We come now to the remarkable and often perplexing book of Daniel. Between 605 and 586BC there were three major Babylonian incursions into Judah. After the first attack in 605BC, Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian King, took as captives an assortment of the leading people of Jerusalem which included Daniel, a godly young man of noble birth. It may seem strange that such a godly young man could emerge from such an apostate nation as Judah was in her final two decades. But Daniel was a child of Josiah’s revival (639-609BC). Josiah was the last godly king of Judah, and he led a great revival. But after his death Judah was ruled by a series of apostate kings who threw the nation into a downward spiral and sealed the fate that Ezekiel lived through. But this final revival seems to have been strategically placed by God because, although much of the nation remained unaffected, there were some in whose hearts the ancient faith was planted very deeply. This was true of Daniel and his friends. God will plant seeds in your life at various times which will be exactly what you need to carry you through the hard experiences. God prepares us beforehand for the trials we must go through. The seed that was planted in Daniel during his formative years sprung up into something remarkable when he found himself buried in the earth of Babylon. It is always the case with a seed. It must be buried in the earth where it becomes soft and is able to break open and give birth to new life.
Ask God to plant the seeds of new life in you.
Read Daniel 1
