Daniel (Greek) 14:6-12: a reflection

6Then the king said to him, “Don’t you think that Bel is a living god? Don’t you see how much he eats and drinks every day?” 7Then Daniel laughed, and said, “O king, don’t be deceived; for this is just clay inside, and brass outside, and never ate or drank anything.” 8So the king was angry, and called for his priests, and said to them, “If you don’t tell me who this is who devours these expenses, you shall die. 9But if you can show me that Bel devours them, then Daniel shall die; for he has spoken blasphemy against Bel.” Daniel said to the king, “Let it be according to your word.” 10Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. The king went with Daniel into Bel’s temple. 11So Bel’s priests said, “Behold, we will leave; but you, O king, set out the food, and mix the wine and set it out, shut the door securely, and seal it with your own signet. 12When you come in the morning, if you don’t find that Bel has eaten everything, we will suffer death, or else Daniel, who speaks falsely against us.”

In this account, the king believes his idol Bel to be a living god, pointing to the great quantities of food and drink that seem to be consumed before it each day. But Daniel is not fooled: he laughs and says, Do not be deceived, O king; this is only clay inside and bronze outside, and never ate or drank anything. Daniel knows the god is an empty image, and that the food is not consumed by any god at all; there is a deception behind it, which he will go on to expose, showing that the priests themselves secretly eat the offerings.

Notice Daniel's clear-eyed discernment. Where others were deceived, taking the idol for a living god because of the vanishing offerings, Daniel saw the truth: the image was empty, and the appearance of the god eating was a trick. He was not taken in by the impressive display or the confident claims; he looked past them to what was really there, and refused to be deceived. And he was willing to put the claim to the test, to expose the deception.

That is a discernment we need. Many things present themselves as worthy of our belief, our devotion, our fear, backed by impressive displays and confident claims; and it is easy to be taken in, as the king was, without looking beneath the surface. But God gives his people discernment to see through deception, to test claims rather than simply accept them, to recognize the empty image behind the impressive show. Do not be too quickly deceived by confident claims and impressive displays. Look beneath the surface, test what presents itself for your belief or devotion, and ask God for the discernment Daniel had, to see through deception to what is really there. Not everything that looks like a living god is one; seek the discernment to tell the difference.

Lord, where others were deceived into taking the idol Bel for a living god, Daniel saw the truth, that it was only an empty image and its appearance of eating a trick, and he was willing to test the claim and expose the deception. Give me that clear-eyed discernment. Many things present themselves as worthy of my belief, my devotion, my fear, backed by impressive displays and confident claims; and it is easy to be taken in, as the king was, without looking beneath the surface. But you give your people discernment to see through deception, to test claims rather than simply accept them, to recognize the empty image behind the impressive show. Keep me from being too quickly deceived by confident claims and impressive displays. Help me look beneath the surface, test what presents itself for my belief or devotion, and give me the discernment Daniel had, to see through deception to what is really there. Help me tell the true from the false.