It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be in all the kingdom;
Babylon has fallen, and a new empire now holds the city. The chapter opens with paperwork, not conquest: a king dividing his realm among 120 officials, with a man of God near the top.
A new power now rules Babylon, and its king reshapes the government he has taken over.
The Medo-Persian Empire now became the leading world power. Darius became king in Babylon. It appears that historians have difficulty in identifying this man. It may be that he was only a vassal king, under the rule of Cyrus king of Persia. In the Babylonian part of the new empire he arranged things as he saw fit. Again we find Daniel promoted to a place of great power. The hand of God was in it, though on the human side two things may have been in his favour. First, he was not a native of Babylon. Second, Darius would almost certainly have heard of the dramatic scene in the palace. It happened just before he captured the city that seemed impossible to take. So he would have heard of Daniel's superhuman understanding.
This kingdom also has a place in the vision of the great statue in chapter 2.
The empire that followed was an "inferior" one, represented by the breast and arms of silver. Daniel 2:31-39. This refers to the Medo-Persian kingdom. It was inferior because the nobles agreed together in the king's laws, and the king could not change them. The power had come down from gold.
A satrap was one of the princes who ruled the kingdom under the king. Setting up 120 of them starts everything that follows in the chapter.
The first three verses of this chapter lay the groundwork for what follows. They give the occasion for the actions that ended with Daniel thrown into the lions' den. On taking possession of the throne of Babylon, Darius reorganised the affairs of the kingdom... On the night before his city fell, Belshazzar had proclaimed Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom. Darius promoted him to the first place under himself. In doing this Darius was God's instrument for carrying out His purposes.
Darius kept in office a man who had already served Babylon's kings for decades.
His history in connection with Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus covers seventy years. His rise began when Nebuchadnezzar made him a judge (Dan. 2:49). Belshazzar made him prime minister (Dan. 5:29). Darius kept him in office and added the post of what I may call the king's accountant-general... This high position he received because he was so trusted.
Daniel's earlier rise under Nebuchadnezzar came a different way.
Daniel's promotion here did not come from any miracle worked by God, as it did under the mighty Nebuchadnezzar. He reached his high post on his recognised merit alone... His bitter enemies looked hard for a fault. They could find no ground for complaint and no fault, because he was faithful; no error or fault was found in him. What a testimony to a saint of God, set in a position so difficult because it was so high! I wish that all today filling much lower and far easier posts had a like testimony from those around them.
Daniel came to Babylon as a captive. The top job made him a target.
The opening verses give the occasion which called forth this wicked decree. Darius had appointed Daniel chief of the three presidents. The one hundred and twenty princes who ruled the kingdom had to give account to them. Daniel was a child of the captivity, and his rise to this high position aroused the jealousy of the Chaldean presidents and princes. Jealousy moved them, and out of malice they looked for some fault they could use to accuse him before the king.
One writer reads the chapter as a picture of something still to come.
Darius the Mede had to learn the power of God, his own weakness, and the faithfulness of Daniel the servant of God. God saved Daniel from the lions, and the whole empire heard the God of Daniel proclaimed as the living God. As a picture of what is coming, Darius stands for the last Gentile emperor, whom people will worship. Daniel stands for the godly Jews, whom God will save from the very jaws of destruction. His opponents stand for the future unbelieving accusers of God's people.
- Throne — The empire changed hands. Babylon's gold gave way to Medo-Persian silver, weaker because the king could not change his own laws.
- Servant — Belshazzar had made Daniel third in the kingdom. Darius made him first under himself, and God worked through that appointment.
- Merit — No miracle lifted him this time. He rose on a record his enemies searched and could not dent.
- Cost — A former captive at the top drew jealousy. Jealousy then went hunting for a charge.
- Purpose — A reshuffle of 120 satraps ends with the whole empire hearing about the living God.
and over these, three presidents -- of whom Daniel was one -- to whom these satraps should render account, and that the king should suffer no loss.
A new empire has taken over Babylon. Darius is organising his government, and he puts a Jewish exile at the very top of it. The verse looks like dry administrative detail. Yet it explains why the king trusted Daniel, and why the other officials turned on him.
Three high officials stood between the king and the 120 satraps who governed the provinces. For Daniel the post was the latest step in a career spanning several reigns.
