Nebuchadnezzar saw with his own eyes that either the Lord or an angel was present with the faithful servants of YHWH. “But I see four men.” Nebuchadnezzar is right. There is always a fourth man with us. Even if we cannot see his presence.

Nebuchadnezzar Makes Good on His Promise

After Daniel interpreted the king’s frightening dream, Nebuchadnezzar was greatly relieved. In fact, the king was so thankful to Daniel that he acknowledged his young Hebrew servant’s God as “God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries.” The Babylonian king even made good on his promise to reward anyone who could interpret his dream. He “gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48).

Daniel remained in service to the royal court until his death about 538 BC–living well into his eighties. But while Daniel remained a trusted court advisor to both Babylonian and subsequent Persian officials, his three Hebrew friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were serving elsewhere as high officials in the province of Babylon–a favor which Nebuchadnezzar granted to Daniel on their behalf. Although Nebuchadnezzar offered high praise to YHWH because he revealed the meaning of the dream to his servant Daniel (as recounted in chapter 2), it will become clear that the Babylonian king never gave up his pagan ways. He soon erected a golden statue and demanded that his subjects worship it. This strange demand is a mix of an over-inflated royal ego, ancient near-eastern power politics, combined with pagan religion. Once again, Daniel’s friends’ lives are in danger. This time Daniel will not rescue them but YHWH will, in what amounts to the next round in the on-going conflict between YHWH and the idols of Babylon.

YHWH Against the Idols

As believers in YHWH, Daniel’s three friends refuse to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, believing this to be a violation of the first two commandments in the law given to Israel by YHWH–There are no Gods but YHWH, and YHWH’s people are not to worship idols. Upon learning that three of his own appointed officials refused to worship his statue–especially three men who were serving in this capacity as a favor to Daniel–Nebuchadnezzar erupts in his characteristic rage and fury. The king demands the execution of these rebellious Hebrew officials–just as he had ordered previously with his court magicians. Yet, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be spared again, only this by far more dramatic and miraculous means.

This passage (Daniel 3) is one of the most famous of the so-called “Bible stories” (along with “Daniel in the lion’s den”) which Christian children are taught, and which few forget because of the nature of the story, its ability to capture a child’s imagination, and because of the sing-songy names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But Bible stories often miss the main redemptive-historical point of the original event, which is in this case, the conflict between YHWH and the idols. The conflict is evident in the difficult struggle faced by YHWH’s faithful servants in exile, who are under tremendous pressure from a pagan king who threatens their lives if they refuse to renounce their faith in YHWH. The alternative is death and martyrdom.

As we continue our study of Daniel we come to an episode which reflects the struggle of Hebrew exiles living in Babylon now living under the heavy hand of the tyrannical king Nebuchadnezzar. Commanded by YHWH to live their lives to the fullest during their exile (cf. Jeremiah 29:1-9), this includes serving in the government of the nation which was bringing havoc upon their own people (Israel). But YHWH’s people are to worship and serve him only throughout their time away from the promised land. Nebuchadnezzar, however, now demands that all his subjects worship a newly-erected golden statue–an edict which includes all the exiled Hebrews in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar’s order also included the rulers throughout his entire kingdom, likely extending to the Jewish vassal king back in Judah (Zedekiah). In any case, the act of bowing before such a statue would have been an extreme violation of a Jew’s conscience, and an act of open disobedience to YHWH’s commands.

The Image of Gold

As we turn to the thirty verses of Daniel 3, the scene is set in the opening verse for all that follows. “Then king Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.” Ironically, the golden statue was quite possibly inspired by the previous vision which YHWH had given him of a giant and terrifying metal statue with a head of gold–which Daniel identified as Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom (as recounted in chapter 2).

