Daniel Chapter 6 Verse 4

4 Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom; but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

As with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, jealousy again rears its ugly head. Those who are jealous and envious of Daniel seek to bring him down.

Nothing they could possibly do could bring Daniel down one inch. They could lie about him and effect the opinion of other men, but they could do nothing to change God’s opinion of Daniel – and that is the only opinion that really matters.

We need to remember this, particularly when faced with false accusations. God knows the truth and he will never be fooled by a false accusation.

These envious men could find no fault with Daniel. They could find nothing bad to say about him. What would they do next?

They decide to lie to the king and get him to pass a law that would trap Daniel.

This is not the only place in scripture where this occurs.

Jesus, also, was delivered up because of envy and he also faced false accusers.

In Proverbs 6:17–19 God lists seven things that he hates.

19 There are six things which the Lord hates, seven which are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and a man who sows discord among brothers.

How many of these actions were these envious men guilty of? All seven!

Not only do we see jealousy and envy at work here, but we see racism as well.

Just like the Chaldeans had earlier, the Medes and the Persians looked down on the Jews as being inferior because of their captivity.

Again, we need to see things the way that God sees them. Not only were the Jews not inferior, but they were the stars of this show!

Note also that although racism played a part in this story, the Jews were much better off under Cyrus. As he did with many other captive people, he let the Jews return to their homeland.

Ezra 1:1-4 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel – he is the God who is in Jerusalem; 4 and let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem."

This proclamation may have already been issued at this time. Remember what Isaiah had to say about Cyrus by name – before he was born and 150 years before he began to rule!

Isaiah 45:1-4 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and ungird the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 "I will go before you and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. 4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me.

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