by Darrel Cline (darrelcline biblical-thinking.org)
Study # 1 December 11, 2022 Broadlands, Louisiana (Download Audio)
I. The Second Rejection Of God's History By Gentile Leaders.
A. Darius, King of the Medes and Persians, establishes his form of government.
1. There were 120 segments to the kingdom and Darius appointed 120 men to oversee the business of the kingdom.
2. He then set up three men to oversee the 120.
3. For no given reason, Daniel was chosen by the king to be one of the three.
B. After some time, Daniel's "extraordinary spirit" was made obvious so that the king was planning to move Daniel to the position of "First" among the three so that he would be the primary overseer.
C. The opposition by, apparently, all of those men who served the king in positions of authority.
1. There was a strong antagonism toward Daniel because of the king's intention to make him "second" in the Kingdom.
2. The adversaries made a concerted effort to discover some fault in Daniel's' service to the king, and failed.
3. They then determined to set Daniel up for a fall by coming up with a plan to make his commitment to God come into violation of the rule of Law under Darius.
D. This was Daniel's expression of the underlying opposition the Gentiles had toward the rule of God over His creation; a kind of "mirror" of Nebuchadnezzar's attempt to overrule the dream God had given him.
II. The Deceitful Plan.
A. Was directly intended to eliminate God's rule over His creation.
B. Was set in motion by deliberate deceit.
1. Daniel was not given any opportunity to voice his opinion to the king.
2. The liars claimed that their plan of "rule" was universal by all of those in the king's service.
C. Was a direct appeal to the king's vanity by men of vanity.
1. The liars thought they could subvert God's kingdom rule (the ultimate vanity in light of the primacy of the intention of God to establish Himself as ruler over His creation (2:37; 4:17; 4:25-26; 4:32; 4:34; and 5:21)).
2. This was driven by the ancient lust that initially introduced Sin into the creation of God (Isaiah 14:13; Ezekiel 28:14-16).
3. The appeal to the king's vanity was a subtle play on the weakness of all who think they can rule over life.
4. Was, at root, completely unenforceable and served only to delude the vain.
D. Was successful under the "Law of the Medes and the Persians".
1. This "law" was put in place to forestall the king's "whimsy".
2. It is the explanation for the difference between the head of gold and the upper body of silver.
III. Daniel's Response.
IV. The Trap Sprung.
V. The King's "Displeasure With Himself".
VI. Daniel's Exposure To The Lions.
V. The Judgment Without Mercy Upon Those Who Implemented The Plan.