Dan. 1:1   In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem and laid it under siege. 2 Now the Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of God. He brought them to the land of Babylonia to the temple of his god and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.

God had finally had enough. After years of Judah breaking His covenant, He decided it was time that He discipline His people. They had broken His covenant in spite of His graciousness and faithfulness. Although, Judah was relatively faithful under King Josiah, they went right back to their old sinful and idolatrous habits after he died. His son King Jehoikim followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and great grandfather, rather than his father. Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah all warned that the people would go into exile if they did not keep God’s covenant. Isaiah prophesied that Babylon would take them into captivity and Jeremiah prophesied that it would be for 70 years. It is now 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar has become king of Babylon and has defeated the Egyptians and the Assyrians at the Battle of Carchemish. He has made Judah a vassal state and took some of the royal family and nobility into exile. He also carted off certain vessels from the temple treasury to be put in the temple of his own God. This suggests that God’s presence will soon depart from the temple and that the temple will soon be destroyed.

From these two verses there are two lessons. First, God is sovereignly in control of the events and affairs of all nations. Daniel tells us that it was the Lord who handed over King Jehoikim and Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar. He also handed over the vessels from the temple. Nebuchadnezzar did nothing that was not outside God’s control. Do you submit your life and work to God’s control? Do you acknowledge God’s sovereignty in every area of your life. As we will see, Daniel did this very thing, and he hints at it in the opening lines of book.

Second, God’s discipline and judgment are signs of His faithfulness to His covenant. He made promises of blessing for obedience and promises of judgment for disobedience. If we cannot trust Him to keep His promises of discipline when we are disobedient, how can we trust Him to keep His promises of blessing when we are obedient? God’s discipline is a sign of His love, goodness, and faithfulness. We should not respond to it with complaining and rejection, but we should repent and thank Him that He keeps all of His promises.