Daniel 1 Devotional

Exile Under God's Hand

“To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.”Daniel 1:17 (BSB)

Daniel begins with a defeat. Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem, and vessels from God's house are carried off to the treasury of a foreign god (1:1-2). But the chapter is careful about who is really acting. It was the Lord who gave Judah's king into his hand (1:2). Babylon is not stronger than God. It is serving a purpose God has allowed.

Young men from Judah are taken, renamed, and trained for the king's service. Daniel resolves not to defile himself with the king's food and wine, and asks for a ten-day test (1:8-14). It would be easy to make this a story about Daniel's willpower, but the chapter keeps pointing elsewhere. God gave Daniel favor with the official (1:9). God gave the four young men knowledge and understanding (1:17). Their faithfulness is real, but it rests on God's gifts at every step. If you are living somewhere that does not share your faith, God is not absent there. He is the one who gives what you need to stay faithful.

To think about: In the place where your faith feels most out of step, what has God given you to stand on?