13

INCONCEIVABLE ASSIGNMENT

602 B.C.

After three grueling years of cultural indoctrination, Daniel, now eighteen years old, and thirty-nine other exiles were declared qualified for service in the king’s court. Nine of the young men were determined inferior and assigned to lower-level servant positions outside the palace. The young men had received extensive education and indoctrination every day of the year. Their bodies were trim and muscular—fit for high endurance after the rigorous physical training. They had made hundreds of visits near and far to experience processes of the government, operations of trade and craft, programs of agriculture, practices of religion, and works of art. Stresses of frequent oral, manual, and physical tests were exceeded only by their comprehensive final examinations, which took a week to complete.

After a brief ceremony in the palace great hall with compliments from Ashpenaz, King Nebuchadnezzar made a grand entrance with royal trumpets blaring. His regal purple robe and garish red turban trimmed in jewels seemed to brighten the room. This was the first time the exiles had seen the king since getting a glimpse of him during his entry into Jerusalem. Remembering his appearance as a field army king made this royal palace regalia seem even more elegant. His former scruffy beard was now tightly waved, obviously by a hot iron. The king made a few remarks, then announced individual assignments.

“Based on my consideration of the recommendations of my chief of officials, Ashpenaz, I decree the following assignments,” the king read from his script.

One-by-one, he went through the list of names, attaching a palace assignment to each name. Some were to become recorders of the king’s actions and proclamations; some would be chefs; others were to serve as palace facility coordinators; and a few of the brightest would receive further training in the healing arts to ultimately attend to the sick and injured in the king’s court.

Daniel’s anxiety rose with every announcement, waiting to hear his name. Finally, there were only four names left.

“I have a special assignment for Daniel, Mishael, Azariah, and Hananiah,” the king said. “You four will remain here with me for a moment after the others are released to Ashpenaz.”

“But before you are dismissed, I have one more announcement. You are now all Chaldeans, citizens of Babylonia. You must release your ties to your Hebrew roots. Therefore, you will assume Chaldean names. You will use these names both publicly and privately from this day forward. Embrace these identities with pride.”

The king called out the new names of each individual. “Liron is now Ramman; Zamir is now Nergal-Edir; Yadid is now Ishum.”

He continued through thirty-six name changes without mentioning Daniel and his three friends. Daniel was uneasy and confused about the strange situation facing the four. He was confident they had performed with excellence over the past three years. Many times, they had discussed privately how, although applying their fullest effort, their superior successes had seemed supernatural. They believed God had shown special favor toward them.

Soon, the entire palace hall was vacated, except for the four young men and King Nebuchadnezzar. They stood motionless and noticeably nervous before him.

“I’m sure you are wondering why I singled out you four,” the king said.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Daniel replied softly, his head bowed.

“I have been receiving reports on the individual progress of all forty-nine of you since you accompanied me back from Jerusalem. You four have consistently been evaluated as the top performers in every aspect of your preparation for service in my kingdom. In fact, your final testing placed your intelligence and physical condition superior to any of my palace servants and advisors. I had not anticipated this level of qualification from any of you young Hebrews. Daniel, I was also made aware of your exceptional ability as the leader of your group.”

The king paused and paced in front of them, eyeing each one individually.

“Therefore, I have decided to create four new positions in my court. You will be groomed for special service as my personal advisors. I must have the wisest counsel available to anyone on the earth. You will integrate with my palace magicians, sorcerers, and astrologers. They are in touch with our gods. I welcome your counsel from your Hebrew God. You will learn from my advisors, and they will learn from you. As you share your wisdom with the other advisors and they teach you the ways of their craft, I will expect far better counsel than I now have.”

The four looked at each other in dismay. Daniel knew the other three were as shocked as he was. He was deeply honored and humbled by the appointment but at a loss as to how he and his friends could reconcile their Hebraic absolute beliefs with the closed fraternity of pagans.

