Stroll through Scripture for Sunday August 18, 2024

Based on Daniel 6:6–27

We move from King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to King Darius of Persia. The kings in charge change, but the situation for Daniel does not. Israel is still occupied and controlled by a foreign power. That ruler has ego issues and sees themself as divine and worthy of worship. The VIPs of Israel are still in exile serving the court of the king. Court intrigue and back-stabbing continues — with Daniel as the main target. There are orders being put out by the king that sound extreme, along with severe punishments. Not much has really changed. It sounds like so much of human history.

In this Sunday’s reading, we will hear about Daniel being turned in by other advisors to the king. His crime? It’s the same crime as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — not worshipping the king’s gods and staying faithful to the God of Israel. In many ways the story in Chapter 3, which we heard last Sunday (the fiery furnace) and this story are linked together. The book of Daniel does this — retelling similar stories later in the book. There is speculation as to why — that while people in charge change, the culture does not. Others argue that the retelling is to emphasize that while cruelty seems relentless, God nevertheless overcomes it and those who act cruelly.

Daniel, like his three friends, does not force others to worship as he does — it is the king who is insisting on worship a certain way. Daniel, like his friends, does not have much of a speaking part in the story at…