An Excellent Spirit
“Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.” Daniel 6:3
Of all the characters in the Bible, I can find no other who had not even a taint of a scandal or wrongdoing in his life. Abraham was known to stretch the truth, David was an adulterer and a murderer by proxy, Joseph, while innocent, was caught up in a sex scandal, Solomon became an idol worshiper, and Paul, before his conversion to Christ, persecuted and had Christians executed. While Daniel was not perfect, because we are all born sinners, he was a man who spent his life honoring the God of Israel, even under the threat of death. As far as we know, Daniel never married nor had a family but spent his entire adult life in captivity serving his captors.
Even under the thumb of the Babylonians and then the Persians, he maintained his integrity as a man dedicated to serve the living God. Daniel was a very valuable asset to both King Nebuchadnezzar and later his son, Belshazzar. God had given Daniel an exceptional ability to interpret dreams. Both of these kings would have dreams that their own astrologers and soothsayers could not explain. Daniel would be called in to give the interpretation which usually was not very favorable toward the king. Some of the dreams were prophecies that have yet to be fulfilled.
After Babylon was defeated by the Persians, Darius became king over the entire region. He considered placing Daniel over his entire realm, but the Persian princes were jealous of Daniel and sought a way to do away with him. They could not find anything about which to criticize him concerning his duties to king Darius, but they realized that they could attack him through his worship of the LORD God. They went to king Darius to suggest that he create a rule that if anyone should consult any God or man except the king for a period of 30 days, the perpetrator would be thrown into a den of lions. However, that didn’t stop Daniel from worshiping, and he was caught praying to the LORD and was thrown into the lion’s den. Darius regretted that he had made this statute, but it could not be changed. The next morning, Darius went to the den and to his relief and joy he found Daniel alive and well. God had sealed the mouths of the lions to protect Daniel. However, the princes that had suggested this rule didn’t fare so well. Darius had them thrown into the lion’s den along with their families. God did not protect them.
Daniel’s captors recognized that he possessed an excellent spirit, which I believe means that no one could find fault in him. Wow. That’s what I would like to have-an excellent spirit-not for my own notoriety, but to glorify my Lord and Savior and to show what a difference He makes in my life. I’m a long way from having an excellent spirit, but at least it’s a worthy goal to pursue.