Holy Bible

Nebuchadnezzar, the king, made an image of gold. Daniel 3:1 Gigantic Idols W. A. Scott, D.D. — We are not without historical confirmation of the narrative as to the existence of gigantic idols of gold among the Babylonians. Herodotus writes that in his day there was at Babylon an idol image of gold twelve cubics high; and, what is still more remarkable, another authority, obviously speaking of the same statue, mentions that every stranger was obliged to worship it before he was allowed to enter the city. Diodorus Siculus mentions an image found in the temple of Bolus forty feet high, which some think was the same as the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar. Other images almost parallel in magnitude are mentioned in history. The Colossus of Nero was one hundred and ten feet high. The Colossus of Rhodes was seventy cubits high, and was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. According to classic story, it took thirteen years to construct this colossus; and on its being thrown down by an earthquake, so great was its weight, it ploughed up the ground, and buried itself under the ground. These historical facts show that such images were not unusual, and that it was not impossible to construct such by ancient art. The Colossus of Nero and of Rhodes were not, however, of gold; nor do we suppose that the image of Nebuchadnezzar was of solid gold. It must have been either hollow, or made of wood and covered with gold. It does not appear that the ancients made any but small images of solid gold. The proportions of this image are out of order, unless we understand the height to include the thickness of the pedestal, which it seems to me we should do. ( W. A. Scott, D.D. ) Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, sent to gather together the princes, the governors. Daniel 3:2 Society J. Jessopp, M.A. Society, the union of the many for the interest of all, seems ever to have been a principal object of God's care and protection. His providence, in the order of nature, is manifestly directed to gather men together, to bind them to one another by the powerful bonds of mutual responsibility, and by the ineffaceable sentiments of justice and humanity. In the revealed or written law God has caused religion and society to advance together. He has, in a manner, amalgamated them with each other. In defining our obligations with respect to Himself, He has defined our mutual engagements towards each other. All the precepts of the decalogue tend to the general utility of mankind. The object of the Gospel is to make of all the inhabitants of the world but one single people — of that people but one family; and to imbue that family with but one single aspiration: "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one as We are." And we may assert of Jesus Christ in reference to Society, what He asserted of Himself in reference to the ancient law, that He "did not come to destroy, but to fulfil." In fact, the intercourse which we carry on among ourselves gives birth to four descriptions of duty essential to the happiness of mankind, and to the tranquility of the social condition. Political duties, which are the foundations of society; magisterial duties, which are its security; charitable duties, which are its bonds; conventional duties, which are its elegancies. Now, it is religion alone that enforces and sanctifies those duties, and, therefore, it alone really protects the interests of society. Now, the error of all others prejudicial to society, and nevertheless an error which is very common, is to imagine that the various conditions existing in the world are no more than the result of chance or of necessity — that it is not necessary to refer to Divine wisdom for the explanation of the fact, that our wants once ascertained, it is perfectly natural that we should seek in the industry of others for those resources we cannot discover in ourselves — that this exchange of services has produced that variety of conditions into which society is divided — and that independently of Providence, nature has conferred authority upon the father of a family, strength given rule to kings, adulation created the influence of the great, the public safety suggested the office of the magistrate, luxury and appetite have been the parents of all the elegant arts. Would a father (and this is the title by which He delights to be called) forget his children, and leave their future prospects uncertain and wavering? No; and, therefore, religion displays to us His providence directed to abundantly supplying our wants and even luxuries. And how? Why, by means of that variety of social conditions, of which He alone is the Author. For what other Being than He, who from the discord of the elements called forth the harmony of the universe, could bind together and incorporate so many opposing influences, and direct them towards one only end? What other Being than He, who by means of a few grains of sand arrests the fury of the waves, could discipline so many furious passions, and fix the invisible limits which they cannot pass? Nevertheless, I cannot deny that there is a specious objection often urged to this fundamental truth; and that is, the great inequality of conditions among mankind. "Wherefore," it may be said, "wherefore is it that of the same clay are fashioned vessels of honour and vessels of dishonour? Why that immense distance that separates one man from another? Why so many enjoyments and so much liberty on the one hand, and so many privations and so much bondage on the other? Is God an accepter of persons?" What do you require Him to do? That He should establish complete equality amongst us? Let us suppose that He has done so, and nosy mark the consequences. We are all equally independent, equally powerful, equally great, equally rich. And now tell us of what advantage would that independence be to us. Should we be competent to supply all our own requirements, and should we have no need to apply to others to assist us in our necessity? Of what advantage would our power be to us? To what use could we apply it? Of what advantage would our grandeur be to us? Would it attract towards us one single particle of homage or of respect? Of what advantage would our riches be to us? how could we employ them? That complete equality once established even, would it last long? Would our ambition continue to be satisfied? Would it patiently endure so many equals? Would it not aspire to domination? And what restraint would be applicable to control it? We should all be rivals, and continually in a state of civil war. That complete equality once established, who amongst us would undertake to cultivate the ground, to supply the most pressing wants, to procure the ordinary necessaries of life? What law, what authority would there be to compel us to do so? We should perish in consequence of our greatness and abundance; we should obtain nothing but worthless superfluities while we were requiring actual food and shelter. In short, to make men all equally fortunate is but another term for rendering them all equally wretched. There must be a head of a state, that the state may escape the infliction of many tyrants; there must be great men, "princes and governors," to protect the weak; there must be warriors "and captains," to defend the country; there must be magistrates, "judges," "counsellors, and sheriffs," to prevent injustice, and to punish crime; there must be the rich, "the treasurers," to employ labour and to reward it; there must be the poor and needy, that the inconveniences which poverty entails may serve as a spur to indolence and a warning to sloth. Society rests upon these different states as upon buttresses that support it. Now, it would be perfectly superfluous in me to prove to you that labour is the condition on which society exists — that in certain respects even political commotions themselves are less dangerous than apathy and sloth — that happiness consists in the mutual understanding which should exist between various classes, who, acting in concert, and depending upon each other for an interchange of good offices, meet together by different roads which converge towards the same centre. Well, it is religion alone which imparts a true impetus to that activity, by the peculiar stress it lays upon the conscientious discharge of the various social duties — duties so peculiar to each separate condition, that every individual is required personally to fulfil them — so essential, that they will hold the foremost place in the examination, which at the last great day the Sovereign Judge will institute — so indispensable, that their absence implies an absence of piety as well, since "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Does human policy watch as carefully over the interests of society? Does it rise up to protest with equal sternness against those indifferent spectators who reap abundantly in the field wherein they have not sown? Of the vast multitude of men of whom society is composed, how few serve it from other motives than ambition or emolument! The love of glory urges on the former, the thirst of riches influences the latter. Fortunately nature condemns from their very birth the greater number to struggle and to toil. And now observe the distinguishing glory of our holy faith. Not content with enjoining the fulfilment of the various social duties, it sets forth as well the manner in which those duties should be fulfilled. Is it no service to society that religion enjoins that the duties of the state be discharged with intelligence?" Abound in knowledge and in all diligence." And who can fail to feel how fatal to the interests of society would be the influence of those in power if destitute of the necessary knowledge? If they be warriors, in spite of their valour and intrepidity, to what dangers would they not expose their country? Or is it no service to society that religion enjoins that the duties of the state be discharged with decorum? "Study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, that ye may walk honestly towards them that are without." Or does religion confer no benefit on society when it enjoins, that the