His rise began when Nebuchadnezzar made him a judge (Dan. 2:49), Belshazzar made him prime minister (Dan. 5:29), and Darius kept him in office, with the added post of what I may call the king's accountant-general… He received this high position because he was so trusted.
The text credits Darius with the decision. Commentators look past the king to the hand that moved him.
Just before his city fell, Belshazzar had proclaimed Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom. Darius promoted him to first place under himself. In doing so, Darius was God's instrument for carrying out His purposes.
The whole system existed to protect the king's money. Accounts moved upward so that nothing leaked away. (Older translations read "that the king should have no damage.") Daniel met that aim: the king lost nothing through him.
Later in the book we find that there was nothing at all in Daniel's own administration that harmed the king. Everything the king put under Daniel's hand was perfectly safe; his enemies could find no charge against him on that account. There is something sadly wrong with us as Christians if this is not true of us.
One writer turns the point into a question for the reader.
Daniel was not only a man of excellent spirit, but a man of practical righteousness, for his accounts were all right. Are your accounts all right? His moral uprightness and integrity, in all matters of trust, increased his value in the eyes of King Darius, who "planned to set him over the whole kingdom."
Daniel's earlier rise under Nebuchadnezzar had happened another way.
Daniel's promotion here is not the result of any miracle from God, as it was under the mighty Nebuchadnezzar. He reached his high post on his recognised merit alone… What a testimony to a servant of God set in a position made difficult by being so high! I wish that all today who fill much lower and far easier posts had a like testimony from those around them.
Verse 2 is the fuse for the rest of the chapter. Putting a foreigner at the head of the native nobility was, to them, unbearable.
That a child of the captivity should rise to this high position stirred up the jealousy of the Chaldean presidents and princes. Moved by jealousy, they sought in malice to find some fault they could use to bring a charge against him before the king.
One writer names what lay under the jealousy.
Daniel was no unknown man, and he was hated both as a Jew and as a true worshipper of the God of heaven. His rise in the government stirred up even more envy and jealousy among the nobles, the princes, and the presidents he had been set over. A man of unshakeable faithfulness, who sought only God's approval, could not be loved by men with corrupt and greedy hearts.
His public work gave his enemies nothing to use. One writer draws out the lesson for anyone working under a government or employer that does not share their faith.
They concluded that the only possible complaint would have to come through the law of his God. That is a good lesson for the Christian. We should carry out our dealings with the world so faithfully that the world could only condemn us by intruding into the things of God and passing laws that we could obey only by disobeying God.
The warning runs the other way too.
How humiliating when people who make a high profession keep breaking down in the most ordinary affairs of home and business life! Few things discourage the heart more than what one so often hears: that so-called Christians are the most unsatisfactory people to deal with. They are bad masters, or bad servants, or bad tradesmen. They neglect their business, charge higher prices, and give worse value than those who profess nothing at all.
- Trusted. Daniel led the three officials set over 120 satraps. He held the post, the king's accountant-general, because the king trusted him.
- Safe. The system existed so the king would suffer no loss, and everything under Daniel's hand was safe.
- Earned. No miracle lifted him here. He reached the post on recognised merit, a testimony many in far easier posts lack.
- Resented. A captive holding first place stirred the jealousy of the native officials. They hated him as a Jew and as a worshipper of God.
- Unassailable. His public work was faultless. His enemies could only accuse him by intruding into the things of his God. That is the standard for every believer's dealings with the world.
Now this Daniel surpassed the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to appoint him over the whole realm.
Daniel serves in a foreign court, now under his third king. This verse gives the reason he rose above every other official — something in him — and tells us what the king planned to do next.
The phrase "an excellent spirit" points to something other than talent or eloquence. One writer weighs a man's spirit against the things he says, and points to it as something within any believer's reach:
An excellent spirit was in him. That is a very fine quality, friends. A man's spirit is worth far more than the things he says. I may say, by God's help, many a nice thing, and you may hear, enjoy, and then forget it. But if I have done anything nasty to you, you will never forget it. Oh, to be a Daniel in spirit! We shall never be prophets. We are not called by God in that way, but we can all cultivate an "excellent spirit."
