Daniel 1:17-21 Video Devotional

Posted on Oct 22, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , , , ,

As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. – Daniel 1:17-21

Daniel’s no compromise approach to the food from the king’s table was without a doubt a risky move, yet when handled with respect and love towards the chief of the eunuchs, it proved successful, with what were, I am sure, some unintended consequences.

It is important that we remember when studying Biblical texts not to assign super-human powers to the characters. Daniel is one of those who seems to be elevated more than others. For example, we have no record of Daniel having any foreknowledge of these events. It may be easy to assume that of him, especially because these stories are so commonplace, but on top of that, Daniel was given prophetic visions. But moving through his story, Daniel could still only put one foot in front of the other and God only lit his pathway for each subsequent step.

This is important to note because Daniel, during chapter one, was focused solely on obeying God’s food laws. That was it – that was his ambition and plan throughout the first chapter. He was figuring out how the exile was going to work and what his role in it would be, and this confrontation with the king’s table probably felt like a headache and a distraction. But from God’s perspective, it was a beginning of a career that would last a long time.

Developing in Daniel such steadfastness, visions, patience, and influence took time, but as scripture tells us, there was no one like those four. All because they obeyed God foremost, while also showing love and respect to other people. As a result, they were given wonderful opportunities to continue being faithful to God – to which, God put them on display and painted targets on their backs. That would mean incredible influence over the Babylon leadership (good things), but also heavy danger and risks (not so fun things), such as an appointment with a fiery furnace.

Daniel didn’t know what would happen – he could only be faithful in the moment and trust God with the outcomes of that faithfulness. And that’s all we can do. Obey in the moment and trust God with the consequences. Those consequences to God’s obedience are all blessings – though they may contain suffering and heartache as well. Be prepared. And then follow God anyway, because we all know that’s going to happen regardless; so why not experience the good and bad of life as a result of faithfulness and obedience – it’ll make for a much better journey on this earth…and the next.


Exodus 40:34-38 Video Devotional

Posted on May 11, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , , , ,

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.” (Exodus 40:34-38)

“The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.”” (Leviticus 1:1-2)

Moses was definitely an important guy, but he was still a guy – sinful, fearful and prone to anger. He needed to be saved (just like us), but wasn’t able to look back at Jesus and the cross and know salvation like we do. He had to look forward towards a veiled promise that God would take care of everything. But Moses is saved through Christ, just like us; so God gives us that visual and shows us through Moses’ journey how that worked.

Tomorrow we will get into more of this, but with today’s passage above we see that there was a time, even after Moses had been used in incredible ways by God, where Moses was not allowed in the direct presence of God. We know he got there (after all, God talked with Moses face to face), but the power of this story is when and how.

At the end of Exodus and beginning of Leviticus, God speaks to Moses (after His glory filled the tabernacle) from outside the tent of meeting. God is inside, but Moses can’t come in. So Moses stood outside to hear the Lord. Then God starts talking about offerings and such. Interesting. This is a clear setup to what the book of Leviticus is about. We will discuss that more tomorrow, but today let us together celebrate the fact that Moses, a flawed character, yet faithful and loyal in his relationship with God was no better than you or me. He needed saved by grace through faith just like we do now, and we know that Moses does reach the direct, intimate relationship status with God – which with the ripping of the curtain of the Holy of Holies during the crucifixion, we can also have direct access to God and cry out to him intimately “daddy!”

Let us enjoy God’s gift to us of hindsight and the ability to see how intricately and powerfully He laid out the plan of salvation and the promise of Jesus. Blessings to you!


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