27/02/22 – Daniel 6:10-17
Daniel 6:10 – 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.
the writing – This is the same word as “writing” as in “this writing was written” (Daniel 5:24). It represents a written document or edict, effectively, a written law. It was also translated “writing” in the previous two verses (Daniel 6:8 & 9), referring to an edict (a proclamation by force of law) that would result in Daniel being thrown into the lions’ den in today’s passage.
was signed – or “was inscribed”, as the writing on the wall appears to have been inscribed in Daniel 5:24 & 25. Here (and in the previous two verses – Daniel 6:8 & 9) the signing has been inscribed. It is useful to note that they wouldn’t have written as we would write today. It is most likely that the edict was written in a form of Cuneiform which was a particular method of writing formed by pressing a stylus into a soft material such as clay (as in clay tablets). Likewise the writing on the wall in the previous chapter may well have been inscribed (or chiselled?) in similar fashion.
In each case, the document is signed, where signing uses that same word that signified an inscription in Daniel 5:24 & 25.
chamber – or roof-chamber, or upper chamber. The word has the idea of “up” or “upward”. Cambridge says: “The ‘roof-chamber’ was (and still is) an apartment ‘raised above the flat roof of a house at one corner, or upon a tower like annex to the building, with latticed windows giving free circulation to the air’. It was thus cool in summer, and a part of the house to which anyone would naturally retire if he wished to be undisturbed. In the N.T. the roof-chamber is mentioned as a place of meeting for prayer”.
kneeled – to bless; kneel; praise. Its other four
uses in Daniel are translated “blessed” (Eg Daniel 2:19). The word can
mean both to kneel and to praise or bless; to kneel was the same as praising or
blessing. “knee” is derived from the same root word.
before – or “in front of” God but probably not “to” God.
as he did aforetime – as he would
have done before this time. That is, even though he knew it would land him in
the lions’ den (Daniel 6:7), he didn’t
change the way he behaved. This is probably the key part of this verse: that
Daniel knew what would happen if he praised God as he had always done, yet he
didn’t allow this knowledge to change the way he behaved in any way. It’s one
thing to take a risk (in case you get caught); it’s something quite different
to know that he would get caught because his accusers were watching and
waiting for the opportunity to tell the king when he broke this law.
Israel was commanded to pray to God, especially when they had sinned and
needed God’s forgiveness and restoration – 1 Kings 8:33-40.
Also note the following verse which is sometimes called the recipe for
revival.
2 Chronicles
7:14
– If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Daniel 6:11 – Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
assembled – to gather in a tumultuous throng; show tumultuousness; come thronging. It is also used in Daniel 6:6 (“Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king”) and Daniel 6:15 (“Then these men assembled unto the king”). In each case they have gathered together as a large (probably very vocal) group. The world has changed little from then, it seems. It is still those who shout the loudest and most forcibly, not the quiet calm voices of reason, who are often the most listened to, especially by those who are swayed by such pressure being brought to bear.
supplication – implore favour or mercy
praying – or “petitioning”. It is translated “shall ask” in Daniel 6:7 (“shall ask a petition”) where “shall ask” is effectively the verb form of “a petition”. In Daniel 6:7 therefore it could have been translated as “shall petition a petition” or even “shall pray a prayer”. This law was therefore aimed directly at the destruction of Daniel.
Here in Vs 11 above, Daniel would certainly have seen them. They do not appear to have tried to be in any way secretive about it. That is, they are not hiding their true intentions to Daniel. It seems that they are daring Daniel to keep on praying to God and, if he does, they will then take their accusations to the king (see Vss 12 to 15 below). Daniel appears to be very much aware of their intentions, yet he will not be bullied into not praying to God for 30 days. In fact, it is clear that he refuses to give in to their pressure to give up even one of his prayer sessions.
This is what spiritual warfare is so often like: the enemy will attack to see if the Christian will consider compromise to avoid the worst of the “punishment”. But keep in mind that there’s no victory without a battle and no battle without a cost. Spiritual warfare will hurt. It will cost the Christian, sometimes severely. But any Christian who backs off the battle to avoid some (or even all) of the cost will find victory out of his reach. Genuine Christians (as opposed to the “wannabee” Christians who like the benefits but not the cost) are “all or nothing” people; no compromise!
If we desire to be genuine Christians, we will get hurt.