Under the earlier king Nebuchadnezzar, God stepped in with miracles to lift Daniel up. Nothing like that happens here, and one writer sees weight in the difference:
Daniel's promotion here is not the result of any miracle from God, as it was under the earlier king Nebuchadnezzar. He reached his high post on his recognised merit alone... What a testimony to a saint of God placed in a position made difficult by its very height! I wish that all who fill much lower and far easier posts today had the same testimony from the people around them. Daniel's enemies had to admit that they could find no fault or error in him. Why is it that even the friends of Christians can hardly say as much about them? "A good testimony from those outside" matters far more than marked ability to preach or talk about the holy things of God.
Darius made the appointment. One writer looks behind the king's choice, and shows what the promotion stirred up:
Just before his city fell, Belshazzar had named Daniel the third ruler in the kingdom. Darius promoted him to the first place under himself, and in doing so the king was God's instrument for carrying out His purposes. Daniel was no unknown man; and he was hated both as a Jew and as a true worshipper of the God of heaven. His rise in the government stirred up still more envy and jealousy among the nobles, the princes, and the officials he now ranked above. Men with corrupt and greedy hearts could not love a man of unbreakable faithfulness who sought only God's approval.
Being set near the top of the world's system is not a safe place spiritually, and Daniel's steadiness is traced to where his eye was fixed:
He was a saint, and he was in a very difficult position. He had a high place in the world. The higher your place in this world, the more you come, in a sense, under its power. The more I receive from the world — in the everyday sense — the more I come under its power, unless I keep my eye fixed on the Lord, clearly and always. Daniel's eye was certainly on the Lord. So the Lord held him up, and shamed those who plotted his downfall.
His rivals went through his work as a ruler and found nothing. Where they turned next holds a lesson for every believer:
All these presidents and princes looked for some fault in the way Daniel ran the affairs of state. But he was faithful, so they could find no "error" and no "fault" in him. They decided that the only way to bring a charge against him was through the law of his God. That is a healthy lesson for the Christian. Our dealings with the world should be so faithful that the world could only condemn us by pushing into the things of God — by passing laws we could not keep without disobeying God.
The proving ground for an excellent spirit is not the palace but the invoice and the workday:
How humiliating when those who make a high profession are found constantly breaking down in the most commonplace affairs of domestic and commercial life! There are few things which more tend to discourage the heart than to hear — as, alas, one so often does — that Christians, so-called, are the most unsatisfactory persons to have any dealings with — that they are bad masters, or bad servants, or bad tradesmen — that they do not attend to their business, that they charge higher prices and give worse value than those who make no profession at all.
- Spirit within. What lifted Daniel was the spirit in him, not his gift. None of us will be prophets, but anyone can grow an excellent spirit.
- Standard outside. No miracle promoted him here. He rose on recognised merit. A good testimony from outsiders is worth more than the ability to talk well about holy things.
- Summit reached. Darius gave him the first place under himself, and God used the king's decision to carry out His own purposes.
- Suspicion stirred. Honesty near the top draws envy. Men with corrupt hearts could not love a man of unbreakable faithfulness.
- Safeguard kept. The higher your place in the world, the more its power presses on you. Daniel's eye stayed on the Lord, so his enemies found no handle in his public work.
Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a pretext against Daniel with respect to the kingdom; but they could not find any pretext or fault; inasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
By now Daniel is an old man — a foreign captive who has risen to the top post in a new empire. The officials under him want him gone, so they audit his whole record and find nothing.
The hunt for a fault did not begin with evidence. It began with envy at a foreigner holding the highest post under the king.
Daniel was no unknown man; and he was hated both as a Jew and as a true worshipper of the God of heaven. His promotion in the government further provoked the envy and jealousy of the nobles, the princes, and the presidents over whom he had been placed. Men of corrupt and greedy hearts could not love a man of incorruptible faithfulness, who sought only to commend himself to God. So they decided that, one way or another, they would bring about his removal or his death. First they looked for a charge against him in the affairs of the kingdom — in his administration of the government.
Nothing in Daniel's work escaped his enemies. They did not know who else was watching him.
No one is as sharp-eyed as malicious men. Nothing would escape their notice — not the finances, not any other part of this vast empire. What a testimony to the honesty and uprightness of this servant of God! It is all the greater because his enemies were the ones who gave it. They did not know that Daniel worked under the eye of Him who sees the secrets of the heart, and that it was the joy of his life to walk in the favour and blessing of his God.
