22

MISSING KING

570 B.C.

The sun had yielded its light to the first stars as Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael sat on the ground in front of the lime kiln to pray and celebrate. The only evidence of the brick baking fire that had raged all day in the kiln was a few glowing embers made brighter by the ensuing darkness.

“What a solemn and joyful time as we look back fifteen years ago today,” Daniel said. “Yahweh not only saved the lives of my closest friends but also freed our people to openly worship Him.”

“That miracle also turned many Babylonians from idols to Him and ultimately allowed them to live out that new belief without risk of death,” Hananiah said.

“Looking at that kiln takes my breath away, even after all these years, as I relive walking into the fire,” Mishael said. “Believing in miracles cannot match being a part of one.”

“We have so much to be thankful to Yahweh for,” Daniel said. “We have been allowed to live to see a long period of peace in Babylon, to lead the building of the most beautiful city in the world, and to see our Hebrew people prosper even while in captivity. Freed from the influence of Bulludhu, most of the magi advisors are now following my leadership and depending on Yahweh for their counsel. Many of them are studying the Torah and the Prophets. Oh, yes, and all three of you ugly men have beautiful wives and teenage children, who have somehow managed to put up with you.”

At that last statement, Daniel found himself wrestled to the ground by the other three, who playfully mussed his hair. They all laughed long and hard, then joined hands and prayed until well into the evening.

For the past few years, Daniel’s contact with King Nebuchadnezzar had been progressively less frequent. The king had been away for many months on a sweeping army campaign through Ammon and Moab. Now, two years after his conquests, several days would often pass with the king never leaving his chamber. Daniel was assuming more responsibility for governing the kingdom by default.

Daniel had just gotten in bed one night when he heard his door open. Grabbing his sword lying next to the bed, he sat up instantly.

“It’s me, Belteshazzar,” Amytis’ quiet voice announced.

Daniel rose, wrapped himself in his blanket, and lighted the lamp. Amytis, dressed in her sleepwear, ran to Daniel quickly and embraced him.

“It’s all right,” she said. “The children are asleep, and he has been asleep for an hour. He would not miss me if he awoke as we haven’t slept in the same bed for almost a year. He moves and groans in his sleep so much that I can’t sleep with him.”

“Why are you telling me this, and why are you here?”

“He is not well. He often says things that make no sense and can’t remember important things. He sleeps most of the day.”

“Then we need to get him medical attention.”

“I’ve tried. He won’t hear of it. I wanted to tell you much sooner, but he threatened my life if I told anyone. He thinks it would make people question his ability to rule.”

“You needed to tell me. I must think about how to approach him and urge him to see the palace physician.”

“All in good time, Belteshazzar. But tonight, I just need to be held. I have been so lonely. I am sixty years old with an ill husband who has lost his desire for me.”

“Amytis, we can’t. We have been through this before. I will never betray my king. More importantly, I will not disobey the law of Yahweh. You are still a beautiful woman, and everything within me wants you; but you must go back to your husband now.”

“Don’t deny me, Belteshazzar. I am the queen of Babylon. I can make you regret rejecting me.”

“You must go.” Daniel clinched her arms, turned her around, and gently pushed her to the door, closing it behind her, then bracing the door with his shoulder. He could hear her sobbing. He broke out in a cold sweat.

The next morning, Ashpenaz interrupted Daniel’s breakfast with a message to meet the king in his chamber.

“Not the outer chamber?” Daniel inquired.

“No, the king’s chamber.”

Amytis answered Daniel’s knock. With stoic expression, she motioned for him to enter. The king sat in the corner of the room still in his undergarment. His face was ashen.

“Ah, Belteshazzar, excuse my informality. I have not been well and not very motivated to assume my normal activities for the last few days.”

“The last few weeks,” Amytis whispered.

The king was not making eye contact but was focused on the wall. “I have not slept well but have had a vision, maybe a dream, that keeps repeating every night. I have called on your magicians to determine its meaning, but none of their explanations were believable. Since your interpretation of the strange statue as a young man, you have never failed to enlighten me concerning my dreams, Belteshazzar. Your God always gives you the meaning.”

