then these men came by agreement and found daniel making petition and plea before his God. then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “o king! did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes 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 and said, “the thing stands fast, according to the law of the medes and persians, which cannot be revoked.” then they answered and said before the king, “daniel, who is one of the exiles from judah, pays no attention to you, o king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” [daniel 6:11-13]
the thing stands fast
These guys were sneaky; daniel was forever an outsider, and they would take him down.
the people who create laws don’t generally go wandering around looking for people breaking their laws. enforcement is someone else’s job.
yet here they were doing just that.
it was now clear that this law was meant to be a ‘gotcha’ to capture daniel. and there was nothing the king could do about it, as he had just confirmed it irrevocable and unchangeable.
one of the exiles from judah
daniel had lived most of his life in babylon. he had been a trusted advisor to multiple kings, and had consistently proven himself to be honest, trustworthy, and a devoted servant time and time again.
even now, he was considered the greatest among all the king’s advisors.
none of this was enough for daniel to be considered ‘one of them’. after decades of living an upright and respectable life in the highest roles of babylonian government, daniel was still looked upon as a jew.
he was a productive member of babylonian society, but he was not, and never could be fully babylonian.
perhaps this is a lesson for us. we also are citizens of another kingdom, one that is not of this world. we cannot ever be so fully ingrained in the world to be mistaken as being of the world.
like daniel, we should hope that we are seen as different. no matter our position or our authority, those who are paying attention can see that our ultimate allegiance is to another king, one that reigns over the whole earth and offers us true, eternal life.
daniel lived in such a way, and unfortunately, it was going to bring persecution and opposition. but we can be certain that daniel would not for a moment shy away from it. he was that certain of his God and his true identity.
~ jason soroski