DON’T YOU LOVE THE CLASSICS?
When I was 18 years old I worked for a man in my church who had a cabinet and metal door shop. Every once in a while he asked me to deliver something to a construction site or a customer and he would let me take his classic, hot-red, 350hp Chevy Impala. It was awesome. It made me get really sad when I got into my tiny 1995 Toyota Tercel. I loved driving that classic car. It drove great, smelled great, and I felt like I looked pretty cool in it. Gotta love the classics.
There are some classic stories in the Bible too. Stories that you’ve heard before, but never get old. Over the next few Saturday’s we’re going to look at some classic stories in the Bible. I’m going to put them on here, and then we’ll all discuss them. Don’t let the length of the passage scare you. It’s really interesting stuff. Here we go:
Daniel 6
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.s7 All the presiden
ts of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.s8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.s9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.s19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.s28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Discussion Questions:
1. What does the Bible say about Daniel’s reputation with the other princes/presidents?
2. How important would you say that Daniel thought prayer was?
3. Daniel was breaking the law. Do you think this was a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
4. Daniel was saved by God. Did Daniel know that he would be saved by God?
5. How do you think you would respond in that situation?
6. Right now it is not against the law to pray. If it was, would that keep you from praying?
7. Notice the response of King Darius about Daniel’s God. Why do you think Darius glorified God more than Daniel?
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
I don’t understand this passage! Can someone help. 🙂
Thanks pastor ben!! I understand now. But I read the story but I wasn’t understanding so I re-read it like u told me to! This is now one of my favorite stories because first I understand it and just like Mafalda said when they say nothing about god is allowed in the school I pray to I try to when I go to school to bring God and his Spirt w/ me! 🙂 same here Mafalda!!! I go the bathroom everyday,!!!! (I have used like almost all of my passes) lol! 😛 I just go in to the stall and pray a little pray tht God I’ll give me wisdom to get through the day and give the the courage to go and invite people to church, 🙂 I actually have! I have a couple of friends going to the H2O beach party!!! 😀 it’s amazing! And a couple more getting to the youth groups on wednesday night! I’m sosososo glad to be a part of his wonderful family!!!! Sososo grateful!!!! 🙂
P.S.- Pastor Ben :)’s r like my thing!! Lol
Trisitan- i love how you & Mafalda both go to the bathroom to pray during school! When i switch classes i pray in my head to God. It helps me through each class! thats cool that even tho your both in school your still focused on God 🙂
That is really cool Tristian. Great post. I think it is cool that you go pray at school and you certainly can pray in the bathroom, but you don’t HAVE to go there to pray! Either way, it’s really cool that you are praying and inviting your friends. Keep it up!
I know I don’t HAVE to go to the bathroom to pray but I just do! 🙂 it’s my place where I can pray yo god! 🙂
Tristian! Did you read it girl? It’s a story…Try it… You’ll like it 🙂
Thanks!! 😀
1.the bible says about Daniels reputation is that Daniel was perferred above the princes and presidents, because an excellent spirit was in him.
2.he taught it was very Important because he prayed 3 times a day to his god the true god.
3.I think it was both a good thing and a bad.The good thing is that he didn’t care about all the other gods and he prayed to his own god that he knew was true.The bad thing was that well he did break the law but he could of closed he’s windows hehe :).
4.yes daniel knew he was gonaa be saved by god because he had so much faith in him.
5.well if I got thrown in the lions den for breaking the law…I would be scared to go in to the lions den but then I would remember that god is always with me and that he wouldhelp me get through it like he has always done 😀
6. if it was against the law to pray then I would keep praying in what I believe in like for
example, we can’t pray in school but almost
everyday I go in to the girls bathroom and have
a little prayer hehe 🙂
7. For this question I don’t know.
Oh and by the way I loved this storie!!
Mafalda! Great job answering those questions! This is one of my favorite bible stories to. 🙂
I do too Mafalda. BTW, you CAN pray in schools, just no publicly as an entire school. You can pray at lunch, during breaks, and you can definitely pray to yourself all the time!
Hehe thnx
1. The bible says that Daniel was preferred over the princes and presidents because he knew there was a great spirit in him (God!) King Darius put Daniel over everyone with authority.
2. I would say prayer was very important to Daniel because heprayed 3 times a day to God! Even when it became against the law, he never stopped praying.
