“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matt. 6:6, NKJV).

Read Daniel 6:10. Why doesn’t Daniel simply pray quietly without anyone seeing him?

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Daniel is an experienced statesman, but, above all, he is God’s servant. As such, he is the only member of the government who can understand what lies behind the king’s decree. For Darius the decree amounts to an opportunity to strengthen the unity of the kingdom, but for the conspirators it is a strategy to get rid of Daniel.

Of course, the real causes and motives behind the plot lie in the cosmic battle between God and the forces of evil. At this time (539 B.C.) Daniel has already received the visions recorded in Daniel chapter 7 (553 B.C.) and 8 (551 B.C.). So he can understand the royal decree, not as a matter of mere human politics but as an instance of this cosmic war. The vision of the Son of Man delivering the kingdom to the people of the Most High and the comforting assistance of the angel interpreter (Daniel chapter 7) may have brought him the courage to face the crisis head on. He may also have reflected on the experience of his companions, who have been brave enough to challenge the decree of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel chapter 3).

Thus, he does not change his devotional habits but continues his customary practice of praying three times a day towards Jerusalem. In spite of the prohibition to make petition to any man or god but the king, Daniel takes no precaution to hide or disguise his prayer life during those critical thirty days also. He is an absolute minority since he is the only one, among dozens of governors and other officers, on a collision course with the royal decree. Through his open prayer life, though, he demonstrates that the allegiance he owes to God comes before his allegiance to the king and his irrevocable decree.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

Amen!(0)

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Read Daniel 6:6-9. What is the thinking behind this decree? How does it play on the king’s vanity?

Darius may appear silly in promulgating a decree that he soon wishes to repeal. He falls into the trap laid by the officers, who are smart enough to play with the political circumstances of the recently established kingdom.

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Darius has decentralized the government and established one hundred and twenty satraps in order to make the administration more efficient. However, such action entails some risks in the long run. An influential governor can easily foster a rebellion and split the kingdom. Thus, a law forcing everyone to petition only to the king for thirty days seems a good strategy to foster allegiance to the king and, thus, prevent any kind of sedition. But the officers mislead the king by claiming that such a proposal has the support of “all” the governors, administrators, satraps, counselors, and advisors — an obvious inaccuracy, since Daniel is not included. In addition, the prospect of being treated as a god may have been appealing to the king.

There is no evidence that Persian kings ever claimed divine status. Nevertheless, the decree may have been intended to make the king the sole representative of the gods for thirty days; that is, prayers to the gods have to be offered through him. Unfortunately, the king does not investigate the motivations behind the proposal. Thus, he fails to perceive that the law that would allegedly prevent conspiracy was itself a conspiracy to hurt Daniel.

Two aspects of this law deserve attention. First, the penalty for transgression is to be cast into the lions’ den. Since this kind of punishment is not attested elsewhere, it may have been an ad hoc suggestion of Daniel’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern monarchs placed lions in cages in order to release them on certain occasions for hunting. So there was no shortage of lions to maul whoever dared to violate the king’s decree. Second, the decree cannot be changed. The unchangeable nature of the “law of the Persians and Medes” is also mentioned in Esther 1:19 and Esther 8:8. Diodorus Siculus, an ancient Greek historian, mentions an occasion when Darius III (not to be confused with the Darius mentioned in Daniel) changed his mind but could no longer repeal a death sentence he had passed on an innocent man.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

Amen!(3)

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Even in heaven, a perfect environment, Lucifer feels jealous of Christ. “Lucifer was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ. Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge His supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, he bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred”. — Ellen G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 14. Jealousy is such a dangerous feeling to harbor that in the Ten Commandments themselves, alongside the forbiddance of murder and theft, there is the command against covetousness (see Exod. 20:17).

Read Daniel 6:1-5, along with Genesis 37:11 and 1 Samuel 18:6-9. What role does jealousy play in all these stories?

