“Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing. Daniel 6:8
We see more of Satan’s strategy. Darius’s senior leaders have presented him their “benign” proposal – let everyone in the land show their patriotism to the kingdom by making petitions (praying) to him for just one short month. After that everyone can go back and worship and pray as they please. It is interesting that these leaders knew Daniel so well that they know he will not compromise his beliefs to pray to anyone other than the true God for even one day.
The demand to compromise is common in the persecution of Christians. In ancient Rome believers could escape facing lions in the Coliseum if they would simply drop a pinch of incense on a fire and say “Caesar is Lord”. After that they could worship as they please. We see this same thing in Satan’s temptation of the Lord in the wilderness where he asks Christ to fall down and worship him (just once) then all the kingdoms of the earth will be His. He can avoid the agony of the cross. Remember the Lord’s response? “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” The Lord clearly saw this kind of compromise as sin. Daniel did too.
Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing The pressure is applied. Do this now, put it in writing so it can not be changed or altered. It is a great idea, do it! Satan dangles a carrot ofpride in front of the king. Patriotism to the kingdom, loyalty to you as our king. That’s a good thing. Deceived by his pride and the lie of unanimity and that the need is urgent, the king is pressured to make this the law right now.
So that it cannot be altered Esther 1:9 also indicates the laws of the Medes and Persians could not be altered. “If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered.” The cabal holds its breath. If king signs the law and it cannot be changed (they expect Daniel to go to the king protesting the law) then they will have Daniel right where they want him. Instead of exaltation and promotion he will face annihilation.
So King Darius put the decree in writing This is when King Darius needed Daniel the most. He rushes into a decision without spiritual counsel, without the wisdom of the one man who truly received direction from God and who looked out for the king’s interests – his most loyal advisor. But the trap worked. The king’s pride led him to make a horrible decision.
What can we learn? We think poorly of Darius for this oversight until we stop to think about how many times every day we rush into decisions without seeking the wisdom and direction of our Father, the God of the Universe. Urgency is used by Satan to derail a king from asking for Godly counsel and to rush into a bad decision. For believers urgency should never drive our decisions. If we know God is in control and if we know that God will lead us to His best if we seek His direction then we never need to fear we will lose out on an option or that a choice will not be available later if it is truly God’s will for us. If a decision must be made urgently the one thing believers cannot neglect is what Darius made a decision to ban and Daniel would not compromise – prayer!