17/10/21 – Daniel 3:1-7
Noting the punishment of being thrown into the fiery furnace (Vs 7 below), it is worth keeping in mind that to be a Christian demands a price, a cost. There is no victory without a battle and no battle without a cost. Those who aren’t willing to pay the cost of battle are unlikely to see any victory either. Reading Romans Ch.8 should remind us of the cost many in those days had to pay for being believers in Christ. Romans 8:18 – For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Christians who do not take up their crosses and follow Jesus are not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:38) nor can they be His disciples (Luke 14:27). There are far too many Christians today who have no idea what it means to take up their crosses and follow Jesus, let alone be prepared to be cast into a fiery furnace for the crime of worshipping God alone.
Daniel 3:1 – Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height [was] threescore cubits, [and] the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
image – tselem or tsᵉlem (Aramaic) (image;
idol)
Corresponding to the Hebrew tselem (image;
image of heathen gods; likeness; semblance) It has the idea of being a likeness.
Man is created in God’s image (likeness).
Genesis 1:27 – So God
created man in his [own] image (tselem), in the image
(tselem) of God created he
him; male and female created he them.
Man is created after the image
(likeness) of Adam.
Genesis 5:3 – And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat [a son] in his own likeness, after his image (tselem); and called his name Seth:
It is interesting to note the use of tselem in Ezekiel 16:17-18 – 17Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, 18And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them. (“images of men” can here be literally translated as “likenesses of males”, possibly emphasising the worship of male sexuality.)
Note also Romans 1:23-24 – 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Note that while Christians are to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), Christ Himself was the exact in every way image of the Father (“the express image” – Hebrews 1:3).
It was the custom for victorious rulers to have a statue or image erected in honour of a major conquest. We don’t know if this was the case here, though. Certainly gold was a sign of riches, and the more gold the greater demonstration of riches. Gold also implied majesty, with rulers being the most likely to amass quantities of gold. This image of gold was probably made with wood overlaid with gold. Note that much of the temple at Jerusalem had gold overlay covering the surfaces.
1 Kings 6:21-22 – 21So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. 22And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that [was] by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
Nebuchadnezzar was also considered to be god-like (or at least considered himself to be so) when the great golden image was set up to be worshipped (Daniel Ch.3). We may assume that this golden image was of Nebuchadnezzar and that Nebuchadnezzar was demanding that all worship him (via his golden image). Worship of the ruler would have been the main purpose for such an image.
The beast (antichrist) also will have an image made of himself that must be worshipped. The worship of the image of the beast implies a worship of the beast himself.
Revelation 13:14-15 – 14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the means of] those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Thus, if the image were of Nebuchadnezzar, then in worshipping the image (Vs 5 below), they would have effectively been worshipping Nebuchadnezzar himself.
A cubit was approximately 1½ feet or slightly less than ½ metre. This image would have been about 27½ metres tall and just under 3 metres wide. Either the image was very thin (not very likely) or it sat on a high foundation or pedestal. It is more likely that the actual image may have been around 20 metres on a 7½ metre pedestal (or such).
“Dura” = “dwelling”; and “the plain of Dura” (being of the province of Babylon) would have been a plains area near Babylon suitable to accommodate the large group of people required to worship the image. Note that Daniel would have been the ruler over the province of Babylon and therefore might have been present. However, because he sat “in the gate of the king” (Daniel 2:49), he may have been otherwise occupied. He may have been involved with affairs of the state and thus was otherwise occupied when the rest were required to bow down to the image.
