Daniel 1:2, commentary and pictures

The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into Nebuchadnezzar's hand with part of the vessels of the house of God, which were carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god and placed in its treasure house, opening the siege of Jerusalem in which Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were taken to Babylon to be trained for the king's service at the beginning of the seventy years of captivity. That defeat and removal came by God's allowance as judgment for Judah's rebellion and departure from Him, with Babylon's king as His instrument against an impenitent people. Though the victors treated the capture and the placing of His vessels in their gods' temple as proof of Babylon's superiority, God used that humiliation to carry to that heathen nation evidence of His supremacy, the holiness of His requirements, and the blessing of knowing Jehovah as the only true God. Their captivity tried their faith to the utmost, yet placed by God's providence and not by their own ambition, they chose in the fear of God to be true to the religion of their fathers, to obey His law, to avoid idolatry, and to refuse to defile themselves. God honored their diligence, temperance, and integrity with strength, comeliness, and intellectual power, preserving them before envious enemies and making their lives an encouragement to all facing trial of what a person united with God may become.

Siege and Exile Setting

The verse opens the account of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem, when the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand together with part of the vessels of the house of God. Those vessels were carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god and placed in the treasure house of his god. This opening event establishes the setting for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah being taken to Babylon to be trained for the king's service and for life in the Babylonian court.

It was Nebuchadnezzar's first siege and capture of Jerusalem, occurring early in the reign of Jehoiakim. At that time Daniel and his companions were carried away to Babylon with others specially chosen for service in the court of Babylon. Their captivity stands at the beginning of the seventy years of captivity.

Besides Daniel and his companions, another class of captives was carried to Babylon because they themselves were constantly going into idolatry. The Lord permitted them to be torn from their homes and taken to a land of idolaters to have all they desired of Babylonian idolatrous practices. The righteous were thus taken away together with the unrighteous to a place where the name of Jehovah would not come to their ears. There songs of praise and thanksgiving to God would not be heard, the miracle-working power of God would not be seen, and prophets with messages of warning and reproof and counsel from God would be few and far between.

Judgment and Missionary Purpose

The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into Nebuchadnezzar's hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God, by His own allowance as judgment for the nation's rebellion and departure from Him, making Babylon's king His instrument against impenitent Judah. In that wider setting the giving of the king and the vessels into the hand of Babylon, to be carried to Shinar and placed in the treasury of his god, illustrates the hostile spirit working against God and His people. His armies repeatedly besieged Jerusalem and carried captives to Shinar. The punishments grew more severe until Jerusalem was burned, Solomon's temple was destroyed, and Judah's kingdom lost its former place among the nations.

The victors boastfully treated the capture of Jehovah's worshipers with the imprisonment of their king and the placing of His vessels in the temple treasury of their god as proof that Babylon's religion was superior. Yet God used these humiliations, brought on by Israel's departure from His commandments, to give Babylon evidence of His supremacy, the holiness of His requirements, and the sure result of obedience. That testimony was given through people loyal to Him, through the faithful witness of Daniel and his companions.

Daniel and his companions did not come to the king's court in a strange land among those who neither knew nor feared the true God through their own pride or ambition, but Infinite Wisdom and God's providence placed them there under God's direction. Their captivity in Babylon, then the greatest kingdom in the world, was a means of carrying to a heathen nation the blessings of knowing Jehovah, remaining faithful to Him even at great personal cost. There they were to represent Him and bring other nations, even the king and nobles of Babylon, the knowledge of Him as the only true God, the Creator of heaven and earth. They were to honor their identity as worshipers of the living God as a special honor and refuse to compromise with idolaters.

Loyal Example and Blessing

Their captivity tried their faith to the utmost as a trial of loyalty amid dangers and difficulties in a strange land in the king's court among those who neither knew nor feared the true God. In the fear of God they chose to be true to the religion of their fathers and obeyed the divine law, both physical and moral. They planned to obey His commandments and avoid idolatry, and their education would benefit them if they practiced what they had been taught.

The instruction they had received in their parents' homes in the commands of Holy Scripture had made them strong in faith and constant in their service of the living God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Those who learned to trust the promises of God found them all-sufficient in every experience through their sojourn in a strange land, with the Scriptures as their guide and stay.

God's blessing upon them was not a substitute for the taxing effort required of them. They were diligent in study because through the grace of God their destiny depended upon their own will and action. They were to bring all their ability to the work, and by close, severe taxation of their powers make the most of their opportunities for study and labor. Their education would benefit them if they practiced what they had been taught, for Daniel's honor came through honoring God and cooperating with Him.

The chapter is a lesson in temperance in which Daniel as a godly man controlled his appetite and with his companions strictly resolved in eating and drinking and refused the king's food and wine so as not to defile himself. Their strict resolve and careful choice of food helped preserve their physical powers and clear intellect and strengthen their minds, fitting them for greater usefulness to God. That clear intellect was what they needed to learn about God and truth and to present that knowledge successfully before the king and his associates.

Their integrity and firmness provide an example of Christian temperance. The first chapter is full of valuable instruction and shows consistency for youth who feel they do not have the advantages they should have in eating, where Daniel and his companions endured when they were tested.

The blessing of God gave them strength and comeliness and intellectual power. They remained faithful to God in both prosperity and adversity, and God honored them. Daniel's honor came through honoring God and cooperating with Him. Though as captives in a foreign land their enemies envied and hated them, God did not allow those enemies to prevail against them, showing that the righteous receive help from above and that those who trust in God cannot be overcome.

Their conscientious observance brought them opportunities to exalt the true God before the nations of earth. The record of Daniel's life is preserved to encourage people facing trial and temptation as an example of what a person may become when united with the God of wisdom.