There is the very real possibility that the king ordered this statue built as a result, with a date of completion likely around December 594 or January 593 (a number of years after Daniel interpreted the dream). Based upon the dimensions given, the statue was nine feet wide, and some ninety feet high, shaped like an obelisk, with images of Nebuchadnezzar and his “gods” likely depicted on each of the four sides. The statue was about the same height as the highest palms which dominated the fertile landscape. Only the famous Greek statue, the “Colossus of Rhodes,” was taller.[1]

Zedekiah’s Rebellion Backfires

As recounted in Jeremiah 51:59-64, Zedekiah (who was then king of Judah) was forced to go to Babylon, perhaps to pay homage to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, but then subsequently plotted a revolt against Nebuchadnezzar after being humiliated. By comparing the Babylonian Chronicles with the the Book of Jeremiah, it may indeed be the case that Zedekiah’s reaction to this forced pilgrimage and Jeremiah’s prophecy of Babylon’s eventual destruction (Jeremiah 27) motivated Judah and its current king, Zedekiah, to rebel against Babylon by making an alliance with the nations of Edom and several others.[2]

YHWH warned Judah not to do this through the prophet Jeremiah, because YHWH will deal with Babylon is his own time–he did not need Zedekiah’s help. It was this rebellion by Judah (led by Zedekiah), which prompted Nebuchadnezzar to sack Jerusalem and destroy the temple in 587. This is also why Nebuchadnezzar killed Zedekiah’s sons before blinding him, then forcibly removing him to Babylon. The events surrounding the golden statue as recounted in Daniel 3 reflect the larger world of ancient politics and royal power as Nebuchadnezzar was seeking some way to shore-up the loyalty of his vacillating vassal states. Making his subjects bow to a symbol of his power might just do the trick.

Although the building and erecting of such a statue has both religious and political ramifications, the focus of Daniel 3 falls squarely upon the religious. A universal religious confession (acknowledging or even worshiping the “gods” of Nebuchadnezzar) was one way to unify the king’s racially, culturally, and religiously diverse empire as is implied in verses 2-3.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

All of Nebuchadnezzar’s subjects throughout his empire, including all government officials, were summoned to attend the dedication of the statue. As one commentator points out, “a contrasting theme is skillfully woven with the main theme throughout this chapter: the absolute and unthinking acceptance of polytheistic idolatry among most of the participants in the convocation.”[3] The willing acceptance of Babylonian religion by Nebuchadnezzar’s subjects is the backdrop as Shadrack, Meshach, and Abedngo represent the faithful Jewish exiles, refusing to comply with the king’s edict.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Gambit

In constructing such an image, Nebuchadnezzar sought to unite all of subjects under a joint affirmation of the “gods” of Babylon[4]–symbolized by the golden statue. To come to Babylon for the statue’s dedication (no small feat when travel was so difficult) and pay homage to it (by bowing before it) was an act which publicly demonstrated the loyalty of the king’s subjects (the vassals) to the watching king, who was suzerain over the bowee’s land and property.[5] This is power politics at its worst–if you are truly loyal to your suzerain and want his blessings, then you will come to Babylon and bow before my statue. If not, well then, the king knows where you and your people stand. He knows where you live and with whom you trade, and will respond accordingly. Zedekiah, Judah, Jerusalem, and all those taken in exile will pay that price–even though Zedekiah may have been one of those present for this ceremony.

In verses 4-6, Daniel describes the text of Nebuchadnezzar’s order to the assembled crowd.

And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

The response from Nebuchadnezzar’s subjects is given in verse 7. “Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” As an aside, three instruments mentioned are Semitic in origin (horn/a ram’s horn, pipe/a shepherd’s flute, lyre/zither), three are Greek loanwords (trigon/a four-stringed harp of triangular shape, a simple harp, bagpipes/some sort of primitive instrument using a bellows). Furthermore, large charcoal furnaces were common throughout the land for the firing of ceramics and the making of bricks–the mention of these things support an early date (6th century BC) for the Book of Daniel.

However, at least three of the king’s subjects failed to attend the dedication of the statue and were quickly ratted out to Nebuchadnezzar by their coworkers. According to verses 8-12,

At that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, `O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

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