The story begins with King Darius of Jerusalem who came to a stern
decision and passed a law against praying towards the city. Although this new
law was at play and under strict implementation, Daniel, our protagonist,
continued to pray regularly, three times each day.
Very soon, it was evident that Daniel was surrounded by men who were
really jealous of him. Daniel was an honest and hardworking man. This made it
difficult for the other ministers around him to oust him from the kingdom of
Jerusalem. These men soon grew terribly angry with Daniel and would go to any
extent to make sure he was completely out of the king’s court and their
vicinity. So, they came up with an evil plot to get rid of him.
These jealous ministers went to King Darius and put forth a formal complaint
against Daniel for disobeying the law. When King Darius heard about this act,
he was extremely upset. Daniel was one of the king’s presidents, and the king
had no intention of punishing him for his disobedience to the law. Darius tried
really hard to resist the anger and objection of his courtmen; he tried his
best to save him from the impending outcome, but the wicked ministers in his
court continued to insist on Daniel’s punishment.
It was true that Daniel had indeed failed to obey the law of the kingdom,
and it was only customary to punish any civilian who committed treason. There
remained no other option for the King but to punish his favourite Daniel. He
was thrown into a den filled with hungry lions. The opening of the cave was
sealed thereafter with a huge stone. However, King Darius was very worried
about Daniel, so much so that he could not sleep that night.
Daniel was Thrown into a Lion’s Den
The king got up the next morning and hurried to the den. As he called
out for Daniel, to his utter amazement, he could hear Daniel’s voice coming out
of the cave instead of the roaring of lions. Daniel explained to the King that
God had saved him by sending an angel. He told Darius that the angel put shucks
over the lions’ mouths and they were not able to hurt him at all.
Angel in the Story of Daniel
Finally, King Darius was very happy to bring Daniel out of the cave and
decided to punish the wicked men who had conspired against Daniel.
Conclusion
The name Daniel means “God is my judge” in Hebrew. Interestingly, in the
story, Daniel serves as God demands. He is guided and aided by the Almighty,
and his life is preserved by God Himself when no man is able to deliver
justice. The story serves to state that praying to God will not go futile if
there is good intent and willful participation in it.
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