Carried Off...

“Then the king ordered…to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family…young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve…He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.” Daniel 1:3-4

There is nothing as sweet as the cry of a healthy new born baby. Relationships are formed and love grows as that child matures in life day by day. We train our children in the Lord and raise them to honor God and those in authority. After all, they are from the royal family of God. We teach them the values of living within the boundaries of right and wrong. Life moves forward as they approach the age where Babylon invades and threatens to carry them away.

In the times of Daniel, their reality was the physical invading and kidnapping of so many of these young men. Commentaries confirm that the young men were merely 15 years of age…teenagers. What was done physically in Daniel’s teenage years is done mentally in the lives of our teenagers. I am sure that the enemy patiently waits for the teenage years because that is where he has such overwhelming success. He lures them with the hypnotic lust of power, wealth, sex and social status. He carries them off in promise and hope for a fast track to all of these…with a silver tongue he impresses his motto, 'No need to wait for what you are entitled to receive! It is all about you and no one else!'

I only have to look at my own children as well as my nieces to see who fell for Babylon in their teenage years. Who bought the lies of the language and distributed the literature of their kidnappers? The king of evil orders and targets the children of God specifically because he knows they have the power to make a difference in God’s plans. He hypnotizes these young and formative minds with the focus being on what they deserve and to what they are entitled in this life. Some will be indoctrinated and deprogrammed and some will hold true to their teachings and convictions...but all are sealed and eternally saved if they are from the royal Family. Babylon is first introduced in the teenage years and seems to raise its ugly head throughout our lives. The motto is the same, ‘I am and there is none besides me,’ but the stakes get higher.

We must live in a keen state of awareness of the lures of our own Babylon. Babylon knows where we live and how to invade and kidnap, but thankfully we have a King who paid our ransom. We have a way back to the One who is home and will fortify our hearts.

Let us be quick to understand and qualified to serve!