Do we believe that God is able to deliver His people no matter what we are experiencing? Faith is not only believing that God exists, but also that He is active in the lives of His people. He is working and moving in the lives of believers to help us to overcome.

 
Verse 1: “And it came about that it was good in the eyes of Darius to appoint over the kingdom one hundred and twenty officials that were in every part of the kingdom.”

One hundred and twenty: Related to the number 12. Darius set up these officials to be a blessing in his kingdom. He realised his inadequacies – one man could not rule over that vast empire – so he set others into a position whereby they would be able to help him ensure that the kingdom functioned properly.

 
Verse 2: “And it went up from them three supervisors, of whom Daniel was one. And it was to them (the 3 supervisors) that the officials would have to give an account of what was done, in order that no bad thing would come upon the king.”

It went up from them: 3 men were chosen from these 120 officials to supervise them. Daniel was one: It is surprising that Daniel was chosen as one of these supervisors as he was out of the old administration. But, in fact, Daniel is of the new – he lives in a Kingdom reality.

Them: These 3 supervisors

Verse 3: “And it came about that Daniel was greater than all the supervisors and the officials, on account that there was an excellent spirit within him. The king thought to establish him over all of his kingdom.”

An excellent spirit: Many times in this account, we have been told that the Spirit of the Holy God was in Daniel. Daniel did not rely upon his own abilities or intellect. He did not do things according to his own plans. The Holy Spirit brought order into Daniel’s life, and He gave Daniel success.

 
Verse 4: “(Upon hearing this) The supervisors and the officials sought to find a charge against Daniel in regard to the kingdom, but they were not able to find any charge or anything that was lacking, because he was faithful and there was not found in him any error or deficiency whatsoever.”

Find a charge against: They tried to find something that Daniel was doing that was not right in regard to his position.

 
Verse 5: “Then these men said: ‘We will not find concerning Daniel any accusation against him, other than from the worship of his God.’”

Worship of his God: They knew that, above all things, the priority in Daniel’s life was to worship God. We cannot ignore the significance of this. Daniel was thoroughly committed to the worship of God. This is why God had chosen Daniel for the position he found himself in. Daniel was a great man because he worshipped God.

 
Verse 6: “These supervisors and officials hurried to the king, and they said to him: ‘Darius, the king, live forever!’”

Live forever: This is a good statement to make, but these men proclaimed it in a very false way – they used it as a form of flattery. They were not interested in helping Darius and nor were they concerned with the kingdom. Their actions were inspired by their concern of their own positions.

They were full of corruption and did not like having to be held accountable by giving a report to Daniel. They wanted Daniel out of the equation.

 
Verse 7: “All the supervisors of the kingdom, the administrators and officials, the counsellors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever should seek, in the following thirty days, any requests from God or man other than from you, O king, this one should be cast into the den of lions.”

Establish a royal statute: The king had been wise to delegate the administration of his kingdom to the 120 officials. To have all the people’s requests going through himself for 30 days would have been a mammoth task for the king. It was unwise. The king, however, because of pride, desiring to be the sole focus for 30 days, and the supreme authority, accepted the decree.

Thirty days: In Jewish culture the number 30 is related to death. The fact that they chose these 30 days was because they desired Daniel’s death.


Verse 8: “And now, O king, bring forth this injunction. Write it as a document that cannot be changed -according to the laws of the Medes and the Persians, a law which cannot be revoked.”

A law which cannot be revoked: The Medes and the Persians had a tradition that when a king made a law it was not able to be changed. This was a way of saying that the kings were infallible.

This appealed to the king’s pride. He did not take into consideration that no one, except for God, is infallible.

 
Verse 9: “Therefore the King Darius signed the written decree.”

Verse 10: “When it was made known to Daniel that the document which was written went into effect he entered into his house. And in his upper chamber, with the windows open towards Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.”

Three times that day: In Judaism there are three times of prayer per day – morning, afternoon, and night.

As was his custom: This law did not impact his faithfulness, commitment, and worship to God. Many people wrongly interpret Romans 13:1-5, thinking that we have to do everything that the government says. However, Romans 13:3 reveals to us that the governments being referred to (and the ones we need to submit to) are the ones that punish evil, reward good, and who are not
a terror to those who do good things. Obviously, when there is a government that says you cannot pray to God that government should not be obeyed. We should pray to God and not worry about the consequences. We need to be faithful to the Word of God. Man does not take precedence over God – he is not the priority, God is (Acts 5:29). In the Scripture there are numerous examples of people disobeying the government in order to remain faithful to God – even when the consequences could be one’s life.

Note: Daniel did not lobby against this, or spend all of his money trying to stop this law from being in place. Daniel was faithful to do the things that God had told him to do. He did not worry so much about the activity of the enemy. All too often we worry about what the enemy is doing, rather than doing what we are called to do.

Jerusalem: Jerusalem is important to God – not just in the past, but also today, and especially into the future. Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) is going to rule and reign from there for one thousand years.

 
Verse 11: “And these men quickly found Daniel praying and supplicating before his God.”

Quickly found: They were watching and waiting for him to break the law.

 
Verse 12: “And they approached the king and they said before him: ‘Surely an injunction was written that any man that should seek during these coming thirty days a request from either God or man, except for from you O king, shall be cast into the den of the lions?’ And the king answered and said: ‘This matter is correct, as the law of the Medes and the Persians a law which cannot be revoked.’”

Verse 13: “They answered and said before the king: ‘Daniel, from the sons of the exiles of Judah, does not obey you O king, and nor the injunction that you have written. He prayed three times a day his prayer.’”

Of the exiles of Judah: Whenever someone wanted to bring a negative statement against Daniel they would point out that he was from the exiles of Judah.

Verse 14: “And when the king heard this thing he was very angry, and he gave his mind over to Daniel to save him. And he laboured until the setting of the sun to deliver him.”

Very angry: He was not angry with Daniel – he was angry with himself. Darius knew that Daniel was a G-dly man, and that God was more important to him than anything/anyone else. Daniel was also a great blessing to King Darius, and he knew that he had signed into law a decree that he could not revoke.

He gave his mind over: His thoughts were all about Daniel and how to save him.

Until the setting of the sun: The day ends with the setting of the sun – the time for the king to try to deliver Daniel was over. It was time for the law to be enforced. Daniel had to die that same day. There was no longer any opportunity for Darius to physically do anything to save Daniel.

 
Verse 15: “These men went to the king, and they said to the king: ‘You know, O king, that the judgement of the Medes and the Persians is that all commandments that come from the king must be fulfilled, and they cannot be changed.’”

Verse 16: “Then the king commanded that they bring Daniel, and they cast him into the den of lions. And the king answered and said to Daniel: ‘Your God, whom you serve continually, He will save you.’”

Your God, whom you serve: Darius knew that Daniel, first and foremost, served God before he served anyone else. Daniel’s allegiance, faithfulness and fidelity was to the God of Israel.

He will save you: King Darius had faith in the God of Israel.

Verse 17: “And they brought the stone and set it upon the mouth of the lion’s den. And they sealed it with the king’s signature and with the seal of the noblemen, on account that this matter could not be changed in regard to Daniel.”

This matter could not be changed: Daniel had to be in there for a period of time – until the next day.