Dq – The Lion’s Den and the Way of the Cross

The Lion’s Den and the Way of the Cross

In his commentary on Dani’el, Iain Duguid asks the question, “Does Dani’el 6 really give us a realistic perspective on persecution and suffering?” He goes on to ask, isn’t it true that for every Dani’el, whom God delivers from the lion’s den, there have been hundreds of thousands of nameless martyrs whom ADONAI did not deliver? We can plainly see the answer to this in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Haven’t God’s faithful ones suffered terribly over the centuries, sometimes at the mouth of lions, being beheaded, or being burned alive? Aren’t believers still suffering terribly around the world today? Where is Ha’Shem in these situations? Were these believers less faithful or less important to Him than Dani’el was?

As Duguid goes on to answer these questions, he helps us to see that Dani’el 6 provides something more than simply a model of how ADONAI deals with individual suffering believers, or how, like Dani’el, we are supposed to stand firm under trials. Rather, Dani’el 6 is a foreshadowing of the destiny of all believers (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Cc – We Must All Appear Before the Bema Seat of Christ). Dani’el endured the test of the lion’s den, emerging unscathed because Ha’Shem found him not guilty; as a result, the lions, which acted as agents of God’s judgment, did not harm him. Believers are never judged because there is no condemnation for those in Messiah Yeshua (Romans 8:1). However, the unbelievers who plotted against Dani’el were found guilty and crushed by God’s judgment. They and their families were sentenced to death in a foreshadowing of that final judgment, like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19), the swallowing alive of the families of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16), and the extermination of the inhabitants of certain Canaanite cities (Joshua 6). On that last day, all those who are in Adam will be judged, declared guilty, and will share in their fate of destruction (see Revelation Fo – The Great White Throne Judgment). While all those who are in Messiah will be found blameless and will share in Messiah’s glory and exaltation.

This also points us to the way in which Yeshua fulfilled Dani’el 6. Like Dani’el, Yeshua was falsely accused by His enemies and brought before a ruler, Pontius Pilate, who sought unsuccessfully to deliver Him from His fate, before handing Him over to a violent death. Like Dani’el, Yeshua was condemned to die, and His body was placed into a sealed pit so that His situation could not be changed by human intervention. Yeshua’s trial went even deeper than Dani’el’s; however, He did not merely suffer that threat of death, He went down into death itself. Although Yeshua was innocent, He suffered the fate of the guilty ones. There was no angel to comfort Him with the presence of ADONAI in His pit; on the contrary, He was left in the blackness, utterly alone and abandoned by God, suffering the fate that we, the guilty ones, deserved. His body was left entombed in the icy grip of death for three days before the angel finally came to roll away His stone.

Yeshua’s experience was itself a foreshadowing of the final verdict, a declaration ahead of time of the decree of the heavenly tribunal. Yeshua died for our sins, not His own, and so death had no ultimate power over Him, as a truly innocent man. Yeshua didn’t remain in the grip of the tomb: YHVH raised Him from the dead, precisely because the heavenly tribunal found Him without spot or blemish as the Lamb of God.

What is more, when Yeshua emerged alive from the tomb as the First Fruit of more to come (see the commentary on Leviticus Ea – Resheet), He brought with Him God’s stamp of acquittal, not only on Himself but on all those who are joined with Him, and in Him, by faith. When Dani’el came out of the lion’s den, he came out alone. No one else was saved by God’s deliverance of him. But when Yeshua came out of the tomb, He came out as the head of a mighty company of people who had been redeemed from the pit through His death. Whoever believes in Yeshua will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16); they will receive the same verdict from the heavenly court as He did, for His righteousness is counted as theirs. Because of the work of Messiah on behalf of His people, He can say, “Not guilty! You may go free!” Now we too can find favor with ADONAI through the cross of Messiah.

The people that Yeshua redeemed through His death and resurrection are not all super-believers like Dani’el. Most of us are ordinary sinners, people who cave in constantly to the unrighteous demands of the empire. From our earthly perspective, it may not seem that the diverse assortment of deeply flawed humanity that makes up the Church is worthy of eternal life. What kind of a reward would that be for Him? Yet, Yeshua does not hesitate to call us His children (John 1:12)! Even a crass sinner can be a child of God because Yeshua sees the end of the process, the glorious Church that will be presented to Him without spot or blemish. Our salvation does not rest on our ability to “Dare to be Dani’el.” But rests solely on Messiah’s perfect obedience in our place. In the midst of a world of trials and tribulation, this is where our peace and comfort rest. In the world to come, that will be all of our glory: all the righteousness of Messiah, given to us, minus His deity.³⁵⁴