Tonight, we get into the beginning of chapter 3 in the book of Daniel. We will talk tonight about Nebuchadnezzar's gold statue. You know, all of us face trials and afflictions in our life. Sooner or later all of us face hard times. It's in those hard times that we need a strong steadfast faith in the Lord. We need to submit our lives to the Lord and trust him to deliver us. A strong steadfast faith and submission to God is the subject of chapter 3. We will more or less just get into the introduction to the chapter tonight.
Nebuchadnezzar faced a serious problem. Years have passed now since the happenings in chapter 2. The Babylonian empire had become enormous in size. It was an empire that had conquered all the nations stretching from Babylon to Egypt.
So how was Nebuchadnezzar going to a unify so many different nationalities, languages, cultures, and peoples? While he was thinking about this problem, the king came up with an idea. He thought what he needed to do was to institute a state religion and rally the people around that religion. He thought that this common attachment to the state religion could be the unifying thread of the empire. After all it was the state that provided security, prosperity, and public services for the people. Just that fact alone should cause the people to mobilize and willingly give their loyalty to such a great provider of the state. Or so he thought. But to achieve the people's loyalty, something was needed: a religious symbol of the state that the people could worship.
So Nebuchadnezzar remembers the huge statue from his dream years before and the fact that he was the head of gold on that statue. So, he had constructed a huge statue as the representative of the new state religion.
To bring the people together as a unified nation, Nebuchadnezzar demanded that the people commit their first loyalty to the state but it caused a serious problem for the believers. Throughout the empire, the faith of true believers was severely tested.
Read verse 1. So, Nebuchadnezzar has this huge gold statue constructed. The statue was 90 ft high and 9 ft wide. It must have had a large base, otherwise a statue of this size would be completely out of proportion to the human body.
Some interpreters suggest that the statue was an Asherah, which was an image something like a totem pole. But the gold statue probably reflected the human image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream a few years earlier. The image was not built in the city of Babylon, but in the plane of Dura, which was about 15 to 16 miles outside the city.
Why he chose this particular site is not really stated, but it obviously provided a huge area for large crowds to gather before the statue to declare their first loyalty to the state.
The date of this event is not given. Some suggest that it was right after Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Others suggest a later date of some 20 or more years. If we use this later date and if it is accurate, it means that Nebuchadnezzar had already destroyed Jerusalem, invaded and conquered Egypt, and completed his 13-year siege and conquest of Tyre.
If this was the case, while he was in Egypt, he would have seen the gigantic monuments built by the Pharaohs - the pyramids, sphinxes, temples, and statues like that of Rameses the Great. Seeing these would have maybe aroused Nebuchadnezzar's desire to build a monument in his own honor, a monument that could be used to consolidate his power and to unify the nation. No doubt, pride and a sense of self-importance was coming up on him. After all, the God of Daniel had made him the head of gold. And he was unquestionably the ruler of the greatest empire in the world.
Read verses 2-7. So, Nebuchadnezzar is going to use the gold statue to institute a new state religion. As soon as the construction was finished, the king summoned all the government officials to attend the dedication of the image (v. 2). Eight ranks of officials are listed, all of them representing the citizens of their various districts:
-Princess or satraps who were the chief administrative officers over the larger divisions or states of the empire.
-Governors or prefects who had a position something like a lieutenant governor or assistant to the princes. Some commentators suggest they were military commanders.
-Captains or governors who ruled over districts within each state or division of the empire.
-Judges or advisors and counselors.
-Judges or treasurers.
-Sheriffs or magistrates.
-All other officials who held positions of leadership throughout the provinces of the Babylonian empire.
All of these officials assembled on the appointed day of the dedication service. They stood before the towering statue. Suddenly, the herald shouted out the command of the king. This was what the leaders were to do and the instructions they were to carry back to their people. As soon as they heard the Royal orchestra began to play, every official was to fall down before the huge gold statue to declare his first loyalty to Babylon.
This was actually a matter of life and death. If any person refused to carry out the king's command, he would immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. And the furnace was sitting just off to the side where everyone could see the roaring fire.
All of a sudden, the music began to play, and thousands of government officials fell down to worship the gold image. That is, all bowed before the image except three young men. Daniel's three friends stood tall and erect, towering above this sea of people that were bowed down with their foreheads touching the ground.
Daniel's three friends took their stand. They would not bow down or worship the golden statue. So, the charge of treason was bound to be launched against them.
Read verses 8-11. Some of these occult or Chaldean advisors immediately approached the king and denounced the Jews. There's no doubt that these advisors were jealous of Daniel and his three friends. I'm pretty sure they must have resented the fact that King Nebuchadnezzar had promoted and showed favor to them. The very thought that the king would elevate three Jews over the Babylonian leaders had to gnaw at their souls.
Notice how they emphasize that the three men were Jews. There was obviously a prejudice that filled their hearts. In the minds of these advisors, the three young men had just betrayed Babylon. So, they reminded the king of his decree, that anyone who refused to worship before the gold statue and declare his first loyalty to the state was to be executed. These three would and should have been thrown into the blazing furnace.
Read verse 12. So, these Chaldean advisors cast the charge of treason against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago. They charge them with being narrow-minded. They charge them with refusing to acknowledge Babylon's other gods. They charge them with deliberately breaking the king's laws. They charge them with refusing to bow or to worship the gold image that represented Babylon.
This is as far as we will go tonight. But in all of this, these three young men face the ultimate test of their faith. They either had to disobey the Lord or disobey the king. And their decision was a matter of life or death. It was easy for all of the occult officials of Babylon to declare their first loyalty to the state, because they all believed in many gods. This image representing the state of Babylon was merely another God to be added to the others worshiped throughout the empire.
But not to Daniel's three young friends. They believed in the Lord, the only living and true God revealed in the Holy Scriptures. They knew Him in a very personal way, and they loved the Lord. Plus, they knew the Word of God, and what God demanded of them. They knew that the Lord is the only living and true God and that He commands them to love Him with all their heart and soul and strength.
From the earliest days of their childhood all three of these young men had made the word of God the center of their lives. So, their first loyalty belonged to the Lord. They could not worship any so-called God formed by the imaginations of men nor give their first loyalty to the state of Babylon. Their first loyalty and worship belonged to the Lord and to Him alone. Their faith was being tested to the ultimate length, a matter of life or death.
Our lesson in all of this is that when our faith is tested, we must continue to trust the Lord. We must cast our life totally into the Lord's keeping. Even if the test is a matter of life or death for us, we're never to deny the Lord. We are to take our stand and continue to confess the Lord. No matter how strong the temptation or how difficult the trial, God expects us to continue to believe and trust Him. Our faith is not to waver or collapse, but rather to remain strong. And it is through this faith that we can overcome all these tests and trials of life.
When in doubt trust the Lord. You'll never go wrong.