motive of action when we are serving our fellow-men should be a desire to please God — "not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord?" No other motive would be pure enough nor noble enough to elevate us above human considerations and our own self-interest. Were Christianity universally practised even there only where it is professed — were all mankind to regulate their conduct by the maxims of the Gospel, and careful to be guided by heavenly motives only; with God over all disposing everything according to His wisdom, regulating everything by His will, animating everything by His Spirit, enriching everything by His liberality, sanctifying everything by His grace, sustaining everything by His power — at the sight of a state of society like this, who would not be tempted to exclaim with Balaam, as he contemplated the camp of Israel, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel?" ( J. Jessopp, M.A. ) To you it is commanded, O people. Daniel 3:4, 5 The Importance of the Imperative Joseph Parker, D.D. We cannot do without this word "command" in our religious education. It is a Divine word. It would be instructive to trace the history of that term, and to study its meaning in the various relations which it assumes. The Bible is full of commandments; in Genesis the Lord commands, in the Apocalypse there is a commanding voice; and Jesus, gracious, meek, patient, tender Jesus, commands — He says, "A new commandment give I unto you." How, then, can Jesus give commands? Because of what He is. God can give commands because He is God; and not only so, but being God, He knows human nature, and can address it in its own terms, and according to the line of its own instincts and necessities. When He thunders down His commands there is nothing that offends the mental or moral constitution on which the commanding voice falls with ineffable authority. The command awakens something that is already slumbering in the nature. We must have our duties in the first instance in the form of commands, but only God can tell what commands are not arbitrary, but are natural, and operate in the line of instinct and Divine intention. What is a commandment to one man is an easy task to another. Some hard and all but impenetrable natures require to be commanded, stirred, roused; and others hear the word of the Lord and spring to it in obedience that seems to understand it all ere it be fully spoken. Many have sweetened the bitterness of their lot by an ample and proper use of the promises who have forgotten that every promise has behind it or near it a corresponding command. The imperative mood has never been allowed to fall into disuse in the Bible; it is, "Son, give me thine heart"; it is, "Love one another"; it is, "Hear my words and do them." We draw the line, then, as between human authority and Divine sovereignty, as between an arbitrary decree and a command that is in harmony with the wisdom and love of God, and in harmony with the peculiarity of human constitution and capacity. ( Joseph Parker, D.D. ) The sound of the cornet, flute, harp. Daniel 3:5 Eastern Musical Instruments H. J. Van Lennep, D.D. The instruments enumerated here are mostly still in use in the present time, but some of them have become obsolete. The cornet is a brass trumpet manufactured in the country, and used in martial music. There are several kinds of flute, both single and double. The harp is no longer in use, nor the "psaltery," which is a similar instrument of the same kind; they have been replaced by the ood, which gives a richer sound, and is more portable. The "sackbut" is a tamboora, a sort of guitar, of various shapes and sizes; in its most complete and perfect form it is three feet nine inches long, has ten strings of fine wire, and forty-seven steps. It is played with a plectrum, and is often inlaid with mother-of-pearl and valuable woods. It is often, however, of smaller size and less costly materials. The "dulcimer" is a kanoon, or sander. The "kanoon" is the original of our piano, both being probably derived from the lyre and the harp, whence the piano was first called a harpsichord. This instrument consists of a box two inches in depth, and of an irregular form, its greatest length being thirty-nine inches, and its width sixteen. There are only twenty-four notes, and, like the piano, each note has three strings, which are tuned with a key. The sounding-board lies under the strings, and is perforated, and covered with fish-skin where the bridge rests. The performer lays the instrument on his knees, and strikes the chords with the forefinger of each hand, to which is fastened a plectrum of horn. Another form of this instrument, called "santur," is a double kanoon, and comes still nearer to our piano; the strings are of wire, and only double; they are struck with wooden hammers held in the hand. When used in a procession, this instrument is suspended from the neck by means of a cord. ( H. J. Van Lennep, D.D. ) The Religion of Ceremonial Joseph Parker, D.D. Are all the coloured garments so many visions of beauty? Is there some strain religious in the blare of brazen trumpets and the throb of military drums? Most of the people that we see gathered together around great sights would gladly be at home, listening to the voice of child, or friend, or bird. Do external images fill the soul? is it enough to have a painted God? What wonder if we begin by worshipping things that are seen? That course would seem to be natural, and would seem to be able to justify itself by sound reasoning of a preliminary kind. Who could not in ignorance of other deity worship the sun? Sometimes he seems to be almost God! How multitudinous are his phases, how manifold the apocalypse within which he shows his uncounted riches; now so pale, as if he were weary, an eye half closed in sleep long needed, long delayed; and then in full pomp, every beam, so to say, alive, and the whole heaven amazed and delighted at this vision of glory, as if hidden within that fount of flame and heat there lay ten thousand times ten thousand summers, and ten thousand times ten thousand purple autumns, with all their largesses of fruit and flowers and benison, for the sustenance and the nutrition of men; then lost among the clouds, where, indeed, he seems to be disporting himself in painting a thousand academies by one look of his eyes; see how he fills the clouds and seems to shape them, or fall into their shape, making them burn and sparkle and glitter, and invests them with unimagined and untransferable colours; a marvellous, glorious sight! Who could not uncover his head in presence of such glory, and say, Surely this is the gate at least that opens upon the palaces of God. To worship nature would seem in certain stages of development to be right. God made it; God made the green grass and the blushing flower; the great hills, stairways to heights which man never scaled; God made the valleys and the mountains; and what are these fountains saying to the hearing ear? Only the true listener can tell; the vulgar man hears nothing in that splash of water, but the refined soul hears in it melody and song, music religious, and hint of other music that might please the ear of God. As we grow in wisdom, in capacity, in understanding, in sympathy, we close our eyes upon the universe, and say it is no more to us an image that should be sought unto for purposes of worship; but we see within, by a Divinely directed introspection, the true altar, the true sanctuary, the true centre of acceptable worship. Thus we grow from the natural to the spiritual, and when we have obtained the measure of our growth we say, "God is a Spirit"; if we still preserve the image, it is as we should preserve a symbol, that was helpful to us before we saw the thing signified. If our religion is in colour, form, aesthetic attitude and motion, our religion will surely come to nought; but if our piety live in eternity, if it feed itself upon. the almightiness and the grace of God, as shown in the Cross of Christ, then it will abide for ever. ( Joseph Parker, D.D. ) O king, live for ever. Daniel 3:8, 9 The Golden Image Set Up T. Dale, M.A. These last words, "O king, live for ever," were designed by those who uttered them as the expression of the most gross and servile adulation, and they were doubtless regarded by the monarch to whom they were addressed as the spontaneous effusion of a reverential and devoted loyally. I. First, then, THE WORDS OF THIS SALUTATION, "O king, live for ever," were, in the mouth of the Chaldeans, manifestly uttered with a twofold purpose; to dissemble the malignity of the courtiers, and to flatter the conceit, if not to impose on the credulity of the king. Now, we do not take upon ourselves to determine whether these Chaldeans had any notion at all of a state of existence after death, or if so, what those notions were; but we can hardly conceive that those who believed the Godhead to be of the substance of silver and of gold could have any reasonable conception of the spiritual essence, the immaterial, intellectual part of man. Judging from this, they could have hoped for nothing more, and could have looked for nothing better after death, than to be resolved into their primal element of dust, and become even as the brutes that perish. Their salutation, therefore, must have been the climax of absurdity, because it bare on the face of it what was to them a perfect impossibility — the violation of a fundamental and universal law of our being. They knew that the king could not, in the course of nature, "live for ever"; they knew, that as the ancient monarchs of the nations lay down every one in his own house, so Nebuchadnezzar's ample territory must ere long contract itself to the narrow coffin. But they flattered the proud, in order to betray the innocent; they deified a blood-stained and capricious tyrant, that they might doom to death three unoffending strangers and captives, whom they hated. Now, this is a true portraiture of the world in every age. It exalts the oppressor, and tramples on the innocent. We may look upon Nebuchadnezzar, then, in this stage of his career, as a consummate specimen of the favourite of this world, the