget to pray in the morning; and are too sleepy to pray at night, and they pray in a great hurry, and without thinking or caring for God.
Does God hear such prayers?
Daniel, by threat unterrified,
Before his windows opened wide,
Kneels down, and prays to God;
And as he prays, directs his face
Towards the loved and distant place,
Where once the temple stood.
His enemies behold him pray,
At morn, and noon, and close of day,
And to the king they cry:
'Daniel the Jew has disobeyed
The unchanging law which thou hast made,
And by that law must die.'
O now the king with grief's o'ercome,
And labors till the setting sun,
His favorite to save;
He tries in vain. These wicked men
Cast Daniel in the gloomy den,
Where hungry lions rave.
The king can neither sleep nor eat,
Nor bear the sound of music sweet,
But mourns throughout the night.
At early dawn he seeks the den,
When Daniel's voice he hears again,
How great is his delight!
Yet Daniel has no harm received,
Because in God he has believed,
And loved his Holy laws.
An angel bright has been his guard,
Nor have the hungry lions dared
Open their cruel jaws.
Will Daniel ever cease to pray
To that great God, Who was his stay
In his extreme distress?
Naught shall divide his soul from him,
And when his eyes in death grow dim,
His name he'll still confess.
Child
And may I call this God my own?
Yes, He invites me to His throne,
To speak to Him in prayer;
But if I so delight in play,
That I can find no time to pray,
His love how shall I share?
Questions on Lesson 39
What was the name of the king who conquered Belshazzar?
What did King Darius say Daniel should be?
Why did some great men hate Daniel?
What law did they ask Darius to make?
Why did they ask him to make this law?
How often used Daniel to pray every day?
Why did he open his window towards Jerusalem?
Who came one day to look at Daniel when he was praying?
Why did not the king change the law, when he heard that Daniel had been praying?
Why did not the king sleep or eat that night?
Who did Daniel say God had sent to take care of him?
Who was put in the den when Daniel was taken out?
What did King Darius desire all people to do in the letter that he wrote?
Of what should you be more afraid than of anything else?