Signs and Wonders (45 page)

The king was silent. Daniel departed. Then Nebuchadnezzar, sitting alone on his golden throne in the great throne room, cried out: “O god whom I do not know, who appears to me in the night, am I worthless in your sight? Have I not built this great Babylon? Am I not clothed in power and majesty?”

A voice spoke: “You have heard the word, Nebuchadnezzar. The kingdom has departed from you. Put off your crown now. Divest yourself of your kingly raiment. Leave this palace and get into the field. Do not let night find you in this place, or you die.”

In the same hour Nebuchadnezzar ceased to be a king and ceased to be a man. He was in a field eating grass. His body was wet with dew. And he grazed in the field and lay down in the field at night and lived among the cattle. His hair grew out like feathers; his nails were like bird claws.

So it was for seven years. Men thought that the king had died and that his body had vanished. The king’s son was too young to take the throne, and a regent ruled in his stead. But the regent was not sure that the king was dead, and did not dare to change his edicts or to trouble the Hebrews. At the end of seven years Nebuchadnezzar lifted his head from the grass and looked at the sky. And he felt himself flooded with understanding. The feathers dropped off his body, his claws shrank, and he was a man again. His hair was his own and his hands were a man’s hands.

“O God,” he cried, “your dominion is everlasting. Your kingdom passes from generation to generation. I bless you, Most High One. I praise and obey you.”

Honor and brightness settled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he returned to his palace. He clad himself again in his kingly robes and sat on the throne and ruled. He heaped honors upon Daniel and upon his friends. And the children of Judah lived in peace among the Babylonians.

The Writing on the Wall

Nebuchadnezzar died and his son, Belshazzar, became king. And the young king did not follow the ways of his father. He did not esteem the Almighty God and inclined toward idols. He gave a mighty feast; his guests were a thousand lords and princes. They glutted themselves and drank wine. And the king served the wine not in his own goblets but in the gold and silver vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem. These sacred vessels were filled with wine, and the king and his princes, his wives and concubines drank out of them. As they drank, they praised the idols that had been cast down, and Belshazzar promised to raise them again, mightier than before—to make them of gold and of silver, of wood, brass, and stone.

A great, golden candlestick stood in the middle of the table. It held a tall candle of wax. Lesser candles stood about on the table and cast light for the feasting. Then the king rose to his feet, shouting, “Let us drink to the old gods, to the splendid ones of gold and brass that I will raise again!” As he shouted this and lifted the golden goblet that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem, all voices were stilled. All eyes were fixed in astonishment upon a man’s hand that formed itself out of air and floated over the table. A man’s hand, but larger. The hand came down and picked up the golden candlestick with its tall candle and clove through the air to the wall, and there wrote in letters of flame these words: Mené, Mené, Tekel, Upharsin.

The hand went back to the table and set the candle down and vanished. But the words remained written in letters of flame upon the wall: Mené, Mené, Tekel, Upharsin.

The king was terrified. “Depart!” he shouted. “The feast is ended!” And the joints of his body were loose; his knees knocked against each other. “Bring on the astrologers!” he cried. “And my soothsayers!”

They came, the wise men of Babylon, the sorcerers and astrologers and soothsayers. The king said: “Whoever reads this writing and interprets it shall be clothed in scarlet and wear a chain of gold about his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” The sorcerers and the astrologers and the soothsayers tried, but the script was strange to them; they could not pronounce the words or even guess at their meaning.

The king was wrathful, and dismissed them from his sight. He was very troubled. He went to his chamber, but was restless and could not sleep. His thoughts were in a fever. The queen said to him: “There is a man in your kingdom who is old now. But the spirit of the gods is in him. In the days of your father he spoke words of wisdom and read dreams and unciphered secrets. Your father honored him and made him master of the magicians, and called upon him for counsel whenever he was troubled.”

“Who is this man?” said the king.

“He is a Hebrew. His name is Daniel. He is old but he still lives. He has not come to the palace since your father’s death.”

“I will send for him,” said the king.

Daniel was sent for and brought before the king, who said: “Are you that Daniel who is of the children of Judah, whom my father brought out as captives?”

“I am.”

“I have heard of you,” said the king. “I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, that you are a man of understanding and wisdom. Do you see the writing on that wall?”

“I do,” said Daniel.

“We were feasting,” said the king, “and a hand came and picked up a candle and wrote those words in letters of fire. My wise men cannot read them, nor my magicians, nor my astrologers. And I know that they were written for a purpose and must be read. If you can read them, you shall be clothed in scarlet and wear a chain of gold about your neck and shall be the third ruler in the land.”

“You may keep your gifts, O King,” said Daniel, “and distribute your rewards elsewhere.”

“Will you not read the writing?” cried the king.

“I will,” said Daniel. “But your bare request is sufficient. Hearken, O King, Your father, Nebuchadnezzar, pleased God at first, and God gave him a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor. All nations trembled before him. He was master everywhere. But when his heart swelled with vanity and his pride hardened, the spirit of God departed from him. He was toppled off his throne; his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among men and was made into a beast, and dwelt among cattle. He ate grass and was a beast, in mind and body. And so he lived for seven years—until God forgave him and restored him to his throne. Now you, Belshazzar, have also offended God. You have taken the vessels of His house and filled them with wine, and given them to your lords and your wives and your concubines to drink out of. And you have no word for the high God, but praise the idols of gold and silver and brass, of iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. And the living God, maker of heaven and earth, the God who holds you in His hand, Him you have not glorified. Therefore, these words were written in letters of fire on your wall. The words are Mené, Mené, Tekel, Upharsin. This is what they mean: Mené—God has counted the sins of Babylon and found them many; Tekel—You are weighed in the balances and are found wanting; Upharsin—Your kingdom will be divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”

The king was afraid. He resolved to humble himself and repent before God. He clothed Daniel in scarlet and put a chain of gold about his neck and appointed him to be his chief counselor.