courted, the envied, the admired, the adored. The universe lay prostrate at his feet. This, then, is a specimen and a sample of the world's lie. It promises the ungodly what it never can bestow, and threatens the servants of the Lord with the loss of that which it cannot take away; so that while it deludes Nebuchadnezzar into the infatuation of believing that he, because he was a monarch over men, might become a manufacturer of gods, it binds the servants of the one true and living God hand and foot, and casts them into the devouring flame, because they fear not those who can only kill the body, but rather fear Him who is the arbiter of life and death, and who, after He hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. II. And now let us turn from the humbled king of Babylon, TO TRACE THE PRACTICAL BEARING OF THE SUBJECT UPON OURSELVES. True it is, that in our own age and country persecution for religion's sake hath ceased, and with it the miracles that of old wrought strange deliverance, and the spiritual consolations and supports that suspended the laws of nature, and sustained the confessor beneath the scourge and the martyr amidst the flames: but there is no change in the enmity of the flesh against the Spirit, or in the barrel of the world to God. True it is, that the oppressor hath no longer at command the burning fiery furnace, nor the lions' fearful den; but the evil one still does what he can, though he can no longer do what he would. If the weapon of the world is no longer cruelty, it is contumely; if it is no longer torture, it is ridicule. "Live for ever," these words are a memorial of our own immortality, and they should call upon every one to consider, on the principles laid down in Holy Writ, whether he who is born for eternity is also living for it. Now we, like these intrepid and devoted children of the faithful Abraham, cannot at one and the same time bow down before the golden idol and adore the living God; we must be equally decided in our service with them. "Examine yourselves," then, "whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." ( T. Dale, M.A. ) They serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Daniel 3:12-18 The Golden Image William White. In last chapter we read of an image which Nebuchadnezzar saw in vision. In this chapter our attention is directed to an actual image which that monarch erected in honour of his gods. This image was made of gold. We cannot suppose the whole structure to have consisted entirely of that metal. Rich as Nebuchadnezzar was, neither he nor any other prince possessed so much disposable wealth as would have been required in order to construct a figure of solid gold of equal dimensions with that mentioned in this passage. We should suppose that the structure consisted of a pedestal or shaft surmounted by an image, that the image properly so called was made of gold, that the pedestal was formed of some baser material, and that the height refers solely to the elevation of the image from the ground, and not to its size. This image "was set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon." Some suppose that Dura was the name of an extensive plain in the neighbourhood of the capital. Others, of high authority in Scriptural geography, are of opinion that it was some enclosure within the city adjacent to the temple of Bolus. From the passage itself we would be disposed to infer that it must have been without the city and at some distance, for if it was within the walls of Babylon there was no need of stating, as is here done, that it was "in the province of Babylon." Various opinions have been entertained respecting the end that Nebuchadnezzar had in view in the erection of this image. Some are of opinion that he wished to claim for himself a place among the gods, and that the image was erected as the outward symbol of his deification. Nebuchadnezzar was evidently an aspiring man. We see no reason to suppose that Nebuchadnezzar intended by this image, publicly, avowedly, and formally, to claim Divine honours for himself. If such had been his intention, it would, doubtless, have been distinctly announced in the proclamation by which his subjects were enjoined to give it worship. The refusal of the three children to worship the image is spoken of by their accusers as a refusal to worship the king's gods. It is thus apparent from the testimony of all the parties concerned in this matter, that the image was erected in honour of the king's gods. In all ages, and in all lands, whose political history is known to us, religion has been degraded into an engine of state and an instrument of tyranny. Hence professed atheists have affirmed that religion is a mere invention of rulers to hold mankind in subjection. This assertion is self-destructive The fact that rulers made use of religion as a means of upholding and strengthening their government, evidently implies that religion had a previous existence, and that they had recourse to it as an instrument of policy on account of the great influence which they had perceived it to possess over the minds of men. National uniformity in matters of religion has ever been the idol of politicians. Conformity to the established religion has been one of the most common tests of loyalty. There can be little doubt that in setting up this image Nebuchadnezzar had a similar end in view. It was not erected simply as a mark of reverence to his idols, but also, we may conceive, as a political expedient to strengthen and consolidate his government, by promoting uniformity of religion among his subjects. To him it would probably appear that this step was not only warranted by the ordinary reasons in behalf of uniformity, but demanded by the peculiar state of the Babylonian empire. A great part of that empire had been newly acquired. It was composed of many nations, Jews, Egyptians, Moabites, Ammonites, Syrians, Edomites. Posts under his government and places in his army would be held by persons from all these countries. To unite a kingdom so variously composed, and obtain the permanent ascendancy over countries so newly acquired, nothing would appear more likely than to bring all his subjects to be of one religion. The religion, whether of an individual or a nation, is the most permanent link of connection between the present and the past. Religion exerts a powerful influence in the formation of character; so long, therefore, as these varied nations retained a diversity of opinions, they would never be thoroughly amalgamated into one empire. The image being erected, Nebuchadnezzar commanded all in authority under him, princes, governors, captains, judges, treasurers, sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to his dedication. Being convened, "An herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." In this proclamation there are two things: First, The command to fall down and worship the image; which extended to all persons specified, without exception. Secondly, The penalty denounced against such as refused. Viewed in the light of the Divine law, this proclamation was most tyrannical. It was a violent outrage on the most sacred rights of human beings. But by this proclamation, Nebuchadnezzar constituted himself supreme dictator in religion to his whole realm; thereby he usurped the prerogatives of the Godhead, by interposing his authority between the conscience of the creature and the will of his Creator. To command his subjects to fall down and worship the image, was to convert law, the bulwark of liberty, into an engine of oppression. But how much more odious and detestable does his conduct appear when we think of the dreadful penalty annexed to the proclamation! In this case, penal laws are always criminal, in the sight of God. It is always wrong to attempt to propagate religion by force. It is contrary to the nature of religion. It is contrary to the nature of man. It is most foolish and inexpedient in point of policy. To attempt to propagate religion by force is to make might the standard of right, which is opposed to man's nature as a reasonable being, and to the worship of God as a reasonable service. And what could be more foolish? It is attempting an impossibility. Force cannot reach the mind. Force may make cowards, it may make dissemblers, it may make hypocrites and apostates, but it never did, and never can make a convert. What, therefore, can be more inexpedient in a government than to persecute men for adhering to their religion? Is not the success of such a measure the memorial of a nation's ignominy? For, when persons are thus induced to fall down and worship what they believe to be wrong, do they not proclaim that they are sacrificing their integrity, that they are violating their consciences, that they are time-servers and apostates, and that. they are men in whose principles no dependence can be placed, when interest and duty are disjoined. The law enacted by Nebuchadnezzar was most tyrannical, most unreasonable in itself, and most inexpedient in point of policy. The command of Nebuchadnezzar met with the most prompt compliance. What a lamentable spectacle was this, to see the rulers of a great nation bending before tyranny — to see rational and immortal beings doing homage to a figure formed of inanimate materials — to see the creatures of God worshipping a creation of man! And yet, with three exceptions, the whole assembled mass fall down and worship it as one man. The thrre exceptions were the excellent companions of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Unawed by the presence of the king, unseduced by the terrors of the burning fiery furnace, they refused to fall down and worship the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. This act was warranted and demanded by the moral law. In the second commandment it is written, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image," etc. In the bustle of that extensive scene, the king of Babylon saw not their neglect. But despotical kings are always encompassed by minions, who, in such a case, are forward to act the part of spies and informers. "Then certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews." Incapable of accounting for