A Story of God and All of Us - By Roma Downey Page 0,77

land. And my judgment is this: from this day forth, the Jews will desist from their practices and rituals." He strides out of the chamber, leaving behind a stunned Daniel and a band of smirking and self-satisfied priests.

They gaze with smug happiness at Daniel, who is left feeling crushed and betrayed.

The prophecies of Isaiah have been proven false. Daniel's long-cherished dreams are in ruins--and not just his dreams but those of the entire Jewish population. For more than forty years God's chosen people in exile have clung to this thin strand of hope. Daniel's shoulders slump as he walks from the throne room, a broken man. He finds a spot in the corridor and presses his forehead against the cool stone walls, desperately trying to make sense of what has just happened. He

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responds to the setback the only way he knows how: "Oh, dear God. I've failed Israel. I've failed you. We're further from freedom now than ever before.

How could I not have seen this coming? Why didn't I say more?"

But prayer has been banned in the Persian ruler's kingdom. As Daniel prays in the corridor, the high priests walk past and eagerly take note. Breaking the king's command means an automatic sentence of death, and Daniel is clearly doing just that. The king will hear about this act of disobedience.

Daniel is arrested and thrown in the dungeon. The guards, who normally strut about completely fearlessly, seem skittish and to suffer from a lack of nerve as they quickly open the gate, push him inside, and quickly slam it shut. Their bravado returns only when Daniel is safely locked away. Unlike the chief priests, they do not gloat and instead turn away from Daniel with a look of sadness. They know him well, having observed him in the royal court for years and years. Daniel has never been known to speak angrily, talk down to those beneath him, or gossip. His poise under pressure is legendary. Daniel is humble and upbeat at all times. The guards never see such behavior from other members of the royal court, whose haughty manners and slippery words often make them feel like a lower form of life.

Locking Daniel in the dungeon is one of the hardest orders they've ever had to carry out.

Daniel is puzzled. It's just the dungeon. He can endure the solitude of prison.

Perhaps the king will change his mind about the death sentence. All things are possible with God. He turns from the door to examine his new home. The only light comes in through the slatted bars of the door. Daniel squints into the darkness. The cell is enormous. At the far end he can make out the sleeping figures of other prisoners. The men seem to be abnormally large, and as Daniel takes a step toward them, he notices that they have an unusual odor. The men are almost feral.

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Daniel steps cautiously closer, careful not to startle them. But he suddenly realizes these are not men. This is not a prison cell. A shot of adrenaline courses through his veins and his heart seizes in fear as the shapes make themselves known. A horrified Daniel realizes that he has been hurled into the lion's den. The new Persian king has not just condemned him to death; he is putting an end to all talk of the God of Abraham by having Daniel's body torn to shreds.

Daniel is about to become the example of what happens in the new ruler's kingdom when a man prays. He will be eaten alive. His flesh will be ripped from his bones, even as his screams for help echo through the corridors.

Children will be told of this day as a reminder that the Persian is the only king.

Daniel stands completely still as one of the lions stirs. It is a male, his face wreathed in a mane of unruly fur. The animal's body stretches at least eight feet long, and his massive paws are as big as Daniel's head. The lion sniffs the air. He rises and walks slowly toward Daniel, the thick pads of those magnificent paws not making a single sound on the stone floor. Then it roars. The sound is like death itself. Primal wiring in Daniel's brain urges him to turn and run. But he doesn't; that would be madness. A tear forms in the corner of Daniel's eye as the lion saunters toward him. Daniel falls to the ground and curls his body into a very small ball. The