Commentary - Daniel 6:1-15

Bird's-eye view

This chapter presents one of the most iconic confrontations in Scripture, but it is far more than a simple children's story about a brave man and some hungry lions. It is a case study in the politics of piety. Daniel, a man of extraordinary competence and impeccable integrity, rises to the top of a pagan government. His very excellence, rooted in his faithfulness to God, incites the jealous rage of his lesser colleagues. Unable to find any fault in his professional life, they concoct a scheme to make his religious devotion a state crime. The central conflict is therefore not between Daniel and the lions, but between the law of God and the law of a prideful, self-deifying state. The pagan king, Darius, is trapped by his own foolish, unchangeable decree, revealing the impotence of human sovereignty. Daniel's calm, consistent, and courageous disobedience sets the standard for every believer who must navigate the inevitable clash between their allegiance to Christ and the demands of a hostile world. It is a story about the integrity of the righteous, the envy of the wicked, and the absolute sovereignty of God over the whole affair.

The core lesson is that when a godly man lives an exemplary life in the public square, the world's only remaining point of attack will be his godliness itself. The trap set for Daniel was, in fact, a backhanded compliment of the highest order. His enemies banked on his unwavering faithfulness, and Daniel did not disappoint. His response was not a loud protest or a political campaign, but the quiet continuation of his daily duties to his God, duties he refused to suspend for the sake of a king's temporary divinity. This is the pattern of faithful resistance.

Outline

Context In Daniel

Daniel 6 marks a transition in the historical setting of the book, moving from the Babylonian empire under Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar to the new Medo-Persian empire under Darius the Mede. Despite the change in regime, the central theme remains constant: God's people living faithfully in exile under the authority of pagan rulers, and God demonstrating His ultimate sovereignty over these earthly kingdoms. This chapter parallels the trial of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace in chapter 3. In both cases, the faithfulness of God's servants is tested by an idolatrous state decree, and in both cases, God delivers them miraculously, leading to the pagan king's confession of God's power. This narrative section of Daniel (chapters 1-6) provides the historical and theological foundation for the prophetic visions that follow in chapters 7-12, showing that the God who rules over individual kings and their schemes is the same God who directs the course of empires and all of human history.

Key Issues

The Politics of Piety

The world loves a useful Christian, right up until the moment his Christianity gets in the way. The world respects a competent Christian, an honest Christian, a hard-working Christian. But the world despises a praying Christian, a worshiping Christian, a Christian whose ultimate allegiance is clearly not to the powers that be. This is the tension that Daniel navigates, and it is the tension every faithful believer must navigate. The story of Daniel in the lions' den is a master class in the politics of piety. It teaches us that Christian faithfulness is not lived out in a vacuum. It is lived out in the real world, a world of jealous colleagues, proud rulers, and laws that seek to dethrone God. Daniel's testimony was not that he was a good administrator who happened to be a Jew. His testimony was that he was a good administrator because he was a faithful Jew. His excellence flowed from his piety, and it was this very piety that his enemies sought to criminalize. This is the heart of the matter: the world will tolerate our faith as a private hobby, but it will declare war on our faith when it becomes the governing principle of our entire lives.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1-3 It seemed good to Darius that he set 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom, and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king planned to set him over the entire kingdom.

Darius sets up a rational administrative structure to manage his vast new empire. It is a system of accountability designed to prevent corruption and protect the king's revenue. In this system, Daniel, now an old man who has served in a hostile environment for decades, rises to the top. He is not just one of the pack; he begins to distinguish himself. The reason given is crucial: an extraordinary spirit was in him. This is not a reference to mere cleverness or a good attitude. This is the Spirit of God, the same Spirit who gave him wisdom to interpret dreams and the integrity to withstand temptation. Christians are called to be the best employees, the most competent workers, the most trustworthy administrators. Our secular work is a primary theater for our spiritual witness. Daniel's competence was so undeniable that the king planned to make him prime minister over the entire kingdom. Excellence is a powerful apologetic.

4-5 Then the commissioners and satraps began seeking to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to matters of the kingdom; but they were not able to find any ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”

Success breeds envy. The other high-ranking officials see this Hebrew exile about to be promoted over them, and they cannot stand it. So they launch an investigation. They are looking for dirt, for some charge related to his government work. But they come up empty. The text is emphatic: no accusation, no corruption, no negligence. Daniel's record was spotless. This is a remarkable testimony. And so, in their frustration, they pivot. Their conclusion is one of the greatest compliments ever paid to a believer in Scripture. They admit that his civic life is unassailable. The only way to trap him, they conclude, is to set his civic duty in direct opposition to his religious duty. They knew he was a man of principle, and they decided to use his greatest strength, his faithfulness to God, as the weapon against him. This is the antithesis in action. When a man is righteous, his righteousness itself becomes offensive to the wicked.

