Signs and Wonders

by Bernard Evslin

  “Speak, wise youth. What of the stone, the dreadful stone that broke the image to pieces, and the iron, also?”

  “The stone …” said Daniel. “The stone is God’s wrath hurled upon the arrogant kingdoms of men—none of which shall endure. For God in heaven shall raise up people to destroy them, to break them into pieces and consume them. Then God shall make another kingdom. And that one shall stand forever. God’s own kingdom! And it shall endure. The Lord sent you this knowledge, for He wanted you to know.”

  “My sorcerers and astrologers and wise men are babbling children compared to you,” cried the king. “I honor your god, and I honor you whom he has sent to reveal secrets. I will make you a great man in my kingdom, and your friends, also.”

  The king did as he had said. He made Daniel the chief man in Babylon after himself, the head of all the governors in the kingdom, and the chief among his wise men. And Daniel’s friends, whom the king knew as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were made governors.

  The Fiery Furnace

  Now, there were at court certain princes and captains and counselors who envied Daniel and feared the growing influence of the Hebrews—and plotted their downfall. The occasion was ripe, for the king had bade his jewelers to make the largest golden idol ever wrought. It was seventy feet high, cast in solid gold, with eyes of sapphire and a ruby set in its navel. It stood on the plain of Dura, and when the sun hit the golden idol its light dazzled the countryside. The king was very proud of this great jeweled image, which had no rival in any other kingdom. And he readily approved a decree offered by the wicked counselors. A herald went throughout the land, proclaiming: “To you it is decreed, O people, ye of all nations and languages within the realm of Babylon, that when you hear the music of cornet, flute, or dulcimer, you shall fall down and worship the golden image that the king has raised. Whosoever does not fall down and worship the image shall be cast into a fiery furnace and given to the flame within an hour of his refusal.”

  This the herald proclaimed in every corner of the land. Musicians went out to all cities and villages, and walked along the streets playing flute, cornet, and dulcimer. And when the music was heard the people prostrated themselves and worshipped the golden idol.

  Then a prince of the realm went to Nebuchadnezzar and said: “Behold, O King, certain of your subjects ignore your decree and fail in their worship of the golden idol. They hear the music and walkthrough it as if they were deaf, and do not bow down to the great image.”

  “If this be true, they die,” said the king. “Who are they?”

  “They are the Jews whom you chose to govern—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.”

  “Bring them here!” said the king.

  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken before the king. He said: “It has been reported to me that you disobey my edict concerning the golden idol, and do not prostrate yourselves and worship the image when you hear the sound of its music.”

  “It is true,” said Shadrach. “We have not bowed down and worshipped the golden idol.”

  “According to my edict,” said Nebuchadnezzar, “you should immediately be cast into the furnace. However, because of my esteem for Belteshazzar, whom you call Daniel, I will pardon you on condition that you obey my decree hereafter, and prostrate yourselves when you hear the music, and worship my golden idol.”

  “You are gracious, O King,” said Meshach. “But our God, maker of heaven and earth, has uttered laws and commandments to us. The first of these is that we worship Him only, and do not bow down to any idol made of wood or stone or gold or brass, or any material that can be wrought by man.”

  “Do you choose the furnace?” said the king.

  “We do not choose; we are chosen,” said Abednego. “We cannot serve your gods or worship your idol.”

  Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and ordered his men to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it had ever been heated, and bade them bind the three Hebrews and cast them into the flames. The soldiers seized them. They were bound and carried to the furnace in an open cart. A great crowd gathered in the streets and followed them to the furnace to watch them burn. Men stoked the furnace, piling on wood to make it seven times hotter than it had ever been. The flames grew so hot that tongues of it shot out of the furnace belly and licked up the men who were stoking it, and consumed them. But other men took their places and threw wood upon the fire.

  The flames mounted higher. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were taken by the arms and legs and flung into the midst of the fire. And the tongues of flame licked out and enwrapped the soldiers who had cast them into the furnace, and consumed these men. And the king was smitten with wonder. For he saw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing upright in the midst of the flame, even in the belly of the furnace. They were standing and conversing, and they were unbound because their ropes had burned. Nor were their garments burned.

