The Life and Times of Nebuchadnezzar

The Life and Times

Persecution. It’s happening in countries all over the world. In one country thousands of Christians have been sold as slaves. It happened to a little girl named Akuac from one of the southern tribes in her country. She was abducted by militiamen and taken north. Her master forced her to work long hours in a kitchen where she slept and survived on table scraps. He tried to make her follow his religious faith, giving her a different name and forcing her to follow his customs. But little Akuac wouldn’t give up her faith. She prayed and sang hymns in secret whenever she could. She clung to her Christian convictions for seven years until a Swiss charity group bought her back from slavery.

It’s happening in a country where many believers have been harassed and even tortured. One courageous pastor was jailed twenty-five times. On one occasion he was hung upside down, and hot oil was poured on his feet. But he kept his faith alive. It’s happening in countries and towns around the globe. The rights of Christians are trampled, and they stand up for their convictions against the threat of persecution. 

The story in the third chapter of Daniel could have been taken from today’s headlines. It’s one of the significant chapters in the history of suffering believers. It sheds light on what many are experiencing in the present. And it shows us why they’re able to cling to God—even in the worst of times.

A monarch named King Nebuchadnezzar, whom we met in Daniel 1 and 2, continues to play a key role in this part of Daniel’s story. His pride and desire for power and recognition lie behind two important events which we’ll examine in this lesson.