“I am honored, my lord. If it pleases the king, describe your dream.”

The king closed his eyes and began. “There was a tree that grew large and strong, reaching to the sky. All the earth could see it. It had beautiful leaves, and its fruit was plentiful enough to feed everyone. Even all the animals were fed from it as they enjoyed its shade and nested in its branches.

The king paused momentarily and seemed troubled. “Then a heavenly being descended and shouted, ‘Chop down the tree, remove its branches and leaves, and scatter its fruit! Drive the animals away from it! Leave the stump and roots with a brass and iron fence around them. Let him be soaked with dew and eat grass like the animals. Let him have the mind of an animal and remain in this condition for seven periods of time.’ This was decreed by the heavenly being speaking for the Holy One, so that everyone will know that the Most High rules over mankind through whomever He wishes, even the lowest of men.”

Opening his eyes, the king said, “This is my dream, Belteshazzar, which none of my wise men could interpret. But I know you are able because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

“Your Highness, even while you were speaking, the one true God began revealing to me the meaning of your dream, and it alarms me greatly.”

“Belteshazzar, do not let my dream or its interpretation alarm you.”

“But, my lord, I only wish the dream and its interpretation applied to your enemies!”

Daniel swallowed hard and continued. “The tree in your dream represents you, O king. You have become great and strong, and your authority has reached to the sky. Your kingdom has spread to the ends of the earth.

“The Most High has decreed that you will be driven from your palace to a wilderness, where you will eat grass with the animals and be soaked with dew. You will remain in this condition for seven periods of time until you recognize the Most High rules over all mankind through whomever He wishes, even the lowest of men. Therefore, O king, be pleased with my advice. Repent of your sins and do good by showing mercy to the poor, and perhaps the Most High might extend your reign and your good fortune.”

Daniel had watched the king’s countenance fall as his interpretation progressed. His expression turned to anger.

“Your one true God is no more capable than the gods of your magicians, Belteshazzar. My mind has weakened with my illness, but I am not insane. Depart from me! I will hear no more of your rubbish!”

Daniel hesitated, then bowed and walked out of the room, followed by Amytis. She closed the door behind her and hugged him tightly.

“I’m afraid.”

“Be sorry for what Yahweh will take him through, but do not be afraid for your safety. Remember, the dream assured that he will regain his kingdom in the end.”

“Amel-Marduk is not prepared to rule Babylon,” she said.

“Your husband will be king as long as he lives. If he is not capable for a time, I can govern in his stead, but I will be loyal to him as my king—and you will be his wife, the queen.”

*

ONE YEAR LATER

King Nebuchadnezzar had shown no change in character or genuine acceptance of the one true God since the foreboding interpretation of his dream. To the contrary, his degenerating health seemed to bring on more frequent fits of rage against anyone who disagreed with him. His punishment meted out to wrongdoers had become progressively crueler.

Daniel was midway through a morning meeting when the door swung open.

“Where is the king?” Amytis yelled.

Everyone stood, and Daniel quickly stepped around the table to her side. “I haven’t seen him this morning.”

Her voice quivered. “He wasn’t in his bed this morning. I’ve looked everywhere in the palace.”

“I’m sure he is close by. He may be out for a walk or taking a carriage tour of the gardens.”

“Belteshazzar!” she scolded. “His guards and his carriage driver have not seen him either. None of his clothes are missing.”

“Gentlemen, we’re adjourned,” Daniel said as he took Amytis’ arm and walked her out the door.

“He acted very strange last night,” Amytis said. “I was awakened by his shouting from his room. He was rambling about his building of Babylon for his glory and by his own power. I followed him into the outer chamber and watched him climb up the stairway to the rooftop. I waited a few moments, then went back to bed. I’m afraid he wandered away from the palace during the night.”

“It doesn’t seem that he could have gotten past the guards and the watchmen, but in the dark and as he was dressed, they may have thought he was a commoner.”

