Lenten Thoughts (Day 35): Faithfulness in the face of death

As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her. "Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you."

"I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned. "If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord." Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her, as one of them ran to open the garden doors.

When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her. At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.

When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death ... The elders made this accusation: "As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls. A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her. The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death.

But Susanna cried aloud: "O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me."
- Daniel 13:19-28, 36-37, 41b-43

This is an excerpt from a pretty long story about a woman and how two lustful men used her to cover up for their own failures. I found the story captivating, so I think it's worth reading (it's chapter 13 of the Book of Daniel).

The thing that really strikes hard is not the problem of the two elders misusing their authority, but the wholeheartedness of the woman, who would give up her life to remain faithful to the Lord: "It is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord," Susanna said. And for that she is sentenced to death.

I pray that we each learn from this powerful story, the kind of love for the Lord that stands through every obstacle, not matter how difficult.