Read: Daniel 6

Can you imagine how Daniel must have felt when he was thrown into the den with hungry lions even though he had done nothing wrong? But we don’t read about Daniel being scared. Instead we just read about how the Lord shut the mouth of the lions so that Daniel remained safe. The Lord saved Daniel from death, just like he had saved Daniel’s three friends when they were thrown into the fire.

We see here God’s love for his people in saving them. He sent his angel to protect Daniel from the mouth of the lions. Did you know that the Lord also sends angels to us as well? Even today the angels are protecting us. That doesn’t mean that difficult things will never happen to us. Sometimes the Lord knows that hard things are actually good for us. We might never understand that, but we do need to trust that.

But this story about Daniel being sent into the lion’s den is also a picture of something much better. It points to us being saved from eternal death. Because of our sins, we deserve to be punished eternally in hell, and that’s a lot worse than being thrown to the lions. But the Lord is going to save us from eternal death, just like he saved Daniel from the lions. God declared that Daniel was innocent, that he had done the right thing by continuing to pray to him, and so the Lord saved him. And because the Lord Jesus died and was punished because of our sins, now the Lord also says that we are innocent. He says that we are beautiful and perfect and holy. We know that so often we aren’t like Daniel; so often we don’t stand up for the Lord, or we sin in some other ways, and yet because of Jesus’ payment for our sins, the Lord says that we are without sin and so saves us from eternal hell. So, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will live with the Lord for eternity!

Reflection with your child:

What is Daniel being saved from the lion’s den a picture of?

Source: Sermon by Rev. D. Poppe