“One last thing,” the king continued. “I have saved bestowing your new names for this private setting. Daniel, your name shall be Belteshazzar. The name means, ‘Bel, protect his life.’ Hananiah, you will be called Shadrach, meaning ‘under the command of Aku.’ Mishael, you will become Meshach, which means, ‘who is like Aku.’ And Azariah will be known as Abednego. Your scholastic performance has earned you this name, which means, ‘servant of Nego.’ Learn the significance of those names, and you will bear them proudly as Chaldeans. Now, go to Ashpenaz, who will show you to your new quarters with the other advisors.”

The new monikers were an embarrassment to Daniel and the other three. They knew from their religious indoctrination that the names reflected those of Babylon’s pagan gods. Bel was another name for Marduk, the chief Babylonian god. Aku was the moon god, and Nego was the god of learning and writing.

As they walked out unescorted, Daniel glanced up at the huge statue of Marduk. I have just been issued the official name of Bel, or Marduk, protect his life. My new name is “Marduk will protect me.” What blasphemy against Yahweh!

He prayed silently, Yahweh, forgive me. I abhor this name. Show me and my friends what we should do to avoid alienating ourselves from You and our Hebrew roots.

Again, the four would share a room. But this time, it was larger with four private cubicles partitioned with white linen fabric stretched over a wooden frame. Daniel placed his bag of belongings on his bed, which looked considerably more comfortable than what he had endured for the past three years. He viewed his semi-private area, glad to see the table, chair, and wardrobe just for his use. He was impressed with the chandelier of oil lamps already lighted. Opening the shutters of the large window, Daniel was refreshed by the sunlight filling the room and the pleasant view of the meticulously manicured palace gardens.

The roommates gathered around the wood-fueled furnace in the center of the common area of the room. Cool days were the norm for that time of the year, and nights would have been intolerably cold without the woolen blankets. The furnace was full of wood and warming the room on their arrival. Ashpenaz had explained they would no longer be keeping their furnace burning. Lower palace servants would be doing that chore.

“Brothers, we are in a very awkward situation, and I’m not sure how to react,” Daniel said. “Yahweh has placed us in a position of great potential for influencing a dark culture. Perhaps He has orchestrated this miraculous assignment to show Himself as the one true God. The problem will be maintaining our positions while being true to the laws of Yahweh.”

“Nebuchadnezzar expects us to just assimilate into his counsel of sorcerers and astrologers, who summon pagan gods and search the stars for answers,” Azariah said.

“He thinks we will bring our Hebrew Yahweh into the mix, while accepting their gods as equal to ours,” Mishael added. “We would be fools to be so unfaithful to Yahweh.”

“Speaking of unfaithfulness, what do we do with our names?” Hananiah asked. “We were all named by our parents according to the attributes of Yahweh. How can I now accept being called Aku? And Mishael, will Yahweh not bring further judgment on you for assuming the name that glorifies the moon god? Azariah, will you honor Yahweh by being named after the god of learning and writing? How do you feel, Daniel, about exchanging your Hebrew name, which means ‘God is my Judge,’ for one which means you are relying on the main god of the Babylonians for protection?”

“I have not been so afraid since the day we learned we were captives on our way to this place,” Azariah confessed. “What is going to happen when the king learns we will not meet his expectations?”

“You each speak with a heavy heart like mine,” Daniel said. “This is the most difficult test we have faced since leaving our families. We must give Yahweh time to speak to us. We must constantly pray for wisdom from Him.”

As the sun set on their first day as members of the king’s council of advisors, the four were shown to their new dinner table, where they first saw the other advisors. Daniel could think of nothing they had experienced over the past three years that made him feel as misplaced as this setting. He counted forty-four others, all appearing older than he, wearing white robes with brown hooded capes over their shoulders and hanging to their waist. Six of them were women. All eyes were on him and his three friends.

One of the older advisors approached the newcomers’ table and placed his hand sequentially on each of their heads as a greeting. “Welcome to our clan,” he said. “I am Bulludhu, the chief of the magicians. We are honored the king has added you to this family. I will be in charge of your accommodations and duties.”

Bulludhu then turned to face the group. “Brothers and sisters, allow me to present to you the new members we have been anticipating. We welcome Belteshazzar, Abednego, Meshach, and Shadrach. As you know, they are Hebrews from the land of Judah, and we will want to learn much about their God and their special knowledge and gifts. Now, let us enjoy our meals.”

