The edict of Darius
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Dan. 6:12
Hast thou not... Question 10. Next, Dan. 6:20.
to the law... It was customary among Medes and Persians when a law was duly passed and sealed by the king’s seal that even he himself would not change it (Dan. 6:15). In the case of Ahasuerus making a decree for the slaughter of the Jews (Est. 3:13), he would not reverse it, even at the request of his queen (Est. 8:5), but he issued another edict which neutralized the first one (Est. 8:11). Thus one irreversible edict was completely neutralized by another just as irreversible; and the king continued to act his part of being infallible and free from the weakness of repentance.
The Prosecution of Daniel
Accusation was soon made against Daniel by his opponents before Darius who had issued the decree. Darius found himself bound by his own law; he said, the decree stands. Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian was above law, whereas Darius the Mede was bound by law. This was intimated in the contrast between the gold and the silver in the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan. 2:32, 2:39).
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