7/11/21 – Daniel 3:8-18
Daniel 3:8 – Wherefore at
that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
certain – man; a certain (man) That is, certain men of the Chaldeans.
It is translated “man” in 19 of its 21 occurrences in the Aramaic OT passages. It is translated “man” in Daniel 2:25 (Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.) where it refers to a specific or particular person and not just any man in general.
Chaldeans – This could be referring to those of the Chaldean nation in general, but it is more likely to have referred to those wise-men Chaldeans who may have been a bit annoyed at Jews like Daniel being more knowledgeable than they were able to demonstrate for themselves. If it were the “wise” Chaldeans here, then they probably would have liked to get back at Daniel by catching his three friends in the act of disobeying their “supreme commander”, Nebuchadnezzar. Maybe they were trying to get back in the king’s favour again. We do not know what prompted Nebuchadnezzar to set up this great image. Perhaps the Chaldeans were able to suggest it to him, in similar fashion to those under Daniel whom Darius had placed in authority over them, resulting in Daniel being sent to the lions’ den (Daniel 6:1-17). Many of those of the world (satan’s world) are constantly seeking ways to accuse God’s people of sin in order to trip them up. (Note satan’s efforts to accuse Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3:1-5).
certain Chaldeans – Not some of Chaldeans in general but specific or particular Chaldeans. It would not have applied to Chaldeans in general.
Wherefore at that time – This is the same Aramaic phrase used in Daniel 3:7 – Therefore at that time. In Daniel 3:7 it possibly meant “Consequently at that time ….” and here in Vs 8 it does appear to have a similar meaning, that as a consequence of all the people having to fall down and worship the image, certain particular Chaldeans were able to catch these Jews in the act. No doubt this occurred because they had been carefully watching to see what these Jews would do. In fact, it is possible that they may have even suggested this great image to the king in an effort to catch these Jews and hopefully abruptly end their authority in the fiery furnace.
accused – denounced;
slandered; accused maliciously. Its
Hebrew equivalent means to "eat the
morsels of" any one, i.e. chew him up [fig] by slander).
The equivalent Hebrew term derives from a word used for stinging or biting
insects.
Cambridge says: The
figure in the original is a peculiar one, lit. ‘ate the
(torn) pieces of the Jews.’ The
expression has commonly in Aramaic the sense of falsely accuse,
or slander
Daniel 3:9 – They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
O king, live for ever – This phrase is used only 4 times in the OT, all in Daniel.
In Daniel 2:4 the Chaldeans say it to the king, and are probably the same ones who say it to the king now. In Daniel 5:10 the queen says it to Belshazzar, and Daniel (in Daniel 6:21) says it to the king (Darius). It appears to be a standard or required form of address from a lesser being to the king. In the same way, judges, lords and ladies, kings and queens etc etc all have accepted and required forms of address which must be used. One might put this down to political correctness in whatever the historical age might be.
Here it is clearly said in order to keep the favour of the king on their side; to not address him as such might cause the king to shut them down before they got onto whatever they considered to be important information for the king.
Daniel 3:10-11 – 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, [that] he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
They are reminding the king of his decree stated in Daniel 3:5-6. It does sound a little like they have set this up in order to accuse (and condemn) Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. Those who felt that Daniel was being given too much authority greatly desired that Daniel fall foul of the king’s decree and be punished accordingly. They were, of course, setting up a situation where the king couldn’t back down from his decree without breaking his own law.
Note similar in Daniel 6:12-13 – 12Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask [a petition] of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing [is] true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which [is] of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
And, O king (they said to Nebuchadnezzar), those Jews have refused to obey your decree and therefore, as your decree states, they must be cast into the fiery furnace. It matters not what Nebuchadnezzar would really decide in this case; his decree is law and must be carried out, exactly as he has decreed. The king is backed into a corner here, where even he himself cannot undo what he has decreed. In this case, though, Nebuchadnezzar appears to be very opposed to anyone breaking his decree, for we are told that when he heard this, he flew into a rage (Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury – Vs 13 below) (Also note Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury – Daniel 3:19). Nebuchadnezzar seems to have been full of irrational anger a lot of the time. It would have been a risky business getting too close to such a megalomaniac!
Later on, king Darius is similarly backed into a corner and has to decree Daniel’s punishment (thrown to the lions for their meal). In spite of Darius not wanting to do so, he is forced by his own law to condemn Daniel to death by being eaten by lions.
