Two Life-or-Death Tests
Two more major tests give Daniel and his three friends opportunity to witness to the true God in a public and influential way.
As much as your time allows, read through Daniel 3 and the test of faith the three Hebrew boys faced there.
Read Daniel 3:16-18. What is the essence of what they were saying? How is the principle still important for all believers today? See also Matt. 10:28.
Read Daniel 3:28-30 to see just how impressed the king was regarding what he had seen. Though the king still had a lot to learn, through the faithfulness of these young men, a powerful witness for the living God was spread through the pagan world.
Again, as much as your time allows, read through the story of Daniel in the lions' den (Daniel 6), another test of faith but now in a new kingdom.
What evidence can you find in the chapter that shows that the king already knew something about the power of Daniel's God?
What kind of testimony does Darius give about Daniel's God? How accurate a testimony is it? What does this show about what God can reveal to pagans about His power and wisdom without the Written Word?
Imagine if in both stories these Jews would have compromised to save their own lives. Again, how easy in both situations it would have been to rationalize doing the easy thing. Instead, they remained faithful, and as a result, they helped spread a knowledge of the true God. In times in the past, have you sought the easy way out and compromised what you knew was right? How did you feel? How can you fortify yourself in faith so that whenever the next test comes, you do what you know is right?
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