Of Fire and Lions
Page 1
Praise for
Of Fire and Lions
“Of Fire and Lions is a breathtaking and intricately told story of life and love in Babylonian captivity. Mesu Andrews’s well-researched tale brings to life Daniel and his wife, showing in vivid detail the challenges their love experienced in a pagan and hostile environment. Andrews gives readers a fascinating inside look at familiar biblical accounts (like the three men in the fiery furnace), all the while developing a beautiful and timeless love story.”
—JODY HEDLUND, author of Luther and Katharina, Christy Award winner
“Mesu’s stories are immersive in the best sense of the word. Tackling Daniel? Not easy. But she succeeds with a captivating story line and gives penetrating truths that will go deep into your mind and heart.”
—JAMES L. RUBART, best-selling author of The Man He Never Was
“Mesu Andrews is a master at writing biblical fiction! In Of Fire and Lions, she invites us on a seemingly familiar journey, and then—with a passion for truth and impeccable research—Mesu opens our eyes to an entirely new perspective that shatters familiarity and propels us right back to God’s Word. A compelling, brilliantly written novel, Of Fire and Lions is one of those rare stories that will stick with you for a lifetime.”
—MELANIE DOBSON, award-winning author of Catching the Wind and Hidden Among the Stars
“A masterpiece of imagination that flows from both biblical and historical records, Of Fire and Lions will challenge you, convict you, and entertain you all at the same time!”
—ANNE MATEER, author of No Small Storm and Time Will Tell
“Once again, skilled storyteller Mesu Andrews has accomplished what so many of us wish to do—peek into the lives of cherished and sometimes mysterious Bible characters, walk with them, hear the words behind their groans, and feel the change in temperature as the shadow of the Almighty falls over them. A beautiful and important novel.”
—CYNTHIA RUCHTI, award-winning author of more than a dozen books, including Miles from Where We Started
“Mesu’s vivid prose transports you into the biblical world so vividly that the characters and setting become as real as any people or places you’ve experienced. Old Testament stories come alive with political intrigue, whirlwinds of thwarted romance, and life-changing risks and decisions. Immerse yourself in Of Fire and Lions, and it will change how you read the book of Daniel forever.”
—KATHY IDE, author, editor, and writers’ conference director
BOOKS BY MESU ANDREWS
Isaiah’s Daughter
Miriam
The Pharaoh’s Daughter
In the Shadow of Jezebel
Love in a Broken Vessel
Love’s Sacred Song
Love Amid the Ashes
OF FIRE AND LIONS
Scripture quotations and paraphrases are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
This book is a work of historical fiction based closely on real people and real events. Details that cannot be historically verified are purely products of the author’s imagination.
Trade Paperback ISBN 9780735291867
Ebook ISBN 9780735291874
Copyright © 2019 by Mesu Andrews
Cover design and photography by Kristopher K. Orr
Interior map created by Stanford Campbell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published in the United States by WaterBrook, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
WATERBROOK® and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Andrews, Mesu, 1963– author.
Title: Of fire and lions : a novel / Mesu Andrews.
Description: First edition. | Colorado Springs : Waterbrook, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018029026 | ISBN 9780735291867 (pbk.) | ISBN 9780735291874 (electronic)
Subjects: | GSAFD: Bible fiction. | Christian fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3601.N55274 O35 2019 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018029026
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CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Character List
Part 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Part 2
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Part 3
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Readers Guide
To our twins, Rory and Asher.
You were a gift to our family during the writing of this book.