The word "faithful" in the verse is not vague praise. It reaches down to his accounts and to everything trusted to his care.
Daniel was not only a man of excellent spirit, but a man of practical righteousness, for his accounts were all right. Are your accounts all right? His moral uprightness and integrity in all matters of trust increased his value in the eyes of King Darius. The king "planned to set him over the whole kingdom." ... A man of excellent spirit, and faithful, and no error or fault found in him. What a lovely character! Oh, how like Christ! "I find no guilt in this man" was said about the blessed Lord, and here is His servant morally like Him.
The older translation reads "I find no fault in this man" — the same word this verse uses of Daniel.
The audit failed. So the plotters had to change the law instead of exposing a crime.
First, they sought occasion against him in connection with his administration of the kingdom. But all these presidents and princes tried to find some fault in Daniel's management of the affairs of state. Because he was faithful, they could find neither "error" nor "fault" in him. They concluded that a complaint would only be possible through the law of his God. This is a healthy lesson for the Christian. We should carry out our dealings with the world so faithfully that the world could only condemn us by intruding into the things of God and passing decrees that we could not keep without disobeying God.
Daniel kept this record as a captive in a foreign empire. His circumstances changed nothing.
What a testimony! "No error or fault!" Even his most bitter enemies could not put their finger on a single blemish in his character, or a flaw in his practical life. This was a rare and admirable character — a bright witness for the God of Israel, even in the dark days of the Babylonian captivity. His life proves one thing beyond answer. It does not matter where we are placed, or what our circumstances are. It does not matter how unfavourable our position, or how dark the day we live in. It is our happy privilege to live so that, in all the details of daily life, we give the enemy no occasion to speak reproachfully.
Daniel's enemies had to admit his record was clean. That sets an uncomfortable standard for believers now.
The enemy had to admit that no one could find fault or error in Daniel. Why is it, then, that even the friends of Christians can barely say as much about them? "A good testimony from those outside" is far more important than marked ability to preach or talk about the holy things of God.
- Envy starts it. Daniel's rise, not any wrongdoing, started the hunt. Corrupt hearts cannot love an incorruptible man.
- Faithfulness stands it. The search covered his work, his character and his daily life. His accounts were right, and hostile eyes found nothing.
- Character outranks talent. A good report from those outside the faith matters more than skill in speaking about holy things.
- The enemy must change the rules. They could not beat him on conduct, so they made a law against his God. Live that cleanly, and only God's claims are left to accuse you.
- No excuse survives. Exile, captivity, a dark day. In any position, it is our privilege to give the enemy nothing to say against us.
Then said these men, We shall not find any pretext against this Daniel, unless we find [it] against him touching the law of his God.
Daniel's enemies searched his public record and found nothing, so they changed their plan. If he could not be caught in his work, they would catch him in his worship — which raises the question of what our own critics could use against us.
Envy at Daniel's high position started the search, and the search produced a testimony his accusers never meant to give.
The scene set before us in chapter 6 is very true to human life and nature. Daniel's high position filled the hearts of lesser men with envy and hatred. If they could, they would destroy him. This purpose of theirs brings to light a remarkable testimony about his character — "he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him." They concluded that no attack on him could succeed unless they made it concerning the law of God.
The wording narrows the charge to one area of his life. Everything else was clear.
In the everyday affairs of life and public office there was nothing in the conduct of this Daniel that they could put a finger on or bring a charge about. He stood blameless before all; it was only in the matter of his religion, as men say, that they hoped to find their opportunity to ruin him.
The verdict here is the verdict of hostile observers, not of God. Daniel's own words elsewhere keep the two apart.
In his public life Daniel was perfect, or blameless. His enemies could find no ground for complaint against him except in connection with the law of his God. Yet this same Daniel says, "I was confessing my sin" (Dan. 6:5; 9:20). Man saw nothing to condemn; Daniel knew God's eye saw much. And, like the honest man he was, he records with his own hand that he had sins to confess to God.
Having settled on their ground of attack, they had to invent a law Daniel would break.
