When Piety is a Crime
Introduction: The Politics of Envy
We live in an age that is terrified of excellence and allergic to righteousness. Our culture promotes a flattened-out egalitarianism, not of opportunity, but of outcome, which is really just a respectable cover for the green-eyed monster of envy. When a man cannot or will not rise to a certain standard, his basest instinct is to tear down the man who can and does. This is not a new problem. This is the story of Cain and Abel played out in the high courts of a pagan empire. It is the story of the Pharisees plotting against the only truly perfect man to ever walk the earth. And it is the story before us in the sixth chapter of Daniel.
This chapter is frequently relegated to the flannelgraph board in Sunday School, a simple story about a brave man and some toothless lions. But to treat it as such is to miss the sharp, political, and theological teeth of the text itself. This is a story about the collision of two kingdoms, the kingdom of God, represented by his faithful servant Daniel, and the kingdom of man, which always, when left to itself, apes the kingdom of God by making ultimate claims on its subjects. The state always wants to be god. It demands total allegiance, and it despises any rival claimant to the throne of a man's heart.
The conflict here is not fundamentally between Daniel and some jealous bureaucrats. The conflict is between the law of God and the counterfeit law of the state. It is a case study in principled civil disobedience, a master class in how a Christian is to live as a faithful citizen of heaven while being the best possible citizen on earth, right up until the point where the laws of earth contradict the laws of heaven. And what we find is that a life of consistent, open piety is the greatest threat to a tyrannical state and the most powerful witness to the one true God.
The Text
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. 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.” 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.” Therefore King Darius signed the written document, that is, the injunction. 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. 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 that any man who seeks to make a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king answered and said, “The word is certain, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” 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.” 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.”
(Daniel 6:1-15 LSB)
The Stench of Excellence (v. 1-4)
We begin with the setup, which is Daniel's secular competence.
"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." (Daniel 6:3 LSB)
Daniel was a top-tier administrator. He was not just good at his job; he was exceptional. The king recognized this "extraordinary spirit" and planned to make him prime minister. Now, where did this spirit come from? It was the Spirit of his God. Faithfulness to God produces tangible, practical excellence in the world. Christians ought to be the best employees, the best managers, the best statesmen, the best ditch-diggers. Our theology should work its way out into our hands and our minds, producing competence, diligence, and integrity. This is the dominion mandate in action.
But this kind of excellence is a stench in the nostrils of corrupt and mediocre men. Verse 4 tells us their reaction: "Then the commissioners and satraps began seeking to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to matters of the kingdom." Envy is a powerful motivator. They saw his rise as a threat to their own positions and their own comfortable corruption. So they launched an investigation. They audited his books. They interviewed his staff. They were looking for dirt, any "evidence of corruption," any "negligence."
And they found nothing. His record was spotless. This is the first line of defense for any Christian in a hostile world: a life of unimpeachable integrity in your ordinary, secular duties. Before you are called to die for your faith, you are called to work diligently for your faith. Daniel's accusers were first foiled not by his prayer life, but by his paperwork.
The Only Available Dirt (v. 5)
Their failure to find any professional misconduct leads them to a stunning conclusion.
"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.'" (Daniel 6:5 LSB)
Stop and consider what a magnificent compliment this is. This is the testimony of his enemies. They are admitting, in their private counsels, that Daniel is so thoroughly righteous in his public and private life that the only way to trap him is to make his righteousness illegal. They could not attack his ethics, so they decided to attack his theology. They could not fault his service to the king, so they resolved to legislate against his service to his God.
This should be the ambition of every Christian man and woman, particularly those in the public square. Let your enemies be forced to say of you, "He is honest. He is diligent. He is fair. He is incorruptible. The only way we can get him is to pass a law that outlaws his worship." When the world has to invent a new sin to charge you with, you are doing something right.
The Flattery Trap (v. 6-9)
Having identified Daniel's integrity as their target, the conspirators devise a legal trap disguised as loyalty to the king.
