Dare To Be Like Daniel – Part 1

Good day to each of you reading the first segment on Dare to be like Daniel.

As I begin, here is a bit of information about Daniel—Daniel and thousands of his fellow countrymen were deported to a foreign land after Judah was conquered.

Daniel, holding to his faith in God, was surrounded by idolaters including the king, judges and priests who utilized their own sense of entitlement by manipulating others to get what they want.

Daniel, in his lifetime, will face prison, a dragon, showing that idols are dead and create dust, thrown into a den of lions, and become one of the most trusted advisors for Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus and became a wonderful example of the power of prayer and the sovereignty of God.

When reading The Apocrypha, the story of BEL and the Dragon, the Holy Spirit supplied me with the words to dare to be like Daniel.

Daniel, a trusted advisor for the previous Babylon kings, continued in his role as a trusted advisor to Cyrus the Persian.

Cyrus worshipped Bel the idol and by worshipping Bel, Cyrus ordered each day to supply Bel with 12 bushels of fine flour, forty sheep and fifty gallons of wine so Bel would be happy and watch over the king and his nation.

When reading about Bel, according to Brittanica– Bel, a name derived from the Semitic word baal, or “lord.” Bel, however, gradually came to be thought of as the god of order and destiny.

While the king worshipped Bel, Daniel worshipped the true God each day, so the king asked Daniel why he didn’t worship Bel?

Daniel, respectful and to the point said to the king that he did not revere artificial idols—only the living God who created heaven and earth and is sovereign over all mankind.

The sting of truth is put to the test for the king asked Daniel if he thought Bel is a living God? Cyrus said, don’t you see how much he eats and drinks each day?

Daniel laughed, making the king madder for Daniel finished by saying that Bel was clay inside and bronze outside—he couldn’t eat or drink a thing.

Ouch! Cyrus was mad! He called the priests together to find out who it was that was eating all the provisions daily—The priests had to show it was Bel who was eating the provisions so Daniel would be put to death, otherwise if Daniel could prove that Bel was eating nothing, then the priests would be put to death.

Daniel agreed along with the seventy priests and their families as they headed to the temple to prepare the provisions for Bel.

Instead, only King Cyrus and Daniel set the table for Bel that night so the King, Daniel and the priests would view the results in the morning together.

The priests left and when they were gone the king put the food for Bel on the table. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes and scatter them over the whole temple in the king’s presence.

Why bring ashes? The priests and their families had made a secret entrance under the table to go thru regularly to eat the offerings nightly.

As the night approached, the priests’ along with their families approached the secret entrance under the table to devour the food and drink the wine.

Cyrus, Daniel and the priests arose early the next morning to check the unbroken seals on the doors and to look at the table.

Cyrus, shouting loudly about how great Bel was and that there was no deception.

Daniel began to laugh and as he laughed, he held Cyrus back from going in to show Cyrus the footprints of men, women and children on the floor.  

Enraged, Cyrus seized the priests’ and their families, had the priests’ show them the secret entrance and then had the priests’ and their families killed.

Not only were they killed, but Bel the idol was turned over to Daniel and Daniel destroyed Bel and its temple.

I do hope you enjoyed part one of Dare to be like Daniel for Daniel was a man of conviction and was a true prayer warrior.

The lesson to be learned is that God never leaves us, in good time or in bad times, and that his presence is all that we need to remain faithful under pressure.

John 14:1 (KJV) Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.