The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1911-09-21
Daniel in the
Lions Den
Sunday School Lesson for Sept. "a, 1911
Specially Arranged fcr This Paper

LESSON TEXT-Daniel 6.
MEMORY vERsEs-2l-2S.
GOLDEN TEXT-"The angel of the
Lord encampeth round about them that
fear him and delivereth them."-Psa. 34:7
TIME-Probably B. C. 53s. very near
the close of the seventy years captivity,
soon after Cyrus had conquered Babylon
in II. G. 539.
PLACE-Probably in Babylon, as Is
shown by the close connection of Daniel
and 6.
PERSONS-Daniel was probably 80
years old; as this event was Sc years after
his going to Babylon, in 604, and he must
have been at least IA years old at that
time.
Cyrus the Persian had just conquered
the Babylonians.
Darius the Mede. a viceroy of Cyrus,
temporary king of the new province, but
not In the line of emperor kings.
In our last lesson we stood by the
golden image on the plains near Baby
lon. We saw the crowds bowling
down before It while the heroic three
stood up alone. We saw them cast
into the fiery furnace and wonderfully
delivered. This was just after the de-
struction of Jerusalem and greatest
deportation of exiles and treasures to
Babylon. They had reached Babylon.
They were in the fiery furnace of af-
Fiction.
At this point the three Jews, Sha-
drach, Meshach and Abed-nego, were
preaching a sermon to the captives,
heard all over the empire-"Be true
to your God, and your religion at any
cost; yield to no seductions of idol.
airy, and God will deliver you from
your burning fiery furnace, as he has
delivered u.s." 1t was preached at the
psychological moment.
1t was heard by the Jews in Pales-
tine four centuries later when they
were prosecuted by Antiochus; but 1t
was needed even more by the exiles in
Babylon; and would be worth an hun
dred times more to the Jews in the
fires of Antiochus, because 1t was true
in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and
was lived out by the deliverance of
these captives few years later.
The end OF the exile was drawing
nigh, as foretold by jeremiah. The
seventy years had nearly elapsed. The
king who was to bring their deliver
ance was on the throne The captives
scattered all over the empire needed
to know this and to be prepared. They
had felt the horrors of the wars and
rumors Of wars, they had seen as IL
were the stars falling from the politi-
cal sky, as Babylon and Nebuchad-
nezzar. They needed to know that the
time of their redemption was drawing
nigh, and to be prepared for 1t.
Here comes in the event Of our les
son. Darius, Cyrus, Daniel, known all
over the empire, were to present a re-
splendent light that would shine into
every corner OF the realm. Multitudes
of the exiles must have suffered for
their religion, and they might feel that
God was not their friend and helper
If Daniels experience always resulted
favorably while theirs did not. And
they needed visible object lesson
Of the delivering power of God to en-
courage their hope and faith for the
deliverance of their nation from the
den of lions" in which they had been
living for almost seventy years.
Daniel must have been between
eighty and ninety years old at this
time. He had had many trials OF his
character and faithfulness. He was
an exile from home and native land,
among enemies to his race and to his
God. His native land was desolate,
his relatives scattered his people
were exiles amid many difficulties that
must have tested their faith to the ut
most. But on the whole Daniel had
been eminently successful, as he was
worthy of success. He had maintained
his high character. His course had
been one of almost unbroken prosper
ity. The severe trials to which he had
been subjected had hitherto resulted
only In raising him to higher honors
and success.
Under Darius, Daniel was recognized
as a man of great ability and integ-
rity, and one who could be trusted Inn
plicitly. Accordingly, he made him
one Of the three presidents over the
120 governors of as many provinces
into which the kingdom was subdi-
vided. 1t was not long before the
other officers determined that in some
way or other, by fair means or foul,
they would get rid of Daniel.
They brought Daniel. and cast him
into the den Of lions. This was ac-
cording to the Oriental custom on the
evening of the same day. The story
Of the den of lions Is strictly In keep
ing with Babylonian usages. Assur-
banipal says In his annals, "The rest
of the people / threw alive into the
midst OF the bulls and lions. as Sen
nacherib. my grandfather, used to do"
Daniel from the den OF lions said,
my God hath sent his angel" He
does not say whether the angel was
visible or not. The winds and the
lightning are Gods angels according
to the psalmist. But 1t is probable
that he was visible to Daniel, as a
manifest token Of the favor and pro-
lection of God.
Daniel declares that ha had haan