23 Now in that place there was a great dragon,¹ which the Babylonians revered. 24 The king said to Daniel, "You cannot deny that this is a living god; so worship him." 25 Daniel said, "I worship the Lord my God, for he is the living God. 26 But give me permission, O king, and I will kill the dragon without sword or club." The king said, "I give you permission." 27 Then Daniel took pitch, fat, and hair, and boiled them together and made cakes, which he fed to the dragon. The dragon ate them, and burst open. Then Daniel said, "See what you have been worshiping!" 28 When the Babylonians heard about it, they were very indignant and conspired against the king, saying, "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and killed the dragon, and slaughtered the priests." 29 Going to the king, they said, "Hand Daniel over to us, or else we will kill you and your household." 30 The king saw that they were pressing him hard, and under compulsion he handed Daniel over to them. 31 They threw Daniel into the lions' den, and he was there for six days. 32 There were seven lions in the den, and every day they had been given two human bodies and two sheep; but now they were given nothing, so that they would devour Daniel. (NRSV)
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¹ 1:23 great dragon. Nothing is recorded about a dragon-god or serpent-oracle in Babylon, but the Pythia or python-oracle was well known in Delphi.
For a long time it was thought that this reference to a dragon was incongruous (see the footnote with the text above), because no dragon or serpent-god is ever mentioned in Babylonian writings. But dragonlike creatures adorn Babylonian architecture, and perhaps this is where the author got the idea for this final part of the story.
Dragonlike creature(serpent / cheetah / rooster)
on the Ishtar Gate.
In the Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back," tall machines that walk on mechanical legs attack a snowy encampment. When the director was planning this part of the film, he decided that when the Walkers fell over, they needed to explode. Completely unnecessary to the story, it was necessary for the film, because sometimes we just need to get a "bang" in a moment like that, especially in a battle scene. I think the author of Bel and the Dragon was thinking something like that when he had Daniel do more than just discredit the dragon. Daniel's "tar cakes" may have represented something that would "just" rupture a snake's (or dragon's) bowel—and that would fit the text—but I'd like to think of this critter actually going "boom!" We see lots of idols smashed in the Bible and in the Apocrypha, too—it's satisfying to get a little Rambo moment in there and let one actually blow up.
The author wants to put Daniel into danger, though, because so far there hasn't been any miracle, and he thinks he needs one to round out the story—more about that tomorrow. For now, he plunks Daniel into (where else? He's Daniel!) a lion's den. And the lions are hungry.
But once again, as far as the useful qualities of this non-Biblical story go, we are told to have courage with our faith. An idol may be metal or stone. But this dragon wasn't. It was a living, breathing, scaly animal. It's a good reminder that the First Commandment isn't just about things that happened once upon a time. Other gods can turn up in living things, too. A false god could easily turn up in a bank account, or in a mirror, or even in an idea.
But God, the true God, must never take a backseat to anything. Even the American Constitution. Even a person's desire. Even a person's will. They all, without exception, move over for God. And God has moved everything for us. Our evil desires, our selfish ambitions, our ignorant opinions—all of our sins and failings—all are forgiven in Jesus Christ. He has washed us clean and blown up the sins of our past. In Jesus, nothing can haunt our dreams; nothing can nag at our consciences. Those sins that bother us and those sins we've forgotten are all covered.
We are at peace with God.
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