Daniel 3:2 – Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
The king sent a message via a herald (see Vs 4 below) whose task was to proclaim such important information in an age before telephones or other communications existed. All the people noted here are those with some authority. I won’t go into much detail on each title, except to note that these were men of authority. Some of the words appear to be interchangeable, and with unclear applications.
princes – ‘achashdarpan (Aramaic) (satraps; governors of Persian provinces). This is a different word to that used for Ashpenaz in Daniel 1:7 (“the prince [sar – prince; ruler; leader] of the eunuchs”). ‘achashdarpan is translated “princes” in its 9 occurrences in Daniel.
governors – cᵉgan (Aramaic) (prefect; governor) This is the position Daniel was appointed to, according to Daniel 2:48. It is translated “governors” in each of its 5 occurrences in Daniel.
captains – pechah (Aramaic) (governor; captain) Leaders of men. It is translated “captains” in each of its 4 occurrences in Daniel, yet translated “governor” in each of its 6 occurrences in Ezra.
judges – ‘adargazer (Aramaic) (judge
[diviner]; counsellor) Those who give counsel. It is only used in this verse and Vs 3 below,
translated “judges” each time.
treasurers – gᵉdabar
(Aramaic) It is not clear what it means.
It is only used in this verse and Vs 3 below,
translated “treasurers”
each time.
A similar word gizbar (Aramiac) is translated “treasurer” in Ezra 1:8. It derives from
a word meaning to lay up treasures, or to hoard. It is suggested that the word gᵉdabar used twice (for “treasurer”) in Daniel is a
corruption of the Ezra 1:8 word (gizbar).
counsellors – dᵉthabar (Aramaic) (lawyer;
interpreter of decrees; judge; justices) It is only used in this verse and Vs 3
below.
sheriffs – tiphtay (Aramaic) (magistrate) It is not quite
clear what it means, although it is suggested that it derives from the Hebrew shaphat (to judge; govern; vindicate;
punish)
rulers – shiltown (Aramaic) (or shilton) (governor; ruler; official) Probably all
officials with some authority who have not already been listed. It could have
included Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.
It is only used in this verse and Vs 3 below.
the dedication – or “consecration” In religious terms, “dedication
is the act of consecrating an altar, temple,
church, or other sacred building”. (Wikipedia)
“consecration” derives from the associating something with sacredness,
to make something sacred, the setting apart of
something for the purposes of god or idol-worship, to
make something holy.
the dedication of the image
– It is not clear whether this image was of a god to be worshipped, or an image
of Nebuchadnezzar who desired their worship. In any case, when the music played
(Vss 5 & 7 below), they were to bow down to it as
if they were bowing down to that of which it was a likeness.
Daniel 3:3 – Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
stood – quwm (Aramaic) Peal
tense (arise; stand; arise from; come on the scene; stand; endure)
All those who were called to be gathered together
as per Vs 2 above now stood before the image. The idea must be that they are
all facing the image; their attention is on this great image. In order to “fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the
king hath set up” (Vs 5 below), they would have to commence
standing upright facing the image.
Note that anyone not falling down before the image
would be quickly noticed!
Daniel 3:4 – Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
an herald – A
herald brings important news; a messenger.
peoples – or “nations” or
“nationalities”
nations – or “tribes” or “tribal
groups”
O people, nations, and languages
– No matter what country you might come from, no matter what ethnic group you
belong to, no matter what language you speak, you all without exception must
obey the command. The statement “peoples, nations and languages” is
all-inclusive and no-one may be exempt for any reason.
The list of those commanded to come appears to
cover only those in authority and it seems that only these are present.
However, it is also possible that the whole population was to come as well, but
this is not mentioned in this passage. Daniel 3:12 mentions only Shadrach, Mashach and Abed-nego as the Jews
who will not bow down. If all captive Jews were present, surely there would be
others who would not bow down to a false god?
Daniel 3:5 – [That] at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
fall down – nᵉphal (Aramaic) It is
used 7 times in Daniel Ch.3. Six of these occurrences are associated with
worship, such as “fall down and worship” in the above verse.
This word is translated “fell” in Daniel 2:46 – Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face,
and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and
sweet odours unto him. Note again here that “fell”
is associated with “worshipped”.
