“In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it” (Daniel 1:1). 

And with that, Daniel and his friends—and many others—were exiled to Babylon.

As I study the book of Daniel, I’m struck by the abject calamity which came up on him:

His ancestors had rejected and betrayed God, repeatedly. God’s judgment came upon the nation of Judah in the form of a superpower from Babylon.

It is reasonable to assume that many of Daniel’s friends and family were killed during the invasion, and that their homes were lost and their property destroyed.  

They travelled to Babylon—perhaps in a “death march” stripped naked and with chains—or perhaps in caravans. Either way, it would have been a long difficult trip, probably around 1200 kilometres. 

Daniel and his friends were possibly castrated upon arrival to better serve the royal interests. This would also have removed any hope of children or grandchildren.

They had their names changed to reflect the foreign pagan deities, most likely in an act of assimilation that was meant to force them to forget their identity and religion. 

And then they went through a three-year training period to serve the King and nation who has just destroyed almost everything they knew and loved. 

Through it all, however, they chose to remain loyal to the Lord, choosing to depend on him alone for strength and success instead of the abundance from Nebuchadnezzar’s table.

It makes us ask a stark question: Who are you when absolutely everything is stripped away?

What if someone took over your country and burned your home and church? What if your health evaporated? What if many of your friends and family members were killed? What if your name was changed and you were forced to serve a foreign oppressive king? 

Daniel’s experience makes us look in the mirror. Would we serve God, or would we reject him?

In the end, Daniel wasn’t really serving the king of Babylon; he was serving the King of heaven, who is continually on the lookout for faithful servants to share his light in the dark.

Who are you when absolutely everything is stripped away?

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Notes:

-“Who are you when absolutely everything is stripped away?” Click here. Sermon (Daniel 1).
-Bible quotes are from the ESV.