CHARACTER LIST
Abednego (see also Azariah) Twin of Meshach (Mishael); one of three brothers, Daniel’s friends, taken from Jerusalem in first exile to Babylon
Abigail Hebrew handmaid taken from Jerusalem in first exile to Babylon; Daniel’s maid
Allamu Belili’s son with Gadi
Amyitis Nebuchadnezzar’s wife; queen of Babylon; daughter of King Astyages, king of the Medes
Arioch Commander of the king’s guard; King Nebuchadnezzar’s personal bodyguard
Ashpenaz Chief eunuch; overseer of palace
Azariah (see also Abednego) Abednego’s Hebrew name
Belili Gadi’s wife; Daniel’s wife
King Belshazzar Last king of Babylon; grandson of Nebuchadnezzar
Belteshazzar (see also Daniel) Daniel’s Babylonian name
King Cyrus King of Persia; nephew of Amyitis, Nebuchadnezzar’s wife; grandson of Astyages, king of the Medes
Daniel (see also Belteshazzar)
Hebrew boy taken from Jerusalem in first exile to Babylon; becomes governor of the Chaldeans (chief wise man) during King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign
King Darius (see also General Gubaru) A Mede; sentences Daniel to lions’ pit
Gadi Belili’s first husband; chief magus; Allamu’s father
General Gubaru (see also King Darius) A Mede; leads army that conquers Babylon in one night
Gula chambermaid for twins Meshach and Abednego
Hananiah (see also Shadrach) Shadrach’s Hebrew name
King Jehoiachin King of Judah; taken into captivity in Babylon during second exile; son of King Jehoiakim
King Jehoiakim King of Judah 608–598 BC; king during the first exile
Kezia Eldest daughter of Daniel and Belili; Sheshbazzar’s wife
Laqip Chief astrologer
Mert Shadrach’s Egyptian chambermaid; becomes Daniel’s family servant
Meshach (see also Mishael) Twin of Abednego (Azariah); one of three brothers, Daniel’s friends, taken from Jerusalem in first exile to Babylon
Mishael (see also Meshach) Meshach’s Hebrew name
Nabonidus King Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law; king of Babylon 556–553 BC and then co-reigns (from undisclosed location) with his son, King Belshazzar, until Medes invade in 539 BC
King Nabopolassar Nebuchadnezzar’s father; died 605 BC
King Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon 605–562 BC (approximately)
Orchamus One of the three overseers in King Darius’s kingdom; responsible for satraps in Phoenicia
Princess Rubati Classmate of Daniel
Shadrach Eldest of the three Hebrew brothers, Daniel’s friends, taken from Jerusalem in first exile to Babylon
Sheshbazzar Kezia’s husband; Daniel’s son-in-law; chief scribe at the Esagila, temple of Marduk
Zakiti Baker’s daughter
King Zedekiah Last king of Judah before Babylon destroyed it; taken captive during the third exile; Daniel’s uncle
Zerubbabel General Gubaru/King Darius’s personal bodyguard; grandson of King Jehoiachin (Daniel’s cousin)
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
—2 KINGS 20:16–18
1
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles….He gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar…had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them….As they drank the wine,…the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall.
—DANIEL 5:1–2, 4–5
Babylon
October 539 BC
I’d never seen a sesame seed grow until I came to Babylon almost seventy years ago. At harvest time my husband, Daniel, looks to the tiny seed as cause for great celebration. How inconsequential is a miniscule seed? How incomprehensible its yield? How unbearable the process of growth? A seed is buried. It dies. Then sprouts. And grows. It blossoms. Dries and dies again to be plucked up and used for the purpose of its planting. My husband’s purpose in celebration was to mark the passing of years toward prophecy’s fulfillment—now just futile poetry. But it caused me to remember things I’d rather forget.
It was a day I dreaded all year long.
I picked up my polished-bronze mirror and tucked a stray tendril of gray curls beneath my new linen head scarf, noting in the reflection his fidgeting behind me. He always had trouble tying a jeweled belt, but his fingers seemed more trembly this morning. Was he nervous too?
I set aside my mirror and crossed the bedchamber, nudging his hands aside. “Let me do it.” Though both his hands and mine were spotted with age and lined with bulging blue veins, at least mine were still nimble.
He cradled my head and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Thank you, love. What would I do without you?”
I finished the knot and gazed into his rheumy eyes, as smitten as I’d been sixty-six years ago. “Let’s hope you never find out.” I laced my arm through his. “Let’s go downstairs. The children are waiting.”
He opened our chamber door, and lively family sounds floated up from the courtyard below. We descended the stairs slowly since Daniel’s feet pained him. Waiting in our lush green courtyard were three generations of our descendants seated around four long rectangular tables. Four daughters with their husbands. Twenty-one grandchildren. And thirty-two greats.
