Daniel was about ninety years old by the time King Darius conquered Babylon on behalf of the Medes and Persians.  Darius appointed 120 satraps, or governors, to make sure taxes were collected, local defenses were maintained, and lower level court cases were handled in each region.

Daniel was one of the 120 satraps, but he quickly rose through the ranks to become one of only three men who oversaw the 120 in their work. And he was so diligent and successful that King Darius planned to make Daniel the chief of all the satraps.

Treachery

Who knows why the other satraps wanted to get rid of Daniel? It probably had to do with corruption in their work because Daniel was a man of integrity who would have reported any wrongdoing to the king.

Whatever the cause, the governors turned against Daniel and laid a trap for him by persuading Darius to write a law that Daniel could not obey. They also suggested a death penalty for anyone who failed to keep the law.

When a Medo-Persian king made a law it could never be rescinded. This was probably meant to dissuade kings from making frivolous laws, but it backfired in this case. King Darius was coaxed into doing something he deeply regretted when he commanded everyone in the kingdom to worship only him for thirty days.

“So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: ‘May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers 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 thirty days, except you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.’” Daniel 6:6-7

Obviously, “all” of the governors and administrators didn’t include Daniel, but the king didn’t realize that until he learned that Daniel had violated his impulsive edict. Daniel had no choice but to break the law since he was a devoted worshiper of the one true God.

Daniel’s Deliverance

The power of the king was nothing new to Daniel. He had served four of them by now and he knew if he broke this king’s law, Darius had to apply its sentence to him. But Daniel went upstairs to his place of prayer and worshiped God anyway. He followed his habit of praying three times a day until he was arrested.

King Darius regretted seeing Daniel thrown into the den of hungry lions. He hated to seal the stone over the mouth of the den and he didn’t sleep all night worrying about this good man who had been treated so unjustly.

At the first light of day, Darius hurried to the lion’s den and asked whether God had delivered Daniel.

“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 innocent in his sight. Nor have I done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.’” Daniel 6:21-22

It seems that Daniel spent the night searching his soul for any wrongdoing that might have justified this punishment, but he didn’t find any. He was innocent before God and the king.

After Daniel was safely out of the lion’s den, King Darius threw his accusers and their families into the pit. The lions killed them almost before they hit the floor of the den.

Darius issued a new decree that throughout his kingdom people were to 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.” Daniel 6:26

Daniel Prays for His People

In his times of prayer and pondering the Word of the Lord, Daniel came across the messages Jeremiah had given to the Israelites. He calculated the years since Jeremiah told them their exile would last seventy years, and realized that the time was up. Something was about to happen; Israel was going home.

And Daniel was overwhelmed.

“So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord and confessed . . .“ Daniel 9:3

There was a reason God had punished Israel and destroyed Jerusalem. God’s people had offended him deeply and now Daniel poured out his heart to the Lord, begging for forgiveness.

“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Daniel 9:17-19

A Complicated Answer from Heaven

As Daniel was praying, confessing his sin and the sins of his people, the angel Gabriel flew to his side with an answer from God.

“Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision.” Daniel 9:22-23

Gabriel then proceeded to give Daniel a time frame for future events. He pointed past the rebuilding of Jerusalem in a few years, to 490 years in the future when “the Anointed One, the ruler, comes.” Daniel 9:25

Pastor Ray Stedman has a fascinating article on this portion of Scripture. He explains how the numbers of years Gabriel told Daniel about point right to Jesus. I encourage you to check it out here:

https://www.raystedman.org/old-testament/daniel/gods-countdown

Cyrus Sends the Exiles Home

God named King Cyrus through his prophet Isaiah 150 years before he became the king of Persia.

“Cyrus, I am sending for you by name. I am doing it for the good of the family of Jacob. They are my servant. I am doing it for Israel. They are my chosen people.
You do not know anything about me. But I am giving you a title of honor. I am the Lord. There is no other Lord. I am the one and only God. You do not know anything about me.  But I will make you strong.” Isaiah 45:4-5

Cyrus acquired the Jewish people when the Medes and Persians captured Babylon. There was no reason for him to send them back to their home country except that their God told him to.

“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.’” Ezra 1:2

King Cyrus sent word throughout his realm that the people of Israel must be helped to return to Judah. Their neighbors were to supply the Jews with silver, gold, goods and livestock, and any other freewill offerings they were moved to contribute.

Going Home

“Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites – everyone whose heart God had moved – prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. All their neighbors assisted them with articles of silver, gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuable gifts, in addition to all the freewill offerings.” Ezra 1:5-6

King Cyrus also returned the articles stolen by Nebuchadnezzar from the temple. He entrusted 5,400 articles of gold and silver to Sheshbazzar a prince of Judah.

The exiles must have taken to heart the words in Jeremiah’s letter when they first left Judah. He encouraged them to make the most of their new homes and bless the places where they lived. In the end it brought blessings back to them.

“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7

The long time of suffering and punishment was over. God was bringing his people home – but there was still a lot of work ahead of them.