“They could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.” Daniel 6:4 KJV
“They could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Daniel 6:4 NASB
His Testimony
Daniel must now be an aged man in his 80s. He had withstood the test of life-style in chapter 1 as a teenager. But perhaps the severest test was now as an aged man; he will face the test of the lions.
A long and distinguished public life had been lived under two administrations, the Babylonish and Persian. As it is now, so it was then. Corruption usually was linked with places of power and influence. Yet, despite the closest scrutiny of his foes, Daniel was faultless.
The Lord Jesus was placed under the scrutiny of family, foes, and the fiends of hell. His brothers, saved after His crucifixion, could only speak of “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory” (James 2:1), and “The Lord cometh … to execute judgment upon all … their ungodly deeds” (Jude 14, 15). His foes had to own that “I have found no fault in this Man” (Luke 23:14). The centurion was forced to own that “this was a righteous man” (Luke 23:47). Soldiers had to own that, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:47). The Lord Jesus could challenge the hosts of hell when He said, “The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me” (John 14:30). He was not only faultless before men, but His Father owned as well, that there was only that which brought Him infinite delight in His Son.
His Trial
Finding no public fault in Daniel, the evil men who surrounded and envied him, resorted to malice and machinations to attempt to bring him down. The plot concerning praying to anyone other than to the king, appealing to his pride, is well known. As a result, Daniel, the faithful saint, is cast into a den of lions. Paul, in the synagogue at Antioch employed almost identical language concerning the Lord when he said, “Though they found no cause of death in Him, yet desired they Pilate that He should be slain” (Acts 13:28).
Once again, however, along with the comparison, there is a great contrast. For God sent an angel to close the lions’ mouths. But no aid was sent to the Savior. Angels must have been poised on heaven’s battlements, ready to rush to the scene. But heaven gave no command and no request came from earth.
His Triumph
After a sleepless night, the king rushed to the den and with a pitiful cry, inquired if Daniel’s God was able to preserve him. The den had been covered with a stone and when it was removed, a triumphant and vindicated Daniel stepped forth.
The garden tomb was covered by a great stone and it was sealed. But an angel rolled it back to reveal that it was empty and that a resurrected Savior had been triumphant over death. It was not rolled away to allow His exit – as in the case of Daniel. He had risen and left it behind; the stone was rolled away as a testimony to His victory.
The faultless Daniel was honored and prospered, and the name of His God proclaimed throughout the empire. Christ is the faithful and faultless Servant of Jehovah of Whom Isaiah said that He would “prosper … be exalted, extolled, and made very high” (Isa 52:12, Newberry)
Consider:
Find other ways in which Daniel displayed Christ-like features throughout the book which bears his name.
Does the inclusion of his name (while still alive and a relatively young man) with Noah and Job in Ezekiel 14:14, indicate anything about his personal righteousness and testimony?