Re:Verse passage – Daniel 1:1-21 (day three)
“Please test your servants for ten days.”
Did Daniel and his friends devise their plan in order to prove the superiority of the Lord up against the various and sundry deities of Babylon and of Israel’s fellow subjugated peoples? In actuality, Daniel was in no position to stage a showdown. As a prisoner of war, his influence amounted to as much as the geopolitical realities would have allowed, which is to say, nothing. Bible readers can look at the sweep of the story and thrill at Nebuchadnezzar’s eventual transformation to a believing – or at least “Yahweh-friendly” – monarch. But that story’s arc was far from apparent in the midst of war and forced resettlement. For now, Daniel had to find his bearings. Was God still God far away? Daniel did all he knew to do. And he discovered God’s familiar presence. Daniel was home.
Well stated Bryan, and comforting. It matters not where we are; when God is with us, we are home.