Next Imperial Power
After the overthrow of the Babylonian kingdom, the new ruler appointed Daniel as his chief officer over the other civil servants of the city. This caused resentment among the other officials, so a conspiracy was hatched to destroy by trapping Daniel with his own words, even ensnaring the unwitting king in the plot.
Through the intervention of an angel,
Daniel was delivered unscathed from the attempt to kill him. Having survived the
night in the lions’ den, the king ordered his release and the destruction of
his accusers. He then issued a new edict commanding all citizens of Babylon to
revere the wonder-working God of Daniel.
LAW OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS
“Darius the Mede” appointed him
first among his three ministers of state. Certain provincial governors envied his
elevation and sought to discredit Daniel. Had he not been a faithful servant of
the previous Neo-Babylonian régime?
However, unable to find fault with his
conduct, they arranged circumstances so that he would appear disloyal to Darius.
- (Daniel 6:1-3) – “It was pleasing before Darius that he should set up over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, that they should be over all the kingdom; and over these, three confidential ministers of whom Daniel was first, that to them these satraps should render an account, and the king not be suffering loss. Then this Daniel signalized himself above the ministers and the satraps, because a distinguished spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him up over all the kingdom. Then the ministers and the satraps began seeking to find occasion against Daniel in respect of the kingdom, but no occasion nor wickedness could they find, inasmuch as, faithful was he and neither error nor wickedness could be found against him.”
A written edict was published prohibiting
anyone from petitioning any other “god or man for thirty days” except
Darius. This was incorporated into the “law of the Medes and Persians,”
which, once written, could not be altered, not even by the king.
Nevertheless, Daniel continued to pray
daily to Yahweh. His “seditious” conduct was reported to the king. Though aware
of the new law, Daniel did not alter his daily routine.
Thus, his accusers “found him making
petition and supplication before his God” and reminded the king of the
legal tradition that no law could be altered once written. Even a ruler as
powerful as Darius was not above the “law of the Medes and Persians.”
The trap was set. His enemies accused him
of disloyalty to the king. This distressed Darius greatly since he valued
Daniel’s services, so he “determined to save Daniel.”
However, Darius was only able to postpone
the execution for a few hours. Since the matter was out of his hands, he left the
matter to the God of Daniel for resolution. Unlike Belshazzar, this king
expressed respect for the God of the Jewish exiles and encouraged Daniel - (“Your
God whom you serve will deliver you”).
RESCUED FROM CERTAIN DESTRUCTION
Cast into the pit, it was sealed shut
behind Daniel. The king passed the night in great anguish. Early the following day, he hastened to see if Daniel remained alive and called out to him, “Is
your God whom you serve able to deliver you from the lions?”
Being very much alive, Daniel answered the king. The angel had shut the mouths of the lions and they had done him no harm. He was “blameless” before God and the king.
After removing Daniel from the pit, the
king had his accusers cast in instead, and they died a horrific death - (“The
lions broke all their bones in pieces before they came to the bottom of the den”).
The ferocity of the attack demonstrated that Daniel was NOT spared
because the beasts were not hungry, and the immediate dispatch of his accusers demonstrated
the ravenous hunger of the lions.
Next, Darius issued a decree to “all the
peoples, nations, and tongues that dwell in all the earth” to publicize how
the “God of Daniel” had reversed the irreversible decree of the king.
The salutation of Darius is virtually identical to the earlier one published by
Nebuchadnezzar - (Daniel 4:1 - “Nebuchadnezzar to all people, nations, and
tongues that dwell in all the earth”).
Previously, Darius had decreed that no man
could petition anyone but him. However, now he summoned “all peoples,
nations, and tongues…to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.” The
plot to exploit the “law of the Medes and Persians” and destroy Daniel
had caused the demise of the very men who conspired against him.
The Aramaic word rendered “destroy”
in verse 26 is the same one translated as “destroy” in verse 22 - (“The
lions have not destroyed me”). The usage echoes the declarations about the
coming “kingdom of God” made years earlier in the interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream concerning a “great image” with a golden head. Daniel’s
miraculous deliverance demonstrated that the kingdom of God “shall not be destroyed”
regardless of the edicts of kings or the machinations of evil men - (Daniel
2:44).
Daniel prospered under the reigns of “Darius
the Mede” and “Cyrus the Persian.” The first half of the book closes
with the inauguration of the next version of the World Empire, the
kingdom of the “Medes and the Persians.”
This story relates to the events recorded
in chapter 3 of the book. In both stories, the Jewish exiles aroused jealousy
among the ruling class. In both, plots were hatched to destroy them. In chapter
3, Daniel’s three friends are thrown into a fiery furnace when they refuse to
venerate the king’s golden image. In chapter 6, Daniel is cast to the lions
when he transgresses the royal edict.
In both stories, the exiles violate the
king’s edict because of their higher allegiance to Yahweh, and in both, they are
miraculously delivered from death. Both stories conclude with the king issuing decrees
to honor the God of Israel. Both incidents demonstrate that Yahweh is in full
control of history. The rise and fall of empires and the welfare of His people are
at His discretion.