The one occurrence in Daniel Ch.3 not associated with worship is where Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego literally (physically) fall down into the fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:23 – And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
worship – to prostrate oneself, do homage,
worship. It is the same word used when “king
Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel”
(Daniel 2:46).
fall down and worship
– We have this combination of terms 6 times in Daniel Ch.3 and once in Daniel 2:46.
The Bible says that we should bow down in worship
of God.
Psalm 95:6 – O come, let us
worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
It is interesting that the devil demands of Jesus
that He fall down and worship the devil.
Matthew 4:9 – And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Noting, of course, that it is at the name of Jesus
that every other knee should bow (which includes satan and all his demons). Observe
Jesus’ reply:
Matthew 4:10 – Then saith
Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Because, at the name of Jesus, all will bow,
including satan and his demons.
Philippians 2:10-11 – 10That at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in
earth, and [things] under the earth; 11And [that] every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
It is not fully clear what all the instruments actually were, but the following guide is a suggestion.
cornet – literally “horn” Note the use of the same word in “and it had ten horns.” (Daniel 7:7)
flute – literally “pipe”, not blown into the side like a flute but from one end like the panpipes.
harp – according to the Greek dictionary probably lyre or zither.
Aramaic phonetically-pronounced “kitharis” from Greek kithara or cithara. This was an ancient Greek instrument like a lyre with 7 strings. We derive our word “guitar” from “kithara”. A lyre could have 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 or 10 strings depending on the tones required.
sackbut – a triangular musical instrument with four strings, similar to a lyre.
psaltery – a stringed instrument (triangular), perhaps a lyre
or a harp. Similar to a kithara but with a differently-placed sound board.
dulcimer – a wind instrument probably like panpipes with a bag to hold wind like bagpipes and one or more outlet pipes for sounds. Some suggest that it could have been something like an organ, but bagpipes is most likely. The Aramaic word (pronounced phonetically) is the equivalent of the Greek word symphonos (harmony of many sounds or voices occurring together as one) from which we get our word “symphony”. On the other hand, a dulcimer was a stringed instrument similar to the psaltery; however, the word indicates something like bagpipes.
musick – instrumental music such as might be played by an orchestra
Daniel 3:6 – And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
the same hour – brief time; moment. Originally it meant a short interval of time which later on became known as an hour. The idea here is that there would be little delay in casting the offenders into the furnace. Probably literally “in an instant”, “immediately” or “straight-away”. Apparently not falling down and worshipping the image was enough to be sentenced without any further trial.
Basically, if you didn’t worship in the manner prescribed, then you were committing blasphemy. There was little idea of religious freedom in such societies.
a burning fiery furnace – It may have been a furnace for baking bricks rather than one with open flames. It could have been a large oven. Or it could have been a fire especially built up for the purpose of executing offenders who didn’t fall down and worship.
Clearly, though, burning people alive was not just for those days; it was only a few hundred years since supposedly civilised people burned others at the stake for being declared witches, or for wanting to read the Bible for themselves, or for any sort of heresy the church of those days declared serious enough to torture alleged offenders.
A fiery furnace was clearly supposed to deter people from disobedience!
Daniel 3:7 – Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down [and] worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Therefore (probably because of the threat of being burned alive until dead), all the people summoned to the dedication service of the image did as they were told and fell down and worshipped the image.
Of course, excepting Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, but we’ll find out more about this next time.
Being roasted in the fire seems to have been a choice method of execution in Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:22 – And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which [are] in Babylon, saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
Thus, if you are threatened with being roasted in the fire, then a strong feeling for self-preservation might make you actually desire to fall down and worship the image!
Those who kill the body can only do it once, but God who can destroy both soul and body in hell will continue to do it forever.
Matthew 10:28 – And fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather
fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
It will be the fate of all who reject God’s salvation to suffer in the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15 – And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
During the great tribulation, a similar incentive (that is, be executed) will be offered to those who don’t want to do so.
Revelation 13:15 – And
he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the
beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image
of the beast should be killed.
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