6-8 Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have counseled together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who seeks to make a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the written document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

The conspirators approach the king with flattery and a lie. The phrase "All the commissioners" is a lie from the start, because Daniel, the chief commissioner, was certainly not consulted. Their proposal is a masterstroke of political idolatry. For thirty days, Darius is to be the sole source of appeal in the universe. All petitions, whether to a god or a man, must be routed through him. This is the deification of the state, the perennial temptation of earthly power. They appeal to the king's ego, and he falls for it. The final touch is the appeal to the infamous "law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked." This was a principle designed to display the stability and majesty of the throne, but here it becomes a tool of pride and foolishness. The king is about to be ensnared by the very law meant to establish his authority.

9 Therefore King Darius signed the written document, that is, the injunction.

With a stroke of the pen, piety becomes a capital crime. The king, blinded by his own vanity, signs the decree. The trap is now set. The full force of the Medo-Persian state has been weaponized against the quiet, consistent prayer life of one elderly man.

10 Now when Daniel knew that the written document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.

This is the central verse of the narrative. Daniel's response is magnificent in its simplicity. He hears the news. He knows the penalty. And what does he do? He goes home and does exactly what he has always done. This is key: as he had been doing previously. His prayer was not an act of defiant protest; it was an act of continued faithfulness. The protest was a byproduct of his piety, not the other way around. He does not seek a confrontation, but he does not flee from one either. He prays with his windows open toward Jerusalem, the city of God's promises, signifying that his ultimate hope and allegiance lie with God's kingdom, not Darius's. He kneels, a posture of submission to his true King. And he prays and gives thanks. Even under threat of death, he has reasons for gratitude. This is mature, disciplined, courageous faith.

11-13 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel seeking to make a petition and making supplication before his God. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction...?” The king answered and said, “The word is certain...” Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps seeking to make his petition three times a day.”

The conspirators, acting like a pack of wolves, swarm Daniel's house and find him, just as they expected. They immediately run to the king. Notice how they frame it. First, they make the king recommit to his own foolish decree. They get him to state that the law is certain and irrevocable. Only then do they spring the trap and name the offender. They identify him as "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah," a subtle reminder of his foreign status. They accuse him of paying no attention to the king, of disrespect. They frame his piety as political rebellion. This is the classic tactic of the accuser: to portray faithfulness to God as faithlessness to the state.

14-15 Then, as soon as the king heard this word, he was greatly distressed within himself and set his mind on saving Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to deliver him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”

The reality of his folly crashes down on Darius. He who was flattered into playing God for a month is now revealed to be a powerless man, trapped by his own pride. He is greatly distressed because he esteems Daniel and now realizes he has been manipulated into signing his death warrant. He spends the rest of the day trying to find a legal loophole, but there is none. The conspirators return, not to comfort the king, but to twist the knife. They remind him of the unchangeable law, holding his own majesty hostage. The great king is a prisoner of his own system. This is what happens when human law seeks to be absolute. It becomes a rigid, merciless machine that can devour even those whom the king wishes to save.

Application

We are not all called to be high-ranking government officials, but we are all called to the same kind of radical, everyday faithfulness that Daniel displayed. First, we must pursue excellence in our vocations. Our work is a testimony. Let us be so competent, honest, and diligent that if our enemies want to accuse us, they have to invent a crime related to our worship of Jesus Christ. Let them be forced to say, "We can find no fault in this man, except concerning the law of his God."

Second, we must cultivate a disciplined, secret life of prayer. Daniel's courage in the face of the lions' den was not manufactured on the spot. It was forged over decades of kneeling three times a day. Public courage is born in private communion with God. When the pressure comes, you will not have time to develop a prayer life. You will only have time to draw on the one you already have.

Finally, we must understand the nature of true civil disobedience. Daniel did not organize a protest march. He did not write an angry letter to the editor. He simply and quietly disobeyed the law that commanded him to disobey God. He continued his faithful obedience to the higher law. When the state commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, our duty is clear. We must obey God rather than men. This is not rebellion for rebellion's sake. It is faithfulness, and we should undertake it without ostentation, without panic, and with full trust in the God who shuts the mouths of lions.