But it all came to pass as Daniel had said. Darius, king of the Medes, marched against Babylon and besieged the city. It was a mighty, walled city, strongest city in the world. It had withstood every siege because a river flowed through it, and its water could not be cut off and the inhabitants made to yield because of thirst. But Darius was a master of strategy. And God had turned His face from Babylon. Darius set a thousand men to work to bend the river from its course. Then they crept along the dry riverbed that ran under the wall. They passed under the mighty wall and entered the city, ten thousand armed men coming suddenly by night. They surprised the sleeping Babylonians and slaughtered them and took the city. And Darius reigned.

The Lion’s Den

From his Medes and his allies, the Persians, Darius chose one hundred and twenty princes to govern the provinces of Babylon. Above all these he set Daniel. For it had been told to him that Daniel had predicted his victory and was the wisest man in the kingdom.

But the princes were jealous and conspired against Daniel. They conferred together, and the craftiest of these princes said: “This man is old and very wise and virtuous. We shall not find any error in him whereby we can damage his position and overthrow him. But he is a Jew, and the children of Judah recognize no law that was not uttered a thousand years ago by their own god on some mountain. Now, I propose this: That we persuade the king to decree that all petitions, all requests be addressed to him, the king, Darius—and that whoever will petition any god or man for any reason will be cast into a den of lions.” The princes shouted approval. They understood that such a decree would lead Daniel to defiance.

They went to the king and proposed their decree. Now, Darius was proud. His armies had vanquished all others and he was full of himself. He established the decree. It was proclaimed throughout the land that anyone who would address any prayer or petition or request to any god or man except to Darius would be cast into a den of lions.

Daniel did not protest against the decree; he ignored it. He did what he had always done. Three times a day he went into his house and into a chamber whose windows looked toward Jerusalem. He opened these windows and faced toward Jerusalem and prayed. Nor did he do this secretly, but openly as always.

The princes went to the king and said: “O King, there is a man who breaks your law every day, three times a day. He ignores your word and tramples upon your edict.”

“Who is this man?” said Darius.

“He is the man whom you have honored and set above us all. He is Daniel, the Jew Daniel. Three times a day he prays to his god in defiance of your statute.”

The king was troubled. He regretted the edict that he had been persuaded to utter. But he did not wish to diminish his power by changing any of his decrees. He said to the princes: “Let him be punished according to the law. Let him be cast into the den of lions.”

Daniel was seized and bound with ropes, and taken on a cart out of the city into the wilderness, to the foot of a mountain. There he was put into a den where lions dwelt. A huge stone was rolled before the mouth of the den, closing it up. And Darius stamped the stone with a royal seal so that all men might know what had been done.

The king went back to the palace and passed the night. But he was troubled, and did not call for his musicians or permit any guests. He arose early and rode with his escort out of the city to the mountain. When he came to the lion’s den he cried, “Daniel! Are you there?” expecting only silence. But he heard Daniel’s voice, saying, “O King, I greet you. May you live and prosper.”

The king bade his men roll the stone from the mouth of the den. There, standing in the cave, was Daniel. He was erect and easy in his bearing, and smiled at the king. There was no mark of tooth or fang upon him. Three lions gamboled about him, fawning upon him like hounds, and licking his hands.

“God sent an angel,” said Daniel. “He came into the cave and shut the lions’ mouths. And they did not devour me. Know this, O King. I have in no way harmed you any more than the lions have harmed me. I have served you faithfully. But I must maintain my own customs and worship my own God and no other—not an idol made of stone or brass or gold, or a king upon his throne.”

And Darius feared Daniel’s God. He ordered Daniel restored to his place as high governor of Babylon, and ordered that the princes who had conspired against him be cast into the den of lions. This time no angel appeared. The lions’ hunger was not thwarted. And the wicked princes were devoured.

And Daniel governed Babylon all through the reign of Darius and into the reign of Cyrus, the Persian. He lived many years and grew in wisdom. God sent him visions, and these visions burned in him. And he uttered searing words—prophecies in the form of stories and fables. He spoke of man and God and the ways of man before God. He also told of things to come. To those who listened to him and heeded what he said, his speech was marvelous.

But, as always, there were only a few who listened. After many generations the Jews came out of their exile in Babylon and returned to their own land. They rebuilt their temple in Jerusalem. But other enemies came. There were victories and defeats, but more defeats than victories. Then, finally, a Roman emperor destroyed the Second Temple, and the Jews were driven out of their land and scattered among the nations of the earth. And they began to live out the terrible prophecy uttered by Moses fourteen hundred years before, when the children of Israel danced before the golden calf:

“You shall be left few in numbers, whereas you were as the stars of the earth for their multitude. The Lord shall scatter you among all people from one end of the earth even unto the other. And among these nations you shall find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest; but the Lord shall give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind. Your life shall hang in doubt before you, and you shall fear day and night. In the morning you shall say: Would God it were evening! And at night you shall say: Would God it were morning!”

And to those who, mystified by disaster, cry out to God in their agony, questioning His purpose, He answers: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins now. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if you have understanding. Who has laid the measures? Who has stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Who laid the cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

“Who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth, and said: Thus far shall you come but no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed?

“Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or have you walked in the search of the depth? Have the gates of death been opened to you? Have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?

“Have you entered into the treasures of snow? Have you seen the treasures of the hail? Have you seen by what way the light is parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?