Daniel 6:27
He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
Royal proclamations in ancient Near Eastern empires carried legal and religious weight, being distributed throughout vast territories and publicly read. Darius's decree acknowledging the living God reached from India to Ethiopia, proclaiming Yahweh's supremacy to millions who had never heard Israel's God named. This represents extraordinary missionary advance through political rather than evangelistic channels.
The language of "signs and wonders" echoes descriptions of Exodus miracles (Deuteronomy 6:22, 26:8), connecting Daniel's deliverance to Israel's redemptive history. Just as God displayed power over Egyptian gods through the plagues, He now demonstrates supremacy over Persian imperial power and natural order through Daniel's preservation.
Questions for Reflection
- How does God's deliverance producing witness to pagan rulers illustrate missions advancing through political and social channels beyond direct evangelism?
- What does Darius's proclamation teach about how faithful endurance of persecution can result in powerful testimony before watching unbelievers?
- How does Daniel's deliverance from lions prefigure Christ's deliverance from death and believers' ultimate deliverance at resurrection?
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Analysis & Commentary
Darius's proclamation reaches theological climax: "He delivereth and rescueth" describes God's active intervention in human affairs. The parallelism emphasizes completeness—God both delivers from danger and rescues from destruction. "He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth" acknowledges divine power operating in both spiritual and physical realms, beyond natural law's constraints. This echoes language used throughout Scripture for divine miracles demonstrating God's sovereignty over creation.
The specific application—"who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions"—grounds theological truth in historical event. God's nature as deliverer isn't abstract doctrine but demonstrated reality witnessed by the Persian king and court. The phrase "power of the lions" (Aramaic yad aryavatha, יַד אַרְיָוָתָא, literally "hand of lions") personifies the beasts' threat, emphasizing both danger's severity and God's superior power to overcome it.
This proclamation by a pagan king demonstrates how God's miraculous deliverance produces witness to the nations. Daniel's faithfulness and God's vindication resulted in the Persian Empire's most powerful ruler proclaiming Yahweh's supremacy. This fulfills Israel's calling to be a light to nations (Isaiah 42:6), prefiguring Christ's Great Commission that the gospel reach all peoples (Matthew 28:19). Believers' faithful endurance of persecution, when met by divine deliverance (whether temporal or eschatological), testifies to God's reality and power before watching world.