Light for the Day

Photo Description:
Close-up view of original glazed tiles from the gates of ancient Babylon in the Republic of Iraq. The photo was taken in a museum in Berlin, Germany.

Photo by Juri Pozzi © Copyright

Scripture:
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.
DANIEL 3:1-2 NIV

Photo Description:

Open treasure chest filled with gold coins

Photo by Fer Gregory, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada © Copyright

Scripture:
Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”
DANIEL 3:4-6 NKJV

Photo Description:
Close-up view of a harp illuminated by sunlight streaming in through a window. Harps are one of the oldest musical instruments, with a history dating to 3,500 B.C. or earlier.

Photo by Peter Dazeley, London, England, United Kingdom © Copyright

Scripture:
Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.

There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
DANIEL 3:8,12,19-20 NKJV

Photo Description:
Steel worker carefully taking a sample of liquid metal from a furnace in a foundry

Photo by Laurentiu Iordache, Galați, Romania © Copyright

Scripture:
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire.
DANIEL 3:24-26 NKJV

Photo Description:

Close-up view of a fire with embers rising from the flames

Photo by Olga Miltsova, Trondheim, Kingdom of Norway © Copyright

Scripture:
Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.
DANIEL 3:26-27 NKJV

Photo Description:
View of the partially-restored ruins of Babylon, a key kingdom of ancient Mesopotamia. Located along the Euphrates River in the Republic of Iraq, only a small portion (less than 5%) of the ancient city has been excavated. King Nebuchadnezzar built a palace in Babylon during his reign (605 B.C to c. 562 B.C.). In 1978, the government of Iraq under President Saddam Hussein began the "Archaeological Restoration of Babylon Project,” reconstructing features of the city atop its ruins. President Hussein installed a portrait of himself and Nebuchadnezzar at the entrance to the ruins and inscribed his name on many of the bricks. In May 2009, the provincial government of Babil reopened the site to tourists. (Wikipedia.org)

Photo by Jukka Palm, Republic of Finland © Copyright

Scripture:
Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!
DANIEL 3:28 NKJV

Photo Description:

Panoramic view of two sightseeing boats and thousands of palm trees along the Euphrates River in the Republic of Iraq, an area that was included in King Nebuchadnezzar’s Neo-Babylonian empire. Date palm trees are often considered a symbol of Iraq as they are believed to have originated in this area. The golden brown fruit from date palm trees has long been a prized source of food and wealth, and the trees were celebrated during Babylonian times. Note that the one-deck red boat is moored in front of the larger triple-deck white boat. (TheNational.ae, Wikipedia.org, and Britannica.com)

Photo by Caesar Hussein, Baghdad, Iraq (San Francisco, California) © Copyright