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| 1 It hath been good before Darius, and he hath established over the kingdom satraps a hundred and twenty that they may be throughout 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 higher than they three presidents, of whom Daniel [is] first, that these satraps may give to them an account, and the king have no loss. |
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 hath been overseer over the presidents and satraps, because that an excellent spirit [is] in him, and the king hath thought to establish him over the whole kingdom. |
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 satraps have been seeking to find a cause of complaint against Daniel concerning the kingdom, and any cause of complaint and corruption they are not able to find, because that he [is] faithful, and any error and corruption have not been 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 these men are saying, 'We do not find against this Daniel any cause of complaint, except we have found [it] against him in 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 satraps have assembled near the king, and thus they are saying to him: 'O king Darius, to the ages live! |
King Darius – He, like every other man, was approachable through flattery. R4875:2, R3639:5
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| 7 Taken counsel have all the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, the counsellors, and the governors, to establish a royal statute, and to strengthen an interdict, that any who seeketh a petition from any god and man until thirty days, save of thee, O king, is cast into a 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, thou dost establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it is not to be changed, as a law of Media and Persia, that doth not pass away.' |
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| 9 Therefore king Darius hath signed the writing and interdict. |
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| 10 And Daniel, when he hath known that the writing is signed, hath gone up to his house, and the window being opened for him, in his upper chamber, over-against Jerusalem, three times in a day he is kneeling on his knees, and praying, and confessing before his God, because that he was doing [it] before this. |
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 have assembled, and found Daniel praying and entreating grace before his God; |
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| 12 then they have come near, yea, they are saying before the king concerning the king's interdict: 'Hast thou not signed an interdict, that any man who seeketh from any god and man until thirty days, save of thee, O king, is cast into a den of lions ' Answered hath the king, and said, 'The thing [is] certain as a law of Media and Persia, that doth not pass away.' |
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| 13 Then they have answered, yea, they are saying before the king, that, 'Daniel, who [is] of the sons of the Removed of Judah, hath not placed on thee, O king, [any] regard, nor on the interdict that thou hast signed, and three times in a day he is seeking his petition.' |
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| 14 Then the king, when he hath heard the matter, is greatly displeased at himself, and on Daniel he hath set the heart to deliver him, and till the going up of the sun he was arranging 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 have assembled near the king, and are saying to the king, 'know, O king, that the law of Media and Persia [is]: That any interdict and statute that the king doth establish is not to be changed.' |
May be changed – A veiled threat of insurrection. R2502:2
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| 16 Then the king hath said, and they have brought Daniel, and have cast [him] into a den of lions. The king hath answered and said to Daniel, 'Thy God, whom thou art serving continually, Himself doth 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 hath been brought and placed at the mouth of the den, and the king hath sealed it with his signet, and with the signet of his great men, that the purpose be not 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 hath the king gone to his palace, and he hath passed the night fasting, and dahavan have not been brought up before him, and his sleep hath fled [from] off him. |
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| 19 Then doth the king rise in the early morning, at the light, and in haste to the den of lions he hath gone; |
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 at his coming near to the den, to Daniel, with a grieved voice, he crieth. The king hath answered and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, thy God, whom thou art serving continually, is He 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 Daniel hath spoken with the king: 'O king, to the ages live: |
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| 22 my God hath sent His messenger, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and they have not injured me: because that before Him purity hath been found in me; and also before thee, O king, injury I have not done.' |
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 very glad for him, and he hath commanded Daniel to be taken up out of the den, and Daniel hath been taken up out of the den, and no injury hath been found in him, because he hath 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 hath said, and they have brought those men who had accused Daniel, and to the den of lions they have cast them, they, their sons, and their wives; and they have not come to the lower part of the den till that the lions have power over them, and all their bones they have broken small. |
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 Darius the king hath written to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who are dwelling in all the land: 'Your peace be great! |
Darius wrote – Declaring his reverence for Jehovah, the God of Daniel. R2541:3
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| 26 From before me is made a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom they are trembling and fearing before the God of Daniel, for He [is] the living God, and abiding to the ages, and His kingdom that which [is] not destroyed, and His dominion [is] unto the end. |
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| 27 A deliverer, and rescuer, and doer of signs and wonders in the heavens and in earth [is] He who hath delivered Daniel from the paw of the lions.' |
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| 28 And this Daniel hath 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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