Daniel 6:1-15
“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” (Daniel 6:1-3)
Darius realized that one man could not keep track of everything that went on in the empire. He chose a hundred twenty leaders to administer and be responsible for the various provinces. Over those princes he placed three executive officers, or presidents to handle specific areas of administration much as a large company might have a vice president in charge of finances and another in charge of labor relations or other areas. While they each work together, they can specialize in their particular areas. In cases where the best choices for one branch may conflict with those of another, the vice president in charge of finances usually has the final say in what is done.
Because he had such a good and unselfish attitude, Daniel was able to work well with the various people involved and his innate good sense made him an obvious choice for the top position. Darius thought about making him the chief executive officer, responsible for the operation of the entire empire. Darius was giving Daniel exactly what Belshazzar had promised him.
“Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:4-5)
Selfish and ambitious people are always seeking to increase their prestige and power, and while cream naturally rises to the top, they are not content to settle for the natural rise. Frequently they think it is easier to pull those above them down than to work their way up, and especially if the man they want to replace seems better qualified. They look for any mistakes or questionable actions to exploit whether related to his job or not. It is why we have so many negative political campaigns.
The other leaders were afraid that Darius might follow through and place Daniel incharge of the entire empire, and began looking for som mistake or indiscretion they could use to discredit him. Finally they concluded that any thing they charged him with would have to be related to God‘s law, because his whole life was centered around obeying God.
“Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.” (Daniel 6:6-9)
Knowing that God’s law forbid worshipping any other God, they decided to make it against the law to pray to him, but they were afraid Darius might catch on if they just outlawed praying to God. To increase the liklihood of his passing the law, they appealed to Darius’ pride. They proposed a law that every request by any person had to be directed through the king, giving him the final say in every detail of people’s lives and making it clear he was better qualified than they were to make their decisions. It was the same kind of pride that makes government officials think they are better qualified to decide what a farmer should grow or what kind of house people should build and allows a man to become a dictator.
Decisions based on our own emotions have no solid basis and seldom turn out good. Had Darius thought about the law he was signing. He would have realized that technically, every child who needed to go to the bathroom or wanted a cookie had to ask him first. It would become a real problem to deal with all the requests, but enamored with the belief people would be dependent on him for every decision, he ignored the consequences, just as law makers do today. Under Medo-Persian law, once a decree had been signed, it could not be changed, making it crucial that all the ramifications of a law be considered before it was signed.
One of the reasons for making it necessary to get both houses of congress and the president all to approve a bill was to minimize the number of laws that were implemented without proper consideration of the consequences, with the Supreme court to check that the proper procedures had been followed. Darius had no such system in place, and made the decision with no further consideration. It never occurred to him that they had an ulterior motive in asking for such a law.
“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.” (Daniel 6:10)
Although he knew the law had been signed, Daniel made no changes in his service for God. He didn’t spend a lot of time trying to plan his defense or staging a protest, nor did he make a public show of his prayer to call attention to the law. He just went on like he always had, following Jesus’ command in Mark 13:11, “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.” It is exactly the opposite of the advice handed out by several Christian legal advisors in recent years.
“Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 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.
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.” (Daniel 6:11-13)
With the law approved, the leaders immediately went to Daniel’s house to see if he would comply since the law was designed specifically to get him in trouble. As soon as they were sure, they went to Darius, accusing Daniel of having no respect for the laws,, or for Darius because he didn’t immediately submit, much like politicians today.
“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.
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.” (Daniel 6:14-15)
Realizing the consequences of the law he’d passed, Darius did everything in his power to get it changed, but like congress today found that it was much harder to fix a bad bill than it is to do the job right in the first place. As has been asked, “if you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when will you ever find the time to do it right later?”
“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” (Daniel 6:1-3)
Darius realized that one man could not keep track of everything that went on in the empire. He chose a hundred twenty leaders to administer and be responsible for the various provinces. Over those princes he placed three executive officers, or presidents to handle specific areas of administration much as a large company might have a vice president in charge of finances and another in charge of labor relations or other areas. While they each work together, they can specialize in their particular areas. In cases where the best choices for one branch may conflict with those of another, the vice president in charge of finances usually has the final say in what is done.
Because he had such a good and unselfish attitude, Daniel was able to work well with the various people involved and his innate good sense made him an obvious choice for the top position. Darius thought about making him the chief executive officer, responsible for the operation of the entire empire. Darius was giving Daniel exactly what Belshazzar had promised him.
“Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:4-5)
Selfish and ambitious people are always seeking to increase their prestige and power, and while cream naturally rises to the top, they are not content to settle for the natural rise. Frequently they think it is easier to pull those above them down than to work their way up, and especially if the man they want to replace seems better qualified. They look for any mistakes or questionable actions to exploit whether related to his job or not. It is why we have so many negative political campaigns.
The other leaders were afraid that Darius might follow through and place Daniel incharge of the entire empire, and began looking for som mistake or indiscretion they could use to discredit him. Finally they concluded that any thing they charged him with would have to be related to God‘s law, because his whole life was centered around obeying God.
“Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.” (Daniel 6:6-9)
Knowing that God’s law forbid worshipping any other God, they decided to make it against the law to pray to him, but they were afraid Darius might catch on if they just outlawed praying to God. To increase the liklihood of his passing the law, they appealed to Darius’ pride. They proposed a law that every request by any person had to be directed through the king, giving him the final say in every detail of people’s lives and making it clear he was better qualified than they were to make their decisions. It was the same kind of pride that makes government officials think they are better qualified to decide what a farmer should grow or what kind of house people should build and allows a man to become a dictator.
Decisions based on our own emotions have no solid basis and seldom turn out good. Had Darius thought about the law he was signing. He would have realized that technically, every child who needed to go to the bathroom or wanted a cookie had to ask him first. It would become a real problem to deal with all the requests, but enamored with the belief people would be dependent on him for every decision, he ignored the consequences, just as law makers do today. Under Medo-Persian law, once a decree had been signed, it could not be changed, making it crucial that all the ramifications of a law be considered before it was signed.
One of the reasons for making it necessary to get both houses of congress and the president all to approve a bill was to minimize the number of laws that were implemented without proper consideration of the consequences, with the Supreme court to check that the proper procedures had been followed. Darius had no such system in place, and made the decision with no further consideration. It never occurred to him that they had an ulterior motive in asking for such a law.
“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.” (Daniel 6:10)
Although he knew the law had been signed, Daniel made no changes in his service for God. He didn’t spend a lot of time trying to plan his defense or staging a protest, nor did he make a public show of his prayer to call attention to the law. He just went on like he always had, following Jesus’ command in Mark 13:11, “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.” It is exactly the opposite of the advice handed out by several Christian legal advisors in recent years.
“Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 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.
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.” (Daniel 6:11-13)
With the law approved, the leaders immediately went to Daniel’s house to see if he would comply since the law was designed specifically to get him in trouble. As soon as they were sure, they went to Darius, accusing Daniel of having no respect for the laws,, or for Darius because he didn’t immediately submit, much like politicians today.
“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.
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.” (Daniel 6:14-15)
Realizing the consequences of the law he’d passed, Darius did everything in his power to get it changed, but like congress today found that it was much harder to fix a bad bill than it is to do the job right in the first place. As has been asked, “if you don’t have time to do it right the first time, when will you ever find the time to do it right later?”
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