Diving into Daniel: King Darius Appoints Satraps, who Look to Trap Daniel
Daniel 6:1-15; Psalm 101 - A believer’s integrity is a reflected light of Christ to others.
“It seemed good to Darius to appoint 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 he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no 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 spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, live forever! All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes 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 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 document, that is, the injunction.
Now when Daniel knew that the 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 making petition and supplication before his God. Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” Then they answered and spoke 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 making his petition three times a day.”
Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Recognize, 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 NASB1995
We met King Darius at the end of chapter 5. The naysayers about the Book of Daniel point to him as a reason for the inauthenticity of the text. I had some help in the last chapter from Enduring Word and Gotquestions.org on Darius, but here is more at the beginning of Chapter 6 in Enduring Word:
a. It pleased Darius: Secular history of this period has no record of a ruler named Darius in the particular period and place recorded in Daniel 6. There are three possible explanations for the Darius of Daniel 6.
i. It may be that Darius was simply another name for Cyrus, who ruled the Medo-Persian Empire during this period.
ii. It may be that Darius was actually Cambyses, son of Cyrus, who served under his father as a ruler of Babylon and later inherited the throne of the entire empire.
iii. It may be that Darius was an ancient official known as Gubaru in ancient documents, whom Cyrus appointed as ruler over Babylon immediately after its capture. It is the opinion of this commentator that this Gubaru was the same person as Darius. In fact, “Darius” may be an honorific title meaning, “holder of the scepter.”
iv. Ancient documents show that the man Gubaru had the power to make appointments, to assemble an army, to levy taxes, and to possess palaces. Gubaru was in a very real sense the king over Babylon.
b. Daniel distinguished himself: Daniel was one of three leaders directly under Darius, and he shined above the other two leaders because he had an excellent spirit. Daniel had a good attitude in his work and life, and this made him the object of attack.
I read other commentary that said that Gubaru was likely the same person as Darius. So he did have the power to make appointments, assemble an army, levy taxes and possess palaces. He appoints 120 satraps (officials) who are under three commissioners, including Daniel. The satraps immediately search for a way to impeach Daniel by finding a way to accuse him of corruption, but it was impossible to find anything that they could use because of his incredible integrity. The king is very impressed with Daniel and hopes to appoint him over the entire kingdom.
The satraps and commissioners know that the only way to impugn Daniel is to find a way to use the laws of God against him. They then go to the king and set a trap. They get the king to agree to an injunction that says that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides the king for thirty days, if caught, will be thrown into the lion’s den. They rely on the laws of the Medes and Persians that such an injunction is irrevocable. Daniel knew that this document had been signed. Nevertheless, he retires to his house and has the windows open facing Jerusalem. He kneels there three times a day and prays to God and gives thanks. The satraps know about this habit of Daniel’s and they see him doing it.
They bring this violation to the attention of the king and remind the king of the irrevocable injunction. They tell the king that Daniel knows that this injunction has been signed but he has continued to worship and pray to God. The king is very distressed by these circumstances and he looks for ways to rescue Daniel, but the king is caught in his own trap of the irrevocable law. The stage is set for a very memorable Biblical story.
So why is integrity so important? Integrity is a reflection of our obedience and faith. Character counts and it is the best way believers can present to the world at least a little bit of the light of Christ. I found some interesting commentary at Precept Austin about integrity:
Do you refuse to compromise with the enemy when you’re under stress? That's integrity.
Do you fulfill your commitments, and are you devoted to your duties? That's integrity.
Are you in constant, untiring pursuit of truth? Do you, in short, "ring true"? That's integrity.
When you die and people file out of the church after your memorial service, will they comment, "He said what he meant and meant what he said"? Will they say, "You knew where he stood," or "You could trust him," or "You could count on him"? Will someone say, "He had integrity"?
Ten elements that make up personal integrity—and the Bible personalities who exemplified them—are honesty (Daniel), compassion (Boaz), wisdom (Solomon), self-control (Timothy), joy (Paul), trust (Abraham), faithfulness (Caleb and Joshua), balance (Mary and Martha), sexual purity (Joseph), and endurance (Job).
"People of integrity can be trusted to be faithful. If they promise something, they will do it. Their actions are built on high moral principles. Their words are not spoken for gossip, spreading rumors, tearing others down, or for distorting the truth. People of integrity discover what pleases God—then they do it. Christians with integrity are committed both to hearing God’s Word and to doing what it says." (Ted Engstromm)
In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception "that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior." He goes on to say, "It is revival without reformation, without repentance."
Integrity Will be Tested - A pastor preached a sermon on honesty one Sunday. On Monday morning he took the bus to get to his office. He paid the fare, and the bus driver gave him back too much change. During the rest of the journey, the pastor was rationalizing how God had provided him with some extra money he needed for the week. But he just could not live with himself, and before he got off the bus he said to the driver, "You have made a mistake. You’ve given me too much change." And he proceeded to give him back the extra money. The driver smiled and said, "There was no mistake. I was at your church yesterday and heard you preach on honesty. So I decided to put you to a test this morning." Integrity - one's deeds match one's words!
Little Things Count (cp Da 1:8) - The story has been told of a bank employee who was due for a good promotion. One day at lunch the president of the bank, who happened to be standing behind the clerk in the cafeteria, saw him slip two pats of butter under his slice of bread so they wouldn’t be seen by the cashier. That little act of dishonesty cost him his promotion. Just a few pennies’ worth of butter made the difference. The bank president reasoned that if an employee cannot be trusted in little things he cannot be trusted at all. (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching)
Precept Austin, at the same link, references Psalm 101 as the integrity psalm:
Psalm 101 - The Walk of Integrity
• Integrity loves the Lord and His justice. Psalm 101:1-note
• Integrity lives a blameless life. Psalm 101:2-note
• Integrity keeps its eyes from evil. Psalm 101:3-note
• Integrity protects itself from the perverse. Psalm 101:4-note
• Integrity silences gossip and slander. Psalm 101:5-note
• Integrity seeks fellowship with God’s faithful and wisdom from the wise. Psalm 101:6-note
• Integrity denounces deceit and dishonesty. Psalm 101:7-note
• Integrity confronts those who compromise. Psalm 101:8-note
(From June Hunt's excellent resource - Biblical Counseling Keys on Dating) (Notes are from Spurgeon's Treasury of David)
Here is the actual Psalm:
“I will sing of lovingkindness and justice,
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
I will give heed to the blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not fasten its grip on me.
A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil.
Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.
My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.
He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.
Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, So as to cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity.”
Psalms 101:1-8 NASB1995
Those with rock-solid integrity, like Daniel, are often the targets of weak-minded individuals who resent that integrity exists and is rewarded. So how strong is your integrity? The list from Psalm 101 is quite useful as a way to evaluate your strength in this virtue.
As we will see in the next devotional, God sees and honors Daniel’s integrity when he is placed in the lion’s dan (very reluctantly by Darius) - Daniel 6:16-28.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please guide me into a life of integrity that:
Loves You and Your justice
Lives a blameless life
Keeps my eyes from evil
Protects me from the perverse
Silences gossip and slander
Seeks fellowship with You
Seeks wisdom from the wise
Denounces deceit and dishonesty
Confronts those who compromise.
Amen!
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Precept Austin was accessed on 04/16/2025 to review commentary for Daniel 6:1-15.