Daniel 6:1-28
Thomas Aquinas – Summa Theologica
"A person of integrity is one who acts according to the dictates of reason in conformity with the divine law. Integrity, in its highest sense, refers to the unity of a person’s actions with their ultimate end, which is God. In other words, the person of integrity directs their entire life towards the good, without deviating through deception, partiality, or selfishness. This inner consistency is what it means to have a virtuous character, for integrity pertains not only to the specific acts we perform but to the wholeness of a person’s life and their intentions in relation to God."
Of all the words I could think of to describe Daniel, the word integrity shines brighter than most. From the time he was a teenager, refusing the food and drink of the Babylonians to remain faithful to the Lord, to nearly 70 years later where we find ourselves this morning in chapter 6, Daniel was a man known for his integrity.
Big Idea: Godly integrity invites persecution, but the Lord promises deliverance.
Read Daniel 6:1-3
1.. Integrity Gave Daniel a Position of Influence (1-3)
If you think about the context of what is taking place, it’s pretty incredible. Darius comes in and conquers the Babylonians. Babylon is no more. As Darius is setting up shop, we see him appoint 120 satraps, or governors, over the kingdom. Over them were 3 high officials, and Daniel was somehow one of them. How did Darius know?! How did Daniel, a Jewish exile in his 80s, become a high official in Darius’ court?! What had Darius heard about this man that caused him to look at him as a trustworthy candidate?
Maybe he had heard the stories out of Babylon, of a group of Jewish men who survived a fiery furnace. Maybe he had heard the story of a Jewish exile who was bold enough to stand in the presence of a powerful king and deliver the truth. Whatever the case was, Darius saw Daniel as worthy of a position of influence over ⅓ of his kingdom! And what happens? A spirit of excellence was within him, a spirit of integrity was within him. People took notice of this, and especially Darius, and because of his integrity, Darius planned on making him head over the entire kingdom! Sound familiar? This Jewish exile, being positioned to a place of influence, because of his integrity.
And much like we saw in chapter 3 with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the Medes and Persians grew jealous of this Jewish man, and came up with a plan to be rid of him once and for all.
Read Daniel 6:4-9
2.. Integrity Invites Spiritual Attack (4-9)
A large group of government officials get together to plot Daniel’s demise. They are throwing ideas against the wall and nothing is sticking. Nobody has observed anything in the life of Daniel to warrant a complaint. The only way these men would be able to trap Daniel would be to create a situation in which Daniel would have to compromise his faith.
Oh that this would be true of us! That we would be a people, holy and blameless before the Lord and men, so that the only offense they could find in us is an unwavering devotion to the Lord. That the only accusations against us come from our conviction over the things of the Lord, our conviction to stay true to the Scriptures, to the teachings of Jesus.
When we stand on the truth of the gospel, we are inviting spiritual attack. When we oppose the morality of the world and replace it with the morality of God we will be looked at as hateful. When we remain steadfast in biblical convictions in a culture that is fluid and malleable and preaches relative truth we will be labeled as ignorant and stuck in times past. We must be ready.
Back to our story. These men speak into the pride of Darius. “O King! How would you like to be god for a month? 30 days where no one is allowed to worship anyone or anything but you?” And without thinking it through, he’s like, “yea, sounds good to me!” In the law of the Medes and Persians, when an edict was signed it was unbreakable. Even the king himself could not overturn his own decision. And so the trap was set. Daniel is such a man of spiritual integrity that they know he will refuse to worship the king. And that’s exactly what happens.
Read Daniel 6:10-11
3.. Integrity Begins With Prayer (10-11)
We have to recognize here that Daniel had been preparing for this moment his whole life. This wasn’t an impulsive response to the edict. Daniel had a life marked by fervent prayer. Daniel had a life marked by communion with God. He had his sights set on the holy city of Jerusalem. The city where the temple was built to worship God. He probably couldn’t see the city from where he was, but he postured himself in its direction in an act of devotion to the Lord. Continually, every day, 3 times a day. He already had a discipline of prayer, this was nothing new. I remember when I was younger thinking that Daniel went into his room, opened his windows so everyone could see him, and in an act of defiance, prayed. No! He simply continued to do what he had already been doing, no matter the consequence! He continued to pray. He continued to seek the face of the Lord. Now, he knew in these days after the edict had been passed that it was a dangerous thing to do, but he was unwavering in his commitment to the Lord.
We talked about this in chapter 1 of Daniel. Daniel and his friends had been discipled and trained in the ways of Judaism from a young age, so when the temptation to conform to the Babylonian lifestyle came, they were ready. In the same way Daniel had a lifetime of preparation for this moment. And this is such a clear application for us! If we want to be found with spiritual integrity in the face of a temptation to conform to the world around us, to shift our theology just a little bit to fit a certain feeling we might have, to justify certain cultural norms so as to avoid conflict, then we must be pursuing the Lord consistently now. If we expect to be counted faithful when the heat is turned up, then we better be faithful in our pursuit of Jesus now.
Read Daniel 6:12-15
Think about this. Somehow, in a short period of time, Daniel had become what appears to be a dear friend of Darius. Darius realizes the mistake that he has made and becomes distressed. His mind is spinning, and he spends the rest of the day trying desperately to think of a way to spare Daniel’s life. But he is bound by the law. He is bound by his edict. His pride has become Daniel’s downfall, and he is mentally and emotionally distraught over it.