their conduct on any known principle of court politics, they endeavoured by artful insinuations to represent their conduct to the king in the most odious light, Nebuchadnezzar probably felt proud of the fine spectacle which the .plains of Dura that day presented. His spirit, we may conceive, rose within him with the swell of the music and the plaudits of the worshippers. His pride would be flattered by the reflection that he was the lord of this assembly of rulers. This information, therefore, came upon him like a thunderbolt out of a cloudless sky. And how did these Jews act when their God is thus insulted, and the alternative imposed upon themselves of bowing to the image or burning in the furnace? They quitted themselves like men. Many valuable lessons may be deduced from this passage, particularly in regard to the manner in which we should adopt, and the spirit in which we should adhere to a profession of religion. There are few things in which men act with greater frivolity than in regard to the solemn matter of making a profession of religion. There are many who fall in with whatever is most popular. Others adhere to whatever is most fashionable among the upper classes of society, and would rather walk on the broad path of destruction with fashionable men than on the narrow way of life without them. How often have human laws enjoined what the Divine law prohibits? How often have God's people been persecuted because they were unwilling to render unto Caesar the things which are God's? There are seasons when it is no easy matter to obey God rather than man. It may bring ruin on our fortunes and reproach upon our names. It may expose us to a violent and untimely death. But even in these cases we ought to s

Benson Commentary 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. Daniel 3:1 . Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold — How soon this image was erected, after the dream in his second year, is uncertain. The Greek and Arabic interpreters suppose it to have been in the eighteenth year of his reign, and Dr. Prideaux agrees with them. But whether it was then, or, as some think, later, the design of it probably was, to frustrate the exposition, and defeat the end of the dream: on which account, perhaps, the image was made wholly of gold, and not of different metals, to make an ostentatious display of the abundance of his wealth, and to obviate the jealousies of his people, excited by his favours to Daniel and his friends. Some or all of these motives might influence this haughty and inconstant monarch to desert the true God, whom he had so lately acknowledged, and to yield again to the force of those inveterate habits, from which he had been so miraculously recovered: see Wintle. The height thereof was threescore cubits — The proportion of the height of this image seems very unequal to the breadth, unless the pedestal, on which it was placed, be included therein. Houbigant, and some others, on account of this disparity, think it was rather a column or pyramid than an image of the human form: but Diodorus, lib. 2. § 9, giving an account of the plunder Xerxes had taken out of the temple of Belus, mentions an image of massy gold that was forty feet high, which Prideaux conjectures to have been this statue made by Nebuchadnezzar. The statue of Jupiter also, made by Lysippus, at Tarentum, is said to have been forty cubits high. It is probable that the plain of Dura, here mentioned, was some extensive plain near Babylon, and that the image set up in it was erected in honour of Bel, the chief idol of the Babylonians. Daniel 3:2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Daniel 3:2-3 . Then Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather together the princes, &c. — It would be very difficult, and perhaps impossible, at this distance of time, to ascertain the proper titles and offices of the several characters that are here mentioned, and certainly would answer no valuable end to any reader. It may be sufficient to observe, that it is probable only those were summoned to attend on this occasion who held places under the government. Thousands of others, no doubt, would be present, and, when present, were required to comply with the king’s injunction respecting worshipping the image, though they had not been summoned. And they came and stood before the image — They made their personal appearance, and showed themselves ready to perform the worship required of them. Daniel 3:3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, 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. Daniel 3:4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, Daniel 3:4-6 . Then a herald cried aloud — Made proclamation in the languages of the several nations assembled; To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages — Whatever parts of the empire you come from, and whatever language you speak. This form of speech was doubtless designed to set forth the largeness and extent of the Babylonish empire. That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, &c. — That is, of wind and stringed instruments of various sorts. It is justly observed by Mr. Scott here, that “the several words by which the several kinds of musical instruments are enumerated in this chapter, do not seem to admit of any satisfactory explanation:” certainly, “without distinctly referring to ancient usages,” and going to a great length of explication, “they cannot be made intelligible, except to those few who are fully acquainted with those usages, and perhaps scarcely even to them:” and if the reader could attain correct ideas of the forms and powers of them all, he would from this derive but little edification. Ye fall down and worship the golden image — Let all take notice, 1st, That the king strictly charges and commands all manner of persons, whatever other gods they worship at other times, now to worship this. 2d, That all do this just at the same time, in token of their communion with each other at this service. And whosoever falleth not down and worshippeth — St. Jerome observes, that falling down is applied, in Scripture, rather to idols than the true God; (see Matthew 4:9 ;) shall the same hour, &c. — This is the first place in the Old Testament where we meet with the division of time into hours. The Greeks ascribe the invention of them to Anaximander, who, perhaps, received it from the Chaldees. The mode of punishment here mentioned was common among this people: compare Jeremiah 29:22 . It has been said, that Abraham was exposed to this punishment before his departure from Chaldea: see Genesis 11:31 ; and Calmet. Similar methods has mystical Babylon followed, to compel those she denominates heretics to embrace her creed, and join in her anti-christian worship. 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: Daniel 3:6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 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. Daniel 3:7 . All the people, &c., fell down and worshipped — And what wonder, considering that all the charms of music were made use of to allure them to a compliance on the one hand, and the terrors of the fiery furnace to frighten them into it on the other? Thus beset with the double temptation of allurement and terror, they all yielded to the will of the idolatrous king. Observe, reader, there is nothing so unreasonable, or sinful, which the careless world will not be drawn to by pleasure, or driven to by pain, and fear of torture and death. By such methods as these, false worship has been set up and maintained in different ages. Daniel 3:8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. Daniel 3:8-12 . At that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews — It is not improbable that these Chaldeans were such as envied these friends of Daniel their preferments, having perhaps themselves expected the places to which they had been advanced. They spake and said, O king, live for ever — They approached the king with a great show of loyalty, and concern for his life, honour, and interest. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, &c. — They put him in mind of the law he had lately made, that all manner of persons, without exception, should fall down and worship his golden image: they put him in mind also of the penalty which was to be inflicted upon recusants. There are certain Jews, &c. — It is likely that Nebuchadnezzar had no particular design to insnare Shadrach and his companions in making this law; for then he would himself have had his eye upon them, and would not have needed this information; but their enemies, who sought an occasion against them, laid hold on this, and were forward to accuse them. To aggravate the matter, and incense the king more against them, they, 1st, Put him in mind of the dignity to which the criminals had been preferred; that though they were Jews, foreigners, captives, and men of a despised nation and religion, yet the king had set them over the affairs of the province of Babylon — It was, therefore, they suggested, very ungrateful, and an insufferable piece of insolence in them, to disobey the king’s command, who had shared so much of the king’s favour. And, besides, the high station they were in would give their refusal the greater influence, and render it of the worse consequence. 2d, They suggest, that it was done maliciously, contumaciously, and in contempt of him and his authority. These men, say they, have not regarded thee, they serve not thy gods, &c. — Thus princes, who are wont to be incensed enough against innocent people, seldom want those about them who do all they can to excite them to greater wrath. If it be asked here, Where was Daniel on this occasion? It may be answered, He was probably absent, either because the king’s business called him elsewhere, or because he had leave of absence from the king; unless we suppose that he stood so high in the king’s favour that none durst complain of him for his non-compliance. But why did not his companions keep out of the way? Surely, because they would obey the king’s orders as far as they could conscientiously, and wished to be present to bear a public testimony against this gross idolatry. God also, no doubt, inclined them to attend, that they might glorify him by a noble confession, made in face of the most extreme danger; and that he might honour and reward them, by a most extraordinary and wonderful deliverance. Daniel 3:9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Daniel 3:10 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: Daniel 3:11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3:12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Daniel 3:13 . Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage, &c. — How little was it to the honour of this mighty prince that he had rule over so many nations, when, at the same time, he had no rule over his own spirit! How unfit was he to rule reasonable men, who would not himself be ruled by reason! Surely it did not need to surprise him to hear that these three men did not now serve his gods, for he knew very well they never had done it, and that their religion, to which they had always adhered, forbade them to do it. Nor had he any reason to think they acted thus in contempt of his authority, since they had in all instances showed themselves respectful and dutiful to him as their prince. Daniel 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Daniel 3:14-15 . Nebuchadnezzar said, Is it true, O Shadrach? &c. — Or, of purpose, as the margin reads it, and as the word is used, Exodus 21:13 . Is it designedly and deliberately done, or was it only through inadvertency, that you have not served my gods? What! you that I have nourished and brought up; that have been educated and maintained at my charge; that I have been so kind to, and done so much for; you that have been in such reputation for wisdom, and therefore should better have known your duty to your prince; what! do not you serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Observe, reader, the faithfulness of God’s servants to him has often been the wonder of their enemies and persecutors, who think it strange that they run not with them to the same excess of riot. Now if ye be ready, &c. — He is willing to admit them to a new trial; if they did purpose before not to worship his gods, yet it may be, upon second thoughts, they will change their minds; it is therefore repeated to them upon what terms they now stand: 1st, The king is willing that the music should play again, for their sakes only, to soften them into a compliance; and if they will not, like the deaf adder, stop their ears, but will hearken to the voice of the charmers, and will worship the golden image, well and good, their former omission shall be pardoned. But, 2d, The king is resolved, if they persist in their refusal, that they shall immediately be cast into the fiery furnace, and shall not have so much as an hour’s reprieve. Thus does the matter lie in a little compass; Turn or burn, is the king’s language. And because he knew they buoyed themselves up in their refusal with a confidence in their God, he insolently sets him at defiance, saying, And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Let him deliver you if he can. Now he forgot what he himself once owned, that their God was a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, Daniel 2:47 . Proud men are still ready to say, as Pharaoh. Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? 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? Daniel 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Daniel 3:16 . Shadrach, Meshach, &c., said, We are not careful to answer thee, &c. — In so plain a case there is no room for deliberation: we have an answer ready at hand, that we ought to obey God rather than man. Admirable example this of a true faith in God, and ready obedience to his will! How worthy of our imitation! It is such an instance of fortitude and magnanimity as is scarce to be paralleled. They did not break out into any intemperate heat, or passion, against those that worshipped the golden image, did not insult or affront them, nor did they rashly thrust themselves upon the trial, or go out of the way to court martyrdom; but when they were duly called to the fiery trial, they quitted themselves with a conduct and courage that became sufferers for so good a cause. Daniel 3:17 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. Daniel 3:17-18 . If it be so — If we are brought into this strait: if we must be thrown into the fiery furnace unless we serve thine image; our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, &c. — As we are firmly persuaded of the power of our God to deliver us, so we trust in his mercy and goodness, that he will deliver us out of this imminent danger. This they spake out of a well-grounded hope, not from a certain foresight of being delivered; for such an assurance would have detracted much from the worth of their courage and constancy, in despising the danger which threatened them. And it appears, from what follows, that they were firmly fixed in their resolution, not to dishonour the true God by worshipping this image, or any of the gods of Babylon, although they should perish in the flames, for so they declare in the following words. But if not, &c., we will not serve thy gods — It was, therefore, all one to them which way God would honour himself; they were resolved to suffer rather than sin, and leave their cause to God. Indeed, if God be for us, we need not fear what man can do unto us. Let him do his worst: God will deliver us either from death, or in death. Daniel 3:18 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. Daniel 3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. Daniel 3:19-21 . Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury — Nebuchadnezzar had himself known and owned so much of the true God, that one would have thought, though his pride and vanity had induced him to make this golden image, and set it up to be worshipped, yet that what these young men now said (whom he had formerly found to be wiser than all his wise men) would have revived his convictions, and at least have engaged him to forbear proceeding to extremities against them; but it proved quite otherwise. 1st, Instead of being convinced by what they said, he was exasperated, and made more outrageous. 2d, Instead of mitigating their punishment, in consideration of their quality and the honourable offices they were in, he ordered it to be heightened, commanding the heat of the furnace to be increased seven-fold; which, though it would not make their death more grievous, but rather despatch them the sooner, yet was designed to signify, that the king looked upon their crime as seven times more heinous than the crimes of others, and so made their death more ignominious. But God brought glory to himself out of this foolish instance of the tyrant’s rage; for though it would not have made their death the more grievous, yet it made their deliverance much the more illustrious. 3d, He ordered them to be bound in their clothes, which was done accordingly. They were bound, that they might not struggle, or make any resistance; were bound in their clothes for haste, or that they might be consumed the more slowly and gradually: but God’s providence ordered it for the increase of the miracle, in that their clothes were not so much as singed. What a terrible death was this, to be cast bound into the midst of a burning fiery furnace! It makes one’s flesh tremble to think of it, and horror to take hold of one. It is amazing that the tyrant was so hard-hearted as to inflict such a punishment, and the confessors possessed of such fortitude as to submit to it, rather than sin against God. But what is this to the second death? to the furnace into which the tares shall be cast in bundles? to that lake which burns eternally with fire and brimstone? Let Nebuchadnezzar heat his furnace as hot as he can, a few minutes will finish the torment of those who are cast into it; but hell-fire tortures, and doth not kill; the pain of damned sinners is more exquisite, and the smoke of their torments ascends for ever and ever, and they have no rest, no intermission, no cessation of their pains, who have worshipped the beast and his image, Revelation 14:10-11 ; whereas their pain would be soon over that were cast into this furnace, for not worshipping this Babylonian beast and his image. Daniel 3:20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3:21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3:22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel 3:22-23 . Because the king’s commandment was urgent — That they should despatch them quickly, and be sure to do it effectually; and they therefore resolved to go to the very mouth of the furnace, that they might throw them into the midst of it; and were hasty and precipitate in executing their orders, and did not take proper care for themselves against the violence of the heat. The flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, &c. — The apocryphal additions to the book of Daniel say, that the flame ascended forty-nine cubits above the month of the furnace. Probably God ordered it so, that the wind blew the flame directly upon them. Thus did God immediately plead the cause of his injured servants, and take vengeance for them on their persecutors, whom he punished not only in the very act of their sin, but by their sin. But these men were only the instruments of this cruelty: he that commanded them to do this had the greater sin; yet they suffered justly for executing an unjust decree: a decree which, it is very likely, they executed with pleasure. As to Nebuchadnezzar himself, he was referred for a future reckoning. There is a day coming when proud tyrants will be punished, not only for the cruelties they have been guilty of, but for employing those about them in their cruelties, and so exposing them to the judgments of God. It is probable, the noise occasioned by what befell these men drew Nebuchadnezzar to the place where the furnace was, where he beheld what is related in the following verses. These three men fell down bound, &c. — All this is expressed with emphasis, to make the power of God more glorious in their preservation; for that flame which slew the executioners, might much more