Have you ever found yourself in a situation which seemed to have no way forward and been surprised at the outcome? You may have reflected on how you got there, that you hadn’t done anything wrong and didn’t deserve what happened. Then the unexpected occurs and you feel relieved that justice, as you understand it, has been done.

In this well-known passage about Daniel in the lions’ den we find something that seems similar. Daniel along with the people of God had been taken captive by their enemies. Instead of resisting the situation, Daniel, who had been appointed as an administrator of the foreign nation, distinguished himself in his work. The jealousy of the other administrators caused them to devise a scheme against Daniel which resulted in him being placed in a lions’ den … seemingly a death sentence. God, however, wonderfully delivered Daniel and it was his enemies who were then killed by the lions.

This true story also helps us to see some aspects of the gospel. Jesus suffered cruelly on the cross at the hands of his enemies even though he was completely innocent. His death, however, was not the end. He was raised to life again and now reigns as ‘the King of kings and Lord of lords’. The other aspect is that no-one since Adam’s fall is ever completely innocent  like Jesus was and is. In his death as a substitute though, all who trust in him are wonderfully delivered from the ‘lions’ den’ of our sins.