Temptations

Temptations come in many forms. When we discussed temptations in a recent Bible Study (most of us are 60+), we could only think of food as our major tempter.

Kids today have many temptations like drugs, sex, gossip, etc..

Consider Daniel (from Book of Daniel in the Bible), he was a young man in his teens when he was uprooted from Israel. The king (Nebuchadnezzar) decided to groom Daniel & other royal captives as bureaucrats in Babylon. So he was given royal food to eat but being a loyal follower of his God, he was not supposed to eat food that had been used in sacrifices to the false gods. So he asked to eat vegetables and water instead of the meat & wine; he was allowed to do it for a short period to see if he was fit & he was.

But Daniel was a young man in a foreign country a captive; and the temptation to conform was great but he didn't. A object lesson for the rest of us!

“I deal with temptation by yielding to it” Mark Twain

“'Tis one thing to be tempted, another thing to fall.” William Shakespeare

“I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it” Mae West

How like herrings and onions our vices are in the morning after we have committed them. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Those who flee temptation generally leave a forwarding address. ~Lane Olinghouse

temptation (n) a desire to do something, esp. something wrong or unwise : he resisted the temptation to call Celia at the office | we almost gave in to temptation. • a thing or course of action that attracts or tempts someone : the temptations of life in New York. • ( the Temptation) the tempting of Jesus by the Devil (see Matt. 4). ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French temptacion, from Latin temptatio(n-), from temptare ‘handle, test, try.’

Book of Daniel

The Bible Book of Daniel is a great book.  I'm surprised a movie hasn't been made about it.  In the first chapter Dan (for short) is taken from Israel & trained up to be a Babylonian bureaucrat, he won't eat the unclean meat & wine from his rulers and strikes a deal that let him & his buddies try a vegetarian diet and see who is fitter.  Turns out Dan & Friends are.

Chapter 2 has Nebuchadnezzar threatening to kill all his wise men (including Dan & Friends) if they don't tell him his dream AND its meaning.  Dan does it with God's help.

Chap 3 we meet Dan's friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (which are their Babylonian names, Dan's was Belteshazzar, the others were Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego) who don't bow to the Golden statue & end up in the fire (literally), a neat thing some of poor soldiers who put them in were killed by the fire.  They survived with God's help.

Chap 4 has another dream & a mad Nebuchadnezzar, Chap 5 has the "writing on the wall". Chap 6 is the famous Lion's Den.  Chapters 7-12 have to do with various visions, much of John's Revelation is previewed in Daniel.

I guess too much God for Hollywood, I remember all the great religious movies of my youth like 10 Commandments, Samson & Delilah,etc. I guess remaking old movies not as well is their speed.

But if you get a chance read or reread Daniel. Between Ezekiel & Hosea in the Bible about 3/4 of the way thru the Old Testament.

ve·he·ment (adj) acting or moving with great force; violent; impetuous having or characterized by intense feeling or strong passion; fervent, impassioned, etc.