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December 2 - Daniel 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's the 2nd of December, it is
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  a Tuesday and I'm so glad you tapped on play because today is
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  a very exciting day. We are opening up a new book of
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  the Bible and this book is a fascinating one.
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  We're going to read through the book of Daniel together.
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  So first of all, a little bit of context here.
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  We have got the massive Babylonian Empire who has been
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  fighting away for dominance and as they have been growing in
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  power, the Assyrian Empire, the great enemy that destroyed the
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  nation of Israel, they have started to diminish.
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  So Babylon aligns themselves with the Medes and begins the
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  work of basically just sweeping up and collecting all of the old
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  Syrian territories and bringing them into Babylonian rule.
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  And as they do this, they discover this really pesky
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  nation named Judah, who is not very good at being one of the
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  vassal states, being one of the the ruled areas.
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  So they keep on having this conflict with them, and part of
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  the way they manage this is by taking the brightest young
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  prospects of those countries and taking them into Babylon where
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  they become servants of the great empire.
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  And so we are going to follow the story of this young man
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  named Daniel, who that's exactly what happens to him.
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  And the first half of the book of Daniel really tells that
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  story, which is a Cracker Jack and one that you probably have
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  heard many times, but it will be great to read it again.
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  And then the second half of Daniel turns completely in a new
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  direction and it becomes these incredibly strange visions that
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  we will unpack as we work our way through them.
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  So this is a wonderful, wonderful book that speaks about
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  God's sovereignty. No matter how difficult, no
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  matter how persecuted the situation, God is still in
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  control and is still sovereign over all.
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  And that is a theme that will play out again and again and
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  again as we spend the next three weeks in the book of Daniel.
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  So, Holy Spirit, open us up to your truth as we read this
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  incredible story and hear your words.
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  You ready, friends? Yeah, me too.
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  Let's read together Daniel chapter 1.
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  During the third year of King Jehovah Kim's reign and Judah,
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  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged
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  it. The Lord gave him victory over
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  King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of
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  the sacred objects from the temple of God.
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  So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and
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  placed them in the treasure House of his God.
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  Then the king ordered Ashpinaz, his chief of staff, to bring to
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  the palace some of the young men of Judah's royal family and
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  other noble families who had been brought to Babylon as
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  captives. Select only strong, healthy and
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  good looking young men, he said. Make sure they are well versed
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  in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good
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  judgement, and are suited to serve in the royal palace.
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  Train these young men in the language and literature of
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  Babylon. The king assigned them a daily
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  ration of food and wine from his own kitchens.
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  They were to be trained for three years and then they would
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  enter the royal service. Daniel, Hananiah, Michel and
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  Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe
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  of Judah. The chief staff renamed them
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  with these Babylonian names. Daniel was called Beltigesar,
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  Hananiah was called Shadrach, Michel was called Meshach, and
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  Azariah was called Abednego. But Daniel was determined not to
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  defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by
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  the king. He asked the chief of staff for
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  permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.
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  Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection
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  for Daniel, but he responded, I am afraid of my Lord the king
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  who has ordered that you eat this food and wine.
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  If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths
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  your age, I'm afraid the king will have me beheaded.
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  Daniel spoke with the attendant, who had been appointed by the
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  chief of staff to look after Daniel.
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  Hananiah, Michelle and Azariah, please test us for 10 days on a
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  diet of vegetables and water. Daniel said.
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  At the end of the 10 days, see how we look compared to the
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  other young men who are eating the King's food.
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  Then make your decision in light of what you see.
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  The attendant agreed to Daniel's suggestion and tested them for
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  10 days. At the end of the 10 days,
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  Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better
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  nourished than the young men who had been eating the food
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  assigned by the king. So after that, the attendant fed
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  them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for
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  the others. God gave these four young men an
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  unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of
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  literature and wisdom, and God gave Daniel the special ability
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  to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
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  When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the
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  chief of staff brought all the young men to King
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  Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and
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  no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
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  Azariah. So they entered the royal
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  service whenever the king consulted them in any matter
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  requiring wisdom and balanced judgement.
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  He found them 10 times more capable than any of the
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  magicians and enchanters in his entire Kingdom.
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  Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of
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  the reign of King Cyrus. Ah, Almighty God, you are
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  mighty, and you rule all things all the time.
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  And sometimes it might feel like you are absent or the way things
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  are going is away from your intended plans.
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  But Lord, here we see that You are able to bring about your
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  outcomes and your plans no matter what the circumstance.
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  So Lord, as we go through our lives, I just pray that you give
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  us faith. Faith that no matter what is
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  happening, faith no matter what the twists and turns that are
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  presented in our path, that we know that You are in control and
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  ultimately in the fullness of time, your plans will be
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  revealed, even if they don't make any sense in the moment.
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  So Lord, we surrender our will and we surrender our lives to
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  you, our loving mighty King, our beautiful Saviour, and our close
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  friend and Holy Spirit. Now you are a wonder, and we
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  love you and we pray all of this in your saving name, Jesus,
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  Amen.