No greater contrast to Hiram and the false prophets Ahab and Zedekiah
can be imagined than is presented by the character of the pious Daniel.
When Nebuchadnezzar offered him Divine honors, (109) he refused what
Hiram sought to obtain by every means in his power. The Babylonian king
felt so ardent an admiration for Daniel that he sent him from the
country when the time arrived to worship the idol he had erected in
Dura, for he knew very well that Daniel would prefer death in the
flames to disregard of the commands of God, and he could not well have
cast the man into the fire to whom he had paid Divine homage. Moreover,
it was the wish of God that Daniel should not pass through the fiery
ordeal at the same time as his three friends, in order that their
deliverance might not be ascribed to him. (110)
In spite of all this, Nebuchadnezzar endeavored to persuade Daniel by
gentle means to worship an idol. He had the golden diadem of the high
priest inserted in the mouth of an idol, and by reason of the wondrous
power that resides in the Holy Name inscribed on the diadem, the idol
gained the ability to speak, and it said the words: "I am thy God."
Thus were many seduced to worship the image. But Daniel could not be
misled so easily. He secured permission from the king to kiss the idol.
Laying his mouth upon the idol's, he adjured the diadem in the
following words: "I am but flesh and blood, yet at the same time a
messenger of God. I therefore admonish thee, take heed that the Name of
the Holy One, blessed be He, may not be desecrated, and I order thee to
follow me." So it happened. When the heathen came with music and song
to give honor to the idol, it emitted no sound, but a storm broke loose
and overturned it. (111)
On still another occasion Nebuchadnezzar tried to persuade Daniel to
worship an idol, this time a dragon that devoured all who approached
it, and therefore was adored as a god by the Babylonians. Daniel had
straw mixed with nails fed to him, and the dragon ate and perished
almost immediately. (112)
All this did not prevent Daniel from keeping the welfare of the king in
mind continually. Hence it was that when Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in
setting his house in order, he desired to mention 'Daniel in his will
as one of his heirs. But the Jew refused with the words: "Far be it
from me to leave the inheritance of my fathers for that of the
uncircumcised." (113)
Nebuchadnezzar died after having reigned forty years, as long as King
David. (114) The death of the tyrant brought hope and joy to many a
heart, for his severity had been such that during his lifetime none
dared laugh, and when he descended to Sheol, its inhabitants trembled,
fearing he had come to reign over them, too. However, a heavenly voice
called to him: "Go down, and be thou laid down with the uncircumcised."
(115)
The interment of this great king was anything but what one might have
expected, and for this reason: During the seven years spent by
Nebuchadnezzar among the beast, his son Evil-merodach ruled in his
stead. Nebuchadnezzar reappeared after his period of penance, and
incarcerated his son for life. When the death of Nebuchadnezzar
actually did occur, Evil-merodach refused to accept the homage the
nobles brought him as the new king, because he feared that his father
was not dead, but had only disappeared as once before, and would return
again. To convince him of the groundlessness of his apprehension, the
corpse of Nebuchadnezzar, badly mutilated by his enemies, was dragged
through the streets. (116)
Shortly afterward occurred the death of Zedekiah, the dethroned king of
Judah. His burial took place amid great demonstrations of sympathy and
mourning. The elegy over him ran thus: "Alas that King Zedekiah had to
die, he who quaffed the lees which all the generations before him
accumulated." (117)
Zedekiah reached a good old age, (118) for though it was in his reign
that the destruction of Jerusalem took place, yet it was the guilt of
the nation, not of the king, that had brought about the catastrophe.
(119)
XI.
THE RETURN OF THE CAPTIVITY