Faithfulness in the face of competing worldviews

By Jason Hiles, Assistant Professor of Christian Studies Louisiana College

Jason Hiles Professor of Christian Studies Louisiana CollegeThe narrative of Daniel begins in the third year of Jehoiakim king of Judah, which is the year that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, captured Jerusalem and carried many of its inhabitants into exile.

Among the captives were a number of young men who had no obvious faults, were handsome, and had obtained a measure of wisdom that apparently drew the Babylonians’ attention (Daniel 1:4a). In short, the victorious king took for himself the cream of the crop from among Judah’s youth, robbing an entire generation of its future leaders and wise men.

Once chosen, the young men were taken into the king’s palace where they were educated in the literature and language of their captors (Daniel 1:4b).