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Daniel’s administrative abilities impress the king but provoke the jealousy of other officers. Thus, they conspired to get rid of him by accusing him of corruption. But as much as they search, they find no fault in Daniel’s administration. “They could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him” (Dan. 6:4, NKJV). The Aramaic word translated as “faithful” can also be translated as “trustworthy”.

Daniel is blameless; there is nothing the officers can do to raise an accusation against him. However, they also perceive how faithful Daniel is to His God and how obedient he is to his God’s law. So they soon realize that in order to frame Daniel, they will have to produce a situation in which Daniel will be faced with the dilemma of obeying either God’s law or the law of the empire. From what the officers have learned about Daniel, they are absolutely convinced that under the right conditions he will side with his God’s law over the empire’s. What a testimony to Daniel’s faithfulness!

<–Sabbath Monday–>

Amen!(11)

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Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Daniel 6:1-28, 1 Sam. 18:6-9, Matt. 6:6, Acts 5:27-32, Mark 6:14-29, Heb. 11:35-38.

Memory Text: “So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him” (Daniel 6:4, NKJV).

After the Medo-Persians take over Babylon, Darius the Mede recognizes the wisdom of Daniel and invites him to be part of the new government. The aging prophet so excels at his public duties that the new king appoints him a chief administrator of the whole Medo-Persian government.

However, as the chapter unfolds, Daniel faces the result of what could rightly be called the first sin — that of jealousy. Yet, before the story ends, we can see that Daniel is faithful, not only to his secular duties under the Medo-Persians, but most important to His God. And we can be sure that, to a great degree, his faithfulness to God directly impacts his faithfulness in these other areas as well.

Daniel’s experience with persecution serves as a paradigm for God’s people in the time of the end. The story does not imply that God’s people will be spared from trials and suffering. What it does guarantee is that, in the conflict with evil, good will ultimately win out, and God ultimately will vindicate His people.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 15.

Sunday–>

Amen!(17)

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Better Than a Dentist

By Madeline Dyche

The woman was grinning from ear to ear.

But hours earlier, she told me, she had been disappointed to learn that she couldn’t receive a free tooth cleaning at the Pathway to Health mega clinic in the U.S. state of Texas.

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The woman had joined a long line of people seeking health care and other services at the sprawling Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth on the first day of a three-day free mega clinic organized by Seventh-day Adventists. But when she reached the front of the line, she learned that no more dental openings were available for the day.

Hopes dashed, she began to turn away when a volunteer suggested that she chose another free service. She opted for a vision checkup.

After giving her blood pressure and other vital signs, a requirement for all patients, she sat down with an eye doctor.

The man looked at a printout of her vitals sign and asked a few questions. He thought something wasn’t quite right. Seeing a physician nearby, he asked for help.

The physician examined her, ordered a sonogram, and diagnosed the woman with hypothyroidism, an abnormally underactive thyroid gland. He asked whether the woman suffered common symptoms of the condition such as fatigue, irritability and depression, intolerance for cold, and weight gain.

“Yes, for six years!” the woman replied.

She had visited various doctors, but none had been able to diagnose her condition. Her medical insurance didn’t allow tests such as a sonogram, and she hadn’t been able to afford to pay for more than a medical consultation.

When I met the woman, she was leaving the Pathway to Health event. She told her story when Pathway to Health volunteers asked whether she was satisfied with her experience. I was able to empathize with her because I have hyperthyroidism, an overactive thyroid gland.

“I thought I was dying a few months ago”, I said. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Once I started taking medicine, I felt much better. The difference was like night and day. You will feel so much better once you get this problem regulated”.

The woman was all smiles.

“I came for a tooth cleaning, and I never would have found out what my real problem was if the dentist had seen me”, she said. “The way God worked this out has been such a blessing”.

Madeline Dyche, pictured, is a mother of two in Keene, Texas.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

All Rights Reserved. No part of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide may be edited, altered, modified, adapted, translated, reproduced, or published by any person or entity without prior written authorization from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

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