easily have killed them, even before they fell down. Daniel 3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. Daniel 3:24-25 . Then Nebuchadnezzar was astonied, and rose up in haste — Some have thought there is something wanting between this and the preceding verse, expressive of the reason of Nebuchadnezzar’s astonishment. Hence Houbigant inserts two verses, which are found in the Vulgate to this purpose: “But an angel of the Lord descended to Azariah and his companions into the furnace, and drove the flame of the fire from the furnace. And they walked in the midst of the flame, praising and blessing the Lord.” The LXX. and Arabic read the beginning of this verse thus: Then Nebuchadnezzar heard them singing praise, and was astonished, &c. But it is probable that either the slaying of the men who executed his sentence was that which astonished Nebuchadnezzar, or rather, his unexpectedly seeing at a distance the young men walking at liberty, and apparently in comfort, in the fiery furnace. He said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire — 1st, They were loose from their bonds: the fire, which did not so much as singe their clothes, burned the cords with which they were tied. 2d, They had no hurt, felt no pain or uneasiness in the least; the flame did not scorch them, the smoke did not stifle them: they were alive, and as well as ever in the midst of the flames. See how the God of nature can, when he pleases, control the powers of nature, to make them serve his purposes! Now was fulfilled in the letter that gracious promise, Isaiah 43:2 , When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. By faith they quenched the violence of fire. 3d, They walked in the midst of the fire: the furnace was large, so that they had room to walk; they were unhurt, so that they were able to walk; their minds were easy, so that they were disposed to walk as in a paradise, or garden of pleasure. Can a man walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burnt? Proverbs 6:28 . Yes; they did it with as much pleasure as the king of Tyrus walked up and down in the midst of his precious stones, which sparkled as fire, Ezekiel 28:14 . 4th, There was a fourth seen with them in the fire, whose form, says Nebuchadnezzar, is like the Son of God — Or rather, like a son of God, or, of the gods; in agreement with the Hebrew, LXX., and Syriac; that is, “Like a divine and glorious person, sent from the powers above to rescue and deliver these men.” For as Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater, it is scarce to be conceived that he should know any thing concerning the Song of Solomon of God, the Messiah, and much less of his form and likeness; whereas all the heathen had a notion, which runs through their theology, of the sons of the deities, as powerful beings, sent often to the aid and protection of mankind. But though we can scarce suppose Nebuchadnezzar to have called or known this person to have been the Song of Solomon of God, the promised Redeemer; yet it is extremely probable, (and so the best Jewish as well as Christian commentators have understood it,) that he was indeed the Song of Solomon of God, who often appeared in our nature, in a human form, before he assumed that nature for our salvation; the great angel, or messenger of the covenant, who under that character frequently revealed himself to the patriarchs of old; and accordingly, in a subsequent verse, he is called the angel of God, the messenger sent to deliver these servants of the Lord; the same who was afterward sent to Daniel, to preserve him from the rage of the lions. Moreover, we may observe, that as angels are often called sons of God, and as most nations had high ideas of their power, perhaps Nebuchadnezzar might only mean an angel, a celestial delegate; and this seems the more probable from his own words, Daniel 3:28 , Blessed be God, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants, &c. — That angel, or Song of Solomon of God, whom I saw in the furnace, &c: see Christian Mag., vol. 2. page 613. Observe, reader, those that suffer for Christ, have his gracious presence with them in their sufferings, even in the fiery furnace, even in the valley of the shadow of death, and therefore even there they need fear no evil. Hereby Christ showed that what is done against his people, he takes as done against himself: whoever throw them into the furnace, do in effect throw him in; I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest, Acts 9:5 . Daniel 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Daniel 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither . Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. Daniel 3:26-27 . Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the furnace — As near as he durst come; and spake — With a milder tone than before, God having abated the fire of his fury; and said, Ye servants of the most high God, &c. — The miracle calls to his mind the confession which he had formerly made of the true God, Daniel 2:47 . And he can now at once both acknowledge him to be most high above all gods, and the three worthies, who had been condemned to the flames, to be his faithful servants. Observe, reader, sooner or later God will convince the proudest of men, that he is the most high God, and above them, and too hard for them, even in those things wherein they deal proudly and presumptuously, Exodus 18:11 . He will likewise let them know who are his servants, and that he owns them, and will stand by them. Nebuchadnezzar now embraces those whom he had abandoned to destruction, and is ready to show them every possible kindness, perceiving them to be the favourites of Heaven. How the fourth, whose form was like the Son of God, withdrew, and whether he vanished away or visibly ascended, we are not told; but of the other three we are informed, that they came forth out of the midst of the fire — As Abraham their father out of Ur, that is, the`fire, of the Chaldees, into which, says the tradition of the Jews, he was cast for refusing to worship idols, and out of which he was delivered, as those his three descendants were. When they had their discharge, they did not tempt God by staying any longer, but came forth as brands out of the burning. And the princes, governors, &c., being gathered together, saw those men — All the great men came together to view them, and were amazed to find that they had not received the least damage by the fire; that it had no power over their bodies, &c. — Several expressions are here used, which rise in fine order one above another, and the climax is beautiful. The fire not only had no prevailing power over their bodies, but neither was a hair of their head burned, nor their flowing robes singed, nor even the smell of fire had passed on them. Daniel 3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Daniel 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Daniel 3:28 . Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, &c. — So Darius offers up his acknowledgments to the God of Daniel 6:26 , looking upon him as superior to other gods, but not as the only true God. Who hath sent his angel — Thus Daniel ascribes his deliverance from the lions to an angel, Daniel 6:22 ; and delivered his servants that trusted in him — That confided in his power, love, and faithfulness, that he would stand by and support them in their time of trial, and either bring them out of the fiery furnace back to their place on earth, or lead them through it forward to their place in heaven; and in this confidence became fearless of the king’s wrath, and regardless of their own lives. And have changed the king’s word — Have rendered his command of none effect, God having himself suspended the execution of it; and yielded their bodies — To expected torture and death; that they might not serve, &c. — That is, rather than they would consent to serve any god, except their own God — Or, any false god: all gods, but Jehovah, being false pretenders to divinity. By this miracle Nebuchadnezzar was plainly given to understand, that all the great success which he had had, and should yet have against the Jews, and in which he gloried, as if he had therein overpowered their God, was purely owing to their sin; that if the body of that nation had faithfully adhered to their own God, and the worship of him only, as these three men did, they would all have been delivered out of his hands, as these three men were. And this was a necessary instruction for him at this time. Daniel 3:29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Daniel 3:29 . Therefore, I make a decree, &c. — He issues a royal edict, strictly forbidding any to speak evil of the God of Israel. We have reason to think that both the sins and the troubles of Israel had given great, though no just occasion to the Chaldeans to blaspheme the God of Israel, and it is likely Nebuchadnezzar himself had encouraged them to do it; but now, though he is no true convert, nor is influenced to worship him, yet he resolves never to speak evil of him again, nor to suffer others to do so. If any should presume to do it, he decrees that they should be counted the worst of malefactors, and should be dealt with accordingly. The miracle now wrought by the power of this God, in defence of his worshippers, and that publicly, in the sight of the thousands of Babylon, was a sufficient justification of this edict. And it would contribute much to the ease of the Jews in their captivity, to be, by this law, screened from the fiery darts of reproach and blasphemy, with which, otherwise, they would have been continually annoyed. Observe, reader, it is a great mercy to the church, and a good point gained, when its enemies, though they have not their hearts turned, yet have their mouths stopped, and their tongues tied. If a heathen prince laid such a restraint upon the proud lips of blasphemers, how much more should Christian princes do it. Nay, in this thing, one would suppose that men should be a law to themselves; and that those who have so little love to God that they c

