And the n.o.bles who stood by could scarcely speak, so great was their surprise.

"It is true, O king," at last they said to Nebuchadnezzar, "that we cast these men into the flames, expecting them to be burned up; and we cannot understand how it happens that they have not been destroyed."

The king came near to the door of the furnace, as the fire became lower; and he called out to the three men within it:

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye who serve the Most High G.o.d, come out of the fire, and come to me."

They came out and stood before the king, in the sight of all the princes, and n.o.bles, and rulers; and every one could see that they were alive.

Their garments had not been scorched, nor their hair singed, nor was there even the smell of fire upon them.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar said before all his rulers:

"Blessed be the G.o.d of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent his angel, and has saved the lives of these men who trusted in him. _I_ make a law that no man in all my kingdoms shall say a word against their G.o.d, for there is no other G.o.d who can save in this manner those who worship him. And if any man speaks a word against their G.o.d, the Most High G.o.d, that man shall be cut in pieces, and his house shall be torn down."

After King Nebuchadnezzar died, his kingdom became weak, and the city of Babylon was taken by the Medes and Persians, under Cyrus, a great warrior.

THE STORY OF DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN

The lands which had been the Babylonian or Chaldean empire, now became the empire of Persia; and over these Darius was the king. King Darius gave to Daniel, who was now a very old man, a high place in honor and in power. Among all the rulers over the land, Daniel stood first, for the king saw that he was wise and able to rule. This made the other princes and rulers very jealous, and they tried to find something evil in Daniel, so that they could speak to the king against him.

These men saw that three times every day Daniel went to his room and opened the window that was toward the city of Jerusalem, and looking toward Jerusalem, made his prayer to G.o.d. Jerusalem was at that time in ruins, and the Temple was no longer standing; but Daniel prayed three times each day with his face toward the place where the house of G.o.d had once stood, although it was many hundreds of miles away.

These n.o.bles thought that in Daniel's prayers they could find a chance to do him harm, and perhaps cause him to be put to death. They came to King Darius, and said to him:

"All the rulers have agreed together to have a law made that for thirty days no one shall ask anything of any G.o.d or of any man, except from you, O king; and that if any one shall pray to any G.o.d, or shall ask anything from any man during the thirty days, except from you, O king, he shall be thrown into the den where the lions are kept. Now, O king, make the law, and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, for no law among the Medes and the Persians can be altered."

The king was not a wise man; and being foolish and vain, he was pleased with this law which would set him even above the G.o.ds. So without asking Daniel's advice, he signed the writing; and the law was made, and the word was sent out through the kingdom, that for thirty days no one should pray to any G.o.d.

Daniel knew that the law had been made, but every day he went to his room three times, and opened the window that looked toward Jerusalem, and offered his prayers to the Lord, just as he had prayed in other times. These rulers were watching near by, and they saw Daniel kneeling in prayer to G.o.d. Then they came to the king, and said:

"O King Darius, have you not made a law, that if any one in thirty days offers a prayer, he shall be thrown into the den of lions?"

"It is true," said the king. "The law has been made, and it must stand."

They said to the king: "There is one man who does not obey the law which you have made. It is that Daniel, one of the captive Jews. Every day Daniel prays to his G.o.d three times, just as he did before you signed the writing of the law."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Thrown into the den of lions_]

Then the king was very sorry for what he had done, for he loved Daniel, and knew that no one could take his place in the kingdom. All day, until the sun went down, he tried in vain to find some way to save Daniel's life; but when evening came, these men again told him of the law that he had made, and said to him that it must be kept. Very unwillingly the king sent for Daniel, and gave an order that he should be thrown into the den of lions. He said to Daniel: "Perhaps your G.o.d, whom you serve so faithfully, will save you from the lions."

They led Daniel to the mouth of the pit where the lions were kept, and they threw him in; and over the mouth they placed a stone; and the king sealed it with his own seal, and with the seals of his n.o.bles; so that no one might take away the stone and let Daniel out of the den.

Then the king went again to his palace; but that night he was so sad that he could not eat, nor did he listen to music as he was used to listen. He could not sleep, for all through the night he was thinking of Daniel. Very early in the morning he rose up from his bed and went in haste to the den of lions. He broke the seal and took away the stone, and in a voice full of sorrow he called out, scarcely hoping to have an answer:

"O Daniel, servant of the living G.o.d, has your G.o.d been able to save you from the lions?"

And out of the darkness in the den came the voice of Daniel, saying:

"O king, may you live forever! My G.o.d has sent his angel and has shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because my G.o.d saw that I had done no wrong. And I have done no wrong toward you, O king!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: DANIEL'S ANSWER TO THE KING--"Then said Daniel unto the King, O King, live forever. My G.o.d hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me."--(Daniel 6: 21-22.)]

Then the king was glad. He gave to his servants orders to take Daniel out of the den. Daniel was brought out safe and without harm, because he had trusted fully in the Lord G.o.d. Then by the king's command, they brought those men who had spoken against Daniel, and with them their wives and their children, for the king was exceedingly angry with them.

