Monday 15 April 2013

Background

With the Book of Daniel, we enter a world of exile andpersecution; a place where it is hard to hold onto one's values andbeliefs and where community identity might easily be destroyed. Weare in Babylon, where the leaders of Israel have been brought ascaptives by a more powerful nation. Within this testing place welearn what it really means to live in hope.

Half of the book (from chapter 7 onwards) is made up of Daniel'soften apocalyptic visions of the world that the people of Israelbelieved God could achieve. The first half, however, tells storiesabout Daniel himself and his three friends. They are alreadyattempting to live out that dreamed-of world despite thecircumstances in which they find themselves.

As Jewish captives, the young, good-looking men have beentrained in the ways of the Babylonian court. They are courtiers,and exist at the beck and call of a succession of autocraticmonarchs. But now that they are part of the Babylonian world, howwill they maintain their identity as believers in the God ofIsrael?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (names imposed on them by theBabylonians) have already followed Daniel's lead in refusing toconform to Babylonian dietary habits (Daniel1:5-16). Now they refuse to worship a gold statue erected byKing Nebuchadnezzar in his own image. He is furious that they don'teven acknowledge his power.

Despite the very great detail with which their fate isdescribed, we don't get to know the three men as individuals - onlythat they are not absolutely confident that their lives will bespared (Daniel 3:17-18). We learn more about those whowatch their fate; we see the effect of their heroism upon theobservers - not least the king who, failing to transform them,acknowledges the power of their testimony to the God who has madethem who they are.

To Ponder

• How do you express your faith within the communities or worldin which you live and work?

• It is sometimes said that Methodists (and other Christiangroups) have lost confidence in who they are and what they standfor. What stories would you tell in order to rebuild a sense ofhope?