Wednesday, February 01, 2006

The Most Underrated Old Testament Character

I have a group of guys I like to hang out with. We meet on Monday nights (though I've missed the past few weeks because of my travel schedule). One of our favorite things to talk about is underrated sports figures. We'll spend hours debating who the most underrated QB in the NFL is (Trent Green) -- or the most overlooked infielder in MLB is (Jeff Kent).

Who is the most underrated character in the Old Testament?

When we think of great Old Testament characters, there are some names that surface immediately: Abraham, Moses, David. Those are probably the big three. There are others that come after a moment's reflection: Joseph, Joshua, Solomon, Nehemiah.

Lots of books get written about those guys.

There are women, too: Deborah, Ruth, Esther. They get books and movies and sermon series all about them.

But, for some reason, I can't think of a single popular-level book written about Daniel. Nor can I remember ever hearing a sermon series about him. We know his stories -- refusing to eat the king's food, his friends being thrown into the fiery furnace, him interpreting the writing on the wall, his night spent in the lion's den.

Still, I can't remember anyone teaching through his whole story. Am I imagining this?

Why does Daniel get so little love from us?