John Calvin Commentary Daniel 8:27

"And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king`s business: and I wondered at the vision, but none understood it." — Daniel 8:27 (ASV)

Again, Daniel shows himself to have been so touched by the secret prompting of God that he knew for certain this vision had been divinely presented to him. For God wished to affect His servant in such a way that he would embrace with greater reverence what he both heard and saw.

I have already referred to our lack of attention in listening to God’s word as it deserves, unless some kind of fear precedes it, which might rouse our minds in some way from their sluggishness. But this prophecy had a special intention. Ordinarily, God did not humble His servant; but by the illness mentioned here, He wishes to show how this prediction related to an event of serious magnitude.

Daniel, therefore, states himself to have been astonished, as if suffering from some weakness, and afflicted by illness. This illness did not happen to the Prophet naturally, but it came upon him as a consequence of his being suddenly terrified. And he afterwards shows this by saying that no one understood the prediction.

Here, then, he admonishes all the pious not to hear or read this narrative carelessly, but to summon all their attention and to perceive that God here shows them things of the greatest importance, which vitally concern their salvation. This is a reason why Daniel had to suffer discouragement and be afflicted by illness.

He next says, he returned to the king’s business, meaning his ordinary occupation. From this expression, we infer the serious error of those who think he was in Persia at this time, because he could not have returned to his duties unless he were present in the king’s palace.

But why is this added? It is to assure us that the Prophet was not pulled away from the duties the king had assigned to him, although God had chosen him to perform the special office of Prophet and teacher of His Church. This is a rare instance and should not be taken as a precedent, as the common saying goes.

Which of us, for instance, would be sufficient for those duties of political government assigned to Daniel, and also for those required of a pastor and teacher? But God used His servant Daniel in an extraordinary way, because He had many reasons for wanting him to be occupied in the king’s palace.

We have previously seen how God’s glory was illustrated by his position, as Daniel admonished Belshazzar of his approaching death when his enemies had already partially captured the city. The usefulness of this was also proved by Cyrus and Darius sparing the Jews. As long as the Chaldeans held supreme power, Daniel was of considerable benefit to those miserable exiles. For even if he lived under cruel tyrants, he still had some authority remaining, and this enabled him to alleviate much of the suffering of his nation.

God, therefore, was acting for the benefit of the whole people when He desired Daniel to continue with his usual duties. Besides this, He wished to bestow upon him the extraordinary gift of prophecy, an endowment that, as I have said, was unique to Daniel.