Then the men approached the king together and said to him, "Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed." Sermons
I. A THOUGHTLESS ACT REVEALS THE INTERNAL WEAKNESS OF CHARACTER. King Darius, having discovered the practical outcome of the rash edict, was "sore displeased with himself." This feeling is commendable. He does not blame the cunning, the envy, the malice of others, so much as the easy thoughtlessness of himself. Others may be more blameworthy accomplices than ourselves in an evil transaction; but if any blame attach to ourselves, it is wiser first to discover and remove the mote in our own eye, before we touch the beam in another's eye. An hour's serious reflection, at the right time, would have prevented this Oriental king much anguish and remorse. It was an alleviation of his inward grief that he had not intended to do Daniel harm; yet, in effect, his thoughtlessness had produced as much suffering on others as if he had been instigated by feelings of bitterest malice. He ought to have given the edict mature consideration before he gave to it the authority of his great name. He ought to have inquired into its purpose, its meaning, its probable effects on society. The very haste of the councillors ought to have awakened his vigilance. Too easily his supple will yielded to others' inclination. Too easily he swallowed the bait of human adulation. Truly saith our poet - "Evil is wrought by want of thought, II. A THOUGHTLESS ACT GIVES SCOPE TO WICKED MEN TO EXECUTE THEIR PLOTS. Want of vigilance upon our part gives an advantage to our enemies, which they seize upon with avidity. We might often nip iniquity in the bud, if we were only on the alert against the secret machinations of the tempter. We encourage wicked men in their base intrigues, if only inadvertently we smooth the way for their success. We are counselled by a high authority to be "wise as serpents." Intelligence has been given to us for this selfsame purpose, and it is a sin to allow any faculty of mind to be lulled into needless sleep. Darius had both admiration and personal regaled for Daniel; but this very esteem and preference of the king brought with it elements of danger to the prophet. Hence the affection of the king ought to have been thoughtful, inventive, watchful. The mean-souled officials had prepared the axe, and unwittingly the king gave them the handle by which the better to use it. For want of wariness, we may lend sheep's clothing to human wolves. III. A THOUGHTLESS ACT OFTEN LEADS TO SAD AND IRREPARABLE RESULTS. It was a settled principle in the Persian government that a law, having once received the sign-manual of the king, could in no way be altered or repealed. This principle in the main was beneficent and useful. In a period when communication between the palace and the remote provinces was difficult and tardy, it was a great advantage to the people to know that a law, once enacted, was fixed and irreversible. But the knowledge of this first principle ought to have made Darius all the more cautious and wary in affixing the seal of authority to any new decree. He was master of that simple act; but, having performed it, he was no longer master of its consequences. It would have imperilled his reputation, his influence, perhaps his government itself, if he should have ventured to rescind it. Yet no sooner was the effect of his rash deed discovered than remorse seized his mind. Conscience lashed him for his folly. His appetite departs. The desire for enjoyment ceases. Yea, the very capacity for enjoyment is suspended. Sleep forsakes his bed. His pillow is sown with sharpest thorns. No rest can the king find for body or for mind, because an innocent life, a noble life, is jeopardized through his rash deed. His mind roams over a variety of devices by which, if possible, he can yet protect Daniel from the ferocity of human wolves. But the king himself is powerless - as powerless as the meanest peasant - in this matter. He had, not long since, the power to deft, rid any and every subject, but he has thoughtlessly allowed the power to depart. It is in other hands now, and cannot be recalled. Opportunity has fled. The king is a prisoner in the hands of evil workers, and is compelled by them to do a disgraceful deed - to sign the death-warrant of his best friend. Nothing is left to him but his tears. Oh the bitter fruits of rashness! - D.
That no decree nor statute that the king establisheth may be changed. These men were constitutional persecutors. They were constitutional liars. Some men are nothing if not constitutional. They would die for constitution; they dream of constitutional order: these men who are so addicted to constitution precedent and usage could kill a man. That is the difficulty we always have to deal with. You cannot convert a scribe: with man this is impossible; with God all things are possible. Once let a man become the victim of the letter, and the case is hopeless. See how these men deport themselves: all for a law, nothing for a life; on the one side full of constitutional obedience, on the other without feeling in reference to a human soul, a brother's life; only shed man's blood, but keep the letter of the law. The great complaint we have to make against this in all ages and countries, that it has about it a taint of respectability. You cannot get at the scribe on account of the scroll which he holds us between you and him.He is not worth getting at. He has the law, the chapter, the verse, the letter; he has no genius of law, no spirit of liberty, no inspiration and enthusiasm of human nature. The thing that was given to him as a hint, a help, a temporary assistance, is pressed so as to become an excuse, if not a defence, in the matter of murder. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; the law was made for man, not man for the law. We must take care how we throw things out of proportion and perspective, how we overweight the one side or the other; let us see what it is that is really involved: if it is criminality, it must be put down; if it is a difference of judgment, if it is an exercise of conscience, then we must see what relation the law has to such spiritual or intellectual relationships and possessions and responsibilities. What is God always doing? Setting law aside. That seems strange. Certainly, God must be strange. God's Government must be immeasurable in its inner thought, in its outward relation; it must be under his hand; it must lie well within the sweep of his omnipotence.(Joseph Parker, D.D.) People Cyrus, Daniel, Darius, PersiansPlaces Babylon, JerusalemTopics Agreement, Assembled, Body, Changed, Decree, Edict, Establish, Establishes, Establisheth, Force, Injunction, Interdict, Issues, Law, Medes, Media, O, Order, Ordinance, Persia, Persians, Recognize, Remember, Saying, Statute, TumultuouslyOutline 1. Daniel is made chief of the presidents.4. They, conspiring against him, obtain an idolatrous decree. 10. Daniel, accused of the breach thereof, is cast into the lion's den. 18. Daniel is saved; 24. his adversaries devoured; 25. and God magnified by a decree. Dictionary of Bible Themes Daniel 6:15Library A Tribute from EnemiesThen 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 vi. 5. Daniel was somewhere about ninety years old when he was cast to the lions. He had been for many years the real governor of the whole empire; and, of course, in such a position had incurred much hatred and jealousy. He was a foreigner and a worshipper of another God, and therefore was all the more unpopular, as a Brahmin would be in England if he were … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Faith Stopping the Mouths of Lions The Story of the Fiery Furnace The Jordan: the Decisive Start. Matthew 3:13-17. Mark 1:9-1Luke Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature The Early Ministry in Judea I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also- Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses. A Cloud of Witnesses. Divine Support and Protection Daniel Links Daniel 6:15 NIVDaniel 6:15 NLT Daniel 6:15 ESV Daniel 6:15 NASB Daniel 6:15 KJV Daniel 6:15 Bible Apps Daniel 6:15 Parallel Daniel 6:15 Biblia Paralela Daniel 6:15 Chinese Bible Daniel 6:15 French Bible Daniel 6:15 German Bible Daniel 6:15 Commentaries Bible Hub |