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| 1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; |
It pleased Darius – Identified with the Cyrus of secular and Biblical history. R3638:3
Possibly Darius was merely an official title of Cyrus; or, Darius may have been vicegerent of Cyrus in Babylon. R3638:3
The whole kingdom – The entire civilized world. R3638:6
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| 2 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. |
Daniel was first – At this time Daniel was an old man. R4874:3
Honored as the most competent and trustworthy. R3639:1, R2502:1
God's dealings with spiritual Israel are different. Our rewards for faithfulness are spiritual; joint-heirship with our Lord in the heavenly Kingdom. R3633:5
Their desire to have such a man of high repute in authority seems to evidence good intentions in their governing of the world. R4875:1
Have no damage – No doubt he stood in the way of many schemes for the plundering of the treasury. R2501:2, R4875:2
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| 3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. |
Was preferred – Because of his honesty and opposition to unjust practices. R3639:1, R4875:1
A compliment in recognition of his ability, indicating the king's breadth of mind. R4875:1
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| 4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. |
Sought to find – Envy and hatred are set down in the Word of God as works of the flesh and of the devil, antagonistic to everything that is good and right and approved of the Lord. R3639:3
Against Daniel – He was sure to have a host of secret enemies. R2501:2; PD52/62
Because he interfered with their schemes of graft. R3639:2
"All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, (2 Tim. 3:12) "Because ye are not of th R2501:2
Could find none occasion – Oh, that every Christian would live as high above the world's standards as did Daniel; that their enemies might have no grounds for charges except those to their credit. R4875:5
Nor fault – Nothing that they could bring against him as a real charge or crime. R3639:2
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| 5 Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. |
Law of his God – They knew that Daniel's religion lay at the foundation of his entire course in life. R4875:2
Not finding any wrong doing in Daniel, they concluded to entrap him in his well-doing. R3639:5
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| 6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. |
King Darius – He, like every other man, was approachable through flattery. R4875:2, R3639:5
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| 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, 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, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. |
A firm decree – The king was supposed to be possessed by Ormuzd, the deity of the empire, so his decrees were considered infallible and inviolable even by himself. R2501:4, R3640:4
Suggested as a piece of statecraft, it was a fraud upon the people. R2501:4
Save of thee – The kings of ancient times posed as chief priests and vicegerents of their gods. R3639:5, R4875:2
The claim was that such a recognition would elevate the dignity of the throne in the minds of the people. R4875:2
Had the decree been different, Daniel's course might have been different. If it had banned public worship, he might consistently have worshipped in private. R3640:2
Similarly, the popes of Rome claim to be the vicegerents of Christ. R3639:5
Flattery and vanity have often been the tools of the Adversary for the injury of the Lord's people and cause. R3639:5
The false reasoning was of the Jezuitical sort, that an evil or falsehood is justified if beneficial results are hoped for. R2501:4
Every leader in the family of God should be on guard against accepting to himself any credit due to God for the truth or some ability in presenting it to others. R3639:6
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| 8 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 altereth not. |
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| 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. |
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| 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. |
Daniel knew – He understood that the purpose of it was to entrap him. R3640:2
That if God would not deliver him now he would, in his own good time and way, grant him a still more glorious deliverance. R1409:6
In his chamber – An upper chamber for quiet, rest and prayer, reached usually by an outside staircase. R3640:1
Toward Jerusalem – The typical city of God and its Temple. R2501:6
Calling to mind the gracious promises respecting the Holy Land, that it would yet be the center of the whole earth and of God's holy people. R4875:4
Because Daniel remembered the promise of Israel's return to Jerusalem after 70 years of desolation. R3640:1, R2501:5
He kneeled – Unwilling to assume a less humble position before God than he and others assumed toward earthly kings. R2501:6
It is impossible for a Christian to maintain a proper walk in life without regularity in prayer-- we are almost inclined to say, without kneeling in prayer. R2501:6, R3640:2, R4875:4
Upon his knees – Daniel was not satisfied merely to close his eyes in prayer after he had retired to rest. He was not ashamed to bow the knee to the Almighty. R2501:6
Daniel's private worship in so public a manner may have been because to have worshipped in secret might be misunderstood to mean he did not worship at all. R2501:5
The Lord commended differently to the household of faith: "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret." (Matt. 6:6) R2501:5
Three times a day – The child of God will desire to commune with his Creator as surely as he will desire natural food and drink for the sustenance of his natural body. R2502:1
And prayed – He would not sell his conscience and deny his God; he would not pretend he was praying to Darius. R3640:2
We should be extremely careful about compromising conscience. R3640:2
Without communion with his Maker, his faith and his loyalty to principle could not be maintained in the midst of corruption. R4875:4
It is impossible to live a consecrated life in neglect of prayer. R4875:4