Expositor's Bible Commentary 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. THE IDOL OF GOLD, AND THE FAITHFUL THREE REGARDED as an instance of the use of historic fiction to inculcate the noblest truths, the third chapter of Daniel is not only superb in its imaginative grandeur, but still more in the manner in which it sets forth the piety of ultimate faithfulness, and of that "Death-defying utterance of truth" which is the essence of the most heroic and inspiring forms of martyrdom. So far from slighting it, because it does not come before us with adequate evidence to prove that it was even intended to be taken as literal history, I have always regarded it as one of the most precious among the narrative chapters of Scripture. It is of priceless value as illustrating the deliverance of undaunted faithfulness-as setting forth the truth that they who love God and trust in Him must love Him and trust in Him even till the end, in spite not only of the most overwhelming peril, but even when they are brought face to face with apparently hopeless defeat. Death itself, by torture or sword or flame, threatened by the priests and tyrants and multitudes of the earth set in open array against them, is impotent to shake the purpose of God’s saints. When the servant of God can do nothing else against the banded forces of sin, the world, and the devil, he at least can die, and can say like the Maccabees, "Let us die in our simplicity!". He may be saved from death; but even if not, he must prefer death to apostasy, and will save his own soul. That the Jews were ever reduced to such a choice during the Babylonian exile there is no evidence; indeed, all evidence points the other way, and seems to show that they were allowed with perfect tolerance to hold and practise their own religion. But in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes the question which to choose-martyrdom or apostasy-became a very burning one. Antiochus set up at Jerusalem "the abomination of desolation," and it is easy to understand what courage and conviction a tempted Jew might derive from the study of this splendid defiance. That the story is of a kind well fitted to haunt the imagination is shown by the fact that Firdausi tells a similar story from Persian tradition of "a martyr hero who came unhurt out of a fiery furnace." This immortal chapter breathes exactly the same spirit as the forty-fourth Psalm. "Our heart is not turned back, Neither our steps gone out of Thy way: No, not when Thou hast smitten us into the place of dragons, And covered us with the shadow of death. If we have forgotten the Name of our God, And holden up our hands to any strange god, Shall not God search it out? For He knoweth the very secrets of the heart." "Nebuchadnezzar the king," we are told in one of the stately overtures in which this writer rejoices, "made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits, and he set it up in the plains of Dura, in the province of Babylon." No date is given, but the writer may well have supposed or have traditionally heard that some such event took place about the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar’s reign, when he had brought to conclusion a series of great victories and conquests. Nor are we told whom the image represented. We may imagine that it was an idol of Bel-merodach, the patron deity of Babylon, to whom we know that he did erect an image; or of Nebo, from whom the king derived his name. When it is said to be "of gold," the writer, in the grandiose character of his imaginative faculty, may have meant his words to be taken literally, or he may merely have meant that it was gilded, or overlaid with gold. There were colossal images in Egypt and in Nineveh, but we never read in history of any other gilded image ninety feet high and nine feet broad. The name of the plain or valley in which it was erected-Dura-has been found in several Babylonian localities. Then the king proclaimed a solemn dedicatory festival, to which he invited every sort of functionary, of which the writer, with his usual and rotundity of expression, accumulates the eight names. They were:- 1. The Princes, "satraps," or wardens of the realm. 2. The Governors. { Daniel 2:48 } 3. The Captains. 4. The Judges. 5. The Treasurers or Controllers. 6. The Counsellors. 7. The Sheriffs. 8. All the Rulers of the Provinces. Any attempts to attach specific values to these titles are failures. They seem to be a catalogue of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian titles, and may perhaps (as Ewald conjectured) be meant to represent the various grades of three classes of functionaries-civil, military, and legal. Then all these officials, who with leisurely stateliness are named again, came to the festival, and stood before the image. It is not improbable that the writer may have been a witness of some such splendid ceremony to which the Jewish magnates were invited in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. Then a herald ( kerooza ) cried aloud a proclamation "to all peoples, nations, and languages." Such a throng might easily have contained Greeks, Phoenicians, Jews, Arabs, and Assyrians, as well as Babylonians. At the outburst of a blast of "boisterous janizary-music" they are all to fall down and worship the golden image. Of the six different kinds of musical instruments, which, in his usual style, the writer names and reiterates, and which it is neither possible nor very important to distinguish, three-the harp, psaltery, and bagpipe-are Greek; two, the horn and sackbut, have names derived from roots found in both Aryan and Semitic languages; and one, "the pipe," is Semitic. As to the list of officials, the writer had added "and all the rulers of the provinces"; so here he adds "and all kinds of music." Any one who refused to obey the order was to be flung, the same hour, into the burning furnace of fire. Professor Sayce, in his "Hibbert Lectures," connects the whole scene with an attempt, first by Nebuchadrezzar, then by Nabunaid, to make Merodach-who, to conciliate the prejudices of the worshippers of the older deity Bel, was called Bel-merodach-the chief deity of Babylon. He sees in the king’s proclamation an underlying suspicion that some would be found to oppose his attempted centralisation of worship. The music burst forth, and the vast throng all prostrated themselves, except Daniel’s three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We naturally pause to ask where then was Daniel? If the narrative be taken for literal history, it is easy to answer with the apologist that he was ill; or was absent; or was a person of too much importance to be required to prostrate himself; or that "the Chaldeans" were afraid to accuse him. "Certainly," says Professor Fuller, "had this chapter been the composition of a pseudo-Daniel, or the record of a fictitious event, Daniel would have been introduced and his immunity explained." Apologetic literature abounds in such fanciful and valueless arguments. It would be just as true, and just as false, to say that "certainly," if the narrative were historic, his absence would have been explained; and all the more because he was expressly elected to be "in the gate of the king." But if we regard the chapter as a noble Haggada, there is not the least difficulty in accounting for Daniel’s absence. The separate stories were meant to cohere to a certain extent; and though the writers of this kind of ancient imaginative literature, even in Greece, rarely trouble themselves with any questions which lie outside the immediate purpose, yet the introduction of Daniel into the story would have been to violate every vestige of verisimilitude. To represent Nebuchadrezzar worshipping Daniel as a god, and offering oblations to him on one page, and on the next to represent the king as throwing him into a furnace for refusing to worship an idol, would have involved an obvious incongruity. Daniel is represented in the other chapters as playing his part and bearing his testimony to the God of Israel; this chapter is separately devoted to the heroism and the testimony of his three friends. Observing the defiance of the king’s edict, certain Chaldeans, actuated by jealousy, came near to the king and "accused" the Jews. { Daniel 6:13-14 } The word for "accused" is curious and interesting. It is literally "ate the pieces of the Jews ," evidently involving a metaphor of fierce devouring malice. Reminding the king of his decree, they inform him that three of the Jews to whom he has given such high promotion "thought well not to regard thee; thy god will they not serve, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Nebuchadrezzar, like other despots who suffer from the vertigo of autocracy, was liable to sudden outbursts of almost spasmodic fury. We read of such storms of rage in the case of Antiochus Epiphanes, of Nero, of Valentinian I, and even of Theodosius. The double insult to himself and to his god on the part of men to whom he had shown such conspicuous favour transported him out of himself. For Bel-merodach, whom he had made the patron god of Babylon, was, as he says in one of his own inscriptions, "the lord, the joy of my heart in Babylon, which is the seat of my sovereignty and empire." It seemed to him too intolerable that this god, who had crowned him with glory and victory, and that he himself, arrayed in the plenitude of his imperial power, should be defied and set at naught by three miserable and ungrateful captives. He puts it to them whether it was their set purpose that they would not serve his gods or worship his image. Then he offers them a locus poenitentiae . The music should sound forth again. If they would then worship-but if not, they should be flung into the furnace, -"and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" The question is a direct challenge and defiance of the God of Israel, like Pharaoh’s "And who is Jehovah, that I shall obey His voice?" or like Sennacherib’s "Who are they among all the gods that have delivered their land out of my hand?" { Exodus 5:2 Isaiah 36:20 2 Chronicles 32:13-17 } It is answered in each instance by a decisive interposition. The answer of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is truly magnificent in its unflinching courage. It is: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee a word concerning this. If our God whom we serve be able to deliver us, He will deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and out of thy hand, O king. 