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Daniel, a Captive in Babylon
This chapter is based on Daniel 1.
Among the children of Israel carried captive to Babylon were
men and women as true as steel to principle, who would honor God
even at the loss of all things. In the land of their captivity these were
to carry out God’s purposes as His representatives. They were to
bear their faith and their name as worshipers of the living God as a
high honor.
The Babylonians claimed that their religion was superior to that
of the Hebrews. As evidence, they pointed out that the Hebrews
were captives and that the vessels of God’s house were in the temple
of the Babylonian gods. Yet the Lord gave Babylon evidence of
His supremacy, of the holiness of His requirements, and of the sure
results of obedience.
Daniel and his three companions provided outstanding examples
of what people may become who unite with God. From the simplic-
ity of their home, these youth of royal line were taken to Babylon,
the most magnificent city, and into the court of the world’s greatest
monarch. They were “young men in whom there was no blemish,
but goodlooking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and
quick to understand.”
Seeing in these youth remarkable ability, Nebuchadnezzar de-
termined that they should be trained to fill important positions. He
arranged for them to learn the language of the Chaldeans and for
three years to be granted the unusual educational advantages af-
forded to princes of the realm.
The king did not compel the Hebrew youth to renounce their
faith in favor of idolatry, but he hoped to bring this about gradually.
By giving them names based in idolatry, by bringing them daily
into close association with customs of idol worship, and under the
influence of the seductive heathen rites, he hoped to persuade them
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