O Rico e Lázaro (English: Rich man and Lazarus) is a Brazilian Soap Opera produced by Rede Record in 2017 based on the biblical parable of the same name, as well as on the biblical books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
The series tells the life of Asher and Zac, two Hebrews that born with the same opportunities. The great friendship is shaken by the love they feel for their childhood friend, the beautiful Joana. Unlike the boys, she believes in Jeremiah's prophecies and strives for the Hebrew people to turn to God again. Which of the two will be played in place of torments and which will be brought to peace after death? What matters are the choices that each will make throughout life. They live in Jerusalem, which after the government of kings who have turned away from God, is immersed in idolatry. God's people are about to lose everything that Moses and Joshua have achieved, while the newly crowned Nebuchadnezzar imposes his strength on the entire Mesopotamian region. After defeating the Egyptians, he takes the throne of the vast Babylonian empire, turning the city into a jewel of the ancient world, and plans to have Jerusalem as part of his empire.
This series provides examples of:
- Defiant to the End: Daniel and his friends repeatedly refuse to obey any royal commands that involve worshiping other gods, even when they're specifically told they'll be executed if they don't. Fortunately, God delivers them each time.
- Dem Bones: Ezekiel is given a vision of a valley full of dry skeletons, where he is commanded to carry a prophecy. Before him the bones connect into human figures, then the bones become covered with tendon tissues, flesh, and skin. Then God reveals the bones to the prophet as the people of Israel in exile and commands Ezekiel to carry another prophecy in order to revitalize these human figures, to resurrect them and to bring them to the land of Israel.
- The Famine: Happens during the course of King Zedekiah's reign in Jerusalem, when the Babylonians lay siege on the city, causing the food to run dry and its citizens to resort to cannibalism to stay alive. Jeremiah was kept prisoner in the court of the king during this time, given only bread to stay alive until the food ran out.
- Forgot I Could Change the Rules: Averted. King Darius attempts this to try saving Daniel from his sentence, but is reminded by his advisors that even the king cannot annul his own decrees once they are passed. This causes a problem when he's tricked into passing a law that ends up ordering the death of his favorite advisor Daniel.
