DANIEL 1: 1-6 ARRIVED?

Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
 
¹ In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. ³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the kings palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the kings table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the kings service. ⁶ Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

The Lord is sovereign over the nations. He is not just the God of Israel, but the God of all the nations. In their presumption and apostasy, God did not just withhold his protection of the people and leaders of Israel, he delivered delivered them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. The people were being disciplined, but even the tool of his wrath in the hands of God does not remain unchanged. Nebuchadnezzar takes the sacred vessels not into his treasury, nor does he destroy them; he places them with the sacred vessels of his gods. In addition, the King of Babylon selects the best and brightest of the young captives to be babylonized for positions of authority in his kingdom. As God made a place for the Hebrews through Joseph in Egypt, he is again at work for their restoration in Babylon. From this tiny select group would come the promise that even in the midst of chastisement, God was still with his people Israel. The question would be whether they would come back to him.

At the beginning of the Book of Daniel, we are reminded that God will not allow presumption among his people to continue without correction. We can live in the assurance that God loves us and that he has called us to himself. We certainly must proclaim that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. And we are to profess that through faith we are given the guarantee that we are children of God and full heirs to the kingdom. Yet we must always remember that this is a covenantal relationship, and therefore, we have responsibilities on our side also. There is always a complacency that comes to people who think that they have arrived. Whether it is living in the geographical Promised Land, or being baptized into the Church, the tendency is to declare that our work is done. But the work of the kingdom is not in the arriving but in the spreading. When our focus is on our arrival, it is on us and not God or neighbor. Our concentration as Christians is to be first on God; seeking his will and doing his work, which is to make him known to the world of neighbors that surrounds us.

There are no steps at the front door of Gods house. It is God who delivers us to the door and opens it. If we step back to admire where we have arrived we will fall.

Father, save me from the sin of presumption. Thank you for all the blessings of this life and especially the call you have placed on me to follow you. Empower me through your Spirit to answer that call with my whole life and continue to live into your call throughout my life. May step back, or even remain at the door of your house, but walk through into the daily consciousness of your loving and guiding presence. Amen.

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