Daniel was surprised that the food served to their table was according to Hebrew law. That preference had obviously followed them through the palace kitchen channels. He wondered whether the other exiles were getting the same treatment at their assigned locations. He looked around the room, studying the group hoping for clues as to their personalities and how he and his friends could relate to them. There was focused discussion at each table, occasionally interrupted by laughter.

When the four returned to their room, each one had a white robe and brown hooded cape lying on his bed. A new pair of sandals was at the foot of each bed.

“I suppose this is the last official acknowledgement of our positions,” Daniel said. “We now have our personal advisor uniform.” He forced a chuckle. “I recommend we pray ourselves to sleep pleading for Yahweh to show us the way we need to react to all that has happened today.”

The next day, Bulludhu escorted the four new additions on a tour of the advisors’ section of the palace. Their new advisor attire felt awkward but also comforted them in allowing them to be less conspicuous. Bulludhu introduced them to each one of their colleagues individually. Some were in their work rooms reading; some were in corners of the rooms drawing or calculating with charcoal and slate; others were in the common area seated on the floor in small groups. Daniel was impressed at the intensity with which they all were conducting their duties.

A few were working on specific assignments from the king. Several were working on long-range projects to validate theories and policies for the kingdom. Some were simply studying stars and planets, comparing historical records of celestial positions with major historical events. These astrologers explained how relationships between heavenly bodies and past events could predict future events.

At their second evening meal, Bulludhu joined them at their table. “What are your thoughts after today?”

Daniel’s three friends always deferred to him to speak first. “I was rather overwhelmed. I’m not sure what we can contribute to the wisdom and experience of the others.”

“Oh, but you will,” Bulludhu replied. “You were chosen from the brightest Jerusalem had to offer. Besides that, we are familiar with your God’s miraculous feats performed among your people. But our gods would be very angry if we tried to use the powers of your God for our good. We need you to be the channel through which your God will conduct His mighty deeds for our favor.”

That expectation made Daniel nauseous. Yahweh must be laughing at you right now. “We hope to not disappoint you,” he replied.

“The four of you will bring a welcomed freshness to our work. I plan to separate you, allowing each one to contribute to one of the various functional cohorts. Each of the four cohorts will now consist of twelve advisors. Belteshazzar, you will be in the cohort led by Arua. They are studying the art of dream interpretation. Meshach, I am assigning you to the astrologers under our chief astrologer, Nin-girsu. Abednego will study the spells and incantations from the ancient Sumerians with the cohort of Khu-hea. And, Shadrach, you will learn the magician craft with our chief of magicians, Amilanu.” Bulludhu then walked each of the four to his assigned group and gave initial instruction regarding their assimilation.

After spending the next day learning the purposes, processes, and procedures of the groups, Daniel and his friends returned to their quarters. Daniel had not been able to eat much of anything from the dinner table due to his nervousness and pressures from the day of spiritual darkness. He felt the need to say something to his roommates that would bring some sense and clarity to the outlandish experience. However, his own conflicted soul left him with no ability to reconcile their dilemma.

Hananiah broke the silence. “I cannot do this! I am supposed to learn to perform miracles through magic by calling on the gods of Babylon. Amilanu said that every day, we would read about and discuss the crafts of Sumerian magicians of old and practice them, striving for perfection. We will be in demand by the king when the supernatural is needed. We in this room know for certain the only legitimate miracles are those of Yahweh. He is our Master. How can we serve many masters?”

“We can’t serve many masters,” Mishael said. “And being faithful to Yahweh in our present situation will get us reassigned to low-level servitude or death. I think I would prefer either to what I am facing now. Watching the stars to predict the future is not my calling. It is an offense to Yahweh.”

“I slept very little last night as I appealed to Yahweh to reveal His will and purpose for us in this pagan land,” said Daniel. “I didn’t receive an answer. Throughout this day, I felt I was abandoned by Him. But I am just now sensing clarity as to what Yahweh desires of us. Keep in mind, we did not choose to be here. It was chosen for us. We may be the victims of the sins of our people and the first action of Yahweh’s judgment, but we did not reject Him. Therefore, if we remain faithful to Him, He will remain faithful to us.”

