Belteshazzar
“He believed in his God.” —Daniel 6:23
Read Daniel 6:17-29
By continuing to serve the Lord, Daniel came into great trials and difficulties, putting his life in danger. At the command of the king, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. But notice how King Darius sought to encourage Daniel: “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee” (v. 16). Remarkably, Darius had given Daniel another name, Belteshazzar. Most likely the meaning of this name is “may Bel protect you” (Dan. 1:7). Bel was a heathen god worshiped by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:8). At the time of our text, Darius ruled and Daniel was still known by this Babylonian name. We might think that Darius was mocking Daniel’s God with his encouragement, that he really meant Daniel would have been better off trusting in the god Bel. But from what follows in Scripture, we know that Darius was not mocking at all.
Daniel had two names, which gave him the choice of serving one of two gods. While the god Bel seemed all-powerful, the living God seemed to be unaffected with Daniel’s plight, allowing him to be cast into a den of lions. Daniel had the whole world against him and it seemed as if the God of heaven did not even exist. We too stand before a choice in the world. Will you serve the gods of this world or the one true God?
How does it become apparent that God will not allow Himself to be mocked?
This devotional was taken from “The Time of Your Life” a daily devotional published by the Youth & Education Committee of the FRC. To order a printed copy of this book, contact: bookorders@frcna.org.