  As he watched, as he gazed into the furnace and felt its heat on his face, he saw a fourth among them—the figure of a taller man formed from the flame itself and casting a light that made the fire look dark. And Nebuchadnezzar whispered, “Oh, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed. And the form of the fourth is like an angel of god.”

  Then, despite the terrible heat, the king went closer to the furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! You servants of the most high god, come forth!”

  The people watching saw the three of them walk out of the furnace and bow to the king. Not a hair of their heads was singed, nor were their garments charred. Nor did they smell of fire. Nebuchadnezzar said: “Blessed be the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel to deliver his servants out of the fiery furnace. I praise your god, who caused you to break my statute and give your bodies to the flame rather than serve any other god except your own. And this is my decree, to be proclaimed throughout my realm: Anyone who speaks anything amiss against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut to pieces and his house made into a dunghill.”

  The royal guards rounded up all the princes and captains and counselors who had been plotting against the Hebrews, and they were put to the sword in a single night. The king restored Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to their posts and sought Daniel’s counsel more eagerly than ever. And Daniel and his friends governed Babylon, and the country was at peace.

  King in the Grass

  Again, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed, and again he was troubled. He remembered his dream this time, and called in the wise men, the astrologers, and the soothsayers. He told them the dream and asked for an interpretation. They pondered and conferred for three days, but they could not read what had appeared to the king at night. He dismissed them and called Daniel. He said: “O Belteshazzar, master of magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy god is in you and no secret defies you. Read me my dream, I pray.”

  “Do you remember it?” said Daniel.

  “I do,” said the king. “I beheld a tree, but its girth was thicker than that of any tree, and it stood taller than any tree I have ever seen. Its leaves were delicately shaped and of a beautiful green. Its boughs were hung with fruit, gold and red globes of fruit. There was enough to feed the fowls of air. And the shadow of its boughs was enough to shelter the beasts of earth. Then there was a flash of light and the sound of thunder. And a bright one descended from the sky. He was a watcher and a holy one, an angel of god. He stood at the tree and held a flaming sword. He cried, ‘Hew down the tree and cut off its branches! Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit! Let the beasts depart and the fowls fly away!’ And the beasts went from the shade of the tree and the birds flew upward. And the angel cried, ‘Leave the stump of the tree in the ground, and let its roots be untouched. Bind the stump with a band of iron, and let it stand in the tender grass of the field. Let it dwell among the beasts and the grass. I say this by the decree of the watchers and the demand of the angels so that all men may know that God rules, that His wrath is flame, and that all must shelter
in the shadow of His law.’ That is what I saw in the night, O Hebrew, and what I heard. I do not know what it means, but my spirit is troubled. Read me the dream, I pray.”

  Daniel was astonished, listening to the king. He was troubled by what he heard. He pondered for a while but hesitated to speak. The king said: “I know that this vision is a terrible one. Do not fear to tell me its meaning. I am king and must be prepared to hear the worst.”

  “My lord, I wish that your enemies had dreamed this dream, and that I could apply its meaning to them,” said Daniel. “The great tree you saw, whose top reached the sky, whose fruit was abundant, whose branches sheltered the birds and whose shade invited the beasts of earth, that great beautiful tree, O King, was you, Nebuchadnezzar. For you are grown strong and great. Your stature reaches to the sky, your dominion to the end of earth. And the angel came and said: ‘Hew the tree down, but leave the stump in the ground to stand among the beasts and the grass.’ And this stump is what you will become, O King.”

  “Must I be hewed down?” whispered Nebuchadnezzar. “Must I die even in the flower of my years?”

  “No,” said Daniel. “You have displeased God, but He does not punish you with death. The stump shall remain, as the angel decreed. You shall live and you shall keep your kingdom. But first you shall be punished. You shall be driven from mankind. Your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall eat grass like an ox, and be wet with the dew of heaven. You shall sleep in the fields and rise in them, and be as an ox among cattle. And you shall live so for seven years. Afterward you shall be a man again, a king. And, if you break off your sins and raise no more idols, and practice righteousness, and cancel your wickedness by showing mercy to the poor—then you shall be allowed to reign, and all your greatness shall be restored to you.”

  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.