Mishael looked out his window toward the Plain of Dura. His gaze was
fixed on a golden statue glistening in the sunlight. This was no ordinary
statue; it stood ninety feet high and nine feet wide,1 and it
was being erected at Nebuchadnezzar's request. Just then a knock came at
the door. "Come on in; the door's open!" called Mishael.
The door opened, revealing one of the king's messengers. He was there to
summon Mishael to the dedication of the statue. After the messenger left,
Mishael sat, pondering the meaning of it all. He finally decided to pay
his friends Hananiah and Azariah a visit. He had just started down the street,
when he ran into his friends coming from the opposite direction, looking
for him.
Azariah asked, "What do you think, Mishael? Nebuchadnezzar has commanded
his governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, and his other officials to
come from everywhere in his kingdom to the dedication of the statue."
"I don't like it one bit; I wish Daniel were here," replied Mishael.
"Dad," Jamie interrupted.
Darryl paused for a moment to hear Jamie's question.
"Who was the statue of?" she asked.
Brian interjected, "It must be of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel just told
him he was the head of gold in the statue of chapter two, and he must have
let it go to his head!"
"That's a very good guess, Brian. I tend to agree with you. However,
the Bible doesn't say for certain. Some people believe Nebuchadnezzar was
puffed up and made the statue of himself, others believe the statue was
of a Babylonian god,"2 he explained. "The statue was
built about fifteen years after Nebuchadnezzar's dream. It was probably
gold-plated and not solid gold, but either way, I'm sure it was very expensive!3
I should also mention that archeologists have recently uncovered the pedestal
for the statue in the Plain of Dura."4
Jamie told Brian, "See, every day more and more evidence is being uncovered
to prove the accuracy of the Bible."
At this, Darryl continued with the story.