Roots
“Remember your roots!” It’s what’s said when someone from humble beginnings makes it big. The sentiment is meant to remind that person of who they really are, lest they be forever changed by fame or fortune. Unfortunately, the person who stays true to their roots in such circumstances is more the exception than the rule. Wealth, ease, and extravagance have a way of changing people. The Babylonians were counting on it.
Unlike other conquering empires who sought to subdue enemies through brutality, Babylon achieved dominance through assimilation. They banked on the fact that their subjugates would want to become part of their culture. Babylon was the most magnificent city of its time; wealthy, sophisticated, rich in knowledge and resources. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon ranks as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Lush vegetation in the middle of an arid desert must have been something to behold for the captives from Israel.
Ripped from their families, their homes, their language, their culture, and their God, Daniel and his teenaged friends were expected to assimilate. The idea was to supplant all they had known with what Babylon wanted them to know, and wanted them to be. A complete reboot. An indoctrination.
It began with a change of identity. Names chosen to honor the God of Israel were replaced with warped versions pointing to Babylonian gods. Castration forever changed life trajectories. A new language, new customs, and new foods would follow. A complete transformation, replacing the roots of their very selves, was the goal.
Why didn’t this tactic succeed? Why do we see Daniel and his friends consistently reject the Babylonian gods in favor of their own? How did they hold fast to their roots?
The parable of the sower offers wisdom. Of the 4 seeds, representing responses to the gospel message, only one seed takes root and multiplies. One seed is choked out by weeds and becomes unfruitful. Another is snatched by birds. Still another is thrown on rocky soil, and though initial growth is rapid, plants wither at the first sign of trouble.
Matthew 13:21 reads “But since they have no root, they last only a short time”.
The book of Daniel spans a period of over 80 years and in that time, we see the captives refuse the king’s food, refuse to pray to his statue, and defy his order to cease praying to their God. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had deep roots and they were unshakable.
These teenaged heroes of ancient Israel have a lot to teach us because we live in Babylon too. Our culture seeks to change who we are and what we believe. If we have no root, just like the plants, we’ll last only a short time. We may not put up a fight at all.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
The winds of change are blowing. Remember your roots and sink them deep into solid ground so that you cannot be moved.
~ Melissa Gibbs has been a member of LIFE Fellowship for over 10 years, is the mother to four boys and widow of the late JD Gibbs.