One of my favorite Bible stories is about a beautiful and devout Hebrew woman named Susanna in the Book of Daniel.
She was bathing in her garden while two lustful elders were secretly observing her. They accosted her, threatening to tell people that she was meeting a young man in the garden if she did not agree to submit to them.
Susanna refused to be blackmailed and was arrested. She was about to be put to death for promiscuity when a young man named Daniel interrupted the proceedings and shouted that Susanna was innocent. He demanded that the elders be separately questioned about their testimonies. The two men were asked under what tree Susanna met her lover.
Each accuser gave a different answer. The first said they were under a mastic tree while the second one said they were under an evergreen oak tree. It was clear that the elders had lied. They were put to death; virtue triumphed.
I like this story because it is courtroom drama without a courtroom. I’m a sucker for legal stories, courtroom battles, accused-versus -accuser confrontations, especially when the accused is the underdog.
In Susanna’s case, she was an innocent woman falsely accused.Daniel was the “young judge” whose wisdom and intelligence saved her.
Today, the two elder accusers could be anyone of us who put other people in the hot seat for selfish reasons. Have you ever lied so you could save yourself? Or maybe pointed a finger at another person because you wanted revenge?
I look at life as a stage full of accusers and accused. Sadly, most people would like to be in the accuser’s chair. But let’s always remember that when we point a finger at others, there are three fingers pointing back at us.
The elders in the story also represent those of us who are older in age or higher in authority. We are expected to act with the wisdom and maturity that comes with age but some of us use our seniority or power to complicate the lives of others because we want to show we are in the right. Pride is a big monster that can destroy our bid for heaven. Beware! The last laugh may not be ours like what happened to the elders in Susanna’s life who were sentenced to death instead.
Who is Daniel among us? He is the hero in the story, the guardian of justice and defender of the helpless. He is Juan de la Cruz in a local TV series that’s watched by many every night. And from that day of being the instrument to ferret out the truth, he gained a great reputation among the people.
Daniel was young but possessed the wisdom and maturity that the two elder men lacked. So age doesn’t matter when it comes to defending what is just and right. In the same way that parents need to be respected by children, the young members in a household should also be heard. As long as they speak their minds in a respectful way, parents should listen to them, too.
Daniel’s voice was heard and proved to be a great intervention to save one life. How many times have we allowed our children to “save” a situation that seemed hopeless? As older people, we tend to be jaded through the years. Young people come in with fresh ideas and idealism that can work out things for the good.
Susanna personifies the value of virtuous living. She embodied God’s command that we “should not … fear man more than God”. She prized chastity and sought God’s approval over the approval of the world.
One deadly strategy of the devil is to encourage us to compromise God’s law of chastity and virtue. The world today greatly needs this virtue. We know of women trapped in the sin of lust which started with one small misstep, then another, then another, until her body has become abused in immoral acts. Of course, there’s always hope and repentance to repair mistakes but it would have been better not to have made them in the first place.
Susanna sets a wonderful standard for those seeking to lead virtuous lives. She also represents the empowered woman long before the cries of liberated woman today. News reports carry this staple story of a woman who complains of rape but is presented by the defense as the one who tempted the accused or actually gave consent to the sexual act.
Susanna refused the advances of the two men and stood by the truth even if it meant death. She made a clear choice when she boldly proclaimed, “I prefer to fall innocent into your power than to sin in the eyes of the Lord.”
Susanna is not just a Bible story. We can be the two elder men, Daniel or Susanna, but this story goes beyond us. It is a testament of God’s love to save those who remain faithful to Him. He will not allow injustice to destroy those who are faithful. God will always intervene on our behalf if we remain loyal to Him.