Daniel 6:8 – Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Daniel 3:12 – There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
There are certain Jews (it was “certain Chaldeans” in Vs 8 above); these particular Jews (who are specifically named) who stand out because the king has set them over the affairs of the province of Babylon. “Such men should be setting a good example of leadership to all the others present that day. These men, O king, have made mockery of your values, and must be made an example of.”
These Chaldeans are clearly jealous of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego!
regarded – tᵉ‘em (Aramaic) (decree; taste; judgment; command) This same word
is translated “a decree” in Vs 10 above. This then is showing a disregard
for the decree of the king. They have ignored the decree, or made little of it.
Thus by showing disregard for the king’s decree, they
have effectively shown no regard for the king himself and his values and
beliefs. “You, O king, have decreed that all people here should worship the
great image, and these Jews, by not falling down and worshipping, have not shown
any regard for you.”
they serve not thy gods – It is possible that the image was of one of the
gods they worshipped. It is also possible that the image represented
Nebuchadnezzar himself, and if so, then he would have been seen as somewhat
god-like himself, one of the gods they served (as Pharaoh was worshipped in
Egypt). Thus, in not worshipping the image of the king, they would have been
showing a lack of respect for all the other minor gods of their nation. Worship
of the image would have been seen as part of the worship of the gods
themselves. Not worshipping the image therefore would have been the equivalent
of not worshipping their gods.
Matthew Poole says: “They
accused the Jews; which word signifies to calumniate, and
also to eat up and devour, which is the design of envy and malice. See
how they go to work:
1. They strike while the iron is hot, they take the king in his huff.
2. They read a law established.
3. Then they say the Jews do not observe the king’s laws, a people already
obnoxious.
4. Yea, several of them despise the king’s laws and authority.
5. They abuse the king’s great favour and indulgence to them.
6. They should give good example, being in places of trust and dignity.
7. Yet, behold, they declare their contumacy and rebellion in not conforming to
the king’s laws.
This set the king all in a flame of rage and fury, and he commanded to bring
these three men before him.”
Daniel 3:13 – Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
rage – rᵉgaz (Aramaic) (rage) This is the only
use of this Aramaic term in the OT.
It is interesting to note that Jesus named the
disciples James and John “Boanerges” (Sons of Thunder) (Mark 3:17)
where Boanerges is said to be derived from ben (son of) and the Aramaic rᵉgaz
(rage).
Did Jesus speak Aramaic, then, as some claim? Note
that Aramaic is very similar to Hebrew and in many cases the words appear to be
the same (but with different pronunciations, though). The NT dictionary says
that Boanerges is derived from the Aramaic term: רגז rᵉgaz (Aramaic) noun which is derived from רגז rᵉgaz (Aramaic) verb, and the equivalent
Hebrew verb is רגז ragaz. Jesus did use some Aramaic terms but Greek
was probably the standardised language of Judea at that time. Jesus would also
have known Hebrew to read the OT Bible passages, or else He read from the Greek
LXX version which Paul so often quoted from.
fury – fury; burning anger. It has the idea of getting very
hot with anger.
I wonder what Nebuchadnezzar died of. Neither the
Bible nor history gives any clear details of his death but I would wonder if he
had a stroke or a heart attack. Of course, they probably didn’t
use those terms back then but instead history appears to record that he died of
old age. It is said that his son who took over the throne demanded proof of his
death so the body was dug up and stabbed a number of
times to make sure.
Nebuchadnezzar throws a royal temper tantrum which
could only be excused because he was the king and could execute anyone who
opposed him. He was the epitome of the spoilt-brat-become-king who could have
everything he wanted and if he couldn’t get it, then
everyone around him would suffer until he got it.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego
have dared defy him, so like any good megalomaniacal dictator, he decides that
the only good Jew who won’t worship him is a dead one.
But, as we find out next time, they just won’t die.
Their God (the one true God of the Bible) protects them. (More on this next
time)
brought – ‘athah
(Aramaic) or ‘atha’ (Aramaic) (come; arrive; bring; brought) The Hophal
perfect (passive) tense says it means “brought”.
The word Maranatha (1 Corinthians 16:22) (our Lord cometh or will come) is said to derive from
this Aramaic word for “brought”.
maran atha (of Aramaic origin meaning our Lord
has come)
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego
are brought before the king to face his rage and fury. They won’t
be allowed to get away with it!
