THE LION’S DEN DIDN’T GET THE LAST WORD

Death didn’t get the final say because God had already written Daniel’s story.

The story of Daniel in the lion’s den is one of the most well-known in the Bible. It speaks of unwavering faith and trust in God in hostile, unwinnable situations where survival seems unlikely.

Yet, how many of us could’ve entered that den of lions as calmly as Daniel did?

I don’t know about you, but my fight-or-flight instinct would’ve surely kicked in first. And while that does make me “only human,” it doesn’t make me happy. I’d like to believe that my faith in God is stronger than that. That I’d submit as Daniel did, wholly dependent on God’s divine protection no matter the outcome.

What gave Daniel the strength to go in and sit among the lions? To understand that, we’ve only to look at his life leading up to that moment.

Daniel served under five kings during his life, but he served only one God.

Daniel served as a satrap, a high-ranking governor within the ancient empires of Babylonia and Persia. Satraps were appointed by the king to oversee the running of larger provinces within the empire. Daniel’s service as a satrap spanned the reigns of several kings, including Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Great.

It was under the rule of Darius that Daniel faced the lion’s den. And it was jealousy that put him there.

Daniel distinguished himself among his contemporaries, and King Darius took notice of his exceptional qualities (Daniel 6: 3). The king was ready to elevate Daniel above the others, and that’s when things started going downhill. Of course, the other satraps were jealous. Daniel had favor with the king they didn’t share!

However, it wasn’t Daniel’s service to the king that set him apart; it was his reverence and dependence on God.

Daniel’s exceptional spirit came from a place of complete trust in the Lord.

The thing that set him apart becomes the very thing that saves him — his faith.

Daniel’s faithfulness earned him the trust and favor of the king.

Rather than congratulating him, his peers sought to remove him.

“At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent,” Daniel 6:4.

Daniel was above reproach, so they had to figure out another way to trap him.

Daniel 6:5 tells us that they decided the best way to do that was to use the laws of his own God against him: “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.”

To understand the depth of this verse, context is important.

The book of Daniel is set during the Babylonian captivity. Daniel was a young man from the tribe of Judah. When King Nebuchadnezzar invaded, he was taken into captivity and made to serve in the royal court of Babylon.

Despite being in a foreign land, Daniel remained faithful to his God and continued to follow His commandments.

Setting the Trap

The men approached the king under the guise of honoring him. Their plan? An edict that made it illegal for 30 days for anyone to pray to any god or human other than King Darius.

The penalty for breaking the edict?

The offender would be thrown into the lion’s den.

King Darius was urged to put the edict in writing.

That’s important.

Once the decree was formalized and signed by the king, it became permanent. It couldn’t be altered or repealed, even by the monarch himself. The writing being signed is not merely an administrative act; it’s the moment law is weaponized to coerce conscience.

The other satraps were counting on that. They knew Daniel prayed to his God regularly. They were confident he’d continue doing so, even with the decree in place.

Daniel knew that.

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before,” Daniel 6:10.

The king’s decree didn’t supersede God’s call to faithfulness. Daniel continued as he always had. His allegiance to God was more sacred than his allegiance to the king.

He didn’t hide, either.

He prayed in plain sight of those who would accuse him.

Daniel’s response is neither ignorant nor impulsive.

It’s an act of obedience.

He understands the danger and proceeds anyway, remaining faithful to God when obedience carried a real cost.

Trapped.

They had him!

As soon as they caught Daniel praying, they pounced.

They rushed to the king to remind him of his signed decree, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day,” Daniel 6:13.

The king was greatly disturbed by this. He didn’t want to sentence Daniel to the fate of the lion’s den, but his own edict tied his hands.

The Gospels tell the story of another reluctant leader who faced a similar dilemma.

John 18:38-39 tells us that when the Jewish high priests brought Jesus before him to be condemned, Pontius Pilate could find no fault in Him.

“I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release one prisoner to you at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

They demanded the criminal Barabbas’ release instead.

Just as King Darius had been reluctant to sentence Daniel, Pilate was reluctant to sentence Jesus.

Yet, both did sentence.

Darius gave the order to have Daniel placed in the lion’s den.

Pilate washed his hands of the task and handed Jesus to the crowd, knowing he’d be condemned to death.

But that’s not the only parallel in this story.

After Daniel entered the lion’s den, a stone was placed across the opening, “and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed, Daniel 6:17.

The purpose behind this action is to ensure that Daniel’s fate is sealed. That there’s no possibility of intervention or escape.

But God stepped in, changing Daniel’s circumstance anyway, delivering him from what surely would’ve been certain death.

The lion’s den didn’t get the last word.

Christ was delivered into death to deliver us.

Jesus took our place. He went willingly into death, dying for our transgressions. He took the nails and bore the cross for us.

Scripture tells us that as was custom, a heavy stone was placed across the entrance to the tomb where Jesus was laid following His crucifixion.

In both stories, the stone is important.

It serves a greater purpose than simply sealing the entrance.

It sealed them in.

Daniel was alive, but couldn’t escape, and no one could enter to save him. Jesus was dead, but now his followers couldn’t enter and remove His body and claim He’d risen.

The stone meant to seal becomes the symbol of God’s power over death itself.

When the stone was removed from the mouth of the lion’s den, Daniel emerged unscathed. There wasn’t a mark on him.

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in His sight,” Daniel 6:22.

A living, breathing Daniel came out of the lion’s den praising God for saving him.

King Darius immediately had Daniel’s accusers thrown into the lion’s den, and before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones, Daniel 6:24.

Then King Darius does something amazing. He issues another decree that in every part of his kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel!

Daniel’s unwavering faith in God’s power not only saved him from the lions, but it changed the heart of a king. After witnessing Daniel’s deliverance from the lion’s den, King Darius acknowledged the power and authority of his God.

The empty tomb.

One stone covered the entrance to the lion’s den; the other covered the entrance to the tomb where Christ was laid.

Neither stone could stop the power of God.

Daniel emerged alive and unscathed.

When Jesus’ followers approached the tomb on Easter morning, the stone was rolled away.

The tomb was empty.

The risen Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene. She ran to tell the others what she’d seen.

Later, when Jesus stood before His disciples, He bore the marks of His suffering and death so they’d know it was truly Him.

His Father had raised Him from the dead just as He’d promised.

Death didn’t get the final word.

The lion’s den didn’t get the final word.

The cross didn’t get the final word.

The tomb didn’t get the final word.

The final word was always God’s.

God is still writing your story.

Daniel surrendered to the lion’s den with full faith and trust in God.

Jesus surrendered to the cross in full obedience to His Father’s plan for salvation.

The same God who ordered their stories is the author of yours and mine.

We can trust in Him and remain faithful to Him, even in the midst of adversity, knowing that He alone has the power to deliver and protect us!

In surrender we’re made strong.

We’re given the courage we need to live the story God is writing for us.

Is there an area in your life you’ve failed to relinquish? A hurt you’re holding on to. An anger you’re unwilling to surrender?

Has shame told you to hide? Has fear told you you’re not enough?

God sees past every barrier we try to erect into the very heart of us.

His mercy and grace are gifts He willingly and faithfully offers.

If you’re feeling trapped in the wilderness of your own life, know that God is waiting to deliver you.

Just as He delivered Daniel.

Just as He sent His Son to deliver us.

The lion’s den didn’t get the last word. Neither did the cross.

God did.

He’s the author of your story. And because He is, you don’t need to fear the ending.

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JN Fenwick | mothjournal14 | ©2026 | All rights reserved. | I DO NOT WALK THIS RECOVERY JOURNEY ALONE.