Some 20 years passed between chapters 4 and 5, and King
Nebuchadnezzar moved off the scene. He was succeeded by
a son who reigned just a few years and was then
assassinated by his own brother-in-law. The brother-in-
law, in turn, ruled four years and was killed in
battle. The next two rulers occupied a throne a very
brief time. The second of these was Nabonidus. He was
king of the Babylonian Empire, and his son, Belshazzar,
was king of the city of Babylon. This explains why
Daniel was named third ruler (chapter 5:7,29).

In chapter 6 Daniel is a man in his eighties.
This proves that age is no barrier to serving Christ,
nor is it any protection against temptations and
testings. Because Daniel started young as a man of
faith and prayer, he was faithful to the Lord even in
his old age.

In verse 10 we are told that Daniel prayed in a
special chamber atop his house, three times a day.
“Evening, and morning, and at noon will I pray and cry
aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17). So
Daniel began his day with the Lord; mid-way through the
day he talked with the Lord again; and then he ended
his day with the Lord. Daniel had a special place for
prayer; a special time for prayer; and you can be sure
that he talked with the Lord, in his own way, all
through the day!

The account of Daniel in the lion’s den is
probably familiar to all our readers. Therefore, we
will only mention here that God is faithful to care for
His own in time of trouble. Daniel had been a faithful
follower of the Lord throughout his life and now we see
God rewarding him for that faithfulness. In the time of
trial and adversity, God delivers Daniel–even from a
den of lions.