Introduction:
Congress is far behind where it should be in the number of days it has worked in Washington, DC on the people’s business. Every year, Congress recesses for the month of August. Wouldn’t you just love to have a month off from your regular work? They will be home campaigning for votes to keep their seats in the house. Soon these politicians will be slugging it out in the political arena and the newspapers will be digging up all the dirt they can find. Lies seem to be a weapon today not only to ruin good judges and politicians but also the good reputation of others. Let us make a commitment not to emulate what the world is doing.

Politics today is a messy thing? We are getting pretty accustomed to the dishing and slinging of dirt. Things in our day are getting visceral. It wasn’t much different in Daniel’s day. He had been in public service for about sixty-five years and his worst enemies could not find anything to use against him. Wouldn’t you like to vote for someone like that? Where are these people? Everybody knows the story of Daniel and the lion’s den but how did Daniel get into that Lions dens to begin with. That is the focus of my sermon this morning. Prior to Daniel being cast to those lions he was dealing with a Liars Den” – no you heard me right the liars den.

I Daniel Promoted to President. (6:1-3).
1. It is believed that Darius the Mede ruled Babylon under the authority of Cyrus the Persians. Ancient Babylonian texts refer to him as the governor of Babylon. He sets up 120 princes to help him rule Babylon in 538 BC. There is a multiplicity of leaders. Therefore he placed three presidents or commissioners over them. They were to supervise the work of these officials and the collecting of taxes. Daniel’s promotion was not without its difficulties and challenges.

2. It wasn’t long until the other rulers turned against Daniel. It may have been spawn by envy, or just evil greed. We note in verse # 2 that Daniel is one of three and he is the first. Please note Daniel’s rise to power under Darius did not rest upon his remarkable accomplishments of the past. We are told Daniel “began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and Persian governors because of the “extraordinary spirit” he possessed.

Darius recognized not only Daniel’s wisdom but his integrity and faithfulness. Here was a man he could trust in a leadership position who would not cause him to “suffer loss.” Darius planned to promote Daniel, placing him in charge of all the commissioners and the princes.

3. The context of verse #3 supplies the reason for their distress. This would impede there ability for corruption. You see the King was aware that with all these leaders he couldn’t tell who had their hand in the tilt from the taxes of the empire. They could neither corrupt Daniel nor deceive him. If he were to rise above them, they could not continue in their corruption… What can we learn from the advancement of Daniel in a foreign and wicked court?

Application:
Daniel is proof that you can live a godly life amidst corruption. You can achieve success without compromising your value. You can be a success in business even as a politician if you are a person of honesty and integrity. This idea that you have to cheat and steal and lie to be successful is sinful. If this concept is true, no Christian should want these allocates of society that much that – he or she would sell out their convictions for such status.
Proverbs 10: [2] Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

II Daniel Faced Adversity (6:4-9)

1. Daniel honesty and integrity will cause him to suffer adversity. In verse 4 they sought an occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they found none! His work is such that not even his enemies can bring a charge against him. His flawless faithfulness to the king and his obedience to the laws of the land forces his enemies to pass a new law aimed directly at him and for his demise. The only fault to be found with Daniel is that he is a man of God.

2. The den of liars began their conspiracy. We will suffer adversity at the hands of the wicked, but remember God has the final say. They conspired to keep Daniel from the promotion the king planned to carry out in the near future. Daniel surpassed them in his wisdom, his character, and his standing with the king. Keeping Daniel from rising above them and ruling over them would be no easy task. They wanted him dead…that was their plan.

3. These politicians, skilled in corruption, saw an end to their positions and profits should Daniel be appointed over them. Yet, as hard as they tried to find some basis for accusing Daniel to the king, they could not. Daniel was the only Jew among them and they tried to oust from office by passing a new law forbidding anyone to pray to any god except the king for 30 days. When they couldn’t criticize the job he was doing, they attacked his faith. Sound familiar. Note what is said in verse #5 concerning the law of his God.

4. They assemble (in verse 6) is too calm of a word. The Aramaic verb “rĕgash” means to gather with a tumultuous and riotous throng. The den of liars begins their evil work. They resort to two of the oldest weapons in the devil’s toolbox; namely falsehoods and flattery. To do this, the conspirators found it necessary to deceive the king in the first lie. Their deception led the king to conclude that Daniel too agreed with their proposal, the second lie. They were totally disingenuous. They were using flattery to distract the king…they made him a god for 30 days. They insisted the decree be a law of the Medes / Persians so it could not be revoked.
Application:
Envy can get its foot in the door and it can be divisive, destructive and hurtful in the ministry of Jesus Christ. It’s amazing how when God lifts up somebody, other people’s hearts burn in rage, and jealousy, and bitterness, even when that individual has done them no injury and absolutely no harm. Remember that the next time you are jealous. God does not like ugly!
Lying lips (Proverbs 12:22; 29:5) -Beware of Flattery. Don’t use it for your personal agenda.

III Daniel Remain Faithful & Perseveres (6:10-14).
1) The king himself wanted to change the law, but as a law of the Medes and the Persians, it could not be revoked. Daniel knew his needs were daily need and that he should petition God daily for those needs. Petitions could not be delayed. If Daniel ceased to pray, Daniel would have sinned against his God. He would have broken God’s law in order to obey man’s laws.

2) Daniel continued praying to the Lord, despite the law against prayer. Now Daniel was a Jew, and as a Jew he could only worship and pray to the One True God, which he did, three times a day. Daniel’s character was so well established that his enemies knew he would continue praying despite the new law against prayer.
I believe Daniel consistently prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day for the more than seventy years of his sojourn in Babylon. This meant his window would be open and he would be visible when he prayed. He prayed publicly, in defiance of the law of the Medes and the Persians, because he believed there was no other choice. His prayer life was so consistent they could literally pick the time to gather outside his window to catch him in prayer.

3) When his critics saw this they ran to tell the king that Daniel had broken the law. Although it was no great accomplishment to catch Daniel in prayer, the conspirators approached the king very carefully with this news. Accusing a man of the king’s favor was dangerous. They began by asking the king about the law which had just gone into effect. He reiterated that he had indeed passed the law forbidding any petition be made except to him.

4) He further acknowledged that the penalty for breaking this law was to be cast into the lion’s den. Only at this point did the conspirators shock the king with the announcement that Daniel has been found violating this very law. Their accusation was meant to impress upon the king that Daniel had not merely broken the law once, he was persisting in violating this law, showing in their minds complete disregard for the king and his authority.

5) The unsuspecting king signed the decree into law never realizing its implications for Daniel. The conspirators refused to be put off by the king’s resistance. After spending the day seeking to arrange Daniel’s release, they returned and reminded the king the law Daniel had broken was a “law of the Medes and the Persians” and thus irrevocable. Essentially, they told the king he had no choice. He was bound by the law. How many good people are in jail or even dead because they were lie on? These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A false witness that speaketh lies. Proverbs 16:16,19
Conclusion:
The Lord Jesus was perfectly perfect. He “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” Various men throughout the New Testament declared that Jesus Christ was righteous, innocent, holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners. Jesus even challenged his accusers – “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” We have a parallel between Daniel and Christ – Daniel is a type or illustration of Christ. Not only does Jesus connect the Old Testament and the New, but He Himself is the connection between the two covenants. The book of Hebrews is all about Christ and His connection to the Old Testament. Hebrews1:1, 2. We cannot understand these things without the relevancy and truths of the Old Testament. Next week we continue with OT passage on prayer and maybe a study of Hebrews. —gospel