“But for us to remain faithful to Him means opposing the Babylonians and their gods,” said Azariah. “That would mean slavery or the grave.”

“Not necessarily, although we must be ready to accept those consequences if that is our destiny,” Daniel continued. “But I believe Yahweh has us here for a purpose—perhaps to shine His light on this dark culture. A few with the power of Yahweh can make a difference in the many with manmade gods. He will show us how to survive, maybe even thrive, taking our place among these heathens while being unshakable in our commitment to Him.”

“But we would be disagreeing with everything the other advisors profess,” Mishael said.

“So be it,” Daniel replied. “As long as we show respect, we would only be carrying out our instructions from Bulludhu to add our Hebrew God to their sources of wisdom. When they speak of their gods in the stars, tell them we believe our God made the stars. When they try to craft miracles from magic, let them know that we believe only Yahweh can perform miracles. As my colleagues study dream interpretations, I will pray that Yahweh shows me how to interpret dreams better than they can.”

This discussion continued into the early hours of the morning, ending with a unanimous conclusion that they would trust God to keep them in their assigned positions while they maintained their faith and loyalty to Him.

*

After three months of intense study and experimentation in the realm of dream interpretation, Daniel’s cohort had made little progress. Numerous times, members had described their personal dreams for the others to interpret. As they would call on their various gods for insight, Daniel would pray to Yahweh for the meaning. Receiving nothing from Yahweh, he would not contribute anything to the effort. The few successes of the others were deemed invalid as being nothing more than random chance.

One morning when Daniel’s cohort gathered for their day of study, they were surprised to find Bulludhu sitting on a cushion in their meeting area.

“Pardon my intrusion, gentlemen, but I wanted to meet with you first thing this morning,” he said. “I want to tell you about a strange dream I had last night before it departs from my memory.”

Daniel could see from the body language of the others that they were as perplexed as he about this unexpected request. He assumed their chief wanted to examine their progress with his own personal dream to be interpreted. They all arranged cushions for seating, encircling Bulludhu, who began revealing his dream.

“Deep into the night, I saw four brown cows in a field, and one of them was far more beautiful than the others. The beautiful cow stood amid tall, luscious, green grass, but the other cows were eating from shorter grass of a lighter green. Then there appeared out of the wilderness a young, white calf, which joined the beautiful brown cow in the tall, green grass. The calf immediately began to grow, and its coat became shiny like the snow on the mountain tops. In just moments, it became much larger than the beautiful brown cow, and all the brown cows turned to face the white cow as if to honor it. At that time, I awoke and wondered what this dream could mean.”

Daniel and the others realized immediately what Bulludhu was expecting.

“You have given us a challenging test,” Arua responded to Bulludhu. “Allow us to delve deeply into your dream today and tonight. We will have you an interpretation tomorrow morning.”

“Very well. I will be here anxiously awaiting your revelation,” Bulludhu responded as he walked away.

For the rest of the day, the cohort worked feverishly to determine the interpretation of the dream. Daniel was amused by the bizarre initial methods of the others. “Please excuse me. I believe some time alone with my God would be my most valuable contribution to this matter. I will return shortly.”

A nearby stairway led to a section of the palace’s flat roof. Daniel soaked in the warm afternoon sun and the light breeze at this highest accessible level of the building. From there, he could see most of the city, which stretched almost to the horizon. The view of Babylon from that vantage point caused unexpected emotions to well up in his soul. For the first time in a long while, he felt the heaviness of being an exile in a strange land. Three years and many distractions had subdued thoughts of his family and homeland. Suddenly, the overwhelming magnitude of the city made him feel so misplaced and lonely.

Pacing slowly around the perimeter of the roof while scanning the cityscape, Daniel was reminded of another young man who had been taken from his family and thrust into a foreign land. Joseph, before his exile, had a dream about one of his sheaves of grain rising up over his eleven brothers’ sheaves. Then his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. In a later dream, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him.