2 Timothy 3:12 – Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Because genuine Christians are called to follow the example of Jesus’ suffering.
1 Peter 2:21 – For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
If we want to be a genuine Christian, we must deny all our worldly benefits, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.
Matthew 16:24 – Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Or else we are not worthy of Him.
Matthew 10:38 – And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Nor can we be His disciple.
Luke 14:33 – So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
These are serious conditions indeed! Not for the faint-hearted, are they!
Tozer wrote (in “Man – the
dwelling place of God”): “The new cross does not
slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way
of living and saves his self-respect. ….. The Christian message is slanted in
the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the
public.
The
philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere but its sincerity does not
save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely
the whole
meaning
of the cross.
The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said goodbye to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.”
Daniel 6:12 – 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.
came near - approached
As soon as they have “the dirt” on Daniel, they approach the king (clearly without delay) in order to use this new law to get Daniel thrown to the lions. They have to ensure that the king certainly knows about this. Today we would call them “whistle-blowers” or “snitches”, tale-tellers snitching on everyone around them. They even challenge the king as to whether or not he is actually aware of the full ramifications of his new law.
the law of the Medes and Persians – That law which even the king himself, being of the Medes and Persians, was required to obey, including not altering a law once it had been signed into existence.
The king acknowledges that, yes, he did indeed sign such a decree that could not now be altered in any way.
Note that “they” aren’t thronging tumultuously yet. But when the king endeavours to do everything in his power to deliver Daniel (Vs 14 below), “these men” assembled before the king (Vs 15 below). That is, they thronged tumultuously, putting pressure on the king to remind him of the legalities of the law he has proclaimed. Here “they” come near (they approach) the king in order to inform him of the terrible deed that disobedient Daniel has committed, and wouldn’t you love to throw him to the lions, O king! Wasn’t it you, O king, who signed that decree? You were the one who demanded this! The law that you decreed requires it, O king, and it cannot be altered at all now!
Daniel 6:13 – 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.
regardeth not thee ….. nor the decree – shows contempt toward you and your royal command
petition – petition; request; prayer
(always in Jewish liturgy). Thus this term included
any prayer Daniel made, and therefore makes Daniel’s prayer a key target of the
evil plans of these men.
three times a day – It is clear that these men must have watched
Daniel over a period of some days for it seems that they have established that
Daniel has continued with his prayer as he always had done so (“as
he did aforetime” – Vs 10 above).
They are making a very big point of reminding the king that Daniel isn’t even one of them; he’s (shock, horror!) one of those slaves Babylon brought back from Judah, and naturally he doesn’t care a bit about any law you should make, O king! He’s a foreigner! He just does what he wants to regardless of what you might think. He shows contempt for your authority, O king! By your authority you have made this law, and Daniel just goes ahead and prays (to his God) three times a day. How shocking is that, O king, that your favoured overseer totally disregards your royal decree! And, worst of all, O king, Daniel thinks his God is more worthy than you, the king!
Daniel 6:14 – 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.
However, the king, far from being displeased with Daniel, is displeased with himself for having been tricked into making such a law. He must have now seen what these men had been planning – the demise of Daniel – and, as the saying goes, he could kick himself for being so stupid! When the king heard these words from these evil men, he was angry with himself for having been taken in so thoroughly by the trickery of these men.
Daniel’s accusers had thought that the king’s law would be the end to all this: that the king would have to be on their side now instead of always taking Daniel’s side (as they saw it). But the king setting his heart on how to deliver Daniel must have rattled them. Instead of making an on-the-spot decision that Daniel had broken the law, therefore he must be punished, the king is clearly trying to delay such a terrible decision in his eyes. Because of this, the accusers then decide to put pressure on the king to do what the law of the Medes and Persians demanded (Vs 15 below).
Note that the punishment was apparently to be carried out by sunset.
Daniel 6:15 – 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.
assembled – This is that word previously used in Vs 11 above; “to gather in a tumultuous throng” Perhaps up until now only a few of the accusers had come to see the king, but now there’s a need to show some force via greater numbers. No leader really wants to be seen as unpopular. The worst of tyrants still loves to hear flattery from his sycophants. In fact it was probably a desire to have people treat him with favour or respect that led to Darius listening to them in the first place, instead of recognising the deception in their talk.
