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The first lesson presents the situation of Daniel’s training in Babylon just after Judah was attacked by Nebuchadnezzar who took both common men and royal families into exile.
The king of Babylon requested to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility
These men must be young, without any physical defect, must be handsome showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and meet other qualifications for the king’s service
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among those chosen from Judah, but they refused to eat the assigned food and wine from the king’s table
They instead took vegetables and water and chose not to defile themselves with the food
“God gave these four young men the wisdom and ability to learn many different kinds of writing and science”
At the end of the three years of training, the king found them ten times better than the wise men in the kingdom
The second lesson is the letter James to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations
This James is the brother of Jesus who was not part of the disciples but became a believer after Christ appeared to him after his resurrection
James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem and there was a need for him to write about perseverance to members who became refugees as persecution forced them to leave Jerusalem
Instead of being weighed down by the situation, the believers should consider it pure joy as they face the many trials
“For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”
“so let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation…” like Daniel and his friends