"All the commissioners... have counseled together that the king should establish a statute... 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." (Daniel 6:7 LSB)
Notice their method. First, they flatter the king: "King Darius, live forever!" Tyrants and fools are always susceptible to flattery. Second, they present a false consensus: "All the commissioners... have counseled together." This was a lie, of course. Daniel, one of the three chief commissioners, was most certainly not consulted. This is the tactic of the mob, the pressure of the manufactured collective. Third, they propose a law that deifies the state, embodied in the king. For thirty days, all prayer, all petitions, must be directed to Darius. This is a direct assault on the First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me."
And to make the trap inescapable, they appeal to the king's ego by making the law unchangeable, "according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked." This is the height of humanistic pride. Man creates a law and declares it to be as fixed as the stars. But this kind of immutability is not a sign of strength; it is a sign of foolish rigidity. It makes the king a slave to his own proclamation. God's law is unchangeable because it is rooted in His perfect and unchanging character. Man's attempt to make his own laws unchangeable is a parody of this, and it always leads to injustice and folly, as Darius is about to discover.
A Treason of Knees (v. 10)
The trap is set. The law is signed. The penalty is death. And how does Daniel respond?
"Now when Daniel knew that the written document was signed, he entered his house... and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously." (Daniel 6:10 LSB)
This verse is the ethical and spiritual center of the chapter. Daniel's response is breathtaking in its simplicity and courage. He knows the decree is signed. This is not ignorance; it is defiance. But notice the nature of his defiance. He does not organize a protest march. He does not write a scathing op-ed. He goes home and prays.
And he does it "as he had been doing previously." His crisis response was determined by his daily habits. Courage in the moment of testing is cultivated in the quiet discipline of ordinary days. He had been training for this moment his entire life, three times a day, on his knees. When the test came, he did not have to invent a new strategy; he just had to continue being Daniel.
Furthermore, he did this openly. "He had windows open toward Jerusalem." This was not a secret, mumbled prayer. The open window was a public declaration. Jerusalem was the city of God's covenant, the place where His temple stood. To pray toward Jerusalem was to declare his ultimate citizenship, his ultimate allegiance. He was a servant of Darius, but he was a subject of Yahweh. And when the laws of the two kingdoms conflicted, there was no question as to which law he would obey.
The Impotence of Kings (v. 11-15)
The conspirators, who were likely watching his house, spring the trap.
"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." (Daniel 6:14 LSB)
The trap works perfectly on two fronts. It catches Daniel in his piety, and it catches the king in his pride. The king, who just moments before was flattered into thinking of himself as a god, is now shown to be utterly impotent. He is "greatly distressed." He realizes he has been played for a fool and is about to lose his most valuable administrator. He spends the rest of the day trying to find a legal loophole, but his own law, the unchangeable law of the Medes and Persians, has him cornered.
The envious bureaucrats hold his feet to the fire. "Know, O king, that it is a law..." They use his own authority against him. This is what happens when a ruler's authority is detached from the transcendent law of God. It becomes a tool for evil men and a trap for the ruler himself. The king who would be god is now a slave to his own foolish decree. He has the authority to condemn the righteous and no power to save him. This is the tragic irony of all political power that rejects the authority of God.
Conclusion: The Unimpeachable Life
This is not just a story about Daniel; it is a paradigm for the people of God in every age. We are exiles in Babylon. We are called to live and work in a world that does not know our King. Our first duty is to be like Daniel in our work: excellent, faithful, and incorruptible. We should be the best citizens, the most valuable employees, the most honest neighbors.
But we must also be like Daniel in our worship: consistent, open, and uncompromising. Our allegiance to King Jesus must be our defining feature. Our windows must be open toward the New Jerusalem. And we must understand that the world will tolerate our competence for a time, but it will eventually hate our piety. The day may come when the state, in its arrogance, will demand the worship that belongs to God alone. It will pass laws that seek to criminalize our faithfulness.
When that day comes, our duty is clear. We do not riot. We do not panic. We continue on our knees, as we have been doing previously. We obey God rather than men. Daniel's story is a preview of the gospel. He was a righteous man, condemned by a wicked law, delivered over to a place of death by envious men, and saved not by the power of a king, but by the power of his God. His deliverance led to the pagan king declaring the glory of the God of Israel. This is the pattern. Our faithfulness, even unto the lion's den, is the weapon God uses to make His name known and to advance His kingdom. Therefore, let us live lives of such integrity that the only charge our enemies can bring against us is that we fear our God.