The Jordan Valley Podcast

Like Daniel, we also do not need to know the times of these events describe in this book. What we must understand is that there is a spiritual warfare going on behind the scenes of our problems but realise that God has allowed for it and only He can put a stop to it at the appointed time. Till then we need to stay on the path that God has chosen for us, fully submitting to His will, and when the Day of the Lord arrives, we too will receive our allotted inheritance.

We all can see our state of mind during the trials in our lives and can evaluate how actually close we are to God. Are we like Darius? Sleepless, panicking and not sure what will happen next or are we like Daniel? Who in spite of not knowing the result of standing alone, left the worrying to God and slept peacefully that night.

Like Daniel, we too start questioning God and start listing down all the good we have supposedly done for Him. We want to prove to God that we are worthy of His Grace and Blessings on us and are is some sense 'demanding to see the manger' when things are not working out for us. We must realise that if we try to play that game with our Creator, we will never win, as what He has done for us is immeasurable, while our so-called good deeds, more often than not, are driven by self-preservation.

Daniel was still unknown to the new king of the land Belshazzar, who was the joint ruler of Babylon from 553-539 BC. The events in this chapter are the accounts of his last day in office as he was assassinated seemingly out of the blue, but the writing was always on the wall.

These days all our photos and documents are stored in the cloud. Imagine if that connection was disrupted what a nightmarish scenario that would be. Anytime we are not allowed to commune with God, it would be hell on earth for us. Our soul cannot find rest till the connection to our maker is restored. Imagine our evenings and mornings when we are not able to commune with God, that should be our nightmarish scenario. Let us rejoice that God sent His Son to restore that broken connection and put an end to our nightmare.

When our plans for the future are not aligned with that of God's, we too will face disappointments, heartaches and even grief. If someone like Daniel can misinterpret God's plan, what chance do we have? But remember that Daniel did not have the Spirit residing in him, guiding all his steps.

It is strange to see a passage in the Bible not authored by one of the Jewish writers but Daniel's inclusion of this letter that Nebuchadnezzar had seemingly written to the entire world, shows us how God can work in anyone's life. We must understand that, while our pride and arrogance might give us confidence in our own abilities, our God can instantly humble our pride.

Our God is a God who will even come down to our fiery pit and save us. But even if He did not save us, will we give Him the glory He deserves?

As Nebuchadnezzar found out God is the ultimate revealer of mysteries, but are we content in deriving blessings from Him rather than sit with Him and ask Him to reveal His plans. Let us not chase after the things of this world and realise that His Rock is mightier than any statue that this world has to offer.

We need to keep our trust on God and not succumb to the pressures of this world and its pagan ways. Otherwise, just like the Israelites, we too will keep returning to our Babel.

Our lives are not perfect and oftentimes we too mess up like these people, but if we allow God to work in our lives he will transform our mess into something beautiful. And that's the story of Genesis!

The final chapters of the book of Genesis don't really give us any insights into the lives of Jacob and his sons in Egypt but if we read carefully they do give us a glimmer of hope for a promise to come.

While Egyptians were selling of their lands to ward off starvation, Joseph’s family was making real estate investments in Egypt. For us it may be a flip of the page but for Jacob’s family it took many years for them to realise the dream that God had shown the patriarchs. Most of us give up on God when we are passing through our famines. We forget all his past blessings and promises for our future. .

The basic principle behind Machine learning is to use past mistakes to figure out the right path. That's how our mind also works when it comes to the people who have hurt us. We pretend that we are over it, but deep down our minds are still storing their mistakes and our future actions will be based on this data, all this to avoid getting hurt by them in the future.

From selling Joseph out of jealousy to trading prison sentence with Joseph's younger brother out of loyalty, we see a huge shift in the attitude of Judah.

In trying to hide his identity, Joseph kept delaying God's plan in the lives of his family members. The outward show that we put on may prevent us hurt from the people around us but it also prevents us from admitting our weaknesses and coming to God for a solution.

So many of us carry that guilt around, the guilt of our past mistakes. It is not God who burdens us but the deceiver who keeps reminding us of our past shortcomings so that we drown ourselves in sorrow and guilt and forget about our connection with God.

This earth will only be able to give us robes (Honor) made by human hands but God wants to give us a New Robe. He wants to replace our worn out prison clothes with His heavenly robe and His seal of approval.

Often times we want humans to remember us. We seek the favor of our fellowmen and women and long for their affection, especially during our present state. But the one who is within us, who is constantly seeking us, who always remembers us and has carved us in the palm of his hands, we treat indifferently or maybe take Him for granted.

Once again Joseph's cloak became an integral part of someone's lie and Potiphar was fooled by his wife. Joseph was sent to prison but the Lord's hand was still with him as the change in scenery did not stop Joseph from rising among the ranks even when he was in the prison.