Daniel Chapter 6 Vs. 3

 

Daniel and the Lions' Den

Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Dan. 6:3

because an excellent... Daniel found favor with the king, and the king was about to make Daniel the only one over all the kingdoms. This gives the reason for the exaltation of Daniel over all the others which caused the jealousy of Dan. 6:4-5.

spirit was in... We must remember that the spirit in Daniel was of God. All of his answers to problems were right, because they came from God. It is no wonder the king wanted to set him above all the rest.

At this point in his life, Daniel was over 80. He had enjoyed God’s blessing throughout his life.

and the king... Daniel was a favorite of the king. He had experience, wisdom, a sense of history, leadership, a good reputation, ability, attitude and revelation from the God of heaven. Apparently, God wanted him in the place of influence to encourage and assist in the Jews’ return to Judah, since the return was made in Cyrus’ first year, right before the lions den incident.

From the record (of Ezra 1 and 6), all the basic elements of the return appear:

(1) The temple was to be rebuilt with the cost paid from Cyrus’ treasury;

(2) All Jews who visited could return, and those who stayed were urged to assist financially; and

(3) The gold and silver vessels stolen from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar were to be taken back.

To account for such favor toward the Jews, it is easy to think of Daniel not only influencing Cyrus to write such a decree, but even formulating it for him.