As the sharpening of scythes in harvest time does not mean lost time or energy, so also time spent in prayer is not lost as respects the affairs of life. R4875:4
The thought of praying in solitude, however, does not interfere with the thought of family prayers or prayers in the church, which is the Lord's family circle. R3640:3
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| 11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. |
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| 12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. |
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| 13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. |
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| 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. |
Then the king – His eyes were opened and he beheld the trap. R3640:4, R4875:5, R2502:2
Displeased – He was ashamed of the part which he felt compelled to take. R4875:5
With himself – These words are lacking from some of the reliable manuscripts, making the displeasure all the broader to include the counsellors. R3640:4
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| 15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. |
May be changed – A veiled threat of insurrection. R2502:2
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| 16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. |
Brought Daniel – A man whose faithfulness to the Lord and to principle was so strong in faith that he could go to the lion's den without fear. R3640:6
Much more, why should we, if faithful and with still greater light, fear and quake under such circumstances? R3640:6
Into the den – Probably a lion pit surrounded by high walls. R3640:5
Servest continually – Every Christian life should testify to his own character and faithfulness, and of the God whom he worships. R2502:2
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| 17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. |
A stone – Used for a door, sealed with thongs, the knots of which were sealed with the king's signet. R4875:5
Probably fastened to its place with an iron bar. R2502:3
Of his lords – Who were amongst the conspirators--to prove that it was not tampered with. R2502:3
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| 18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him. |
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| 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. |
And went in haste – It is good to realize that our worldly friends are watching us to see to what extent our God delivers us from the difficulties and trials of life's pathway. R3641:2
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| 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? |
God, whom thou servest – The king properly associated Daniel's faithful service to God with his hope respecting God's faithfulness to Daniel. R2502:3
Able to deliver – At present, some who are not of the consecrated have considerable faith in God and in us as his children. R3641:2
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| 21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. |
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| 22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. |
Sent his angel – His providences. R2502:5
Any power or agency which God might employ. R2502:4, R3641:3
"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them." (Psa. 34:7) R3641:3
The lions' mouths – Restrained from doing violence to Daniel. R2502:4, R3641:3
Lions great and small, picturing tests that come to us, threaten the Lord's people in the present time; but, as illustrated by Bunyan, they are chained and go only so far, leaving room to pass between. R3641:1
It is possible for human mouths to do us more harm than the mouths of wild beasts. R2502:5
God is not less able to send his providences to prevent injury to his people now. R2502:6
"No lion shall be there." (Isa. 35:9) R3641:1
Have not hurt me – "Nothing shall hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain." (Isa. 11:9) R3641:1
Was found in me – Haughtiness and bravado are wholly lacking in the prophet's announcement of the great favor of God on his behalf. R2502:4
The Lord's people are not to boast of results, but to give the glory to God. R2502:4
And also before thee – A conscience "void of offence toward God and man." (Acts 24:16) R3641:4
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| 23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. |
No manner of hurt – Because of his faith and loyalty to God, Daniel was delivered. R1409:2
It may please the Father to deliver us as he did Daniel, or he may overrule otherwise as in Stephen's case; but always He overrules to bless. R2502:6, R3641:3
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| 24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. |
Into the den – Making a test as to which were worthy in the sight of the Lord. R3641:5
Josephus adds, from tradition, that the conspirators claimed the lions had been previously fed and that the king demonstrated the matter by having the lions liberally fed before throwing them into the den where they were speedily devoured. R2503:1
It is not for us to think of having our enemies devoured, nor to rejoice over their fall. R3641:5
Those who dig pits for others are likely to fall therein themselves. R2503:4
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| 25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. |
Darius wrote – Declaring his reverence for Jehovah, the God of Daniel. R2541:3
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| 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. |
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| 27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. |
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| 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. |
The reign of Darius – It would appear that Cyrus was in some respects the chief, yet that Darius was the representative of the authority in Babylon for a time, and that upon his death Cyrus became sole emperor. R2509:3
Cyrus – As Cyrus, a type of Christ, overthrew Babylon, so a part of the work of the second advent will be the overthrow of antitypical Babylon. R5092:3, R2498:4
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