On December 0, the church celebrates the day of remembrance of the prophet Daniel and his 3 friends. 600 years before Christ, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, captured Judea, destroyed the temple, and forcibly relocated most of the Israelite people to Babylon.
According to legend, the four friends were descendants of King Hezekiah. Therefore, they were treated as noble nobles: they were not sold into slavery, but taken to the palace. They were given new Babylonian names. Daniel was called Belshazzar, Ananias was called Sedrach, Azaria was called Avdenago, and Misael was called Misaho. Young men were taught language, counting, other wisdom, preparing for the posts of courtiers.
Despite the pagan environment, the four friends adhered strictly to the Mosaic Law. God gave them wisdom and blessed them with different talents.
Daniel, for example, was distinguished by the precise interpretation of dreams and visions.
At a very young age, Daniel explained to the king the meaning of sleep, which all the pagan soothsayers could not do. For this Nebuchadnezzar made him the viceroy of the entire Babylonian kingdom. His friends also received high positions.
Alas, after 18 years, the king ordered the statue to be sculpted of pure gold and ordered all his subjects to bow before it. To the sound of trumpets, the people at one and the same time threw all business and knelt before the statue of the king. All except the three Jewish youths and Daniel. The envious reported on Misael, Azarias and Ananias, or, as they called them, Avdenago, Misaha, da Sedrah.
Nebuchadnezzar personally ordered the young men to bow before the idol, otherwise they would face a terrible death. The young men replied that God would help them. Even if they die, they will not kneel before an idol.
The enraged king ordered them to be thrown into a hot furnace. Friends were tied up and thrown into the mouth of the oven. The heat in it was so strong that the soldiers who carried out the execution died on the spot.
But the king was in for a big surprise. He saw the young men walking quietly among the flames, and there were four of them. Astonished Nebuchadnezzar asked the courtiers,
How many people were thrown into the oven. When he received the answer that there were three, he realized that the God of the Jews did not allow his followers to perish. He sent an angel to help them.
The king urged his friends to come out of the oven. When they came to them, they were astonished, because they did not suffer from the fire. Neither they nor their clothes bore any trace of flame.
The king was so impressed that he ordered to cut into pieces everyone who would blaspheme the God of Israel. He said that no other god could save him.
His followers, as the Lord of Israel did.
The prophet Daniel also never compromised, always adhered to the Torah and did not retreat in fear of execution.
He held high government positions under 3 kings, striking them with his own
wisdom and ability to interpret dreams and even inscriptions in incomprehensible languages.
Under King Darius it was his turn to reaffirm the strength of his faith. Darius, at the instigation of the envious Daniel, issued a decree that his subjects prayed and worshiped him as a god. Otherwise, death in the lions’ ditch.
The detractors knew that 3 times a day Daniel prays to the Lord God of Israel. They reported to the king. Darius did not want Daniel dead, but he could not break his own decree. With a heavy heart, the king ordered the prophet to be thrown into a ditch containing several hungry lions. The entrance was filled with a stone, to which many seals were attached.
Darius hoped that Daniel would survive, but he was still very worried. Without closing his eyes, the king went to the place of execution and asked loudly, “Daniel, did your God save you?” He was glad to hear the voice of his companion: Yes, king, the Lord sent an angel who sealed the mouths of the lions.
As soon as Daniel was lifted from the ditch, informers were thrown there. There was nothing left of them in a few minutes.
And Darius sent a decree to all his lands, in which he commanded to worship and fear the living God, the God whom Daniel served.
At the meetings of the first Christians there were always 2 icons. One is the prophet Daniel in the pit, and the other three young men in the furnace of fire. Every minute they could be given to the lions or thrown into the oven. Every minute they affirmed their faith by worshiping the only God and His Son.
On this day, as we read the story of 4 friends in the book of Daniel, let us remember that the fire of hell begins here on earth. His name is godless. Only through faith, through Christ the Redeemer, can we hope for the kingdom of heaven. And if we give in to the temptation of this world, we will burn in hell.
“Friendship with the world is enmity against God,” wrote the apostle James. Let us renounce idols, as the four Jewish youths did, and let us glorify our Lord and His Son, Christ Jesus.
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