6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.

The golden head (Babylon) had ended. The two silver arms (Medes and Persians) had taken over. Notice that compared to Babylon, the Kingdom of Persia had deteriorated. Persia was not ruled by an absolute monarch. The Persian king had to share his power with 120 satraps.

This Darius is not the same as the later Persian emperor, Darius the Great. The Darius in Daniel was General Gobryas. Since General Gobryas conquered Babylon, he was given more responsibility over the territory.

6:2 Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage.

Darius chose “three supervisors” to serve as liaison officers between the princes and the king. Daniel was one of these supervisors. He would have been about eighty years of age at this time. These three supervisors were to protect the king from military revolts, tax evasion, or fraud. Daniel was greatly trusted in these three areas.

6:3 Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

Daniel was a spirit-filled man, because he possessed strong Bible doctrine. Charismatics like to claim that they are spirit-filled, even though they lack Bible knowledge. When a man studies the Scriptures, confesses his sins, and then applies what he knows, he is being led by the Spirit. Charismatics without strong Bible doctrine will think that they are spirit-filled, but they do not have enough Bible doctrine to recognize their true spiritual condition.

6:4 Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption.

When a man is at the top, the man at the bottom will attempt to bring him down. Daniel was so strong in his Bible doctrine and application that his enemies could find nothing wrong in him. It is said that conscience is something that only a good man can enjoy.

6:5 So these men concluded, “We won’t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is in connection with the law of his God.”

This was a great compliment to Daniel.  The greatest praise is the praise of one’s enemies. Ezekiel ranked him with Noah and Job as the most godly of men.

Since these men could find nothing wrong in Daniel, they were going to have to create a law that conflicted the religion of the king. Lawmakers today do the same thing. They have passed “hate crime” laws to “protect” homosexuals and lesbians. It is very possible in the near future that the government will arrest pastors who teach against homosexuality.

6:6 So these supervisors and satraps came by collusion to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!

The other two supervisors and the 120 satraps join together to remove Daniel from his position. They begin by flattery.

6:7 To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions.

The supervisors and satraps wanted to pass a law in which everyone must pray only to Darius. They flatter him with emperor worship. They knew that Daniel would never worship a human being, even if it was the king. Ancient kings were frequently worshiped as gods. Pagans had such inferior views of their gods that such homage was not a problem.

6:8 Now let the king issue a written interdict so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.

Once a Persian king signed a law, it could not be changed.

6:9 So King Darius issued the written interdict.

Those who do not possess strong Bible doctrine will fall to flattery.

6:10 When Daniel realized that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times daily he was kneeling and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.

God’s law is above man’s law. If a government passes a law which is contrary to the written Word of God, then a Christian must follow God instead of man. Peter offered a similar response to the Jewish religious leaders who wanted to silence him from preaching the gospel.

What is the proper position of prayer? The Bible is silent on this issue, so the Christian has liberty to pray as he desires.

Solomon asked the people to pray towards Jerusalem. Daniel prayed three times a day. Notice that Daniel knelt on his knees and faced Jerusalem. Jesus opened his eyes and held his hands to the sky.

There is no doctrine on the position of prayer. There is a doctrine of prayer. We are to pray continually to the Father in the name of the Son. Jesus gave a model prayer to His disciples. This model prayer was revolutionary, because the prayers of Judaism in that day were all ritual prayers which were read or memorized from books. Jesus spoke directly to the Father, just as God is His own Father.

6:11 Then those officials who had gone to the king came by collusion and found Daniel praying and asking for help before his God.

It was a compliment to Daniel that these men were waiting for him to pray.

6:12 So they approached the king and said to him, “Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions?” The king replied, “That is correct, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”

Nebuchadnezzar could have changed this law. Darius could not. This was why Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom was the greatest and the following three kingdoms would be inferior.

6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.”

When the men attacked Daniel, they violated the Abrahamic Covenant. This meant that they would receive a kind-for-kind curse.

6:14 When the king heard this, he was very upset and began thinking about how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon he was struggling to find a way to rescue him.

Darius could not find any loophole in his own law.

6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and said to him, “Recall, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”

Daniel was to be thrown to the lions. There was nothing that the king could do to save Daniel. The king was trapped by flattery. Flattery is a powerful weapon of the enemy. If one does not possess strong Bible doctrine, then he will be trapped by flattery.

6:16 So the king gave the order, and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den of lions. The king consoled Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

Notice that the king said “your” God. The king probably did not mean what he said. This is like many of the super-duper saints saying, “The Lord will take care of you." Excavations among the ruins of Babylon have uncovered a lion’s den, containing an inscription indicating that this was where “wild beasts” killed “men who anger the king.”

6:17 Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening to the den. The king sealed it with his signet ring and with those of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.

The signet ring was the official signature of the king. Notice that the king and the nobles had to approve the execution. The supervisors and satraps thought that they had solved their Daniel problem.

6:18 Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions were brought to him. He was unable to sleep.

The king did not eat and could not sleep, but Daniel did!

6:19 In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions’ den.

Daniel was known to be strong with Jehovah. The king wondered if Jehovah would save him.

6:20 As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”

The king was hoping for an answer.

6:21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!

This was the typical greeting to the king. All of the pagan kings craved immortality. They also craved an eternal dynasty.

6:22 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”

An angel shut the mouth of the lion. The angel could have been the fourth angel who saved Daniel’s three friends. The angel could have been the pre-incarnate Christ. The angel was most likely the former, since "the angel of Jehovah" was not used.

6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.

Daniel was hauled out of the lion’s den without a scratch.

6:24 The king gave another order, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den—they, their children, and their wives. They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

These men and their families received the kind-for-kind curse of the Abrahamic Covenant. This cruel punishment was typical of ancient Persian law.

6:25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and language groups who were living in all the land: “Peace and prosperity!

Darius wrote an official letter to all of the languages and peoples living in the Persian Empire.

6:26 I have issued an edict that throughout all the dominion of my kingdom people are to revere and fear the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God; he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed; his authority is forever.

Just as Nebuchadnezzar glorified God through governmental legislation, Darius did the same.

6:27 He rescues and delivers and performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions!”

In 1784, a large basalt statue of a lion standing over a prone man was found on the palace grounds in Babylon. Archaeologists confirm the dating from the time of Darius. It seems as the lion is not attacking the man, but protecting him. Darius may have created this statue to commemorate Daniel’s deliverance. The inscription originally on this statue had been hacked off, possibly by men who did not like its testimony.

6:28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel’s position was secure in the Kingdom of Persia. He died during the reign of King Cyrus. King Cyrus was the king who made the decree permitting the Jews to return to Israel and rebuild their temple.

Chapters 1-6 recorded the historical section of Daniel. Chapters 7-12 recorded the prophecies and visions of Daniel.