How far do we dare bow to Baal? Is a little genuflecting okay with God? Just a little to make our lives easier, so that we don’t get hassled? We can convince ourselves that we are just obeying the government and that therefore we are in obedience to God, right? Or as the chorus I grew up singing says, should we dare to be a Daniel?
Daniel was taken captive into Babylon as a youth of probably 12-15 years old. He was barely more than a child. How far might one anticipate a youth of that age going to honor his values and beliefs, when taken captive by a nation over which Baal reigned? How much was he willing to compromise? Unlike thousands today, apparently this young teenager, and a few others, weren’t willing. Even upon pain of death. We are told several stories about Daniel and three others, who were not willing to compromise their faith. They defied the government. When first told to eat the meat and drink the wine sacrificed to idols, Daniel and three others of the youths chosen out of Israel to be trained for the courts, refused. What was the big deal? The rest of the children of Israel that were chosen apparently did it. Okay, so they weren’t supposed to do that according to the Law, but we know from the New Testament that it really is of no real spiritual consequence to do so, as long as you aren’t worshiping the god to whom it is sacrificed or feel compromised in partaking of the food. The consequences could have been great for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah when they refused, but God not only protected them, because of their unwillingness to compromise and bow the knee even a little to Baal, He made them flourish compared to their counterparts.
Then there was the government mandate that everyone fall down on their knees, ostensibly in worship to the golden idol, when the instruments were blown, or be cast in the fiery furnace. No doubt like in any society, there were some who did this because they believed in the king’s law, (no matter how wrong it might be) and those who complied merely to avoid getting into trouble. Shadrack, Meshach, and Abed-nego could have just fallen on their knees in pretense and prayed to their own God. Who would have known? It would just be outwardly complying with a government mandate that they really didn’t believe, but it would keep them from standing out and getting into trouble. Serious trouble. Would just bowing the knee a little be such a bad thing? Especially given the consequences? Would it have ruined their testimony of belief in the God of Israel in front of a pagan society? There’s a question to be pondered. The fact is that they refused and ended up in a furnace that was so hot. that the men who threw them in perished from the heat. (A job constantly having openings, I’m sure). The pre-incarnate Christ met them in that furnace, and they came out of the ordeal without even a hint of smelling of smoke.
Then there was the situation when Daniel was set up by jealous peers, who had the king sign a law that said nobody could petition any God or man for thirty days. Of course the first thing Daniel did was defy the law and go pray. Has God required any particular number of prayers daily, or even that we pray daily? No. We are free to pray as often or as little as we want. The spiritual consequences of that are on our own heads, but God has not made a particular requirement to my knowledge. So why would Daniel not just go along with the mandate? Why do it in deliberate defiance of a mandate that didn’t actually challenge his beliefs? Why not pray in a closet where nobody would know? He knew it would be trouble when found out, and he was smart enough to know he was being set up and would be found out. Why do it in front of an open window where he could be seen? Why put himself in jeopardy when all he had to do was wait out thirty days? Surely God wouldn’t punish him for not praying that length of time would He? This refusal to cooperate even a short time with a mandate that made him forgo his communication with God had dire consequences. He was thrown in a lion’s den. But again, God protected and honored Daniel, because he was honoring Him. Daniel would not bow the knee to Baal even in things which did not actually make him forsake his beliefs, but rather were merely acts of evil to try to control him and ultimately destroy his relationship with God. As such, it was not acceptable to him to comply.
So why would Daniel and these three other boys/men refuse to bow the knee, just a little, to Baal to appease the powers that be. Why not let themselves be controlled in this manner? Why not give Baal just a little genuflecting to live in peace and comfort? Maybe Daniel realized something that a lot of people do not. If you start compromising just a little bit, you find yourself walking not on the road, but rather the shoulder of the road. You are still following the road, but you are not really on it. The next time you are asked to bend the knee a little deeper, it isn’t that far to go, for you already have bowed a little. You’ve already moved from the center of the road to the shoulder. It seems like it is no worse than the first little bow, because it isn’t any farther a distance than that first step. But the difference is, while it is the same amount of distance as the first time, this time it isn’t from the center of the road, it is from the shoulder. Now you are in the ditch. The next time, you may turn onto another road altogether, as a ditch will not cross an intersection but follow the path of the intersecting road. Or you find yourself out in the middle of a field. Now you aren’t on the road, you aren’t near the road. You are lost. Every time we convince ourselves that bowing the knee a little doesn’t hurt, we find ourselves moving from the middle of the road to the edge and beyond. This country (and also the world) has for a long time been compromising and bowing the knee to Baal. Now it is so clear that it is unmistakable that Baal is this country’s (and world's) god and is in charge. Are you daring to be a Daniel? Or are you compromising? Do you see that a little compromise only leads to further compromise, or are you convincing yourself that what you are doing is for the common good and in obedience to the higher power that God has allowed to be in charge? Are you seeking out the truth, or just complying to make life easier? Have you considered that like Daniel, God has allowed Baal to be over you, to see if you will choose to be faithful or choose to not get thrown in the fiery furnace or lion’s den? Who is in charge of your life? Baal or God? I am daring to try to be a Daniel. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Dare to be a Daniel.
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm.
Dare to make it known.
