“Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.“ (Daniel 6:3)
Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:5)
These verses do two things. First, they tell us of Daniel’s character. Remember, he had been exiled from Jerusalem in a way that none of us would want for ourselves. Yet, he didn’t walk away from his faith. He believed strongly and remained faithful. He was so faithful that the only accusation others could make against him was that he was faithful to his God.
Second, these verses set the stage for the well-known story of Daniel in the lion’s den.
In short, others seemed to be jealous of Daniel, so they set a trap. They tricked the king into signing a decree that no one could worship anyone or anything except the king for 30 days. Of course, Daniel could not follow such a law and was found guilty. He was sentenced to a night in the lion’s den.
We all know the next portion of the story: the angel closed the mouths of the lions, and Daniel survived the night.
The king, realizing he had been snookered, sentenced those who had tricked him to the lion’s den. Those men AND their families were cast into the lion’s den and were immediately crushed by the lions.
I think the king unwittingly fulfilled God’s law: “then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” (Deuteronomy 19:19)
Perhaps the most important verse in the chapter is the king’s declaration regarding Yahweh: “I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.” (6:26)
Father, help my heart to be so faithful to you that others not only see you, but want to know you. Amen.