Page 105 - The Prophet-statesman a Drama of Daniel

CHAPTER XXII

THE KING PASSES

The gradual decline in the health of the king which had been noticeable before,
became more apparent in the months following the royal wedding. His seven years in
the wilds had taken their toll, and the things that he had eaten in his period of madness
had damaged his stomach and introduced germs into his system that even his natural

physical vigor could not permanently resist. He became the victim of acute dyspepsia
and indigestion followed by a pernicious anemia that gradually reduced his powerful
and muscular body to a shadow.

Queen Rhea, observing this lamentable condition and the impotency of the
Chaldean physicians to remedy or even arrest it, suffered great mental anguish.

King Nebuchadnezzar, though knowing that his death was near, would still force

himself to rise from his bed and call in his counsellors; the Prime Minister Daniel, the
other three Hebrew statesman, and Nebuzaradan, Ashpenaz, and Arioch, and
continued to guide the ship of state. With these old and trusted friends, he had of late
brought in Avil-Marduk, now nearly fifty years of age, and had committed more and

more responsibility into his hands until it became obvious to both princes and people
that he intended to appoint him as his successor to the throne.

But the prospect of his appointment was not displeasing. Obviously, none of the

Hebrew statesmen were eligible for the succession, and the king’s older
contemporaries were regarded as too advanced in years to assume such responsibility
as that of the throne, even if they had aspired to it.

Avil-Marduk was a man of great sobriety and earnestness of purpose: and as he
became more versed in the affairs of the empire and was trained in statecraft by the
Prime Minister and others, more and more responsibility was placed upon him and his

decisions reflected a sound judgment and an adequate understanding of the problems
that would confront his as king. He was a bachelor with no apparent inclination to
marry, and as responsibilities increased he became more socially aloof.

When King Nebuchadnezzar became so weak that he could not leave his bed, he

summoned his trusted counsellors to his bedside. They stood in a circle around his bed
and listened in deepest respect as he gave his dying instructions. His devoted queen,