They wanted an occasion against Daniel. They knew well that they could only find one against him "concerning the law of his God." So they put their heads together. Among the Medes and Persians the nobles framed the law and the king established and signed it. Taking advantage of that custom, they devised a decree: for thirty days no one might ask a petition of any god or man except the king. What was this but a man taking the place of God? No one could pray to the true God at all, and every prayer had to go to the king. If that is not giving the rights of God to man, I do not know what is.
Their scheme also rested on a settled opinion of the man himself.
They were so confident of Daniel's integrity "concerning the law of his God" that they felt sure of one thing. He would not stop praying openly to Him, even at the cost of his life. Do our enemies — indeed, do our friends — have that confidence in our faithfulness toward God and His Christ?
One writer turns this into a rule for how believers should deal with the world.
They concluded that it would only be possible to find a complaint through the law of his God. This is a wholesome lesson for the Christian. Our dealings with the world should be so faithful that the world could only condemn us by intruding into the things of God, and by passing decrees that we could only obey by disobeying God.
Several writers read the chapter as more than history — Darius given the honours of God, and one faithful man standing against it.
Daniel represents the remnant, the faithful few who in those last days will refuse to give up the worship of God. As a result they are thrown into the den of lions; they pass through the great tribulation of the last days, when Satan the "roaring lion" would devour them but has his mouth shut. They come out of it tested, faithful and true for God, His witnesses.
- Envy searches. Daniel's high position drew hatred. Hatred went looking for a fault, and the search became the proof that there was none.
- Envy finds only God. His everyday life and public office gave no handle. The one area left was his obedience to God.
- Envy must build a trap. With no real charge to bring, they invented a law that put a man in the place of God.
- Envy counts on faithfulness. The plot only worked because his enemies were certain he would keep praying, whatever it cost him.
- Envy cannot reach the conscience. Blameless before men, Daniel still confessed his sin to God — the standard is God's eye, not the critic's.
Then these presidents and satraps came in a body to the king, and said thus unto him King Darius, live for ever!
The officials who came to King Darius had already searched Daniel's record and found nothing. So they arrived with a proposal dressed up as loyalty — but why would officials want a law about prayer?
This visit was their second plan, not their first. One writer draws a lesson from why the first plan failed.
First, they sought occasion against him in connection with his administration of the kingdom. All these presidents and princes tried to find some fault in Daniel's management of the affairs of state. But because he was faithful, they could find neither "error" nor "fault" in him. They concluded that a complaint would only be possible through the law of his God. This is a wholesome lesson for the Christian. Our dealings with the world should be so faithful that the world could only condemn us by intruding into the things of God, and by passing decrees we could not keep without disobeying God.
They never charged Daniel with his worship. They went to the throne first, and the reason lies in what the king already knew.
They were all idolaters, and their king was an idolater too. So they thought it would be easy to trap Daniel on that ground. But Darius almost certainly knew what had happened between Daniel and Belshazzar, and that Daniel was a godly Jew. This explains the method these princes and presidents chose. They did not charge Daniel with worshipping his God. With greater subtlety they decided first to flatter the king, by offering him the place of absolute supremacy — supremacy over heaven as well as earth. Then they would bring Daniel into conflict with the king, and into disobedience to him.
Three separate evils are packed into this decree.
First, the decree is in itself the very height of wickedness, for it is the awful attempt to dethrone God and set up man in His place. It seeks to install the king in a place of absolute supremacy over heaven and earth, above God and man. For thirty days no one may ask a petition of "any God or man." Nebuchadnezzar's sin was great, but this is far greater. Nebuchadnezzar had set up an idol in the place of God; but now Darius sets himself up in the place of God. It is the deification of man. Secondly, the motive of the decree is evil in the extreme. These men trade on Daniel's upright character and his known faithfulness to the law of his God. They design a decree they know he will not obey. Thirdly, the decree they frame looks very flattering to the king.
Earlier in the book the danger was a golden image and a command to bow down. Here the shape of the sin changes, and one writer traces it to something deep in human nature.
Here it is not idolatry, nor is it insult offered to Jehovah, but the exaltation of man himself, who would shut out all idea of God, who would have no God. This is one of the features that characterise the depths of the human heart.
Commentators read this scene as more than history. Darius, a faithful man, and a den of lions all point forward to the last days.
