Stroll through Scripture for December 1, 2024

Based on Daniel 6:6-27

This Sunday is the first week of Advent.  The first week’s theme is Hope.  Hope isn’t wishful thinking.  It’s seeing the reality of what is (often not great) and being reminded that God has a different way – a better way.  And God is making that better way happen and it will come to fruition in God’s time.  

Given the theme of Hope, it makes sense that our reading would come from Daniel.  The book of Daniel is fascinating.  Daniel is the only book of the Hebrew Scriptures that we know when it was written within a few years – 167-164 BC.  The book tells the story of Daniel and his friends in Exile in Babylon in the 500’s, but it was written when Israel was under the rule of the Seleucid Empire.  It is a book of hope for people under oppression.  Its message is that God provides a way forward.  

Daniel 6 tells the story of Daniel and the Lions’ Den.  In many ways, it offers a similar lesson to the story of the Fiery Furnace in chapter 3.  In Chapter 6, King Darius presides over the empire.  This story shows that even the person at the top of the societal pyramid is just as trapped and as everyone else under him.  That’s how empires work – everyone is trapped, everyone is expendable, everyone is replaceable.  

Daniel is shown as an example of faithfulness.  He is steadfast in remaining loyal to God – willing to go to death to remain faithful.  The king’s advisors feel threatened by Daniel, and they plot against him.  But it ultimately backfires on them – they end up being thrown into the lions’ den and dying, while Daniel is saved and receives a reward for remaining faithful. 

Throughout this story, things get turned upside-down.  The most powerful man, the king, ends up being unable to sleep or eat, even though he was in a palace.  Daniel on the other hand is trapped in a lions’ den with no food or bed.  Yet it is him who is in better shape than the king.  What good is all the power and authority of the king in this situation?  

At the beginning of the story, the king is pressed to sign an ordinance making everyone worship only him.  This is what gets Daniel into trouble, since he remains faithful to worshipping the Lord.  By the end, Darius is declaring that the Lord is the Living God.  

This story highlights the theme of hope – seeing the reality for what it is but showing God’s better way for all to see.  

Questions for Reflection:

• How does Daniel’s story offer you hope in your own circumstances?  
• Why is it important to name the reality of the situation for what it is?
• Where do you see hope in the world today?