It is clearly a serious problem when you get these
two factors (supreme authority and out-of-control temper) in the one person.
Daniel 3:14 – Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, [Is it] true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
true – tsᵉda’ (Aramaic) (purpose) Thus “Is this on purpose?” “Have you done this on purpose? Or perhaps you might not have understood what I was asking you to do?”
Do you really want to refuse to serve my gods, or worship the golden image I have set up for you to worship? Is it true? Surely you must have been confused. Maybe you didn’t understand what you were asked to do? I’ll give you one more chance, now that you know the rules of this game. (And Nebuchadnezzar offers them one more opportunity to demonstrate that they are really law-abiding citizens who will do everything their beloved king tells them to do. Or else! – See next verse.)
Daniel 3:15 – Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; [well]: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who [is] that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Now that it has been made crystal clear to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego as to what is required of them, they are told to do it. Or else they will suffer the decreed punishment. They can’t say they weren’t told!
Daniel 3:6 – And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Much of this passage so far has been a repeat of what we looked at last week. Do as you are told when the music plays or else be thrown into the fiery furnace! However, now we come to the key part of this passage: the contest between Nebuchadnezzar and God.
In the same way Pharaoh ended up opposing Moses and his God. Pharaoh had decided that he was more powerful than any god Moses could come up with, so bring it on! Even Pharaoh’s wise men advised him that he had lost already but Pharaoh was too full of his own immense power and refused to back down. There could only be one conclusion for Pharaoh (in his mind, that is)!
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This [is] the finger of God (Exodus 8:19)
And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? (Exodus 10:7)
Nebuchadnezzar now challenges the authority of God Himself. “Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?” Nebuchadnezzar is drunk with his own visions of grandeur and power. Would he, the greatest world leader of his day, back down to the God of a nation that he had defeated? Would God dare stand up to him, Nebuchadnezzar?
In Daniel 2:47, Nebuchadnezzar said: “Of a truth [it is], that your God [is] a God of gods, and a Lord of kings” Yet now he questions whether or not this God of gods is able to deliver them out of his hand. (In Vs 17 below, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego state unequivocally that their God is able to deliver them. This sets up the contest between Nebuchadnezzar and the God of the Bible.) It seems that not even the God of gods may dare oppose Nebuchadnezzar’s will!
When Sennacherib came up against Hezekiah at Jerusalem, a similar challenge was issued:
Isaiah 36:18-20 – 18[Beware] lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19Where [are] the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where [are] the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20Who [are they] among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?
Psalm 2:1-4 – 1Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, [saying], 3Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Daniel 3:16 – Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and said to the
king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we [are] not careful to answer thee in this
matter.
not careful – or possibly “have no need” There is no need to reply to you in this matter.
Another way of looking at this could be to look at the next two verses; If God so chooses, then He is able to deliver us in spite of what you try to do to us. And, even if our God doesn’t deliver us, it won’t be because He isn’t able to, so let the king be aware that we will still not serve your gods, or worship your golden image.
Effectively, they claim to have no need to be held accountable by the king. If they choose to serve God rather than man, then so be it.
Note Acts 5:29 – Then Peter and the [other] apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Note that Shadrach and friends also leave out the required “O king, live for ever”!
Daniel 3:17-18 – 17 If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
This is not a statement that their God will certainly deliver them. Nor that He won’t deliver them. It is in God’s hands as to whether they live or die now. They are not predicting that they will be delivered, but that if God chose to do so, He is fully capable of delivering them.
It’s a bit like a lot of prayers. We can pray for God to do something amazing to help us or someone else, such as heal a person. However we can never demand such a miracle, but merely know that God is capable of the miracle if He chose to do so. When we pray for something, the question can never be whether God is able to deliver, but whether or not it is His will to deliver.
Jesus told the disciples that “with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) All things are possible with God, but not all things are permissible by His will. We have to realise that just because God doesn’t answer all our prayers exactly as we want Him to does not mean He cannot answer them! It’s like that verse used so often to “prove” that man cannot seek after God, Romans 3:11 (“there is none that seeketh after God”). But it doesn’t actually say that man cannot seek after God, merely that he does not.
2 Corinthians 1:10 – Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver [us];
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