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." By the phrase "if our God be able" no doubt as to God’s power is expressed. The word "able" merely means "able in accordance with His own plans." The three children knew well that God can deliver, and that He has repeatedly delivered His saints. Such deliverances abound on the sacred page, and are mentioned in the "Dream of Gerontius":- "Rescue him, O Lord, in this his evil hour, As of old so many by Thy mighty Power: Enoch and Elias from the common doom; Noe from the waters in a saving home; Abraham from the abounding guilt of Heathenesse, Job from all his multiform and fell distress; Isaac, when his father’s knife was raised to slay; Lot from burning Sodom on its judgment-day; Moses from the land of bondage and despair; Daniel from the hungry lions in their lair; David from Golia, and the wrath of Saul; And the two Apostles from their prison-thrall." But the willing martyrs were also well aware that in many cases it has not been God’s purpose to deliver His saints out of the peril of death; and that it has been far better for them that they should be carried heavenwards on the fiery chariot of martyrdom. They were therefore perfectly prepared to find that it was the will of God that they too should perish, as thousands of God’s faithful ones had perished before them, from the tyrannous and cruel hands of man; and they were cheerfully willing to confront that awful extremity. Thus regarded, the three words "And if not" are among the sublimest words uttered in all Scripture. They represent the truth that the man who trusts in God will continue to say even to the end, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." They are the triumph of faith over all adverse circumstances. It has been the glorious achievement of man to have attained, by the inspiration of the breath of the Almighty, so clear an insight into the truth that the voice of duty must be obeyed to the very end, as to lead him to defy every combination of opposing forces. The gay lyrist of heathendom expressed it in his famous ode, - " Justum et tenacem propositi virum Non civium ardor prays jubentium, Non vultus instantis tyranni, Mente quatit solida. " It is man’s testimony to his indomitable belief that the things of sense are not to be valued in comparison to that high happiness which arises from obedience to the law of conscience, and that no extremities of agony are commensurate with apostasy. This it is which, more than anything else, has, in spite of appearances, shown that the spirit of man is of heavenly birth, and has enabled him to unfold "The wings within him wrapped, and proudly rise Redeemed from earth, a creature of the skies." For wherever there is left in man any true manhood, he has never shrunk from accepting death rather than the disgrace of compliance with what he despises and abhors. This it is which sends our soldiers on the forlorn hope, and makes them march with a smile upon the batteries which vomit their cross-fires upon them; "and so die by thousands the unnamed demigods." By virtue of this it has been that all the martyrs have, "with the irresistible might of their weakness," shaken the solid world. On hearing the defiance of the faithful Jews-absolutely firm in its decisiveness, yet perfectly respectful in its tone-the tyrant was so much beside himself, that, as he glared on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, his very countenance was disfigured. The furnace was probably one used for the ordinary cremation of the dead. He ordered that it should be heated seven times hotter than it was wont to be heated, and certain men of mighty strength who were in his army were bidden to bind the three youths and fling them into the raging flames. So, bound in their hosen, their tunics, their long mantles, and their other garments, they were cast into the seven-times-heated furnace. The king’s commandment was so urgent, and the "tongue of flame" was darting so fiercely from the horrible kiln, that the executioners perished in planting the ladders to throw them in, but they themselves fell into the midst of the furnace. The death of the executioners seems to have attracted no special notice, but immediately afterwards Nebuchadrezzar started in amazement and terror from his throne, and asked his chamberlains, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" "True, O king," they answered. "Behold," he said, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods!" Then the king approached the door of the furnace of fire, and called, "Ye servants of the Most High God, come forth." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the midst of the fire; and all the satraps, prefects, presidents, and court chamberlains gathered round to stare on men who were so completely untouched by the fierceness of the flames that not a hair of their heads had been singed, nor their hosen shrivelled, nor was there even the smell of burning upon them. According to the version of Theodotion, the king worshipped the Lord before them, and he then published a decree in which, after blessing God for sending His angel to deliver His servants who trusted in Him, he somewhat incoherently ordained that "every people, nation, or language which spoke any blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, should be cut in pieces, and his house made a dunghill : since there is no other god that can deliver after this sort." Then the king-as he had done before-promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Henceforth they disappear alike from history, tradition, and legend; but the whole magnificent Haggada is the most powerful possible commentary on the words of Isaiah 43:2 : "When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." How powerfully the story struck the imagination of the Jews is shown by the not very apposite Song of the Three Children, with the other apocryphal additions. Here we are told that the furnace was heated "with rosin, pitch, tow, and small wood; so that the flame streamed forth above the furnace forty and nine cubits. And it passed through and burned those Chaldeans it found about the furnace. But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace together with Azarias and his fellows, and smote the flame of the fire out of the oven; and made the midst of the furnace as it had been a moist whistling wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither hurt nor troubled them." In the Talmud the majestic limitations of the Biblical story are sometimes enriched with touches of imagination, but more often coarsened by tasteless exhibitions of triviality and rancour. Thus in the "Vayyikra Rabba" Nebuchadrezzar tries to persuade the youths by fantastic misquotations of Isaiah 10:10 , Ezekiel 23:14 . Deuteronomy 4:28 , Jeremiah 27:8 ; "and they refute him and end with clumsy plays on his name," telling him that he should bark ( nabach ) like a dog, swell like a water-jar ( cod ), and chirp like a cricket ( tsirtsir ), which he immediately did- i.e. , he was smitten with lycanthropy. In "Sanhedrin" f. 93, 1, the story is told of the adulterous false prophets Ahab and Zedekiah, and it is added that Nebuchadrezzar offered them the ordeal of fire from which the Three Children had escaped. They asked that Joshua the high priest might be with them, thinking that his sanctity would be their protection. When the king asked why Abraham, though alone, had been saved from the fire of Nimrod, and the Three Children from the burning furnace, and yet the high priest should have been singed, { Zechariah 3:2 } Joshua answered that the presence of two wicked men gave the fire power over him, and quoted the proverb, "Two dry Sticks kindle one green one." In "Pesachin," f. 118, 1, there is a fine imaginative passage on the subject, attributed to Rabbi Samuel of Shiloh:- "In the hour when Nebuchadrezzar the wicked threw Hananiah, Mishrael, and Azariah into the midst of the furnace of fire, Gorgemi, the prince of the hail, stood before the Holy One (blessed be He!) and said, ‘Lord of the world, let me go down and cool the furnace.’ ‘No,’ answered Gabriel; ‘all men know that hail quenches fire; but I, the prince of fire, will go down and make the furnace cool within and hot without, and thus work a miracle within a miracle.’ The Holy One (blessed be He!) said unto him, ‘Go down. In the self-same hour Gabriel opened his mouth and said, ‘And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.’" Mr. Ball, who quotes these passages from Wunsche’s "Bibliotheca Rabbinica" in his Introduction to the Song of the Three Children, very truly adds that many Scriptural commentators wholly lack the orientation derived from the study of Talmudic and Midrashic literature which is an indispensable preliminary to a right understanding of the treasures of Eastern thought. They do not grasp the inveterate tendency of Jewish teachers to convey doctrine by concrete stories and illustrations, and not in the form of abstract thought. "The doctrine is everything; the mode of presentation has no independent value." To make the story the first consideration, and the doctrine it was intended to convey an after-thought, as we, with our dry Western literalness, are predisposed to do, is to reverse the Jewish order of thinking, and to inflict unconscious injustice on the authors of many edifying narratives of antiquity. The part played by Daniel in the apocryphal Story of Susanna is probably suggested by the meaning of his name: "Judgment of God." Both that story and Bel and the Dragon are in their way effective fictions, though incomparably inferior to the canonical part of the Book of Daniel. And the startling decree of Nebuchadrezzar finds its analogy in the decree published by Antiochus the Great to all his subjects in honour of the Temple at Jerusalem, in which he threatened the infliction of heavy fines on any foreigner who trespassed within the limits of the Holy Court. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.