Daniel 3:1-7

John Burnett:  3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,^[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ² He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. ³ So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: ⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

⁷ Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  King Nebuchadnezzar kind of sounds like another leader I have read about but he will kill you if you don’t worship him.  The antichrist will demand worship just like King Nebuchadnezzar but he will be the object of worship instead of a gold statue.  God keeps putting Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in some extreme life and death situations but He provides for their needs and a way to get out of trouble every time.  During all of their trouble, Daniel and friends have remained faithful and given God all the credit for saving them.  He will do the same for those who He bought with His blood.

 

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Krista Cook:  3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,^[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ² He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. ³ So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: ⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
⁷ Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

- What a turn around we see here...in the verses before, he was praising Daniel's God and now he is wanting to play god.  Oh how quickly we forget...

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Mike Grimm:  3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Instead of having only a head of gold, as in his dream, Nebuchadnezzar made his statue of gold, from head to toe. He wanted his kingdom to last forever. This also proved that his devotion to Daniel’s God was short lived. Obviously, he neither feared nor obeyed the God who was behind the dream. ² He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. ³ So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it. King Nebuchadnezzar set up an enormous gold image. Perhaps he remembered the dream that Daniel had explained to him. Maybe he set up an image of himself, because he was proud to be like the gold head. But maybe he was not satisfied to be just the head. He set up the image on a plain between mountains. Many people could see it there. Even people far away could see it. He invited his officials to see the image. The writer mentions all sorts of officials.

⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: ⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” This was no Easy Bake Oven. This was an industrial man-sized furnace that was probably used for baking bricks or smelting metals. It killed soldiers that just walked up to the opening.

⁷ Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. There was probably a great crowd of people present. So it seems that the official had a very loud voice. He ordered everyone to listen. When they heard the sound of music, they had to give honour to the image. The people whom Nebuchadnezzar had defeated also had to give honour to him and to his gods. The king would punish anyone who did not give honour to the image. They would be guilty of not being loyal to the king or his gods. The punishment was an awful death. The king’s servants would throw the guilty people into a very hot fire. Then everybody did what the king had ordered. They heard the music and they gave honour to the image.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Daniel 3:8-15

⁸ At this time some astrologers^[b] came forward and denounced the Jews. ⁹ They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! ¹⁰ Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, ¹¹ and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. ¹² But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
¹³ Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? ¹⁵ Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”