Daniel 6:11 - Meaning and Application

Here is the proof that Daniel kept praying to his God, even after the new law against it was made (Daniel 6:11). The men came together in a rush, and the wording suggests a noisy, hostile gathering, the same idea found in Daniel 6:6, borrowed from Psalm 2:1, “Why do the nations rage?” They came to Daniel’s house, likely pretending to have business with him, at the time they knew was his regular hour for prayer. If they had not found him at prayer, they would have used that against him too, accusing him of weakness and distrust in God. But they found him on his knees, praying and making requests before his God. For his love they treated him as their enemy, but, like his father David, he devoted himself to prayer (Psalm 109:4).

Then they brought the matter to the king. When they had found a way to accuse Daniel about the law of his God, they wasted no time and went to the king (Daniel 6:12). They first asked whether such a law had not been made, and after they got the king to confirm it, and to admit that it could not be changed, they went on to accuse Daniel (Daniel 6:13). They described him in a way meant to stir up the king’s anger: “He is one of the captives from Judah. He belongs to that despised people, and now he is only a captive, with nothing of his own except what he has by the king’s favor. Yet he pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you signed.” It is nothing new for what is done faithfully out of conscience toward God to be twisted into stubborn rebellion against civil authority, so that the best saints are spoken of as if they were the worst people. Daniel honored God, and so he prayed, and we have reason to think he prayed for the king and his government too. Yet this was twisted into a claim that he did not regard the king. His excellent spirit and honored reputation could not shield him from these poisoned attacks. They did not say, “He makes his petition to his God,” because that might have sounded like a good thing. They only said, “He makes his petition,” which was the part forbidden by the law.

The king then saw the real purpose behind the whole scheme. He understood that they had not done this to honor him, but out of spite toward Daniel, and he was deeply displeased with himself for having granted their request (Daniel 6:14). When people indulge pride and enjoy being flattered, they often do not realize what trouble they are preparing for themselves. Their flatterers may become their tormentors, and they are really setting a trap for their own feet. So the king set his heart to rescue Daniel. By argument and by authority he worked until sunset to save him, meaning that he tried to persuade Daniel’s accusers not to press the case. We often do things thoughtlessly and later wish a thousand times that we had never done them. That is a good reason to watch our steps carefully, because then our ways will be established.

The accusers, however, pressed hard for judgment (Daniel 6:15). We are not told what Daniel said. The king himself became his advocate, so Daniel did not need to plead his own case. He quietly committed himself and his cause to the One who judges rightly. But the accusers insisted that the law must take its course. In the government of the Medes and Persians, which had become the world empire, it was a fixed rule that no decree or law the king established could be changed. We see the same thing in Esther 1:19 and Esther 8:8. The Chaldeans praised the king’s power by letting him make and unmake laws as he pleased, to kill or spare whom he wanted. The Persians praised the king’s wisdom by assuming that whatever law he had solemnly confirmed was so perfectly made that it could never need to be changed or set aside, as if any human wisdom could foresee every problem when making a law. If this rule is applied to Daniel’s case, and I am inclined to think it is being twisted there, it honors the king’s power to make laws but limits his power to carry out justice with mercy. Yet mercy supports a throne, and acts of pardon bring honor to a reign. Those who will not allow a ruler to set aside a law that disables someone do not usually question his power to pardon an offense against a penal law. But Darius is denied even this power. We should see how much need there is to pray for rulers, that God would give them wisdom, because even the wisest and best of them are often tangled in hard choices.

At last the law was carried out against Daniel. The king, very unwillingly and against his own conscience, signed the order for Daniel’s execution. Daniel, that serious and honorable man, who carried both dignity and gentleness in his face, who had often looked great in court and in counsel, and greater still on his knees, who had power with God and with men and had prevailed, was brought, simply for worshiping his God, as if he were one of the worst criminals, and was thrown into the lions’ den to be eaten by them (Daniel 6:16). It is hard to think about without deep sorrow for the faithful sufferer and deep anger against the wicked accusers. To make sure of the matter, the stone over the mouth of the den was sealed, and the king, who was too easily led, was persuaded to seal it with his own signet (Daniel 6:17), the same unhappy signet with which he had confirmed the law that trapped Daniel. But his nobles did not trust him unless they added their seals too. In the same way, when Christ was buried, his enemies sealed the stone that was rolled to the door of his tomb.

Darius also gave Daniel this encouragement, “Your God, whom you serve continually, will deliver you” (Daniel 6:16). In these words he first clears Daniel of guilt, admitting that his only offense was serving his God continually, even after that service had been made illegal. Then he leaves it to God to rescue him, since he himself could not do it: “He will deliver you.” He is sure Daniel’s God can deliver him, because he believes God is almighty. He also has reason to think God will do it, since he had heard how God delivered Daniel’s companions from the fiery furnace in a similar case, and he concludes that God is always faithful to those who remain faithful to him. Those who serve God continually will be kept by him continually, and he will stand by them in his service.