3. Well, breaking the law is never a good thing, but Daniel was praying to God! I find that a lot more important than listening to a dumb law saying never to pray again. We need God and if that right was taken from me i would break the law too.. But breaking the law is sinning. So it’s kinda both a good and bad thing, but in my opinion it’s more good!
4. Daniel knew he would be saved by God because his faith in Him never ceased! He had all the faith in the world that God would protect him, even when he was breaking the law and cast in the lions den. He continued to pray because Daniel knew that with whatever punishment came, God would protect him!
5 & 6. If i were in that situation, i’d be very scared. That would be a time where my faith in God would be tested! I would still pray though because that would be a time where i would need God more than ever, and i would never give up my relationship with God just because someone tells me to. Even if the price is death.. I know where i’m going after i die, and thats Heaven! God will always protect us even if it looks like the worst outcome.
7. King Darius glorified God over Daniel because he realized that Daniel survived the lions den based on his faith and love for God! The king knew that not just anyone can survive down in a lions den, and he was so excited to see Daniel alive when he opened up the den the next day. Its kinda like the King had faith in Daniel, and then he began to have faith in God 🙂
How did you answer # 7. I didn’t know how to answer that one??
Verses 23-28 helped me 🙂
Lindsey- When is it ok to break the law?
Well, if there was a law saying the people of America aren’t allowed to pray or else there will be consequences then thats not right. I dont think God would want us to stop our relationship with Him because of a law.. Like Daniel never stopped even though it was against the law! I wouldn’t obey that law because then i would be going against God! The laws we all need to obey are the commandments that God gave us in the bible!
this story is so cool because it tells us how daniel got thrown into the lions dens and he had faith in God.it also tells us that we should have faith in God no matter what happens to us ! p.s.,my brother was doing a paper where you answer questions and it was about this!
Cool! That’s awesome Allison. Good post!
this is also one of my favorite stories!!!! 😀
are u talkin to me mafalda?
What??
1. The bible says that Daniel was the favorite of the King because Daniel was always in great spirit. Daniel being in great spirit meant, that he was always happy with the things in life that God had given him. The king loved Daniel so much because he had wisdom, leadership, good reputation, great attitude, but it all came from God!
2. I believe that Daniel thought prayer was very important! He prayed to God 3 times a day toward God’s temple. Daniel wasn’t niaeve to the fact that the law was made, he did it anyways because he was faithful to God.
3. Breaking the law is never a good thing, and I would NOT encourage it, unless the law tells us to do something that contradicts the bible or contradicts our beliefs in our heart. I think by Daniel breaking the law, it was a good thing. Daniel was a good example to those around him. He broke the law and was thrown into a lions den! He knew that was going to happen, but because he had faith in God, he stuck with following and worshiping Him whatever the consequences were. Bravery is key.
4. Daniel was a man of great faith! Daniel knew that God would save Him from the lions because He believed in God, and knew that God would have his back! Daniel knew that everything would be ok even when he was breaking the law. His faith and trust of God got him to the point of God saving him!
5. I think all of us would be quite scared if we were to be thrown into a den of lions. I’d be like, “nice kitty…” BL. Like Lindsey said, that would be a time when our faith would definitely be tested. I know that if I pray, I put every situation in God’s hands. I know that if I had faith in Him, I’d be ok!
6. If it were against the law to pray, I think that would make me pray even more. I can’t even imagine my life without prayer. My relationship with God is the most important thing to me, and without prayer, I wouldn’t have much of a relationship with Him!
7. I think King Darious glorified God because at that point he realized how awesome God really is. He realized that our God is unlike any other and will get us through everything if we just have faith in Him! King Darius was not only affected by this, but the king wrote something to all the people, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth! Pretty fab stuff right there! 🙂
I remember this story when I was little so many times I love this story so much because what great faith Daniel has I mean being in a room full of lions wow and he new that God would protect him that is faith.
Can you imagine being in a room full of Lions. Wow!
thats awesome Tristian!! 😀
Thanks!!! 🙂
I love this story ❤ I loved this story from the firt time I herd it and what was when I was really little and I still can't beleivie that Daniel didn't die and that he had so much faith in him and that is why I think God kept him alive! 🙂
1. He was preferred by the king and he was a respectable man.
2. Very important because he prayed 3 times a day.
3. I think that if the law contradicts the Bible you should obey the Bible because God is bigger than any government.
4. I don’t think so, I think that he was living by faith.
5. That’s a tough one but I would.
6. Yes, because I would definitely need to pray during tough times to help me get through it.
7. Because Daniel was used by God to prove that He can do anything.
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