Daniel’s reliance on God
A celebrated account of the Hebrew man Daniel is set in the court of Persian king Darius in about 500 bc. Although a Jew and a foreigner, Daniel is elevated to a position of great power in the Persian court—a status that excites the jealousy of other governors (see Daniel 6).
Plotting Daniel’s downfall, these officials propose a royal decree. No one is to petition “any God or man” other than King Darius for thirty days. This decree is considered irreversible according to a code known as “the law of the Medes and Persians.” As the king’s officers well know, Daniel habitually prays to the God of Israel. And when they find him in this prayer—despite his being fully aware of the decree—they demand his death in a den of lions.
Daniel’s experience in the den (likely a deep pit for holding the animals) resembles a “trial by ordeal”—a practice based on the belief that innocence could be proved by surviving a life-threatening test. Here, though, Daniel’s accusers have testified to his guilt. Their scheme is intended to end not only Daniel’s power but his life. Instead, it brings about an undeniable demonstration of the sovereignty of the one God.
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