They were all thrown into the den, and the hungry lions leaped upon them, and tore them in pieces, so soon as they fell upon the floor of the den.

After this king Darius wrote to all the lands and the peoples in the many kingdoms under his rule:

"May peace be given to you all abundantly! I make a law that everywhere among my kingdoms men fear and worship the Lord G.o.d of Daniel; for he is the living G.o.d, above all other G.o.ds, who only can save men."

And Daniel stood beside king Darius until the end of his reign, and afterward while Cyrus the Persian was king over all the lands.

THE STORY OF THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR

At the time when the story of the New Testament begins, the land of Israel, called also the land of Judea, was ruled by a king named Herod.

He was the first of several Herods, who at different times ruled either the whole of the land, or parts of it. But Herod was not the highest ruler. Many years before this time, the Romans, who came from the city of Rome in Italy, had won all the lands around the Great Sea, the sea which we call the Mediterranean; and above king Herod of Judea was the great king of Rome, ruling over all the lands, and over the land of Judea among them. So Herod, though king of Judea, obeyed his overlord, the emperor at Rome. At the time when this story begins, the emperor at Rome was named Augustus Caesar.

At this time, the land where the Jews lived was full of people.

Jerusalem was its largest city, and in Jerusalem was standing the Temple of the Lord, which king Herod had lately built anew, taking the place of the old Temple built very many years before, which had long needed repair. There were also many other large cities besides Jerusalem. In the south was Hebron among the mountains; on the sh.o.r.e of the Great Sea were Gaza, and Joppa, and Caesarea; in the middle of the land were Shechem and Samaria; and in the north were Nazareth, and Cana; down by the sh.o.r.e of the Sea of Galilee were Tiberias, and Capernaum, and Bethsaida. Far up in the north, at the foot of snowy Mount Hermon, was another Caesarea; but so that it might not be confused with Caesarea upon the seacoast this city was called Caesarea-Philippi, or "Philip's Caesarea," from the name of one of Herod's sons.

One day, an old priest named Zacharias was leading the service of worship in the Temple. He was standing in front of the golden altar of incense, in the Holy Place, and was holding in his hand a censer, or cup, full of burning coals and incense; while all the people were worshipping in the court of the Temple, outside the court of the Priests, where the great altar of burnt-offering stood.

Suddenly, Zacharias saw an angel from the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. He felt a great fear when he saw this strange being with shining face; but the angel said to him:

[Ill.u.s.tration: _"Do not be afraid, Zacharias"_]

"Do not be afraid, Zacharias; for I have come from the Lord to bring good news. Your wife Elizabeth shall have a son, and you shall name him John. You shall be made glad, for your son John shall bring joy and gladness to many. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord; and he shall never taste wine nor strong drink as long as he lives; but he shall be filled with G.o.d's Holy Spirit. He shall lead many of the people of Israel to the Lord, for he shall go before the Lord in the power of Elijah the prophet, as was promised by Malachi, the last of the old prophets. He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and those who are disobeying the Lord to do his will."

As Zacharias heard these words, he was filled with wonder, and could hardly believe them true. He was now an old man, and his wife Elizabeth was also old; so that they could not expect to have a child. He said to the angel:

"How shall I know that your words are true, for I am an old man, and my wife is old?"

"I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of G.o.d," said the angel. "And I was sent from the Lord to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. But because you did not believe my words, you shall become dumb, and shall not be able to speak, until this which I have said comes to pa.s.s."

All this time the people outside in the court were wondering why the priest stayed so long in the Temple. When at last he came out, they found that he could not speak a word; but he made signs to them, to tell them that he had seen a vision in the Temple.

After the days of his service were over, Zacharias went to his own home, which was near Hebron, a city of the priests, among the mountains in the south of Judea. When his wife Elizabeth found that G.o.d was soon to give her a child, she was very happy, and praised the Lord.

About six months after Zacharias saw the vision in the Temple, the same angel Gabriel was sent from the Lord to a city in the part of the land called Galilee, which was in the north. The city to which the angel was sent was Nazareth. There the angel found a young girl named Mary, who was a cousin to Elizabeth. Mary was soon to be married to a good man who had sprung from the line of king David, though he was not himself a king, nor a rich man. He was a carpenter, living in Nazareth, and his name was Joseph. The angel came into the room where Mary was, and said to her: "Hail, woman favored by the Lord; the Lord is with you!"

Mary was surprised at the angel's words, and wondered what they could mean. Then the angel spoke again, and said: "Do not be afraid, Mary. The Lord has given to you his favor, and has chosen you to be the mother of a son whose name shall be Jesus, which means 'salvation,' because he shall save his people from their sins. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of G.o.d; and the Lord shall give to him the throne of his father David. He shall be a king, and shall reign over the people of G.o.d forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."

But Mary could not see how all this was to come to pa.s.s. And the angel said to her: