Have You Heard the Story of My Life?

A war raged through my land. Enemy soldiers destroyed the city of my people, including the Temple of God. They took all the princes from the king’s palace, as well as the intelligent, handsome, and strong youths from the royal house. These were led away as captives to the city of Babylon in Mesopotamia.

The great king, Nebuchadnezzar, reigned over his people in Babylon, but he also reined over half of the known world. He was immensely rich and lived in a splendid castle with a large number of servants and slaves.

Because of his grandeur, he allowed only the elite, those with intelligence and noble background, to serve him. I, Daniel, was one of those whom the King Nebuchadnezzar took as a captive to his country. There, I was put into his service. Serving the king was hard work, because he was proud and strict. We had to learn to speak and write the language of his country.

My three friends and I did not fear the king. We feared the Lord and loved Him above all things. In our hearts, we decided to abide by the laws of our God and not defile ourselves in Nebuchadnezzar’s idolatrous country.

God granted wisdom and understanding to me and my three friends. After questioning us, the king noticed that our wisdom superseded that of all his other advisers. So he selected us for his private service.

God also gave me a special ability to interpret dreams. Through this gift, the Lord glorified His name and showed the idolatrous king that He was the one and only true God, the Lord of heaven and earth, and that no one is like Him.

It happened one night that the king woke up frightened, because of a strange dream he had had.

When he awoke, he tried to remember his dream, but he could not; yet, he was still frightened by it. He was sure that the dream had an important meaning. So he summoned all his wise men. These men had read a lot of books, and they boasted that they knew everything.

When they all stood before the king, he said to them,I had a dream, and I want you to explain it to me.

The wise men bowed down and answered: Glorious king, tell us your dream. We will explain it to you.

The king answered, I have forgotten my dream, and you are to tell me what it was. If you can tell me, I will richly reward you, but if you cannot, I will have your heads cut off.

The wise men were full of fear and answered: How can we know what you dreamed, O king? No one in the whole world can know this.

The king became furious and ordered his soldiers to kill all the wise men of Babylon. They also searched for me and my three friends, to kill us with the rest of the wise men.

I went straight to the king and said to him: O glorious king, please wait one more day. Perhaps I can tell you then about your dream. The king accepted my request.

Then I went to my friends and told them what the king had agreed to do. I said: There is no one in the world who knows the dream which the king had – no one but the All-Knowing God. Let us ask Him to save us from the wrath of the king and reveal to us the dream and its meaning. We then prayed fervently, and God answered our prayers.

That night, I had the same dream that the king had had. God explained this dream and its meaning to me. My joy was overwhelming, and I thanked God and praised Him. The next morning, I went to the palace and asked to see the king.

The king asked my dryly, Can you tell me what my dream was about? I answered: No, O King; neither I nor any other person can do that. Only God in heaven knows everything, and He has revealed to me your dream and its meaning.

Then I told the king his dream: You saw a huge statue. Its head was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. Then a large rock fell down suddenly, striking the statue and destroying it. The rock grew larger and larger until it filled the whole earth.

Then I went on: This was your dream, O glorious king, and now I will explain it to you. The rock which was bigger and stronger than the statue is a symbol for the power of God which is stronger than all the kingdoms of the earth. In the last age, God will build His spiritual kingdom which will remain forever, whereas all the kingdoms of this earth will end.

The king was amazed and remembered his dream. He said, Truly, this is the dream which I had had. He went on: O Daniel, how great your God is! He is God over all gods and Lord over all lords. He alone is able to reveal the unknown.” He then gave me many valuable gifts and placed me in a high position.

Many years passed, and I was still living in Babylon, a foreign land. But Nebuchadnezzar had died and Darius was king. This new king loved me and put me over all his administrators. These men were envious of me and tried to ruin me. They said: We do not want Daniel to be in a higher position than we are. Let us observe him. Perhaps we can find a mistake of his and tell the king about it.

The king’s administrators could not find anything wrong with me, for I did my work carefully and responsibly. I still prayed three times a day, praising and thanking my God as I had in the past.

My enemies observed my love for God, and by this they planned my downfall. They went to the king and bowed down before him, saying, O glorious king, may you live long. We, your administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors, thought it would be good if you proclaimed to all the people in your kingdom that no person may pray to any other person or god, except you alone.

This idea was very appealing to the king. So he immediately agreed: Let it be so. He who does not obey my decree will be thrown into the lions’ den. The king stamped the law with the seal in his ring. This is how these evil men carried out their plan to hurt me.

I soon learned of this decree and its source. The administrators wanted to get rid of me. What could I do? Was I to obey the king’s law or God’s law? Of course, I had to obey God before any man. So, in spite of this decree, I continued kneeling before an open window in my house and prayed three times a day to my God, as I had always done.

My enemies hid outside my open window. When they discovered that I kept on praying, regardless of the royal decree, they hurried to the king and said, Long live the king! Your Majesty, Daniel disobeyed your decree. He continues praying to his God. He has to be thrown into the lions’ den.

The king was greatly distressed when he heard this, and he realised the evil intent of his administrators. He did everything he could to rescue me. But my enemies came to him and reminded him, Whatever the king has decreed and sealed must be done.

The king was very sad when he said to me: O Daniel, I cannot help you. But I pray that your God, whom you have served all the days of your life, will save you. Then he ordered that I should be let down into the lions’ den.

The next morning, the king hurried to the lions’ den. He was very anxious and was unable to sleep all night, thinking of what could be happening to me.

Suddenly, I heard somebody calling: Daniel, O Daniel! Did your God save you? It was the king. Then I answered him from the lions’ den: Know, O king, that the living God has kept me safe and sent His angels to close the lions’ mouths, because I was found innocent in His sight. I have never wronged you in any way.

The king was very happy and ordered that I should be taken out of the den. Then he ordered that all the evil administrators should be thrown into the lions’ den. But the Lord’s angel was not there to protect them, so the lions devoured them all.

King Darius understood that my God in heaven is the true God. So he issued the following decree: Worship the God of Daniel, because his is the true and eternal God. He is the Saviour from hardship and the Helper in trials. He does wonders and signs in heaven and on earth.

I was happy that King Darius came to know the living God, owing to my obedience, love, and faithfulness. God was not my Lord and Heavenly Father only. The king also honoured Him as Lord and God for himself.

Dear reader, have you also become a faithful witness for others, so that they can know the true God through your faith, obedience, and love, accepting Him as Saviour? Answer this question between yourself and the Lord! If you do not have courage, ask the Lord to help you become a faithful witness to many.