Thought for the week

Daniel: Part 1

I thought that I'd use this as an opportunity over the next weeks to explore the book of Daniel. I'll try and pick out some of the key themes and we'll explore them together.

Quick Guide:

Author - Daniel

Type of Book - Prophecy

Purpose - To show how God remained with his people, even when they were being held captive in Babylon.


Read: Daniel 1:1-20

Daniel is selected to be educated in the royal palace in Babylon. I wonder how he would have felt about that, I guess that there would be worse things to happen when your nation is being held captive. He soon finds however that he will expected to do things and here eat things which go against what he believes is right and proper. He takes a stand there and then right at the start that he will not give into the pressures exerted by the Babylonian officials.

Question: In what ways do you stand up for what you believe in, especially in situations where it would be easier to go along with the crowd?

Daniel makes a hard decision here, the easy thing to do would have been to go along with what the officials wanted, instead here he makes a stand and his decision to stand up for his beliefs is shown to be the correct one when he ends up looking fitter and healthier than those around him.

Pray: Ask God to give you the courage to stand up for what you believe in even when you are in tough positions.