“I should have been more sensitive to his condition and moved back into his room.”

“I’ll organize some of our soldiers and search the city and out into the country if necessary.”

About an hour later, as Daniel watched part of the military search team depart through the gate, he was approached by Mishael.

“Daniel, the king’s mind has left him, and he is out there in the wilderness somewhere, just as Yahweh revealed through your interpretation last year.”

“I believe you are right. If so, no amount of search efforts will succeed until Yahweh is ready for him to be found.”

Before Daniel’s breakfast was delivered the next morning, Amytis entered his chamber.

“Did the soldiers find anything, any clue as to the king’s whereabouts?”

“Nothing. Every search team leader checked in with my administrators. They are certain he is not in the city. Most of the countryside within a day’s walk has been covered, but there is no evidence of where he might have gone.”

“We must get them out again early. Have them look farther out. Maybe he has been taken prisoner. Check the outlying villages.”

Daniel clasped her hands gently. “In any other situation, I would agree, but further searches would be futile in this case. Plus, it is a security risk to have so much of our army scattered outside the city.”

“Other situation? This case? What are you saying?”

“The dream that Yahweh placed in the head of the king a year ago was His plan for him. I believe my interpretation revealed the will of Yahweh, and nothing will interrupt that plan. I am relieved that the dream included the king’s return to the throne and his rule after a period of time.”

“I’m sure you’re not surprised that I don’t believe that. It is very convenient for you to give meaning to a dream that eliminates the king and leaves you in a position to rule the kingdom unrestrained. Maybe you arranged for his disappearance.”

Daniel’s grasp of her hands tightened.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Your son would become ruler if something happened to the king, not I.”

“Amel-Marduk is only seventeen. He would become king, but you would make decisions for him. He would be just a figurehead—someone to seal your proclamations. Don’t forget who would still be queen.”

“Amytis, do you really think I would be so disloyal to your family?”

“I don’t know what to think!” Amytis ran out the door crying and disappeared down the hallway.

The next afternoon, Daniel was meeting in the outer chamber with his administrators and the chief architects.

“I am pleased with the progress of the many new construction projects throughout the city. The lion images on the gates and public buildings have set a high standard for the world’s craftsmen. The chief of commerce reports that trade with other nations has doubled in the last ten years. They credit not only our agriculture and fabrication markets, but people are also drawn to Babylon for the gardens, the buildings, and the fine artisan works. In the king’s absence, let us not relax our pursuit of the world’s finest of everything. May he see great progress on his return.”

Everyone’s attention to Daniel’s comments was suddenly interrupted by the entrance of Amytis and Amel-Marduk. He was in full regalia, including his father’s turban. Daniel and his leaders stood.

“Your Highness, what does this mean?”

“We do not know the whereabouts of my husband or even whether he is alive. If, by a miracle, he returns, he will not be fit to be king. We need to have a coronation for my son.”

“Gentlemen, please excuse us,” Daniel said, and the meeting attendees left the room, looking back over their shoulders.

“Amytis, what are you doing? I have every confidence the king will return in due time and will be completely restored, as his dream predicted. In the meantime, the kingdom will run as normal—”

“In the meantime,” Amytis interrupted, “you see yourself as king. Never! Not while I am queen and my son is heir to the throne. You have no bloodline authority to rule Babylon. You are not even a Babylonian. You are a Hebrew slave. I don’t know what the king even saw in you.”

“How quickly you have changed—from admiring me to despising me.”

“Perhaps it was not a wise choice for you to have rejected me at several inviting opportunities. Maybe you could have been king. And I could have been your queen.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened as he looked away.

“You poor, Hebrew fool,” she continued. “You came to Babylon as a boy with nothing, and the king gave you riches and power. Now, you are fifty; you govern the kingdom; you are known worldwide; but you still lack one thing. You are still not the king. I can give you that one thing you lack, Belteshazzar. Marry me, and we will rule Babylon.”

“Mother!” Amel-Marduk snapped.

