Daniel (Greek) 14:18-22: a reflection

18And as soon as he had opened the door, the king looked at the table, and cried with a loud voice, “You are great, O Bel, and with you is no deceit at all!” 19Then Daniel laughed, and held the king that he should not go in, and said, “Behold now the pavement, and mark well whose footsteps these are.” 20The king said, “I see the footsteps of men, women, and children.” Then the king was angry, 21and took the priests with their wives and children, who showed him the secret doors, where they came in and consumed the things that were on the table. 22Therefore the king killed them, and delivered Bel into Daniel’s power, who overthrew it and its temple.

In the account of Bel, Daniel exposes as fraud what had seemed a miracle: the idol Bel appeared to eat the offerings set before it, but Daniel shows that it was the priests who secretly consumed them, entering by a hidden door. The king, seeing the offerings gone each morning, believed Bel truly ate them and was a living god. But Daniel had scattered ashes on the floor; and in the morning the footprints of the priests and their families were revealed, exposing the fraud. What had seemed the miraculous power of an idol was in fact human deception; and honest investigation revealed the truth. This shows that the seeming power of a false god is often deception, which the truth exposes. The seeming power of a false god can be human deception. Honest investigation exposes the fraud behind false gods. What seems miraculous may be deception; test it. The truth exposes the fraud of false gods.

Notice how Daniel exposed the fraud. The idol Bel appeared to consume the food offered to it each night; the king took this as proof that Bel was a living, eating god. But Daniel did not simply accept the appearance; he tested it. He had ashes scattered on the temple floor, and when the offerings were gone in the morning, the footprints of the priests and their families were plainly revealed, showing that they, not the idol, had eaten the food, entering by a secret door. What had seemed the miraculous power of a god was in fact human deception, exposed by honest investigation. This holds a lesson about discernment. What appears to vindicate a false god or a false claim, what seems miraculous or beyond explanation, is often, on honest examination, revealed to be deception or trickery. We are not to be naive, accepting every appearance of the miraculous or the supernatural at face value, but to be discerning, willing to test and examine, so that the truth may be revealed. The false does not stand up to honest investigation; the truth exposes it. We do well to be discerning rather than naive, testing what claims to be miraculous, so that fraud is exposed and truth revealed. Test what seems miraculous rather than accepting it naively. The truth, honestly sought, exposes the fraud of false gods. Be discerning, not naive, before claims of the miraculous. Honest investigation reveals the deception behind false claims.

That is worth taking to heart, for the seeming power of a false god or claim is often deception that honest investigation exposes, and we do well to be discerning rather than naive. We can accept the appearance of the miraculous at face value, taking what seems to vindicate a false god or claim as proof; but Daniel tested Bel's seeming power and exposed it as the priests' fraud through the footprints in the ashes. The truth exposes deception. Do not be naive before claims of the miraculous; be discerning, willing to test and examine, so that the truth is revealed. Be discerning rather than naive before what seems miraculous or beyond explanation, willing to test and examine so that the truth may be revealed, as Daniel, when the idol Bel appeared to eat the offerings set before it each night so that the king believed it a living god, did not simply accept the appearance but tested it, scattering ashes on the temple floor, so that in the morning the footprints of the priests and their families who had secretly entered by a hidden door and eaten the food were plainly revealed, exposing the fraud; for what had seemed the miraculous power of a god was in fact human deception, revealed by honest investigation, which holds a lesson about discernment, since what appears to vindicate a false god or claim, what seems miraculous or beyond explanation, is often on honest examination revealed to be deception or trickery, so that we are not to be naive, accepting every appearance of the miraculous at face value, but to be discerning, willing to test and examine, since the false does not stand up to honest investigation and the truth exposes it, so that we do well to be discerning rather than naive, testing what claims to be miraculous, that fraud may be exposed and truth revealed.

Lord, in the account of Bel, Daniel exposes as fraud what had seemed a miracle: the idol Bel appeared to eat the offerings set before it, but Daniel shows that it was the priests who secretly consumed them, entering by a hidden door. The king, seeing the offerings gone each morning, believed Bel truly ate them and was a living god. But Daniel had scattered ashes on the floor; and in the morning the footprints of the priests and their families were revealed, exposing the fraud. What had seemed the miraculous power of an idol was in fact human deception; and honest investigation revealed the truth. This shows that the seeming power of a false god is often deception, which the truth exposes. Show me how Daniel exposed the fraud. The idol Bel appeared to consume the food each night; the king took this as proof that Bel was a living god. But Daniel did not simply accept the appearance; he tested it. He had ashes scattered, and when the offerings were gone in the morning, the footprints of the priests and their families were plainly revealed, showing that they, not the idol, had eaten the food. What had seemed the miraculous power of a god was in fact human deception, exposed by honest investigation. This holds a lesson about discernment. What appears to vindicate a false god or a false claim, what seems miraculous, is often, on honest examination, revealed to be deception. I am not to be naive, accepting every appearance of the miraculous at face value, but to be discerning, willing to test and examine, so that the truth may be revealed. Take that to my heart, for the seeming power of a false god or claim is often deception that honest investigation exposes, and I do well to be discerning rather than naive. Keep me from accepting the appearance of the miraculous at face value; help me be discerning, Lord, willing to test and examine what claims to be miraculous, so that fraud is exposed and truth revealed, holding to you, the true God, rather than to deceptions.