Jewish Captives In The King’s Court

Stories From The Hebrew Bible
JEWISH CAPTIVES IN THE KING’S COURT

In the Book of Chronicles, we read of Jehoiakim, the wicked son of the good King Josiah. While Jehoiakim was ruling over the land of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, the great conqueror of nations, left Babylon with his army of Chaldean soldiers. He took the city of Jerusalem, and made Jehoiakim promise to submit to him as his master. This is a promise that Jehoiakim soon broke. And when Nebuchadnezzar went back to his own land, he took with him all the gold and silver that he could find in the Temple. He carried away many of the princes and nobles as captives, the best people in the land of Judah.

When these Jews were brought to the land of Chaldea or Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to the prince who had charge of his palace to choose young men among the Jewish captives who were of noble rank and handsome. He wanted them to also be mentally quick and bright, readily able to learn. These young men were to be placed under the care of wise men, who would teach them and fit them to stand before the king of Babylon, as his helpers, carrying out his orders. The king wanted them to be wise, so that they might be able to give advice in ruling the people.

Among the young men chosen were four Jews – men brought from Judah. By order of the king the names of these men were changed. One of them, named Daniel, was to be called Belteshazzir, the other three young men were called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These four young men were taught in all the knowledge of the Chaldeans. After three years of training, they were taken into the palace to stand before the king.

After these four young men arrived at the palace, the chief of the princes, as a special honor, sent them some of the dishes of food from the king’s table along with some of the wine that was set apart for the king and his princes to drink. But both the meat and the wine of the king’s table had been a part of the offerings to the idols of wood and stone that were worshiped by the Chaldeans. These young Jews felt that if they took such food they, too, would be worshiping idols. Then, too, the laws of the Jews were very strict regarding what kind of food could be eaten and how it should be cooked. Food of certain kinds was called “unclean,” and the Jews were forbidden to touch it.

These young Jews, though far away from their own land and Temple, did not want to do anything forbidden by the laws which God had given them. They said to the chief of the nobles in the palace: “We cannot eat this meat and drink this wine, for it is forbidden by our laws.”

The chief of the nobles said to Daniel: “If you do not eat the food that is given you, the king will see that you are not looking well. He will be angry with me for not giving you better care. What shall I do? I am afraid that the king may command me to be put to death.”

Daniel said: “Give us vegetable food and bread. Let us eat no meat and drink no wine for ten days and see if we do not look well-fed.”

The chief of the nobles, to whose care these young men had been given, loved Daniel, as everyone else who knew him. So, he did as Daniel asked. He took away the meat and wine and gave these young Jews only vegetables and bread. At the end of ten days the four young men were brought into the room where the great King Nebuchadnezzar sat, and they bowed low before him. King Nebuchadnezzar was pleased with them, more than with any others who stood before him. He found them wise and faithful in the work given to them, and able to rule over other men. So, these four men came to the highest places in the kingdom of the Chaldeans.

But one of the four young Jews, Daniel, was more than a wise man. He was a prophet, like Elijah and Elisha and Jeremiah. God caused him to know many things that were coming to pass; and when God sent to any man a dream that had a deep meaning, Daniel could tell the meaning of the dream.

On one occasion, King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream which troubled him greatly. When he awakened, he knew that the dream had some deep meaning, but in the morning he had forgotten what the dream was. He sent for the wise men who had in times past given him the meaning of dreams, and said to them: “O ye wise men, I have dreamed a dream; but I have forgotten it. Now tell me what my dream was and then tell me what it means, for I am sure that it has a meaning.”

The wise men said: “O king, may you live forever! If you will tell us your dream, we will tell you its meaning. But we have no power to tell both the dream and also its meaning. That only the gods can know.”

The king became very angry, for these men had claimed that their gods gave them all knowledge. He said: “Tell me the dream and its meaning; and I will give you rich reward and high honor. But if you cannot tell, I shall know that you are liars, and you shall be put to death.”

The wise men could not do what the king asked; and in great fury he gave command that all of them should be slain. Among these men were Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These four Jews were to be slain with the rest of the wise men. Daniel said to the chief captain, who had been sent to kill the wise men: “Give me a little time; and I will call upon my God. I know that he will help me to tell to the king his dream and its meaning.”

So time was given; and Daniel and his three friends prayed to the Lord God. That night the Lord gave Daniel the secret of the king’s dream and its meaning. Then Daniel gave praise and thanks to the Lord; and in the morning he said to the king’s captain: “Do not kill the wise men. Take me before the king, and I will show him his dream and its meaning.”

Then, in haste, Daniel was brought before King Nebuchadnezzar. The king said to him: “Are you able to tell me the dream that I dreamed and the meaning of it?”

Daniel answered:

The wise men of Babylon, who look to their idol gods, cannot tell the king his dream. But there is a God in heaven who knows all things; and he has given me, his servant, to know your dream and the meaning of it. This is the dream, O king. You saw a great image, tall and noble looking. The head of this image was of gold, his breast and his arms were of silver, his waist and his hips of brass, his legs of iron, and his feet and toes were of iron and clay mixed together. And while this great image was standing, you saw a stone cut out without hands; and the stone rolled and dashed against the feet of the image; and the whole image fell down and was broken in pieces and was crushed and ground into a powder so fine that the wind blew it away like chaff. And you saw the stone that struck the image grow until it became a mountain, and it filled the whole world. This was your dream, O king.

And Daniel continued:

And this, O king, is the meaning of the dream. God has shown to you what shall come to pass in the years that are to be. You are that head of gold, O king; for that head means your kingdom that now is. After your kingdom has passed away, another kingdom shall take its place; the shoulders and arms of silver. That kingdom shall be followed by another – the waist and hips of brass; and after that shall come one more kingdom, that of iron. But as you saw a stone cut out without hands, so while the last of these kingdoms shall be standing, the Lord God of heaven shall set up his kingdom. And God’s kingdom, like that stone, shall be small at first, but it shall break down and destroy all those kingdoms. They shall pass away and perish before it. And as you saw the stone grow into a mountain, so God’s kingdom shall become great and shall rule all the lands. And that kingdom of God shall never pass away, but shall last forever.

When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was filled with wonder. He bowed down before Daniel and worshiped him, as though Daniel were a god. Then he gave him great presents and made him ruler over part of his kingdom where the city of Babylon was standing. He gave to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel’s friends, high offices; but the king kept Daniel in his palace, so that he could be near him all the time.