John Calvin Commentary Daniel 6:3-5

"Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then 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 6:3-5 (ASV)

The Prophet now recounts, as I have said, the origin of a temptation which might naturally dishearten the chosen people as well as his own spirits. For although Daniel alone was cast into the lions' den, as we will later see, yet, unless he had been liberated, the condition of the people would have been more grievous and severe.

For we know the wicked petulantly insult the wretched and the innocent when they see them suffering any adversity. If Daniel had been torn by the lions, all men would have risen up together against the Jews. God, therefore, here tested the faith and patience of His servant, and also tested all the Jews by the same trial, since they saw themselves vulnerable to the most extreme sufferings in the person of a single individual, unless God had speedily rendered the assistance He did.

Daniel, first of all, says, he excelled all others, since a more excellent or superior spirit was in him. It does not always happen that those who are remarkable for prudence or other endowments obtain greater authority and rank. In the palaces of kings, we often see men of brutal dispositions holding high rank, and we need not go back to history for this.

In these days, kings are often gross and infatuated, and more like horses and asses than men! Hence, audacity and recklessness obtain the highest honors of the palace. When Daniel says he excelled, he brings to our notice God's twofold benefit: first, a greater portion of His Spirit was bestowed upon him; and secondly, Darius acknowledged this and raised him to honor when he saw him endowed with no ordinary industry and wisdom.

We now understand the Prophet's teaching here: first, that he was divinely adorned with prudence and other endowments; and then, that Darius was a competent judge of this, estimating his prudence and other virtues and holding them in great repute. Since, therefore, a noble spirit was in him, he says, hence he overcame all others; therefore, the king determined to set him above the whole kingdom, that is, to place him first among the three satraps.

Although it was a unique privilege with which God once blessed His people and His Prophet, yet we should weep over the heartlessness of kings in these days, who proudly despise God's gifts in all good men who surpass others in usefulness. At the same time, they enjoy the society of the ignorant like themselves, while they are slaves to greed and plunder, and manifest the greatest cruelty and licentiousness.

Since, then, we see how very unworthy kings usually are of their empires and their power, we must weep over the state of the world. It reflects like a mirror the wrath of heaven, and kings are thus destitute of counsel.

On the last day, King Darius alone will be sufficient to condemn them, for he had discretion enough not to hesitate to set a captive and a foreigner over all his satraps. This was a royal, indeed, a heroic virtue in Darius: to prefer this man over all his own friends.

But now, kings think of nothing else than preferring their own panders, buffoons, and flatterers, while they praise none but men of low character, whom God has branded with ignominy. Although these individuals are unworthy of being counted among humankind, they esteem themselves the masters of their sovereigns and treat the kings of these days as their slaves.

This happens through their sheer slothfulness and their discarding of every care. Hence, they are compelled to deliver up their command to others and retain nothing but the title. This, as I said, is a sure proof of the wrath of heaven, since the world today is unworthy of the government which God exercises over it by His hand.

With respect to the envy felt by the nobles, we see this vice rampant in all ages, since those who aspire to greatness can never bear the presence of virtue. For, being guilty of evil themselves, they are necessarily bitter against the virtue of others.

Nor should it seem surprising that the Persians, who sustained the greatest labors and passed through numerous changes of fortune, should be unable to tolerate an obscure and unknown person not only associated with them but appointed as their superior.

Their envy, then, seems to have had some pretext, either real or imaginary. But it will always be deserving of condemnation when we find men selfishly pursuing their own advantage without any regard for the public good. Whoever aspires to power and self-advancement, without regarding the welfare of others, must necessarily be greedy and rapacious, cruel and perfidious, as well as forgetful of his duties.

Since, then, the nobles of the realm envied Daniel, they betrayed their malice, for they had no regard for the public good but desired to seize upon all things for their own interests. In this example, we observe the natural consequence of envy. And we should diligently note this, since nothing is more tempting than sliding from one vice to a worse one.

The envious person loses all sense of justice while attempting every scheme to injure his adversary. These nobles alleged that Daniel had been unworthily preferred to them. If they had been content with this slander, it would have been, as I said, a vice and a sign of a perverse nature.

But they go far beyond this, for they seek an occasion for accusation against Daniel. We see, then, how envy incites them to commit crimes. Thus, all the envious are perpetually on the watch, becoming spies on the lives of those whom they envy, to oppress them by every possible means.

This is one point; but when they find no crime, they trample upon justice, without modesty and without humanity, and with cruelty and perfidy, they dedicate themselves to crushing an adversary. Daniel recounts this of his rivals. He says, They immediately sought occasion against him, and did not find it. Then he adds how unjustly and perfidiously they sought occasion against him.

There is no doubt they knew Daniel to be a pious man and approved by God; hence, when they plot against His holy Prophet, they purposely wage war with God Himself, while they are blinded by the perverse passion of envy. From where, then, does it spring? Surely from ambition. Thus we see what a pestilential plague ambition is, from which envy springs up, and afterwards perfidy and cruelty!

Besides this, Daniel admonishes us by his own example to strive earnestly for integrity, and thus to deprive the malevolent and the wicked of any occasion against us, which they seek. We will find no better defense against the envious and the slanderous than to conduct ourselves righteously and innocently.

Whatever snares they may lay for us, they will never succeed, for our innocence will repel their malice like a shield. Meanwhile, we see how Daniel escaped utter ruin, since they sought a pretext against him in something else: namely, his worship of God.

Hence, let us learn that we ought to esteem piety and an earnest desire for it as more valuable than life itself.

Daniel was faithful and upright in his administration: he discharged his duty so as to close the mouths of his enemies and detractors. Thus, as I have said, integrity is the best of all protectors. Again, Daniel was in danger because he would not cease the sincere worship of God and its outward profession.

Hence, we must bravely undergo all dangers whenever the worship of God is at stake. This temporary life ought not to be more precious to us than that most sacred of all things—the preservation of God's honor unstained. We therefore see how, by these means, we are urged to the cultivation of integrity, since we cannot be more secure than when fortified by a good conscience, as Peter in his first epistle exhorts us to the same purpose (1 Peter 3:16).

Now, whatever we may fear, and whatever events await us, even if we become subject to a hundred deaths, we ought never to decline from the pure worship of God. Daniel did not hesitate to submit to death and enter the lions' den because he openly professed the worship of Israel's God.

As these nobles entered into this barbarous and cruel plan for oppressing Daniel under the pretext of religion, here, again, we perceive the blindness and rashness of humankind when ambition and envy seize upon their minds. For it is a matter of no concern to them to clash with the Almighty; they do not approach Daniel as a fellow creature, but they leap into an insane and sacrilegious conflict when they wish to extinguish the worship of God and indulge their own desires.

Thus, as I have said, we are admonished by this example to guard against and avoid ambition, and also the envy which arises from it. The nature of this charge—the worship of God—follows next.