Daniel 6:4 Commentary and Bible Study

Daniel, as the author of this narrative, writes it fairly tightly. You pass from one thing to another very swiftly with no wasted words. ‘Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom.’ They wanted him to fall, and initially they looked for some fault in his administration of the kingdom. You can imagine there would have been an intensive investigation because Daniel had been functioning, to a greater or lesser extent in that city, for decades, so there was a long history behind him. You would think the investigators could have found something with which to accuse him, or some disgruntled people who were willing to speak against him. They would no doubt have looked for lack of personal integrity, for evidence of bribery and corruption. There was probably quite an international crowd among the subordinate rulers. There were many who were in position, whose service, like Daniel’s, went back to the time of Nebuchadnezzar and well into his reign and lifetime. There would have been people who were captives from all the nations, and many other Jews. Among them would have been Chaldean nationals and Assyrians who the Chaldeans had conquered, and maybe they had imported some Medes and Persians. But among these the investigation could find nothing, which is a tremendous testimony of the faithfulness and probity of the work of Daniel. Probably they were amazed to find it so. And maybe things he had forgotten, but not even here could they find anything. ‘Forasmuch as he was faithful,’ – and it means not so much faithful to God, though that was true, but in his service to the king – ‘neither was there any error or fault found in him.’Daniel was mightily unpopular with the other men of power for they knew he was a man of integrity who would not let them get away with fraud and corruption; they wanted liberty to feather their own nests. Then too they were jealous of him; they were against him because he was a Jew. It was a very risky business to plot against Daniel, and Darius was certainly not naïve. But Satan was behind this also. He moves them to unsettle Daniel. Satan wants to stop the coming Messiah and the Lord’s purposes. The prophecies of Isaiah had a physical fulfilment – they predicted a return to Jerusalem and then the Messiah would come. Satan tried to prevent this. We too will face forces against us.