6:4Daniel 6:4

After Darius took the throne and set one hundred twenty princes under three presidents with Daniel first and purposed to set him over the whole realm, the preferment given him because an excellent spirit was in him stirred his fellow rulers to jealousy.PK 539.1 They searched his conduct and management of the kingdom closely for occasion and fault, but they could find no error or mistake because he was faithful.PK 539+2 Unable to assail his integrity, they could make only his religion and obedience to God's law the pretext for attack, devising the plot against his prayers that cast him into the lions' den where God delivered him and honored him while his accusers perished.Ms 83, 1886, par. 12–14+4 His blameless record came not from natural strength, for he was as weak as any worker now, but from putting God first and last and best in everything, making prayer his necessity and strength and holding every earthly claim subordinate to allegiance to God.SLP 22.1+3 His business life as both prime minister and prophet therefore stands as the pattern of what every Christian businessman may be, showing that a capable manager instructed of God at every step may keep every transaction clear and honest and let fidelity to principle shine as light amid worldly courts.GW 424.1+4

Darius the Median took the throne formerly occupied by the Babylonian rulers and at once reorganized the government, setting 120 princes over the kingdom and three presidents over them, of whom Daniel was first, so that the princes might give account to them and the king should have no damage.PK 539.1 Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to set him over the whole realm.PK 539.1 His high honors and preferment made the leading men jealous, so the presidents and princes sought to find occasion for complaint against him concerning the kingdom and his work in governing it.PK 539.2+1

The plot arose from envy and jealousy because Daniel's position and influence in the kingdom threatened evil control over its rulers.PK 540.3 Fallen angels feared his influence would weaken their control over the rulers of the kingdom, so the accusing host of evil angels stirred up the presidents and princes to envy and jealousy and to seek his destruction.PK 540.3+1 In this they watched him closely to report him to the king, and acted as instruments and agents of evil and of Satan.PK 540.3+1

Those presidents and princes sought occasion against him in a secret, underhanded manner and made plans to put an end to his life, yet they were the very Babylonian wise men whose lives Daniel had pleaded should not be destroyed.2MR 319.5 They turned against him from jealousy because he found favor with kings and nobles and was honored as the greatest man in Babylon.2MR 319.5 In all this he remained faithful and free of fault while serving in the Medo-Persian realm, where God's law was being trampled and the kingdom faced divine judgment.PK 501.3

The officials closely searched and scrutinized Daniel's conduct and business transactions in governing the kingdom but could find no occasion, error, mistake, or fault in his service, forasmuch as he was faithful.PK 539+4 When all of his business dealings in the courts were subjected to the closest examination, not one faulty item could be found, and his work stood up to scrutiny without any flaw being discovered.GW 424.1+2 His high honors had made the leading men jealous, so they tried to find some occasion for complaint against him about his work concerning the kingdom, but they could find none because no mistake or fault was in him.PK 539.2+1

Even his enemies were forced to admit his blameless record, for his integrity, wisdom, tact, courtesy, and goodness compelled his opponents to acknowledge that no failure could be found in his management.ED 55.2–3+2 His faithful service and integrity were so complete that close scrutiny of his conduct in office could uncover no error or fault.PK 546.2+1 The only accusation his enemies could identify was concerning his religion and obedience to God's law.Ms 83, 1886, par. 12–14+3 Unable to attack his conduct because he lived with integrity and was faithful in his public duties, they sought to make his fidelity to God the pretext for persecution and to make him dishonor God by separating from Him.Ms 83, 1886, par. 12–14+3

His blameless conduct was a life of faithfulness and consecration, not a claim to sanctification, and it gives Christians a lesson in living faithfully.BS 36.2 Under hostile scrutiny, surrounded by distrust and suspicion while enemies laid a snare for his life, he never deviated from principle but maintained a humble spirit and a serene and cheerful trust in God.4T 368.1 Because no legitimate charge could be found, his enemies devised a plot against his prayers leading to his being cast into the lions' den.HSFM 153.1–3+2 There God's angels protected him and he came out with honors while his accusers perished as they had plotted, for his integrity remained firm under envy and persecution and his faithfulness brought deliverance through divine help.HSFM 153.1–3+2

Daniel's blameless record as prime minister came from unwavering allegiance to God joined with unyielding mastery of himself.ED 55.2–3 That inward fidelity appeared outwardly in noble dignity, courtesy and deference, wisdom and statesmanship, perfect tact, genuine goodness of heart, and fidelity to principle.ED 55.2–3 The same character that in his youth won him favor marked his whole life through the reign of successive monarchs, the downfall of the nation, and the establishment of a rival kingdom.ED 55.2–3

His faithfulness came from putting God first, with affections wholly belonging to God.SLP 22.1 His pure and holy conduct left his opponents no fault to find and impressed Darius.SLP 22.1 His life showed that genuine Christianity is revealed in character, so that others could recognize that he had been with Jesus.SLP 22.1