Note that “satan” means “the adversary” and his other name, “the devil”, means “the false accuser; slanderer”. Daniel’s accusers were both his adversaries and his false accusers. No second guess as to who the real master of these accusers was!
Then, when it looked like the king was desperately seeking a loophole by which he might permit Daniel to escape the punishment, these men determine that there should be no escaping the inevitable consequences of the law that the king has foolishly signed into existence. The king might have been short-sighted when he signed that law in existence, but that’s going to be nothing to what might befall these men, regardless of whether Daniel lives or dies. Do they think that the king will be pleased with them? But, once set upon their evil plan, these men have to keep on going now. It is that same unchangeability that locks the king into destroying Daniel that also prevents these men from backing off. They have set a monster of a plan in action and, once set, it cannot be stopped now.
Daniel 6:16 – 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.
den – or “pit” The word derives from a root word meaning to dig (or, if a farmer, to plough). That a stone was placed over the entrance (see Vs 17 below) does indicate that it wasn’t an open pit but probably a cave-like hole in the ground that had an entrance narrow enough to place a stone on top to block it off.
continually – or “perpetually”. It derives from a word meaning the place where one dwells or inhabits on an ongoing basis. Daniel served God on an ongoing or habitual basis. He literally lived his service for God.
So the king’s decree is commanded to be carried out. Daniel is cast (thrown) into the lions’ den (pit). The king tells Daniel that his God whom Daniel serves (or pays reverence to) continually (perpetually) will deliver him. Does the king actually believe this, or is he hoping against all hope that everything that has been said about Daniel’s God in the past will turn out to be true: that He is the God of gods and Lord of kings, and that all things are possible for Him (Daniel 2:47).
Daniel 6:18 (Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.) does suggest that while the king might have wanted Daniel’s God to be Daniel’s deliver, he was also extremely apprehensive as to whether Daniel could possibly survive the night in the lions’ den. Daniel 6:24 (…. 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.) does demonstrate that the lions were not slow in attacking and eating their victims, so the king had good reason (so he thought) in wondering whether Daniel could possibly survive the whole night with them.
So the king’s statement “he will deliver thee” may have been more of the “May God deliver you”, more of a wish than a statement of truth.
Daniel 6:17 – 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.
the mouth – Here it literally means the mouth and is translated “mouths” in Daniel 6:22 (“hath shut the lions’ mouths”). It is a different word to that used by Nebuchadnezzar approaching the mouth of the furnace (Daniel 3:26) where “mouth” is more of an entrance, opening or gateway.
sealed – with sealing wax dripped onto the join between the stone and the entrance such that any opening of the den would break this wax seal.
signet – signet ring with the authority of the user, much like a signature on a document, but instead by pressing the signet ring onto the wax to leave a unique imprint. It was a sign that the king had authorised the command or decree. Because it was based upon a decree, or because they requested this, it seems that the king’s lords also had to authorise, or be witnesses to (to testify), that the stone had been placed with Daniel locked inside, by pressing their signet rings as well on the soft wax. If the seal were broken, then further punishments would be carried out to deal with it. Not even the king could have broken this seal without being found out.
the purpose – that which was required by the king’s decree which he had signed.
that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel – The nobles here could have included some of his accusers, and their seal on the stone would prevent the king from letting Daniel escape without them knowing about it. On the other hand, the king knew that if Daniel survived the night, then he would have to be set free because it could be proven that the punishment had been carried out exactly as decreed.
Even though the king has desperately tried to save Daniel’s life, he is unable to escape the requirements of a law he made himself.
It is true that everything we do (or plan to do) should be assessed in terms of its impact upon ourselves and others. All too often we make a decision that seems good to us at the time, yet a bit later on we find out that there were consequences we hadn’t considered early enough (if at all). It is always a good idea to not rush into decisions that could cost us a lot if we get it wrong. In particular, this applies to spiritual issues. So many Christians make spur of the moment decisions that could affect the rest of their lives. Before Jesus chose His disciples, he spent a night preparing for this decision in prayer and fasting (Luke 6:12-16). Other examples can be found in Mark 1:35; Matthew 4:1-2 (before the temptation); Matthew 14:23 (before the storm on Galilee / Tiberias / Gennesaret); Luke 9:28 (before the transfiguration); Matthew 26:36-46 (before the crucifixion). If Jesus thought prayer was that necessary, then why don’t we think likewise?
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