In Rogue, seeing what Chirrut was able to do against the stormtroopers, and as a blind man nonetheless, Cassian asks if he is a Jedi. Baze answer is, “There are no Jedi here anymore. Only dreamers like this fool (referring to Chirrut).”
Baze was “once the most devoted Guardian of us all.” That was before the destruction of the Jedi Order and the Temple on Jedha. Baze’s faith in the Force has been shaken to its core.
The Israelites faced a time when all seemed lost as well. In Daniel 1:1-2a we read, “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand.”
The Israelites mentioned in Daniel, except for Daniel himself, are referred to by their Babylonian names. This includes Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who we know best as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
This is significant since names within Judaism had significant meaning as Proverbs 22:1 tells us “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.”
And yet, only Daniel, whose name means “God is my judge” kept his Jewish name.
Daniel 1:8 shows that while in Exile, Daniel attempted to keep the Kosher requirements. He was not going to let his circumstances affect how he lived.
Later in Daniel 6:10, we read that Daniel knew that the document (Daniel 6:6-9) had been signed. He went to his house and prayed three times as he usually did.
He was not going to let circumstances or a law keep him from serving and worshiping God.
When physical things are destroyed, will we be like Baze and despair, or will we be like Daniel and remain faithful?
