GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
DANIEL 6:27-28
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27 He delivers and rescues,
he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth.
He saved Daniel from the power of the lions.
Daniel pairs “delivers and rescues” the way we see them so often in the Psalms. “Deliver me and rescue me in your righteousness” (Psalm 71:1); “Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:4), and many other times. And Daniel might also be thinking of Isaiah’s word: “The Lord Almighty will shield and deliver Jerusalem, he will ‘pass over’ it and rescue it” (Isaiah 31:5).
Our prophet also proclaims what we already know, that this was a miracle, one of God’s signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. Saving Daniel from the lions is no less a miracle than saving the Israelites by parting the waters of the Red Sea, or when Elijah raised the widow’s son to life in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:20) and Elisha raised another woman’s son to life in Shunem near Nain (2 Kings 4:34-35).
The Apostle Paul also boasts about the Lord’s deliverance, for of all of the men of faith in all of the Scriptures, only he and Daniel were actually thrown to wild beasts in order to be killed and were spared (1 Corinthians 15:32). True, men like Samson and David were victorious over such animals, but that was out in the open, meeting them in their natural habitat (Judges 14:6; 1 Samuel 17:34-36). But Paul was forced into the arena in Ephesus to be killed by wild beasts, whether lions, leopards, or bears. And so he boasts because he survived the assaults of those men, who only used wild animals as a weapon against him. And in 2 Corinthians 11:23-26 Paul relates many times when humanly speaking he was as good as dead, but the Lord spared his life. Luther says, “So the heathen could not always devour the Christians at will but had to let them live contrary to their own will. They were unable to kill them until it pleased God. This was done that the Christians might observe that God was with them and that they might not be entirely without consolation but could behold a part of life in the midst of death. It was to give others pause, so that they might either be converted or be frightened from carrying out their plans” (Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15, LW 28:156-157). To this I would add the wise words of the ancient Jerome, speaking about this miracle in Daniel in particular: “The reason why signs are performed amid barbarian peoples through the agency of God’s servants is so that the worship and religion of the only God may be proclaimed.”
The chapter ends:
28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
This verse is sometimes translated and interpreted to say, “the reign of Darius, that is to say, the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” This is possible, since in Aramaic as in Hebrew the word “and” can also signify “that is.”
But we have also pointed out that this Darius could be and perhaps was a different man, an underking, who reigned until Cyrus arrived and took up his throne there in Babylon. I said before (in comments on 5:31) that the military commander Gubaru (Greek Γoβρύας) is the best candidate to be the Darius that Daniel describes. But regardless of his identity, Daniel thrived through the time of Cyrus the Great also.
So this chapter ends with the Gospel. Daniel is rescued from the jaws and the pit of the lions and is brought up out of it, to prosper to the end of his life. This foreshadows without a doubt the resurrection of Christ from the dead, saved from the jaws of his enemies– the scribes, the chief priests, and from the devil in particular– and he was brought up out of the grave to thrive and reign forever at his Father’s side in heaven. “My servant will be be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13).
But there is also a foreshadowing here of our own resurrection, that is, all who believe in Jesus. For while all mankind will be brought to life and be brought out of their graves (“all will be made alive” 1 Corinthians 15:22), some will rise to eternal punishment, “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2), but all of us with faith will rise to everlasting life. For while it might appeal to some that death itself is a blessing, to rest secure from worldly chances and mishaps, where there is no treason, no envy, no grudges, no storms, no noise, but only silence and eternal sleep in peace and honor, what God offers, and promises and gives is so very much greater. For we will not only sleep with all cares taken away, but awaken with them still removed, and kept away for all eternity while we live, laugh, sing, and celebrate at the wedding supper of the Lamb of God. “Blessed are those who are invited!” (Revelation 19:7). “These are the true words of God.”
Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice,
with exultation springing,
and with united heart and voice
and holy rapture singing,
proclaim the wonders God has done,
how his right arm the vict’ry won.
How dearly it has cost him!
He spoke to his beloved Son:
“ ’Tis time to have compassion.
Then go, bright jewel of my crown,
and bring mankind salvation.
From sin and sorrow set them free;
slay bitter death for them that they
may live with you forever.”
Martin Luther (1483-1546)0
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Daniel 6:27-28 From sin and sorrow set them free