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Daniel 1:1-5

¹During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it with his armies. ²The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, he took with him some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God and placed them in the treasure-house of his god in the land of Babylonia.

³Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, who was in charge of the palace officials, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. ⁴“Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good sense, and have the poise needed to serve in the royal palace. Teach these young men the language and literature of the Babylonians.” ⁵The king assigned them a daily ration of the best food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for a three-year period, and then some of them would be made his advisers in the royal court.

Reflect

A war rages, bombs kill our soldiers. Hurricanes and floods kill thousands. Fires consume acres of forest land. Children are abused, kidnapped or killed. Just thinking of all the injustices of this world could cause us to think that God is absent. “Where is God? What kind of a God would allow this?”, are questions we often hear.

For years, Jeremiah had warned the people of Judah to return from their evil ways. In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar swept into Palestine and surrounded Jerusalem, making Judah his slave state. As was his custom, he usually took the most talented and useful people back to Babylon and left only the poor behind to take whatever land they wanted and to live peacefully there. This system fostered great loyalty from conquered lands and ensured a steady supply of wise and talented people for civil service.

This is where Daniel found himself. After Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem, he had a long and difficult march of 500 miles to Babylon to live as a slave. He had always been faithful to God and I am sure he wondered where God was? Why did God give Nebuchadnezzar victory over Judah? Why was faithful Daniel, now a slave?

Without giving too much away, in this chapter, we will learn that God is always in control. Sure, situations around us make it seem that God has abandoned us, but He is always with us, in control.

Respond

1. Have you ever experienced a time when you thought God abandoned you?
2. Have you ever looked back over a painful time in your life and realized that although God seemed distant, He was always there and in control?
3. In reading the text above, did God cause Nebuchadnezzar to besiege Judah or did God allow Nebuchadnezzar to besiege Judah?

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