Two conscientious grandsons met their saba Daniel at the bottom of the steps, one supporting each elbow. I was left to follow—alone. The snubbing had begun.
“I’m fine,” he protested. “Tend to your savta.”
“But Ima said your feet have been paining you, Saba.” Our oldest daughter’s firstborn offered an obligatory nod at me. “Shalom, Savta.”
I returned the nod with a half smile but remained silent, refusing to mock the peace such a greeting offered. One glance at our oldest daughter, Kezia, assured me there would be no shalom today. She stole sullen glimpses at me while standing beside her husband, Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah’s exiles in Babylon. Our other three daughters stood arm in arm with their husbands, eyes trained on the abba they all adored.
“Abba and Ima!” Sheshbazzar, whom we lovingly called Shesh, shouted over the dull roar of chattering children and our fountain’s happy splashing. “Take your place at the head of the table.” He’d already arranged two brightly colored cushions at the end nearest the stairs and rushed over to support Daniel’s arm while he lowered himself. I mouthed a silent thank-you and sat quietly beside my husband.
Shesh took his place at Daniel’s right. Kezia sat beside her husband with several of her children and grandchildren filling spaces at the large table around us. She avoided my gaze.
“You look lovely today, Kezia.” I spoke across Daniel. “Is that a new robe, dear?”
Her eyes sparked. “Are you implying I spend too much money at the market, Ima?”
“No, dear. I…” Nothing I said to Kezia would be safe. “You are beautiful, Daughter. That’s all.”
Her cheeks pinked, and she looked quickly away, beginning a conversation with one of her daughters about the toddler on her lap. A great-grandson I’d met only a few times. Kezia’s eyes crinkled with a smile that lit her features. She was a good ima, at her best when her children surrounded her. Had she learned anything from me—before her hatred sprouted and grew?
The servants began a triumphant march with pitchers of juice and wine and platters laden with various meats, fruits, and vegetables. This was a day our dear Egyptian servant, Mert, anticipated all year long, a day when her best recipes from both Babylon and Jerusalem found their way to our table.
My husband hoisted his silver chalice in the air, repeating his annual vow. “If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.” Adults lifted goblets of wine and children their cups of juice. Our children had seen Jerusalem only in their minds through the stories Daniel told of his childhood in the palace. The rugged beauty of Zion. The grandeur of Yahweh’s Temple.
With our first sip came the rattle of the courtyard gate, and I caught the glint of morning sun off a soldier’s shield. Ten of King Belshazzar’s guards charged into our celebration.
One, wearing a captain’s gold breastplate, marched straight toward my husband. “King Belshazzar commands the presence of Daniel, exile of Judah, chief of King Nebuchadnezzar’s counselors.”
“I am Daniel.” He stoo
d, and the captain gripped his arm and fairly dragged him toward the gate.
“Wait!” I lunged for my husband, but the other soldiers blocked my way.
My Daniel looked over his shoulder, offering a weak smile. “I’ll be back, love. Save some roast lamb for me.”
Panic clawed at my throat while ten strong soldiers led away the beating of my heart. I turned to the fruit of my womb, who moments ago had shunned me. Now everyone stared at me, pleading silently for direction. Angst filled my belly. Who needed food when my Daniel had been taken to the banquet of a madman? “I’m going upstairs to pray. No one eats a bite until Daniel returns.”
* * *
The captain’s fingers bit into Daniel’s arm, pulling him into the narrow street. Daniel tried to hurry his pace, but his feet were too tender. Perhaps conversation would slow the man down. “I haven’t visited the palace since Nebuchadnezzar released me from service twenty-four years ago. Did King Belshazzar mention his reason for summoning me?”
The only sound came from rippling water in the canal alongside the street. Silence was typical of a loyal eunuch. The captain’s wide gold collar proclaimed his vow to serve the king unto death and the king’s reciprocal commitment to lifelong provision.
Daniel stumbled, landing hard on his right foot. He braced his hands against his knees, wincing in pain.