Rev. Michael Piazza, in Liberating Word says that in chapter 5 “we find the story from which we get the phrase “handwriting on the wall,” but it is in Daniel chapter 6 that we find the story for which Daniel is forever known. Actually, it is a great deal like the story of the “Fiery Furnace” …This time, though, it was Daniel, not his three friends, whose life was endangered.
Nebuchadnezzar died, and a new king named Darius assumed the throne, Because Daniel had risen to a place of prominence and power without compromising his faith, his rivals decided to get rid of him. They persuaded the new king to issue an edict banning prayer for 30 days. (Daniel 6:7) As they knew he would, Daniel disobeyed the edict and continued to openly practice his faith, regardless of the consequences. The result, of course, was that he was thrown into a den of lions. You remember that Daniel was unharmed by the lions and thus impressed the new king with the power of his God.
To me, the challenge of this story is all of those folks killed by lions in Rome a few centuries later…..Was God showing favoritism to Daniel, or were the lions just not hungry at that moment?.....Actually, I think that, like so many of these mythical stories, the author wasn’t trying to recount history, but trying to offer us a parable containing truth…..Who we are, and who our faith calls us to be, ought to be evident, regardless of the circumstances or the threat…That is the only kind of witness that will convince our critics.” And, better yet, doing the right thing can be costly.
Rev. Michael Piazza, in Liberating Word says that in chapter 5 “we find the story from which we get the phrase “handwriting on the wall,” but it is in Daniel chapter 6 that we find the story for which Daniel is forever known. Actually, it is a great deal like the story of the “Fiery Furnace” …This time, though, it was Daniel, not his three friends, whose life was endangered.
ReplyDeleteNebuchadnezzar died, and a new king named Darius assumed the throne, Because Daniel had risen to a place of prominence and power without compromising his faith, his rivals decided to get rid of him. They persuaded the new king to issue an edict banning prayer for 30 days. (Daniel 6:7) As they knew he would, Daniel disobeyed the edict and continued to openly practice his faith, regardless of the consequences. The result, of course, was that he was thrown into a den of lions. You remember that Daniel was unharmed by the lions and thus impressed the new king with the power of his God.
To me, the challenge of this story is all of those folks killed by lions in Rome a few centuries later…..Was God showing favoritism to Daniel, or were the lions just not hungry at that moment?.....Actually, I think that, like so many of these mythical stories, the author wasn’t trying to recount history, but trying to offer us a parable containing truth…..Who we are, and who our faith calls us to be, ought to be evident, regardless of the circumstances or the threat…That is the only kind of witness that will convince our critics.” And, better yet, doing the right thing can be costly.