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Babylon
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Babylon

Babylon

Exile, the fiery furnace and the lions' den · Iraq

After Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed in 586 BC, many Jews were taken into exile here. By the rivers of Babylon they sat down and wept, yet here too Daniel and his friends stayed faithful, even in the fiery furnace and the lions' den. In exile the people discovered that God was not bound to one land or one temple. Today the ruins lie near the town of Hillah in Iraq, partly rebuilt in the 1980s, and are on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Did you know?

The blue Ishtar Gate of Babylon now stands, rebuilt, in a museum in Berlin.

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An inspiring story

Windows open towards Jerusalem

What do you do when your faith is suddenly forbidden?

Daniel had lived in Babylon since he was a young man, far from home, and had risen to the top of the government. Jealous officials knew he was honest, so they set a trap: a law that for thirty days nobody could pray to anyone but the king. Daniel heard about it, went home, opened his windows towards Jerusalem and knelt to pray three times a day, 'just as he had done before'. Why not pray in secret, just for a month? Because his faith was not a show that could be paused. He was thrown to the lions, and at dawn the king came running. Daniel was alive.

What you do every day becomes what holds you when it counts.

Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.Daniel 6:10

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