Daniel 1:1-4 – Behind the Headlines
For the next few weeks we will be studying the book of Daniel using notes written by Rev. Jonny McCollum.
The headline on the front page of Jerusalem Journal? “DISASTER FOR FOLLOWERS OF YAHWEH!” The Babylon Bulletin? “ISRAEL’S GOD CRUSHED” The unanimous conclusion of the talk show hosts? The God of Israel is a big fat phoney. The gods of Babylon laid down a challenge and he fell apart like wet tissue paper.
For someone living in Jerusalem in 605 BC that was the obvious inference to make. Yahweh (his covenant name) couldn’t rescue his holy city (v1), couldn’t defend his temple (v2), and couldn’t safeguard his covenant people (v3-4). Breached walls and broken families, shattered families and smirking enemies: the events of 605 BC told their own tale – the God of Israel isn’t worth trusting and isn’t worth worshipping – so stop wasting your time.
That’s a conclusion many reach today. They see the brokenness of the world around them, the suffering that fills our TV screens, and the apparent floundering of the church and conclude that following God is pointless.
Yet, don’t miss one of the most important phrases in this whole book. It would be easy to overlook it in the rush to see the story unfold. Notice v2, “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand”. To the watching world, the fall of Jerusalem, desecration of the temple, and captivity of its brightest young men looked like evidence of God’s powerlessness, but the eyes of faith see better. Ultimately, it was God, not Nebuchadnezzar, who decreed that these events should take place. Far from being a helpless spectator, the true God was the architect of the events in this book. We’ll see them later (probably in chapter 9), but for now let’s just accept that he had his good reasons.
Let’s also view the world around us with the same eyes of faith. Yes, there is pain and suffering and yes, God’s people can seem to be on the back foot. Yet behind the headlines there’s a God on the throne. That’s the central message of Daniel. It’s never been more relevant.
Questions
- Can you think of reasons why people write off Jesus and Christianity?
- Do you think that watching/reading too much of the news can sometimes be bad for our spiritual welfare?
Prayer Points
- Pray that the Holy Spirit would give you spiritual eyes to see beyond what seems to be going wrong.
- Thank God for this book and pray that his Spirit would be with us as we study it.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.