Daniel chapter 6
Question and Answers
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Daniel2:44 And in the days of these kings shall
the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall
not be left to other people, but it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and
it shall stand for ever.
Daniel4:17 This matter is by the decree of the
watchers, and the demand by the word of the
holy ones: to the intent that the living may
know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom
of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will,
and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Daniel Chapter 6
Questions & Answers
1. Who is the Darius of Daniel 6:1 and is he
the same Darius as in Daniel 5:31?
• In the previous verse, Daniel 5:31 Darius is identified as
"Darius the Median" and that alone would suggest that
we need to discriminate between them.
• Further Darius is not a name but a title meaning In a
recent discovery of a chronicle of Nabonidus from
Harran, it refers to "the king of the Medes" and Cyrus
as king of the Medes.
– This however doesn't identify who was the Darius in
Daniel chapter 6 and archaeologists and historians are
also uncertain but scripture supports Darius in Daniel
5:31 was the father-in-law of Cyrus and in Daniel chapter
6 Darius was Cyrus.
Chapter 6
Questions & Answers
2. How old was Daniel at this time?
• Daniel would have been between 80 to 90
years old when taken captive around 607
BC.
Chapter 6
3. Do you think we should follow Daniel's example of
praying three times a day? (Support your reasoning.)
• It is a great privilege to have this form of communication with
our Heavenly Father. The following Scriptures are helpful in
answering this question:
– JAM 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your
hearts, ye double minded.
– ECC 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine
heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God
is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy
words be few.
• Note the balance between drawing nigh to God while
remembering that God is in heaven and we upon earth.
• Mark the importance of cleansing our hands, heart and
mind. This we see especially with Daniel but Simon in Acts
8:24 is helpful when we know our heart isn’t right.
– Acts8:24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray
ye to the Lord for me, that none of these
things which ye have spoken come upon me.
– DAN 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God,
to seek by prayer and supplications, with
fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
Chapter 6
Questions & Answers
3. Do you think we should follow Daniel's example of
praying three times a day? (Support your reasoning.)
• Daniel's example is a good one, however to follow it, implies
following his life style, including prayer and preparation. The
importance of having clean hands, heart and mind are fundamental.
• This is accomplished by obeying God's commandments and
applying ourselves to the word in “truth” (= doctrine - correct
understanding) in “spirit” (right attitudet) and life style (clean
hands, hearts and minds that draw nigh to God.
– John 4:23 … for the Father seeketh such to worship
him. 24 … and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth.
– NEH 2:4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost
thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
– NEH 1:4 And it came to pass, when I heard these
words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned
certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God
of heaven,
Chapter 6
Questions & Answers
4. Who enjoyed the most power,
Nebuchadnezzar or Darius?
• From this story, we see Darius couldn't deliver Daniel
from the lion's den even though he tried hard. This is
one of the reasons gold was the symbol of the
Babylonians and silver for the Medo-Persians.
Chapter 6
Questions & Answers
5. How can we learn from the way Darius
was trapped by these princes?
• We need to be especially alert when everything is going
really well and people say good things about us.
• There is more to it than just the words of flattery.
– We are flesh and prone to its weaknesses. The problem is
that when things are going well God is not in our mind as
much. It is all too easy to think it is I and we end up with I
ictus!
Chapter 6
Questions & Answers
6. Daniel's adversaries suffered the same
fate that they had wanted for Daniel. Give
both an O.T. and an N.T. example where
“what goes around comes around”.
• In the Old Testament, the obvious example is Haman who was
hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai and a not so
obvious with king Asa.
– King Asa imprisons the prophet Hanani in stocks because
he reprimanded Asa and for this, God smote Asa in the
feet so in essence King Asa was put in stocks.
• In the New Testament, Caiaphas said that if they let Christ
alone, the Romans would come and destroy their nation.
What happened is that the Romans did come in AD 70 and
destroyed their nation.
Chapter 6
Questions & Answers
7. How did the experiences of Daniel
foreshadow those of Jesus?
 Daniel & Christ incited the envy of their
contemporaries
 Both their enemies attacked through their worship of
God.
 A stone was used to close the opening in both cases.
 Both were brought out of the pit alive.
 Both escaped with no manner of hurt - not a bone
broken.