Doctor Faustus, in Christopher Marlowe’s Renaissance drama, wanted power at any cost. After considering his options, he decided that magic could make him a “mighty god.” To make sure his magic would be the strongest, he made a deal with the devil—his soul in exchange for the power he craved. As one might expect, that bargain was a bad one with hellish consequences.

God had put Daniel in a position of power near the top of the Babylonian Empire. That fact, plus his identity as a Jewish exile, plus his incorruptible integrity (v. 4), made him some enemies—122 jealous imperial officials, to be exact. Looking to take him down, they found his only “weakness” to be his faith in his God (v. 5). So they plotted to pass a temporary law against praying to any god other than King Darius (v. 6).

The temptation for Daniel was to compromise. He was in the habit of praying three times daily at open windows facing Jerusalem (v. 10). There was no biblical command to do so. Why not suspend the practice temporarily? Or pray in a more secret place? Why hand evil a victory? But Daniel chose to act on faith, not fear. Godly wisdom makes choices that the world doesn’t always understand.

The results: God protected Daniel from the lions (vv. 21–23). The conspirators paid with their lives (v. 24). God’s name—to which Daniel had already been bearing clear witness (vv. 11, 16)—was glorified even more than it had been before (vv. 26–27).

What was Daniel’s strategy against temptation? He unreservedly “trusted in his God” (v. 23). Drawing near to the Lord is a sure defense against temptations to wrongdoing. The apparent appeal of sin vanishes, its lies are unmasked, and the power of God strengthens us to choose rightly.

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