He did not trust his own moral power, for prayer was to him a necessity, he made God his strength, and the fear of God was continually before him in all the transactions of life.ST Sep 28, 1882 He was true, firm, and noble, possessed genuine meekness, and sought to live in peace with all while unbending as the lofty cedar wherever principle was involved.ST Sep 28, 1882 In everything that did not collide with allegiance to God he was respectful and obedient to those in authority, but he held the requirements of earthly rulers subordinate to the claims of God and would not be induced by any selfish consideration to swerve from duty.ST Sep 28, 1882

His faithfulness came not from natural strength, for he was as weak and helpless as any worker now, but from putting his whole dependence in God and making God first and last and best in everything.Ms 123, 1898, par. 20 His true wealth was mind and soul culture, and anyone destitute of wisdom, knowledge, virtue, and power may gain the same by learning the lessons Christ gives.Ms 123, 1898, par. 20 His fear, love, and trust in God sustained him through temptation and danger, so that God preserved him as a faithful statesman fit for positions of trust.FE 204.2+1 He was faithful with the means God trusted to him, refusing to bestow them on himself but letting them go out for the cause of God, and because of that trustworthiness God kept pouring more in for him to handle.Ms 3, 1888, par. 34

Like other holy men he was human and could be overcome by evil.CTBH 237.4 The record of how such men overcame evil and redeemed their errors shows that they could become doubly victorious and shine brightly as examples of faith, patience, firmness, and moral excellence.CTBH 237.4 His noble, self-denying life shows what God's grace can make of men fallen by nature and corrupted by sin, and it gives strength to resist temptation and to stand firmly and in meekness for the right under the severest trial.ST Sep 28, 1882

Daniel stands in the verse as at once prime minister of the kingdom of Babylon and a prophet of God receiving light and heavenly inspiration.GW 424.1+2 His business life is told only in part, the record being incomplete, yet it holds lessons worthy of study as an illustration and pattern of what every Christian businessman may and can be.GW 424.1+2 Those who labor in business lines are therefore to take every precaution against falling into error through wrong principles or methods, for their record under the closest scrutiny may be like his, with not one faulty item found.GW 424.1+2 A businessman is not necessarily a scheming, crafty, policy man, but may be a capable manager instructed and taught of God at every step.GW 424.1+3 Such a one serves God with integrity and dedicates every ability to God's work.COL 350.4–5

That faithfulness must rest on a converted and consecrated heart, with motives right before God.STMW9 66.1+2 He is a sample of what consecration accomplishes when strength of brain and bone and muscle, of heart and life, is given to the service of God.MYP 222.1 God desires intelligent men qualified for various lines of work who weave grand principles of truth into all their transactions.MYP 222.1 Their talents are to be perfected by most thorough study and training, especially by those using their ability in building up the kingdom of God.MYP 222.1 One entrusted with responsibility should therefore follow right principles and keep every transaction clear and honest, with no concealed books or confused accounts for scrutiny to expose.Ms 107, 1899, par. 8–9

Daniel faithfully performed his duties as a statesman in a most trying position while steadfastly refusing any work against God, and his secular governmental service did not pervert his faith and principles or harm his loyalty to God.7T 161.1+2 His connection with the great men of Babylon was in providence so they might become acquainted with the religion of the Hebrews and know that God rules over all kingdoms.7T 161.1 His course provoked discussion that brought his faith to the attention of the king, opening the way for light through the prophecies concerning Babylon and other kingdoms and through the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, by which Jehovah was exalted as more powerful than earthly rulers, so that through his faithfulness God was honored.7T 161.1 Connection with outside parties in business need be no more detrimental when it does not interfere with spirituality, and outside commercial work can remain a channel for giving light to the world, but when it interferes it must be excluded, with the work that represents truth always first and commercial work second.7T 163.2

By God's grace he remained faithful while his work required association with worldlings and schemers, shining as a bright light from heaven amid the moral darkness of the wicked courts, and God gives that same grace to anyone whose work places them among worldly people so that the world does not gain too much influence over them.20MR 284.1 The verse presents him as a model of high, unswerving integrity and a faithful, loyal, steadfast servant and statesman whom no temptation could corrupt, fit for positions of trust, and believers should stand firm in integrity like him.MYP 100.2+4 His fear, love, and trust in God sustained him through temptation and danger, and God preserved him.FE 204.2

Standing like him means not disappointing Christ who gave His own life to cancel sins, remembering that without Christ nothing can be done, and seeing mistakes as beacons of warning so that defeat is turned into victory, the enemy is disappointed, and the Redeemer is honored.MYP 100.2 Young men should elevate the soul to be as he was, pondering well the path of the feet, for they stand on holy ground with the angels of God about them.MYP 176.1 As one who feared God he serves as an example for people facing temptation, that warnings and lessons given through others must be applied to one's own conduct.SLP 15.1–2 Fervent prayer enrages Satan because he suffers loss by it, and though Daniel prayed openly with full knowledge of the decree, the prayer of faith is the great strength of the Christian and will assuredly prevail against Satan.RH Feb 18, 1862