Read Daniel 6:16-22
16 - Daniel’s integrity! He was known for continually serving the Lord. And Darius invokes the name of God!
17-19 - Darius is so broken. He can’t sleep. He can’t eat. As soon as the sun comes up he runs to the entrance of the den. And it’s so incredible when you think about the next verse!
20 - Darius makes a bold claim! Daniel’s God is a living God! And somehow Darius shows a glimmer of faith, believing that this God was able to save Daniel. Whatever stories Darius heard coming out of Babylon, coupled with the integrity of Daniel on display, compelled him to proclaim the power of God to save!
21-22 - The Lord shut the lion’s mouth and kept Daniel from harm BECAUSE he was found blameless before the Lord.
4.. Integrity Ensured the Lord’s Protection (16-22)
Daniel was spared, according to his own words, because the Lord saw him as a man of integrity. Whereas last week Belshazzar was weighed, found wanting and judged because of it, Daniel was weighed and found in right standing with the Lord. He was righteous before the Lord. You know what the good news for us is this morning? Through the blood of Jesus we are counted righteous, therefore, the Lord has promised to protect us as well:
“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” - Isaiah 54:17
“You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.” - Psalm 32:7
“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” - 2 Thessalonians 3:3
If that isn’t enough to instill confidence in us, we remind ourselves of the Israelites standing at the edge of the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army bearing down on them, and Moses proclaiming “the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still!” The Lord goes before us. The Lord is with us. The Lord is fighting for us even when we are unable to muster the strength to fight for ourselves.
Daniel’s life was spared because of his integrity. His life was spared because he was found blameless before the Lord. And what is the result?
Daniel 6:23-28
23 - No harm BECAUSE he trusted God.
24 - John MacArthur provides insight here: "The law of the Medes and the Persians said: "On account of the guilt of one, all his kindred must perish."
5.. Integrity Leads to Acknowledgement of the Lord (25-27)
Daniel’s spiritual integrity was the downfall of the satraps and high officials, but it was also the thing that compelled Darius to proclaim these things! Some were offended by the spiritual fervor of Daniel, while Darius was captivated by it. Daniel’s integrity created enemies and friends at the same time. The one thing that remained constant in the midst of persecution, oppression, attempts on his life and miraculous salvations was his commitment to the Lord, and to Him alone.
Application
I want to bring everything together here. We’ve reached the end of the 1st section of Daniel, the narrative section of Daniel. Chapter 7 begins the prophetic turn that looks forward to an eternal kingdom. In the 1st 6 chapters we’ve seen the sovereignty of God over earthly kingdoms, and in the 2nd half of the book we’ll see His sovereignty over the eternal kingdom.
Let’s remind ourselves what we’ve seen. We’ve seen the Babylonians try to indoctrinate Daniel and his friends by teaching them the language and literature of the Chaldeans. We saw the Babylonians try and assimilate the young men by forcing them to eat and drink things that were in opposition to what the Lord had already laid out for them. We also saw the Babylonians try and confuse their identity by changing their names. The wicked culture of secularism was trying to pull these men away from the Lord, but they would have none of it.
We saw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow down and worship a golden image that had been set up, even though it meant a fiery death. We saw the Lord in the midst of the fire with them, in the fiery trial, walking with them, protecting them. And then this morning, Daniel, a man of integrity, committed to the Lord, continuing to worship in prayer when the king said to stop.
Hopefully by now the application all along the way has begun to sink in. The sovereignty of God over earthly kingdoms. God’s people standing firm in the midst of a culture that is telling them to forsake their God.
Martin Luther was a man of great spiritual integrity. 507 years ago. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door to the Wittenburg Castle Church in Germany. Martin Luther had taken issue with much of what the Catholic Church had been doing, One commentator explains: “In contrast to the extra-biblical traditions and works-based practices of Roman Catholicism, Luther called the Church back to the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).” This event set in motion the great Reformation that continues to have implications for Christians today. The actual date of this event was October 31st, and churches across the world celebrate it on the last Sunday of October, which is today. But it’s so timely.
See, Martin Luther based his 95 objections on 5 major beliefs, 5 major pieces of theology:
Sola Scriptura | Scripture Alone
Solus Christus | Christ Alone
Sola Gratia | Grace Alone
Sola Fide | Faith Alone
Soli Deo Gloria | God’s Glory Alone
Martin Luther based his theology on what the Bible says, especially in opposition to how the Roman Catholic Church had been changing and adding to the Scriptures. Martin Luther was a man of spiritual integrity who was not afraid to stand toe to toe with the most powerful church at that time.
Like Martin Luther did on that day 507 years ago, we must stand firm in what we know to be true. We must remind ourselves that any worldly truth that does not align with Scripture is a lie. We must remind ourselves that Jesus is the only Savior, and we must not place our trust in a man or woman to save us. We must remind ourselves that God is sovereign over all earthly kingdoms, and no human being that gains power does so without the Lord allowing them to have it. Let us be known as a people of spiritual integrity, a people that doesn’t waiver in the face of opposition, but trusts in the sovereignty of God.
