Day 253 of the podcast, reading Daniel 1-3 NET, read along at:
https://netbible.org/bible/Daniel+1-3/
This is day 253 of our journey.
The book of Daniel begins with the conquest of Jerusalem and follows the lives of four of the young men who were taken into exile in the king's court. When they arrived in Babylon, they were placed in a training program to prepare them to serve King Nebuchadnezzar. Part of this program allowed them to eat the food and delicacies of the king. But, Daniel and his friends refused to defile themselves with this unclean food, they requested vegetables and water instead and were blessed by God with good health and strength for their choice. Daniel 2 tells of a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had that disturbed him greatly. He called on his wise men to reveal and interpret his dream, but they were unable to do so, when Daniel learned of the problem, he prayed to God for mercy and wisdom. He was granted the knowledge of the dream and its interpretation. In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar has a great statue made of himself and calls all his officials together to worship the image. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship the image, but rather trust God to deliver them from the hand of the king. They are thrown into a furnace for their refusal, but God protects them from the fire and reveals to Nebuchadnezzar that he IS the true God!
Join me in Daniel 1-3 and rejoice at God's vindication for those who serve him.
Key verses:
Daniel 1:8
But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.
Daniel 2:28
However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the times to come. The dream and the visions you had while lying on your bed are as follows.
Daniel 3:17
If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.
All Scriptures are from the NET.
Check out these links for more thoughts on the topic:
https://thebibleproject.com/explore/daniel/
