The Book of Daniel relates how Daniel and his peers Hananya, Mishael, and Azarya are young Judean exiles who were taken to serve with other youths in the Babylonian king’s palace, where they are given new Babylonian names. They are confronted by various religious challenges. They endeavor to keep a “kosher” diet, and they convince the king’s chief officer to allow them to continue to refrain from eat the king’s food or wine, other than legumes (Daniel 1). But more grave challenges follow.
When King Nebuchadnezzar sets up an enormous golden statue, he orders all to bow down and worship the statue upon hearing musical instruments, on pain of being consigned to a fiery furnace. A few people take advantage of the opportunity at hand to single out Hananya, Mishael, and Azarya and tell the King that the three of them were refusing to worship the statue. Furious, the king warns the three that if they persist in ignoring the statue, they will be thrown into a fiery furnace. Hananya, Mishael and Azarya reply that God has the power to save them and that they believe He will protect them, but that even if He does not, they will not serve the Babylonian god. They will maintain their allegiance to God no matter what happens to them.
The three are bound and tossed into the burning furnace. After they miraculously survive without even a whiff of smoke emanating from them, Nebuchadnezzar blesses God, orders his people not to blaspheme God, and promotes Hananya, Mishael and Azarya- with new respect for their justified risking of their lives and devotion to God (Daniel 3).
Daniel’s story is reminiscent of the story of Yosef in Egypt. Exiled from the Land of Israel to serve foreign high officials, he succeeds in interpreting dreams and visions of the kings Nebuchadnezzar and then Belshazzar, at very high stakes, and he saves lives in the process. Because of his success, which he attributes to God, Daniel is given purple robes and a gold chain is placed around his neck. He is promoted to a very high rank (Daniel 2; 4; 5; 6).
But some of the other ministers, jealous of his success and promotion, plot against Daniel. They come to King Darius the Mede (now governing Babylonia as part of a Persian empire), who has replaced King Belshazzar, and advise him to issue a royal ban against anyone making supplications toward any god or man other than King Darius for the next thirty days, on pain of being sent into the lion’s den. King Darius puts the edict in writing.
Daniel hears of the written edict. Nevertheless, he continues to kneel in his home three times daily - in a room with windows facing Jerusalem, in prayer and supplication to God. The plotters storm in, and confront the King with this evidence of Daniel flouting the king’s edict. Though the king is fond of Daniel and tries to find a way to save him, the plotters remind the king that any royal Persian edict cannot be changed. So the king orders that Daniel be thrown into the lion’s den. The next day, the king finds Daniel unscathed, but when the plotters are thrown in, their bones are crushed by the lions. The king acknowledges the omnipotence of God, who “delivers and saves, and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth…”(Daniel 7, 28).
The stories of Daniel, Hananya, Mishael, and Azarya highlight their remarkable trust in God and commitment to the mitzvoth. Exiled to a foreign land, it might have been made their lives easy if they had abandoned their religious restrictions and customs. Instead, they hold on, remaining committed, while still managing to contribute to their new society and rise high in the ranks, becoming important officials, though there are dangers from despots and plotters. They are prepared to sacrifice personal comfort and even their lives in order to stay true to their values and loyal to God.
Life comes with challenges, and difficult decisions. How will we respond? We can be inspired by stories of others in grim situations and we can aspire to have strength and courage to stay true to ourselves to the best of our ability.
