|
Daniel — Part 1
Daniel was about sixteen when Babylon’s armies stormed through Judah and besieged Jerusalem. It was then that Daniel’s world crumbled about him, for he was captured and deported to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was looking for choice young men who could occupy important positions in Babylon, particularly in the administration of Jewish affairs.
The requirements for selection were high: “Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans” (Daniel 1:4), but Daniel, along with his three friends, met them. We learn that Daniel had no physical blemish, was intelligent, and poised. Daniel was an unusual teenager, and stands as a striking model for today’s young people!
If Daniel and his friends were to be of any value to Nebuchadnezzar, they had to be re-educated so that they would no longer think or act like Judeans, but like Babylonians. This is still what the world wants to do with young Christians, and we need to be on our guard.
|
