Sight and Sound Theatres recently streamed their live production of their newest show, Daniel, into movie theaters across the country and also streamed it on their streaming website within the last month. I have always been a huge fan and advocate for Sight and Sound and could never say enough how amazing and incredible their shows are and how impacting their stories are.
Sight and Sound has an incredible way of bringing the stories in the Bible to life and they show the humanity of the characters and people we’ve come to know as heroes of the faith. They bring into perspective the time span that these stories took place in when we grow accustomed to just reading a few verses or chapters about an event that spanned years and years. I know for a fact that every person on the team from production to management to customer service to the actors bathe every part of productions in prayer. They do so much research into the Biblical passages themselves as well as history to create the most accurate retelling of these people’s lives as possible. And yes, some of what they do is up to creative interpretation because there are some things we may never fully know about the people that make up the stories of the Bible, but everything they represent or portray is as close as humanly possible to the true story and I believe God inspires them to make certain choices or include certain things as His way of sharing the stories He penned to life in a real and relatable way for our day and age. All this said, their production of Daniel did not disappoint. I’ve had the immense privilege of going to their productions of Queen Esther when it first came out a few years ago in Lancaster, PA as well as David when it came out in Lancaster, PA, and I was even able to see their production of Jesus in Branson a couple years ago. Not only are their stories deeply impacting, their productions are completely astounding and from a theatrical perspective, they are far above any professional Broadway production I’ve ever seen.
My parents and I went to see Daniel when they live-streamed it into movie theaters over Labor Day weekend, which though it doesn’t make up for not seeing their production in person (there is seriously nothing like seeing one of their shows in person. You are completely immersed in the story and their wrap around stage and massive sets and actors and animals in the aisles is unlike any other show on earth), being able to see the show on a big screen in a movie theater was a close second to seeing it in person. My mom and I watched it again recently when they put it on their streaming website in October and were impacted just the same watching it at home as we had been watching it in the movie theater. I had wanted to share some thoughts after seeing it the first time, but there was almost so much in it that I had to process all the information received and wanted to watch it again before putting my thoughts together in a format ready to share with my readers, so here we go.
There are a couple major things that stood out to me in Daniel, so this may end up being a couple posts. As I watched the story of Daniel come to life, they brought the prophet Jeremiah into the story as well as Ezekial, which I appreciated seeing the fellow prophets of the time come into the story because so often, I at least just view the books of the Bible as separate books and timelines and it is hard to remember or visualize what people were around at the same times. It was interesting to watch Israel’s captivity in Babylon and the destruction of the temple unfold in this story and you see a different side of it than just the head knowledge that Israel had failed to obey God yet again and was being sent into yet another captivity. Jeremiah had been called by God to call the children of Israel home and turn their hearts back to God. Jeremiah cried out against Israel’s stubborn hearts time and time again and he wept for his country because they were God’s chosen people and nation that were meant to be a light to the rest of the world and be the example of God’s power and love to the other peoples and nations in the world, and yet they chose their own selfish ways and refused to trust and believe in God anymore. Their hearts had turned away from the God that had delivered them from Egypt and other enemies time and time again and loved them and cared for them and provided for them, but they chose to ignore all that God had done for them and chose to live their lives their own way and live like the world around them. Jeremiah warned them so many times of the siege that would be coming if they didn’t repent and turn their hearts back to God, but the people refused to listen.
This brings up some interesting points on several perspectives. Seeing Jeremiah, and even Daniel and his friends, mourn and weep for the fall of Israel because they refused to listen and turn their hearts back to God made me think of Sight and Sound’s production of Jonah. Jonah was called by God to go to Ninevah and warn them that God was going to destroy them if they didn’t turn their hearts to God. Nineveh was a despicable and evil city that was built on shedding blood and destroying those around them. Jonah even refused to go to Ninevah and preach to them because he viewed them as too fallen and too evil to be saved. He questioned God’s choice to show them love and mercy many times and did what he could to avoid going to share the message of God’s love to them. But, it was a message God wanted the people of Ninevah to hear and He wasn’t willing to give up on them and even when Jonah was forced to go tell them the message God had given him for them, he did not tell them the message with the heart of one who loved them and wanted them to be changed. He did it almost out of spite and because God had all but forced him to go to Ninevah. To Jonah’s chagrin, when the people of Ninevah heard the message of how God loved them enough to reach into their broken and destructive lives and wanted to rescue them and make them a part of His family, they were overwhelmed and immediately began to turn their lives and hearts to God. They poured themselves out to God and asked His forgiveness for the wicked things they had done and understood how undeserving they were of this God of Israel’s mercy. They asked God to spare them at the end of the forty days they had been given, but even if God didn’t spare their lives, they still sought His will and accepted what their fate would be if He chose to take their lives. God spared them and an entire city was forever altered because one man brought the message of God’s love into their gates.
Jeremiah cried and wept over his people Israel for years because he warned them time and time again to turn their hearts back to God. THEIR God. God chose the people of Israel to be His chosen people from the start and they have always been the upmost in His mind and heart to show His power and love and mercy to the world around them. We can judge Israel and comment on how many times they turned away from God or didn’t want His love and mercy and condemn their constant desire to follow the nations around them because they seemed to be in a constant cycle of repentance and turning to God and then shortly after turn back to their old ways and slide easily back into their rebellious ways. Wouldn’t they get it after years of captivity and being taken over by other nations all the time? But aren’t we the same? How often do we repent and cry out to God to save us or save a loved one or change a situation and then shortly after He provides or rescues, we turn back to our old ways and start living like the world around us again? One of the most famous verses in the Bible tells us that God so loved the world, meaning the WHOLE world. Watching shows like Jonah and now Daniel, you see the love God has for not just His chosen people, Israel, but for the world. He did not want Ninevah to perish, so he sent an unwilling servant to tell them of His love for them and they became a part of God’s family and a shining example of God’s power and love. God sent a willing messenger to His own people and they refused to listen. God had always been known as the God of Israel, and so for Him to be present in another nation was a foreign concept to everyone. But His people refused to come home, so He took them from their earthly homes and moved them to another nation to show that He could still be God and He would still be in control, even if Israel and Jerusalem were destroyed.
Chosen but refusing to come home. What a poignant phrase to think about. We are also God’s chosen. His desire is for each and every person on this earth to come home. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die in our place and take the penalty of death that we deserve on Himself so we might be with Him for the rest of eternity. If you don’t know what that love feels like, come home and find out. He is constantly watching and waiting for us to come home. Maybe you feel like the prodigal son in the New Testament who left home and squandered his inheritance and was too far gone to come home as his father’s son. He felt unworthy and ashamed and only hoped to be taken back as a servant in his father’s home, but his father ran to meet him and showered him with love and gifts of gratitude of his son being returned home and restored him to his place as his beloved son in his household. That’s exactly what God wants to do to each and every one of us. Come home. A time is coming when you will no longer be able to make the choice to come home. Don’t miss your chance to come home.
Ashley Beach-Author and Storyteller 