Context No. 4065 of 4322 · Daniel (Greek)
Context · Reflection
Daniel (Greek) 14:13-17: in context
13They weren’t concerned, for under the table they had made a secret entrance, by which they entered in continually, and consumed those things. 14It happened, when they had gone out, the king set the food before Bel. Now Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and they scattered them all over the temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door, sealed it with the king’s signet, and so departed. 15Now in the night, the priests came with their wives and children, as they usually did, and ate and drank it all. 16In the morning, the king arose, and Daniel with him. 17The king said, “Daniel, are the seals whole?” He said, “Yes, O king, they are whole.”
In this story, King Cyrus believes that the idol Bel is a living god, because every night the food set before it disappears, as though the idol had eaten it. But Daniel knows better, and he devises a simple test: after the food is set out and the temple sealed, he secretly scatters ashes on the floor.
In the morning, the seals are unbroken, but the ashes reveal the footprints of the priests and their families, who had been entering by a hidden door to eat the offerings themselves. The fraud is exposed; Bel was no living god, only a lifeless idol served by deceitful priests. There is a lesson here about testing the claims made in the name of religion. Daniel did not simply accept what he was told, nor did he mock without evidence; he devised a fair test that let the truth come out. And the truth did come out, as it has a way of doing; the deception that looked so convincing was exposed by a handful of ashes. False claims, however impressive they appear, do not stand up to honest testing, and truth, in time, tends to surface.
Am I wisely discerning about the claims made in the name of religion, testing them honestly rather than accepting them gullibly, confident that what is false will finally be exposed and only what is true will stand?
Sources
- Daniel 14:14: "Daniel had commanded his servants to bring ashes, and they scattered them all over the temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door, sealed it."
- Daniel 14:15: "In the night, the priests came with their wives and children, as they usually did, and ate and drank it all."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21: "Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good."