Daniel - episode 1

Fire and heat, bless the Lord

The Book of Daniel was written by a Hebrew believer of the II century BC, who was probably inspired by the figure of a great wise man of the past (see Ezek 14,14-20; 28,3). The Author lived in the Maccabees time (see Dan 9 and 11 and the post about Judas Maccabaeus), when the Hebrew people practicing their religion were cruelly persecuted by kings like Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Book of Daniel is an encouragement to remain faithful to the Lord, in spite of the many difficulties with the Palestine foreign occupiers; it can be divided into two sections, by its contents. The first one (chapters 1-6) is narrative: Daniel and his fellows, who were deported in Babylon after the first Jerusalem capture (597 BC), live at court as officials managing to overcome all obstacles thanks to their faith in the God of the Fathers. The second one (chapters 7-12) contains “apocalyptic” «visions»: they show, in a symbolic way, the Lord’s direct intervention in history, defeating evil and establishing His Kingdom definitively. As in the Book of Tobit, in which one of the main characters is Angel Raphael (“God heals”), in the Book of Daniel we meet angels called by name: Gabriel (“God is my strength”: Dan 8,16; 9,21) and Michael (“Who is like God?”: Dan 10,13; 10,21; 12,1). We read the Book of Daniel catholic version: it has Greek additions (part of chapter 3, chapters 13-14) to the Hebrew and Aramaic text.
«In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god. He brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god. The king spoke to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, even of the royal offspring and of the nobles; youths in whom was no defect, but well-favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and endowed with knowledge, and understanding science, and who had the ability to stand in the king’s palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the language of the Chaldeans. […] Now among these were of the children of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego» (Dan 1,1-4.6-7).
King Nebuchadnezzar erects a statue and he issues a command to adore it; the young Hebrews refuse to perform that idolatry act. «Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered them, “Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?  Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Who is that god that will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. They walked in the midst of the fire, praising God, and blessing the Lord. [...] And the king’s servants, that put them in, ceased not to make the furnace hot with naphtha, pitch, tow, and small wood; so that the flame streamed forth above the furnace forty and nine cubits [about twenty-five metres]. And it spread, and burned those Chaldeans whom it found about the furnace. But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace together with Azarias and his fellows, and he struck the flame of the fire out of the furnace; and made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them. [...]



Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, “Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” He answered, “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He spoke and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the middle of the fire» (Dan 3,13-24.46-50.91-93).
The praise and the trust in the Lord save the three young men from certain death; even the king of Babylon has to pronounce a beautiful confession of faith. «Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”» (Dan 3,95-96).
I invite you to read the wonderful “Song” that the three young men pronounce in the furnace (Dan 3,52-90); in the next post we will conclude the Book of Daniel examination.