Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“They were to be educated … so that … they could be stationed in the king’s court. ”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, September 20, 2022
by Daniel D. Maurer Clergy Stuff
The Book of Daniel exudes a wonderful diversity. The book is like a mosaic and a delightful fusion of stories, prophecies, and even a smidge of historical writings. Daniel is one of the few books of the Bible written in both Hebrew and Aramaic, two closely-related languages. Imagine you started reading a book in Russian, only to discover that halfway it changed to Ukrainian!
Despite all the interesting factoids about it, the story in Daniel is even more fascinating — particularly the actions of the young Israelite men in the Babylonian court. The Babylonians had sacked and destroyed their capital city, Jerusalem. The aggressors then took the best prizes from the temple, placing them in their own treasury. Beyond that, the Babylonians plundered the population’s greatest asset, their youth, and employed them into the service of a foreign king.
I don’t find it especially surprising that God provided for these wise, young men to remain pure despite their gentile surroundings — that’s one theme throughout the whole book. What’s astonishing is that the men chose to serve the foreign king in the best of their abilities; essentially, they helped their enemy. Perhaps God works through those we might not at first expect!
Open my eyes, God, to see your work everywhere and through many people. Amen.
