Again and again, the people of Judah left Jehovah and worshipped false gods. For many years, Jehovah kept trying to help them. He sent many prophets to warn them, but they did not listen. Instead, they made fun of the prophets. How did Jehovah put an end to their idolatry?

The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was conquering one nation after another. The first time he conquered Jerusalem, he captured King Jehoiachin, the princes, the warriors, and the craftsmen, and he took them all to Babylon. He also took all the treasures from Jehovah’s temple. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king of Judah.

At first, Zedekiah obeyed Nebuchadnezzar. But the nearby nations and the false prophets advised Zedekiah to rebel against Babylon. Jeremiah warned him: ‘If you rebel, there will be murder, famine, and disease in Judah.’

After ruling for eight years, Zedekiah decided to rebel against Babylon. He asked the Egyptian army to help him. Then Nebuchadnezzar sent his army to attack Jerusalem, and they camped around the city. Jeremiah told Zedekiah: ‘Jehovah says that if you surrender to Babylon, both you and the city will survive. But if you don’t, the Babylonians will burn Jerusalem down and take you as prisoner.’ Zedekiah said: ‘I won’t surrender!’

A year and a half later, the Babylonian army broke through the walls of Jerusalem and set the city on fire. They burned down the temple, killed many people, and took thousands as prisoners.

Zedekiah escaped from Jerusalem, but the Babylonians chased after him. They captured him near Jericho and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar. The king of Babylon made Zedekiah watch as his own sons were executed. Then Nebuchadnezzar blinded Zedekiah and put him in prison, where he later died. But Jehovah promised the people of Judah: ‘After 70 years, I will bring you home to Jerusalem.’

What would happen to the young people who had been taken as prisoners to Babylon? Would they remain loyal to Jehovah?

When Nebuchadnezzar took the princes of Judah to Babylon, he put a court official named Ashpenaz in charge of them. Nebuchadnezzar told Ashpenaz to find the healthiest and the smartest young boys among them. These young boys would be trained for three years. The training would prepare them to be important officials in Babylon. The boys had to learn to read, write, and speak the Akkadian language of Babylon. They were also expected to eat the same kind of food that the king and his court ate. Four of these boys were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Ashpenaz gave them new Babylonian names: Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Would this education cause them to stop serving Jehovah?

These four boys were determined to obey Jehovah. They knew that they should not eat the king’s food because Jehovah’s Law said that some of it was unclean. So they said to Ashpenaz: ‘Please do not make us eat the king’s food.’ Ashpenaz told them: ‘If you don’t eat and the king sees you looking sick, he will kill me!’

Daniel had an idea. He said to their guardian: ‘Please give us only vegetables and water for ten days. Then compare us with the boys who eat the king’s food.’ The guardian agreed.

After the ten-day test, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier than all the other boys. Jehovah was pleased that they had obeyed him. He even gave Daniel the wisdom to understand visions and dreams.

When the training was finished, Ashpenaz brought the boys to Nebuchadnezzar. The king spoke with them and saw that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were more intelligent and alert than all the other boys. He chose these four to work in his royal court. The king would often ask them for advice on important matters. Jehovah had made them wiser than all the king’s wise men and magicians.

Even though they were in a foreign land, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah did not forget that they were Jehovah’s people. Will you too always remember Jehovah, even when your parents are not with you?