One of the most popular Bible stories is the tale of Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Children especially love the parable and the thought that a man’s faith could be so strong as to save him from certain death. Here is the story of Daniel’s ordeal:
After King Nebuchadnezzar died, Darius was made King. Daniel was a good and faithful servant, and was appointed to be a supervisor of the kingdom. There were three others, but Daniel was by far the best – in fact, he was so good, King Darius considered making him the head of kingdom. The other supervisors knew this, and they were jealous of Daniel. They wanted a plan to make certain he didn’t become the head of the Kingdom.
The three supervisors helped the King decide what laws would be passed, and they proposed a law that stated no man could ask anything of God or man for thirty days. They did this knowing that Daniel was a very religious man who prayed to God at least three times each day. King Darius passed the law, and soon afterward the supervisors paid attention to the times Daniel prayed. They told the King what he was doing, and the King had no choice but to punish Daniel according to the law.
The punishment was to be thrown to the lions, where certain death awaited. Darius ordered that Daniel be thrown to the lions, and said to him, ‘Whoever your God is, let him save you.’
The next day, Darius went to the lion’s den to find Daniel. He was afraid he had been eaten by the lions, but when he got there, he found that Daniel was still alive. Daniel had prayed to God, and God had caused the lions to leave him alone and let him live.
The result? Darius took Daniel out of the lion’s den. In return for the deviousness of the three men who have put him there, King Darius had the other three supervisors put into the lion’s den in Daniel’s place. His new law told his followers to honor Daniel’s God, for it would take a mighty God to save a man from the hungry lions.
The moral of the parable is this: Always follow your heart, and put your trust in God, and all will be well.
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