“Think about it,” Amytis said. “Be my king, or be my young son’s administrator.”

The queen and her son returned to their chamber, and Daniel sat on the floor looking at the high, ornate ceiling. “Yahweh, what now?”

Daniel had not been able to fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. He was praying repeatedly that the dream’s seven periods of time away meant seven months and not seven years. He was awakened by a knock. He opened the door to Ashpenaz. Amel-Marduk stood behind him.

“The queen wants her son to begin spending each day with you. She wants him to learn how the palace is organized and who is responsible for what in the kingdom,” Ashpenaz said.

Daniel strained to keep from saying what he really wanted to say. “Certainly, I can show and explain the many things he will need to know someday when he succeeds his father on the throne. It will take months of confidence-building and testing to qualify him for ruling the kingdom. Of course, when his father returns, he will resume that responsibility.”

“Mother will be talking with you soon about arranging my coronation,” Amel-Marduk said.

For the next several weeks, Amel-Marduk met Daniel each morning and stayed by his side all day through meetings, inspections, hearing complaints from the city’s overseers, visiting army units, studying various reports, and appearing at major social events. They made numerous overnight trips to outlying cities. Daniel was training the young man to be king but, in his mind, not any time soon.

At least once a month, Daniel visited the Shamash Gate, where the Hebrew elders and community leaders met daily at noon to discuss their religion and social issues. This time, Amel-Marduk accompanied him. Daniel’s presence and contribution to the conversations were always welcome, but his guest was not well-received. Daniel had always arranged for King Jehoiachin to join the group under the watch of two Babylonian guards. He introduced Amel-Marduk to the king.

“I am indeed honored to meet you,” Amel-Marduk said. “I have grown up admiring the contributions you and your people make to the economy and aesthetics of our fine city. The Hebrews have assimilated well into our culture while maintaining their heritage. I have been concerned that your people are not being properly rewarded for their role in Babylon’s ascendance to greatness. As soon as I am crowned king, I will see that you are given your freedom and the other Hebrews are more properly cared for.”

Daniel was quite surprised by this statement. Some of the men within hearing distance motioned for others to come and witness what was being said.

“I, uh, really appreciate your kind recognition of our efforts and—and—willingness to treat us fairly,” Jehoiachin responded.

Amel-Marduk turned to face Daniel. “We need to visit the king’s prison room soon to see whether we might need to make his accommodations more suitable for the king of the Hebrews.”

Daniel nodded, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

Later that afternoon, as Daniel expected, word had gotten around the palace court that Amel-Marduk had shown respect for the exiles and honor for their captive king and that he intended to improve their treatment. Neriglissar, an army officer with aspirations to become emperor of the kingdom’s army, approached Daniel on the palace portico. His father had been a highly decorated general and had paved the way for his son’s ascension through the ranks. Nitocris’ husband, Nabonidus, was currently emperor of the imperial army.

“Sir, I’m sure you know that the people of Babylon are rather troubled about the prospects of Amel-Marduk becoming king,” Neriglissar said.

“Yes, I am aware anxiety is building, and I, too, am concerned. There are laws in place that initiate royal succession when a king dies or is incapable of ruling the kingdom. But a missing king is unprecedented, and there is no plan in place for that.”

“My opposition to his coronation will forever prevent me from attaining the position of emperor of the army if he becomes king and may cost me my life. But, sir, he will devastate our empire with his youthful, idealist whims. He is at a dangerous age to be king. He is too old to be subject to the tutelage of advisors and too young to think wisely on his own. His showing of favor to the Hebrews by significantly increasing their compensation for their labor would obliterate the treasury. And he is a borderline pacifist, more interested in the comforts of the people than the conquest of nations.”

“Neriglissar, Yahweh revealed to me, based on King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, that the king would disappear for a time, then reappear to rule again. I want you to begin sending small search teams out each day in anticipation of his reappearance. I believe the king will return soon. I will do everything I can to avoid the coronation of Amel-Marduk.”

“The survival of Babylonia hinges on that, Your Excellence.”