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Context No. 70 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)

Context · Reflection

Daniel (Greek) 6:6-12: in context

6Then these presidents and local governors assembled together to the king, and said this to him, “King Darius, live forever! 7All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the local governors, the counselors and the governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong decree, that whoever asks a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of you, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn’t alter.” 9Therefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before. 11Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. 12Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king’s decree: “Haven’t you signed a decree that every man who makes a petition to any god or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered, “This thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn’t alter.”

Daniel has served three successive regimes in Babylon and risen to the top of the administration under Darius. His colleagues resent him, and this passage is how they engineer his fall. They can find no corruption to accuse him of, so they attack the one thing they know he will not give up.

They approach the king in a group, imply that all the officials are agreed, and propose a decree: for thirty days, no one may petition any god or man except the king, on pain of the lions' den. It is flattery aimed at a specific weakness. Then the trap closes with a legal detail. Sign it, they say, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be altered. Under that convention a royal decree could not be revoked even by the king who made it, so the moment Darius signs, he has bound his own hands.

Daniel, learning of the decree, goes home, opens the windows toward Jerusalem, and kneels three times a day as he had always done. He does not increase his prayers to make a point or reduce them to stay safe. He does exactly what he was already doing, in a house with the windows open. When the rules change against me, is my habit steady enough that keeping it unchanged is the whole of my answer?

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