The other day I met up with one of our student leaders on campus at WCU at the coffee shop on campus and talked about ways we could see Jesus even in the Old Testament. That’s right, I said Jesus in the OT.
We camped out in Daniel chapter 6 and briefly read the story about Daniel getting tossed into the Lions’ Den. What came out of our time together was not only a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish, but some cool observations that we had never seen before and some tips on how to get those nuggets of observational treasure.
We decided to write down for you what we saw and share them with you. Not everything we talked about, but the cliff notes, the tracks to run on in case you want to go where we’re trying to go which is a better understanding of the Bible and how to use it most effectively in helping us to win, build, and send at WCU.
So, Here are 5 Keys to help you understand and teach the Bible better than you already do through the story of Daniel and the lions’ den, in Daniel 6 .
By the time Daniel get’s tossed into the lions den some pretty significant things have happened to him that got him there in the first place. For one, Israel has been forcibly deported out of the promised land and dispersed out into the world thanks to the Babylonian Empire. Because Daniel was a bright guy and faithful, God decides to use Daniel in the lives of three different Kings from three different Kingdoms. He earns the favor of every boss he’s worked for and essentially becomes more than assistant to the regional manager, he actually becomes a manager. God is using Daniel to show off His glory and His power to Kings who worship other gods. Getting tossed into the lions den isn’t a random act of vileness, it’s an orchestrated event in a string of orchestrated events aimed at bringing the world a message of God’s love.
This part takes some practice and a bit of memory from your High School English Lit class. In our kindness we want to supply you the cheat sheet. Just promise to try it out on your own with another story.
Every story has some key elements: Setting, Rising Tension, Climax, Resolution, Following Actions. For each of these elements you can see which verses in the passage line up with each element. In the future we’ll look at each section closer but for now I just want to give you the layout so you can see for yourself how the story lines up.
The Setting. In v. 1-3 we’re introduced to the characters of the story, the plot, and the place where it takes place. Pretty easy set up, straight forward.
The Rising Tension. Verses 4-19 is where things start to get a bit tense which is why we call it the rising tension. Jealousy is in the air and Daniel is the target of a huge espionage plot. Will he survive the attempt at his life?
The Climax. Here is where things get exciting. In verses 19-23 event the King is anxious, wondering how this story is going to unfold. Found guilty of breaking the law of the land, Daniel gets the death sentence: gnawed by lions. Not a pleasant sight. The king tosses him in and hopes for the best(which, seriously, other than a miracle how in the world could the best happen?)
The Resolution. This is the part of the story where every one can relax. Verse 24 the hero escapes unscathed, the enemies and their kin are all put to death and Darius the Meade proclaims throughout all his kingdom, Daniel’s God the everlasting King of Kings. How about that for an evangelistic strategy!
Finally, some following actions. What happens after all this? Daniel gets to live longer in faithfulness to God and experiences prosperity in the work place.
If you can chunk out the parts of a story, you’re on your way to understanding why and how things happen and for what reason. This is a great skill to have for your own personal time in God’s word or as a small group leader or discipler.
After you’ve chunked out the story, what do you see in each section. Good observations are things like, “Wow, Daniel is a pretty upstanding guy. I wonder how God will treat him?” or “The King enforces his law despite how he feels about Daniel, he must exercise his justice. That reminds me a lot about…”. Jot them down, highlight, underline, use your imagination, let what you notice take you to some questions that might help you understand the text and the lesson even more.
How do these things connect to Jesus? Where do I see the gospel in this story? How does it connect to my life? My world? What is going on in this story that we can relate to? Where have I read something like this before? Where else have I read about a man being tossed unjustly into the pit and then raised to life again? Hmmmm….making the connections will sometimes take you down a rabbit hole that can lead you to some incredible biblical truths.
How do you apply Daniel’s faithfulness to your own life? One of the greatest things about reading the Bible is that there is never a time when I walk away thinking, “What a waste of time!” There’s always something I can apply to my life whether it’s directly from the story or simply by recognizing that what I’ve just read is Gods word and it’s incredible that he speaks through it to me, directly! If you take the time to make some good applications your love for reading the bible will increase because applying the word to your life will change it. And when your life is changed, you trust that God is real.
Daniel is a great story about faithfulness, the gospel, Jesus, evangelism, leadership, and much much more. Like I said, there is a ton that we saw but what came out of our time was not only a love for Jesus, but practical things we could do to be even more equipped in winning, building, and sending.
Let us know what YOU see in Daniel 6 following these practical steps. Post them and start the discussion.
©1994-2020 Cru. All Rights Reserved.
