Good morning. This is Ashbazar with the Persian Broadcasting System, bringing you a morning edition of the Newshour, with a breaking story live from Babylon. We have been told to stand by for a story of national importance direct from the king’s palace. As soon as they are ready, we will go direct to our on-the scene correspondent, Rashi Haruman, who has been waiting in the outer court since just after dawn.
But first, a backgrounder. As most of our listeners know, King Nebuchadnezzar - may he live forever - has not made a public appearance for seven years. Palace spokesmen have given out a number of conflicting stories over that time, but none of them has satisfied the public’s very real concern over the state of the empire. The most recent official version is that his Majesty has been on a religious retreat. While seven years does seem to be stretching credulity a bit, the idea of an extended royal pilgrimage to the empire’s most holy sites would make sense - were it not for the fact that none of those sites have reported any unusual activity.
The rumor that has the most widespread currency among the general population is that the King has contracted leprosy or another disfiguring disease. Early rumors of assassination have been discredited by the fact that the same officials - including the controversial Judean advisors - have remained in their posts without interruption ever since the king’s unexplained disappearance from the national political and social scene, and the royal princes have been uncharacteristically silent on the delicate subject of the succession.
Something is coming through from Babylon - Haruman, over to you.
Thank you, Ashbazar. The guards are opening the great doors and a single figure is coming through them into the outer courtyard, where I and other reporters have been waiting since early this morning when we were told to be ready for an announcement of major national significance. We are being held back from getting a closer look at this solitary figure by what seems like half a regiment of the palace guard. From what I can see, it is a middle-aged man of not very distinguished appearance, dressed in a simple linen robe belted and bordered in blue and gold. On his head he is wearing what appears to be - but it can’t be! Ashbazar, I believe that this is the King himself! Never before has he spoken directly to the media - this is a truly historic moment! He seems to be arguing with a group of men who followed him out of the gates - Ashbazar, you will not believe this, but one of them actually touched the King! He was immediately removed by the guards, of course - but what could he have been thinking of? It looks as though it might have been Zemadigo, but our view is still partially blocked by the cordon of guards. Hold for just one moment, it looks like one of - yes, it’s the Judean Belteshazzar, whose Hebrew name is Daniel, is coming forward. ... (pause) ... Ashbazar, PBS has just received the most signal honor of our history. We have been chosen to interview the king. We will get back to you as soon as the security arrangements are in place. ... (Pause) ...
This is PBS correspondent Rashi Haruman, bringing you an historic interview with King Nebuchadnezzar himself, who is breaking a lifetime habit of maintaining his distance from the media to mark his recent return to the political limelight. Your Majesty, as we discussed while your assistants were setting up, I’ll simply turn the microphone over to you and let you speak directly to the people. When you are finished, with your permission I’ll ask a few additional questions on any point that might be unclear to our viewers. Go ahead, Excellency, the stage is yours.
My fellow Babylonians - and Elamites, and Parthians and Arameans and all my subject peoples, but especially the Judeans... I come before you tonight to give the empire an explanation of my absence, and an announcement of changes to be made in this kingdom now that I have returned.
But first, let me take you back to where I was seven years ago, on the eve of my disappearance. Babylon was the only superpower left in the world. Assyria had been defeated, and still lies amid the chaos and rubble of her once mighty cities. Egypt, too, had collapsed under the weight of her inefficient and corrupt government. None of our subject peoples had risen up against us since we made an example of the Judeans some twenty-five years before. Our empire was enjoying - and still is - the longest period of peace and prosperity in its history. Our public buildings, our civic institutions, our international trading network were all second to none. And as I looked around, all I could see was greatness.
And I took the credit. Yes, I took the credit. I started believing that I alone was responsible for everything good that had happened to Babylon for the last generation, even though I knew better. Now you may think it very odd for me to say that, since I have always given the proper reverence to Ba’al and Nabu and Marduk and the rest. But that was always easy enough to do, toss the priests a few coins on feast days and you were done with them until the next time. And they didn’t get jealous. But, as I said, I knew better.
