Page 169 - Daniel

able to converse freely with Daniel while Daniel was still barricaded
inside the den.

THE KING’S LAMENT FOR DANIEL (6:18–20)

6:18–20 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting;
no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at
break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As
he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of
anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living
God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver

you from the lions?”

Quite in contrast to Nebuchadnezzar, who showed no compassion for
Daniel’s three companions when they were cast into the fiery furnace,
Darius manifested unusual concern. Although he was accustomed to
brutality and the execution of criminals and ordinarily did not give the
matter a second thought, in this case there was something about Daniel

that had involved the king emotionally. While the king had stated his
desire that Daniel’s God would rescue him, it is clear that Darius did not
have any real faith in Daniel’s deliverance, but only perhaps a
superstition arising out of stories that had come to him of Daniel’s
companions earlier in Babylonian history. In keeping with his grief for
Daniel, the Scriptures record that the king fasted, did not have the usual
diversions or entertainment, and was unable to sleep. It was most

unusual for the king to spend a night in this fashion. He had probably
not had such an experience before in his life.
In the dim light of early morning, Darius hurried to the lions’ den.

Probably being unable to see because of the early morning light and the
shadows of the den, the king called out to Daniel in a remarkable way.
He addressed Daniel as the “servant of the living God” and raised the
question, “has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to
deliver you from the lions?” The king’s trip to the lions’ den gives
evidence that he thought there was a possibility Daniel would be alive.
That he had little actual faith, however, is shown in the “tone of

anguish” in which he called Daniel. The Aramaic verb means