Darius himself seems to be a man we can take a good deal of interest in, a man who drew back from what he had done. But as a picture he stands for the Beast — man's complete turning away from God. Daniel represents the remnant, the faithful few who in those last days will refuse to give up the worship of God. So they are thrown into the den of lions. They go through the great tribulation of the last days, when Satan the "roaring lion" would devour them, but his mouth is shut. They come out of it tested, faithful, and true for God.
Daniel kept praying in the open, as he always had. One writer explains what hiding it would have meant.
In all this there is no showing off; he simply does what he had always done before. He had long been in the habit of praying in this open way. If he had suddenly closed the windows and prayed in secret, all Babylon would have read it as cowardice, or as agreement with the decree. In that idolatrous city Daniel had borne a public witness to the true God. He was not a secret disciple.
- Faultless. Daniel's public work gave his enemies nothing to use. Their only opening was his God — the mark of a life the world can attack only on God's ground.
- Flattery. They did not accuse Daniel. They went to the king first and offered him supremacy over heaven and earth. The real target hid behind a compliment.
- False godhood. The decree tried to dethrone God and seat a man in His place. That went beyond Nebuchadnezzar's idol: now no request could go to any God or man.
- Foreshadow. Writers see a picture here of the Beast, and of a faithful few kept safe among lions.
- Faithful. Daniel answered the plot by changing nothing. He prayed in the open, as always. Closing his windows would have looked like agreement.
All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, the counsellors, and the governors have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.
Daniel's rivals could find no fault in his work, so they went after his faith. Their plan: get the king to sign a law that could never be taken back. Why did they need his name on it? And what does a law that "cannot be revoked" say about the empire that boasted of it?
The plan started with the officials, not with the king.
They wanted a charge against Daniel. They knew well that the only one they could find would be "concerning the law of his God." So they put their heads together. The custom of the Medes and Persians was that the nobles form the law and the king establishes and signs it. Taking advantage of this, they devised a decree: for thirty days no one should ask a petition of any god or man except the king. What was this but a man taking the place of God?
One writer weighs the decree itself, the motive behind it, and its appeal to the king.
Three things mark this decree. First, the decree is in itself the very height of wickedness. It is the awful attempt to dethrone God and set up man in His place... Second, the motive of the decree is evil in the extreme. These men knew Daniel's upright character and his faithfulness to the law of his God, and they traded on it. On purpose they devised a decree which they knew he would not obey. Third, the decree they frame looks very flattering to the king. It is so presented that the true motive stays hidden, and the king foolishly falls into the trap and signs it.
Everything now hung on the king's signature.
The only thing needed to make the decree valid was the king's signature. After that it could not be changed, "according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked" (v. 8). The king was probably flattered by the homage and submission of his nobles in his new dominions. He fell at once into the snare they had woven around his feet. He never paused to consider the awful place he was accepting — a place belonging to God alone — and he "signed the writing and the decree" (v. 9).
A law that can never be changed sounds like strength. It proved to be the opposite.
Daniel 6 shows that this empire was lower than Nebuchadnezzar's. He did whatever he wanted. No laws restricted him; he was a law to himself. Darius, once he signed a decree, was bound by it, "according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked" (Dan. 6:8, 15). He was bound even when he must have realised the law was being used to force him to act against his own desires. The head of the empire was powerless when confronted with the law.
The same king issues a second decree later in the chapter. Watch what became of both.
Notice the 'decree' of verse 8, and by way of contrast, the 'decree' of verse 26. Both came from an empire that allowed no change or cancellation of its decrees, yet they stand in contrast. The first was cancelled as to its penalty; the second was soon cancelled as to its performance... No empire can make laws in the things of God. So people soon broke this 'law of the Medes and Persians' openly and everywhere!
The same claim returns in a New Testament warning about a man still to come.
In short, it is proposed that no one should be confessed as God, and no request made to anyone but Darius himself. So it will be with the wicked one, "who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God," 2 Thess. 2:4.
Daniel knew the decree was signed and beyond appeal. It changed nothing in his habits.
He knew that everything was signed, sealed and settled, as far as man could do it. He knew that the unchangeable law of the Medes and Persians demanded that no man's knee should bow to God for thirty days. Knowing all of it, he goes to his room. There is no showing off, but he does not hide it.
