God Gave Judah Into the Hands of Nebuchadnezzar

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim King of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim King of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. Daniel 1:1-2

Steps: 12

This text clearly conveys the idea that when Judah had so thoroughly rebelled against God that there was no remedy that God then gave Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon. This concept states that God is always in control and He allows things to happen for His own purposes as well as for the blessing and or discipline of a specific group of people. It is also clear that if God had chosen to not allow Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Judah that it would not have happened as God had protected Judah from Assyria in II Chronicles 32. So we must remember that God is always in charge and our first responsibility is to serve Him above anything else that we can do.

Prayer for Today: God, please help us to remember that You are always there and that You will not allow anything to happen to us that You can not control. It is difficult for us to see disaster as a blessing to us and yet for it to happen it must be allowed by You. Help us to spend enough time with You that when disaster, or blessing, comes our way, we may recognize these things as a testimony from You. Please help us to remember that all of these things are working out Your holy will in our lives and when seen as such brings great relief and comfort for these things are not random but they are all under Your control. Thank You for Your gift of involvement in our lives. Help us to read the book of Job and to observe Your care and Your guidelines in the lives of mankind. Help us to learn to trust you just as Job did, and that Daniel will.