I memorized this story from the writings of Moses, and I recall that Joseph eventually ruled over all of Egypt as the Pharaoh’s highest official. Thus, he ruled over his brothers, who migrated to Egypt.

Daniel ceased his walking and contemplated the story of Joseph further. He began to see similarities between Joseph’s dreams and Bulludhu’s dream. Daniel’s mind was clearly focused. He dropped to his knees and gazed upward.

“Thank you, Yahweh, for revealing Bulludhu’s dream to me.”

Just before dark, he joined his other colleagues. They welcomed him back, anxious to hear what he had learned from his God. But first, they wanted to tell him what they had determined.

“We were finally able to find a very interesting revelation,” Arua said. “The beautiful brown cow was Bulludhu. The white calf was the brown cow’s spiritual alter ego that will elevate his status and influence with the king. Bulludhu will become one with the spirit and increase greatly in wisdom and reputation in the king’s court.”

Daniel turned his head momentarily, afraid that his laughing inside would expose itself externally. Composing himself, he told them of his revelation, entrusting to God the expected hostile response.

“I was placed with you in order to add the wisdom of my God to the sources we call on for our counsel. I took the description of Bulludhu’s dream to Yahweh and prayed for a clear interpretation. I was surprised by His revelation, which is beyond my imagination. The large brown cow is Bulludhu. The other cows are all the wisemen who have long been subject to Bulludhu’s oversight. Bulludhu enjoys fame and honor in the court of the king made possible by the wise counsel of his subjects. Then, the wisemen were joined by one from a distant land and a different culture. That one will surpass the others in wisdom and influence and will rise above even Bulludhu in the king’s court.”

Daniel could see the tension building on the faces of everyone else.

“Shall I assume this one who will supposedly have authority over us is you, young Belteshazzar?” Arua snapped, wagging his head and raising his eyebrows. “Surely you don’t believe we will accept such an outlandish interpretation from your God. Bulludhu would be furious if he heard such a prediction. For your sake, he will hear only our interpretation. Otherwise, he would ask the king to banish you to the domestic servants’ quarters as unfit for any advisory cohort.”

Every element of Daniel’s soul screamed for strong rebuttal of their response. But he felt an overriding call for restraint. “Very well,” he said. “You have my interpretation representing Yahweh. Present what you wish.”

The next morning, the cohort gathered early at Arua’s direction to ensure that they didn’t find Bulludhu waiting for them again. Before they could fully rehearse how they would present the interpretation, Bulludhu appeared in the doorway.

“Welcome, Chief Bulludhu,” Arua said, motioning toward a fluffed cushion. “Please take a seat. We are pleased to have the interpretation of your dream. The stars, the gods, and the incense have all revealed the precise meaning of this complex vision from your sleep.”

After Arua explained their interpretation, Bulludhu rose from his cushion with excitement. “That makes perfect sense!” Bulludhu exclaimed. “The gods will show favor on me and increase my standing with the king as his trusted advisor. All advisors will also benefit from such confidence from the king in our craft. I will anticipate the spirits of the gods as they inhabit my soul. We are experiencing a miracle, Arua. You are all miracle workers.”

Since little was being accomplished in study or discussions due to celebration of the dream interpretation, Daniel departed early to have some time alone in his room. He needed to reset his mind and heart regarding his role and purpose. If I understood God’s interpretation of Bulludhu’s dream correctly, I am destined to rise above all the other advisors. How can that possibly be? He had difficulty focusing on his future because his mind kept drifting to the past. His soul ached for the familiar environs of home, his family, and the simple pleasures of Jerusalem. Oh, how he needed the embrace of his mother.

When his three friends joined him in their room that evening, Daniel told them of his experience. They were awestruck by what God had revealed to him on the rooftop.

“Surely, Yahweh has an incredible plan for your future in Babylon,” Hananiah said.

“We were not torn from our families and homeland just to serve a pagan king in a godless land,” Mishael added. “We are victims of the sins of Judah, but Yahweh is preparing us for something beyond our imagination.”

The thee friends gathered around Daniel, cupped his head in their hands, and prayed long prayers of intercession and blessing on him.