In Daniel 6 there is a plot afoot to get rid of Daniel. The new king is considering putting Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom. But Daniel’s peers do not like this idea. In verse 3 it says,
“Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.”
Daniel out performed everybody, it’s just how he rolled. Everything he puts his hands to he does with excellence. This is the third king Daniel served under while being in captivity and he again rises to the top.
Daniel’s fellow governors and satraps wanted to get rid of him. They search for something they could use against him but found nothing. In 1 Peter 2:12 he says,
“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
Maybe Peter said that with consideration of the life of Daniel.
The plotters decided that the only way they could trap Daniel was if they used his faith against him. They convinced the king to make an unchangeable law that said the people must only pray and worship the king for the next thirty days or they would be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel doesn’t observe that law and the plotters tattle tail on him. The king’s response is amazing,
“And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.”
To his dissatisfaction the king could not change the law, so Daniel goes into the lion’s den. The king said to him, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you”.
I can hear the distress in the king’s words. He regrets making this law. The king knows the plotters set Daniel up having him sign the decree. The king fasts all night and early in the morning goes to the den and calls out to Daniel,
“And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”
The king orders that Daniel be brought out of the den and the ones who accused him along with their wives and children be thrown in. Then the king makes a decree and sends it out to the kingdom. He says,
“I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.
For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Daniel is a shining example of this proverb in Proverbs 18:16: “A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men”. Our gift defined and refined will do just that. Daniel’s excellence made room for him in the workplace and God worked with Daniel to reveal himself to the people. God is waiting for his people to step into their God given authority so he can prove to the world that he exists and is the source of true life.