- Flattery — Daniel's work gave his enemies no charge. So they dressed an attack on his faith as an honour to the king.
- Signature — the decree meant nothing until the king signed it. He signed without weighing the place he was taking.
- Trap — the law that "cannot be revoked" bound the king too. The head of the empire stood powerless before his own decree.
- Shadow — banning prayer to any god but the king puts a man in God's place, the very claim the wicked one will make.
- Faith — the unchangeable law could not change Daniel. He went to his room and prayed as before, hiding nothing and showing off nothing.
Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Daniel's rivals in the king's government could attack him in only one place: his loyalty to his God. Verse 9 is the moment their trap shuts, as a signature turns flattery into law.
The plot needed nothing from Darius except his name.
They told his majesty that they had held full consultation. They had agreed "to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions" (v. 7). The decree needed only one thing to be valid: the king's signature. After that no one could change it, "according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked" (v. 8). His nobles in his new territories gave him homage and submission, and this probably flattered the king. He fell straight into the snare they had woven around his feet. He did not pause to consider the dreadful position he was accepting — a position belonging to God alone — and he "signed the document and injunction" (v. 9).
Darius signed more than a piece of court policy. Set beside Nebuchadnezzar's idol it goes further, and the men who framed it knew who would break it.
First, the decree is in itself the very height of wickedness. It is the terrible attempt to dethrone God and set up man in His place. It seeks to install the king in a place of absolute supremacy over heaven and earth, above God and man. For thirty days no one could ask a petition of "any god or man." Nebuchadnezzar's sin was great, but this is far greater. Nebuchadnezzar had set up an idol in the place of God; but now Darius sets himself up in the place of God. Secondly, the motive of the decree is evil in the extreme. Trading on the uprightness of Daniel's character, and his known faithfulness to the law of his God, these men purposely devise a decree which they know Daniel will not obey.
The unchangeable law looked like majesty. In fact it borrowed a quality that is not man's to claim, and it handed the nobles a lever over their own ruler.
In this case, deceived by his vanity, the king finds himself bound by laws apparently set up to protect his subjects from his whims, under the pretence of giving his will and his wisdom the character of being unchangeable — a character that belongs to God alone.
That limit also marks a real difference between this empire and the one before it.
Daniel 6 shows that this empire was inferior to Nebuchadnezzar's, for he did whatever he wanted to do. No laws restricted his actions; he was a law to himself. Darius, when he signed a decree, was bound by it, "according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked" (Dan. 6:8, 15). He stayed bound even when he must have realised that the law was being used to force him to act against his own wishes. The head of the empire was powerless when faced with the law.
Darius had real authority, but it had a limit. The decree crossed that limit, and that is why Daniel could not obey it.
However he had been trapped, Darius had stepped outside the circle of his authority. In signing this decree he had intruded into God's circle, where man has neither right nor place. So if Daniel was to keep a good conscience towards God, he had no choice but to refuse to submit to the decree.
Darius issues a second decree at the end of the chapter. Put beside it, the boast of unchangeable law collapses twice over.
Both decrees came out of an empire that allowed no alteration or cancellation of its decrees, yet they stand in contrast. The first was cancelled as to its penalty; the second was soon cancelled as to its performance. The later history of that empire shows that men did not tremble and fear before the living God, as they were commanded to do. No empire can legislate in the things of God.
Commentators read this signed decree as a small-scale version of a future claim.
Darius himself was a well-meaning man. But he allowed flatterers to trap him into a very serious position in relation to God. He signed a decree: anyone who asked a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of himself, should be thrown into the den of lions. This was stepping into God's own place. The last head of Gentile power will do this openly. MAN will be worshipped, and God will be formally and officially renounced.
- Flattery signs. The nobles did not argue Darius into the decree. They praised him into it, and he signed without weighing what the honour meant.
- Signing overreaches. A signature that forbids prayer to anyone but the king claims a place belonging to God alone. Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol; Darius set up himself.
- Signing binds. The law he could not revoke made him powerless. The pen that looked like supreme power left the head of the empire unable to act.
- Signing cannot reach God. No empire can legislate in the things of God. Daniel's conscience lay outside the king's authority.
- Signing foreshadows. Flatterers trapped a well-meaning man into taking God's place. At the end, the last head of Gentile power will take that place openly.