Young Haruman, were you covering the palace twenty years ago? When I had the image of gold set up on the plain of Dura? I didn’t think so. Well, it was like this. I had this golden statue made, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and called all the provincial governors and judges and treasurers and so on to come for the dedication ceremony. It was all fairly routine, I thought, one needs to do that sort of thing on a fairly regular basis to impress them with the power and wealth of the central government. It also encourages them to rethink any rebellious thoughts and to renew their allegiance. It was a sort of generic image, I’ve always granted religious freedom to my subject peoples, and anyone from Lydia to Bactria should have been able to see their own gods in it. So when everyone was all assembled the heralds announced that as soon as the music started, everyone was to fall on their faces and worship the image.
And everyone did - except the Judeans. The administrators of Babylon province were a trio of Judeans named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - I had them elevated as a favor to Belteshazzar when he interpreted the first dream - Oh, you don’t know about that? Well, I’ll tell you in a minute. Anyway, these three were some of my best officials. Not a whiff of corruption the entire time they served, and the whole city ran like clockwork. Everything from the roads to the water supply was the best in the kingdom - well, you don’t want to hear about that. But you don’t get servants like that very often.
Anyway, while everyone else fell flat on their faces, those three just stood there. I had completely forgotten that they didn’t bow to ANY images. And of course I couldn’t look the other way. Even if I had wanted to. But I was simply furious that they had made me look a fool in front of every official in the empire. So I called them over and gave them one chance - just one - to rethink their position and prostrate themselves. “What god can save you,” I asked, “from the furnace my soldiers are even now preparing for you if you disobey again?” And they answered, If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” [Dan 3:17-18] Well, to make a long story short, their god did save them. The soldiers tending the furnace collapsed from the heat; a couple of them actually died, but those three lived through the entire night and walked out the next morning without having broken into a sweat. And not only that, but there had also been a fourth man with them in the furnace all night. Obviously, their God had power like none of our gods had ever shown. So I issued a decree that everyone in the empire should honor the Hebrew God. I thought that would please him. As if he needed my approval!
Anyway, you had asked about Belteshazzar - you may know him better by his Hebrew name Daniel - and the dream. When he and his friends were still quite young, fairly new in the service of the palace, Belteshazzar interpreted a dream for me. No other man in the kingdom, none of the magicians or astrologers or philosophers or priests could do it. Well, I had made it rather more difficult than usual, since I wouldn’t tell them the dream, I wanted them to tell me both the dream AND its interpretation. And Belteshazzar did it. Well, to be more precise, his God did it. I had gotten a double dose of lessons about the power of the Hebrew God.
When I had this other dream, I should have called Belteshazzar in right away, but I didn’t. And - let me be honest with you - it’s because I didn’t want to humble myself, which is what would have happened if Belteshazzar had been the one to interpret the dream. It was bad enough to have had the dream at all, and to appear powerless in front of my advisors. Because it was a very disturbing dream.
Anyway, I finally did have to call on him, and I didn’t like the interpretation any better than I thought I would, so I put it out of my mind. And twelve months later, while I was walking on the roof of the palace, admiring everything I had done and congratulating myself on being such a terrific ruler and all ‘round wonderful king, when I heard a voice. “Your kingdom has been taken away from you, O Nebuchadnezzar,” it said, “you shall be driven away from human society, and will live with the animals of the field. You will eat grass like oxen, and seven years shall pass, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and gives it to whom he will.” [Dan 4:31-32]
And that, Rashi Haruman, is where I have been for seven years.
I have returned. I have come to tell you and all the people of Babylon that the King of Heaven, who is not worshiped in temples, is lord over all who live upon the earth. He is sovereign over all people, over cattle and kings alike. Everything he does is right, and all his ways are just. If you walk in pride, as I walked in pride, you will be humbled.
Did I tell you that Hebrew name Daniel means, “God is judge?” He is. I should have remembered that. But I didn’t want to.
I thought I was doing YHWH God a favor by decreeing that all Babylon should respect him. How could he ask more of me than that? I thought. After all, I am a king, I have responsibilities, a position to maintain, traditions to uphold, factions to placate. I can’t just give it all up for some wild desert God whose temple we destroyed not fifty
years ago!
I can’t do it, I thought. I didn’t want to do it, was more like it. He gave me three chances to change on my own, without being pushed. But at the end, it took drastic action. And YHWH God did me a favor by stripping me of everything I treasured, even my own identity.
After seven years a beast, I have been healed by lifting my eyes to the Ever Living One. I, who thought I was equal to the gods, had to become a beast before I learned what it means to be a man walking in humility before God. Don’t wait that long.
