25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land:
“May you prosper greatly!
26 “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
“For he is the living God, and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.
27 He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
There were two significant results to Daniel’s miraculous deliverance. One has already been mentioned. Those who plotted against Daniel suffered the violent death they had planned for him. The second result is reported here. King Darius issued a decree honoring Daniel’s God.
Under Medo-Persian laws, the king could not recall his former edict, but since God had plainly overruled it, the king issued a new decree that superseded the old one. Far from forbidding prayer to God, the new edict commanded people all across the empire to tremble before the great God of Daniel. It could well be that Daniel had a hand in composing the new law. It called attention to Daniel’s miraculous deliverance and ordered everyone in the Persian Empire to stand in awe of Daniel’s God.
How tragic that God’s great miracle had so little effect on this king! Darius, a heathen who worshiped many gods, was not renouncing his heathen gods or the worship of many gods. Neither did he command that people in his empire worship Jehovah alone. But he did make one thing perfectly clear. He wanted his citizens to show respect for the God of Daniel. He wanted no Persian to do anything to bring down the anger of this powerful God.
Darius did not confess Daniel’s God to be the only God, just the greatest of many gods. Even though Darius was not a believer in the true God, what he said about Daniel’s God is true: “His kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.” God does on occasion proclaim his truth even through the lips of the heathen. The king’s decree would go a long way to making the life of Jews easier in their adopted fatherland.
“So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius.” God still had work for Daniel to do. As was pointed out in the introduction, many of the Jewish exiles chose not to return to Judah when King Cyrus authorized their return. Although God’s enemies had tried to remove Daniel from his position in the government, God prospered his career. The Lord enabled him to continue to work for the welfare of those Jews who chose to make their home in the province of Babylon. God saw fit to extend the useful service of Daniel, so that he also served great King Cyrus, who apparently took over the direct control of the province of Babylon after Darius’ death.1
This account closes the historical section of the book. The author’s purpose has been to show the miracle-working power of Israel’s God among a heathen people who were holding his people in exile. Through these miracles God reassured and encouraged his people, until such time as he saw fit to deliver them.
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The final verse of this chapter may also be translated, “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” According to this understanding of the verse, Darius could be another name for Cyrus. We discussed this in the commentary on the opening verses of Daniel chapter 6.