Old Testament Commentary - Daniel 3

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 3 Nebuchadnezzar creates a golden image and commands all men to worship it—Shadrah, Meshach, and Abednego refuse and are cast into the fiery furnace—The Son of God preserves them, and they come forth unharmed.
1 NEBUCHADNEZZAR the king made an *image of gold, whose height was* threescore cubits^a*, and* the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, 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.	1^a image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits Nebuchadnezzar had been told by Daniel that his kingdom was the kingdom of 'gold' relative to the image which the king had seen in his dream. Now it seems that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken it to heart that he was the King of Gold as he makes a 90 foot tall (60 cubits-18 inches x 60 = 90 feet) golden image of himself for all to so worship. This is as tall as a 9 or 10 story building.
4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and ^alanguages, 5 That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, ^aharp, ^bsackbut, psaltery, ^cdulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be ^acast into the midst of a ^bburning fiery furnace. 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.
8 ¶ Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast ^aset over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
13 ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 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?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not ^acareful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to ^adeliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not ^aserve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
19 ¶ Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the ^aform of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 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.
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 Abed-nego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 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^a.	25^a the form of the fourth is like the Son of God It is supposed by somee, Jews and many others, that the Old Testament does not teach of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. This is not the case as the book of Moses supplies ample proof that Jesus Christ by name was known and spoken of as the Son of God. Therefore it must be understood, despite the Jewish insistance that there is but 'one God' and he does not have a son, that many did understand that there was a Son of God. Even here King Nebuchadezzar is familiar enough with this concept that he truly identifies the fourth person in the fiery furnace as the 'Son of God'.
26 ¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the ^afire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats ^bchanged, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his ^aangel^a, and delivered his servants that ^btrusted in him, and ^chave changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be ^acut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can ^bdeliver after this sort. 30 Then the king ^apromoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.	28^a who hath sent his angel Now whether the fourth in the furnace was the Son of God or another angel sent by Jehovah is academic. With the understanding that God the Father of Spirits does direct even Jehovah, His Son, as portrayed in the temple holy convocation, it is entirely appropriate for the Son of God to be referred to as one of the angels of God, for are we not all angels or children of God the Father of Spirits. And it is just as appropriate to reference even Jehovah as 'an angel of God' in terms of God the Father having sent him to administer the rescue of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And whether the actual messenger of the deliverance was Jehovah or another servant of God, it is the same.