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| To Part 1 |
Consider this paraphrase,
“O King, you are commanding us to
violate an authority greater than your own, our God, Yahweh, who expressly
forbids us to acknowledge, serve, or bow to any other gods but Him. Whether or
not He delivers us from you is His call, but based upon the Word He has given
us, we cannot obey your command to serve other gods nor bow and worship the image which you had
constructed.”
This is essentially what was expressed
to Nebuchadnezzar by Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in so many words on “Bowing On Nabu Day.” A great
faith such as B.I.N. not only recognizes the authority of Yahweh but Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah are basing their belief and actions upon the written Word
and accepting whatever comes their way in obedience to God’s Word or will. In a
nutshell, this is biblical commitment. It is a submission that honors God’s Word
as the rule of life and the reason for death if that is Yahweh’s will.
Good success (Josh 1:8) was to be determined by Yahweh, not by them; failure
was viewed as the result of disobedience. Their hearts were already bent to any
outcome because they were in love with Yahweh to such an extent that they were
willing to sacrifice their very lives without question. Getting a visual on
that furnace could change a person’s mind, but not these guys. Is this not what
it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ (Mk 8:34-35)? Read Paul’s words when
he found out he was to be bound in Jerusalem (Act 21:13),
(Act 21:12) When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents (Caesarea) began begging him not
to go up to Jerusalem.
(Act 21:13) Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my
heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for
the name of the Lord Jesus (emphasis mine).
(Act 21:14) And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, The
will of the Lord be done (emphasis mine)!
Paul’s heart was already bent to
pay the ultimate sacrifice if that was the will of God for his life. You don’t
suddenly get bent in that direction during a crisis. You either freeze, fight or flee. Their kind of fighting was taking a stand for the glory of God. Isn’t
that kind of general? It is not when you wisely understand what is worth dying
for and what is not. We should choose our battles carefully. They didn’t have to be
careful concerning this matter of idolatry before Nebuchadnezzar. Paul was expressing the same thing in the 1st
century A.D. as Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were in the 6th
century B.C., a B.I.N., but if not, kind of faith, a great faith.
Let me give you a stark contrast to a
B.I.N. kind of faith. It is not the kind of blind fanatism that drives, say, a
radical Muslim extremist, to strap on a bomb and take out a bunch of infidels
(innocent men, women, and children whose only guilt is not being a Muslim),
believing that he or she will be rewarded by Allah, theoretically speaking, for
their great sacrifice: respectively, 72 virgins (huris?) for the male
suicide bomber and becoming the chief of the 72 virgins for the female suicide
bomber!?
Think about it! These suicide bombers are
killing themselves and others for everlasting sensual pleasure, not out of love!
It is a bit Freudian, yes? What a contrast between the physical, sensual motives
of a radical Muslim terrorist’s ultimate sacrifice of faith versus the spiritual motive of a believer’s ultimate sacrifice of faith for Yahweh’s glory.
There is no comparison but only the demonstrative difference between
self-seeking and self-sacrifice.
A but if not faith, the kind of faith that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah possessed, does not place life itself at risk haphazardly; it is governed by the Word of God for the glory of God. This was not your typical living for God, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the
glory of God (1 Cor 10:312); it was atypical, dying for the glory of God, a B.I.N. kind of faith.
(Dan 3:14) Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, Is it true,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or
worship the gold image which I have set up?
(Dan 3:15) Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn,
flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music,
and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if
you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning
fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands [because your god did not deliver you when I went into Jerusalem
in 605 B.C. and brought you here to serve me, eh]?
(Dan 3:16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter [in other words, they didn’t need time to decide].
(Dan 3:17) If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to
deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from
your hand, O king.
(Dan 3:18) But
if not [if our God will not deliver us], let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your
gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.
“Uh, guys, you are talking to the most
powerful man on earth, having the power over life and death!” These three
Jewish men wisely understood the difference between what was worth drawing a
line in the sand and what was not. They wanted to live like any other sane
person. They were under a great deal of pressure, but their answer was
unmeasured. This was obviously not an academic exercise of Mosaic code. This was applying it in the crucible. Their
response to Neb was deeply rooted in a personal relationship with Yahweh. Neb’s demands of them were egregious to the holiness of God and an affront to their love for Yahweh. King Neb could have cared less.
Interestingly, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah never questioned the sovereignty of Yahweh in the matter –
Interestingly, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah never questioned the sovereignty of Yahweh in the matter –
…our God whom we serve is able to
deliver…but if not…we do not…nor will we…
With that lengthy intro into a B.I.N. kind of faith, let’s
pay a visit to Babylon in the sixth century B.C. and take a look at what went on with this “Bowing On Nabu Day.”
Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of Babylon,
reigned for 43 years (his regnal years, c. 605-562 B.C.). According to Dan 3:1, He had constructed an
image overlaid in a thin layer of
gold, 60 cubits in height and 6 cubits in width. A Babylonian long cubit was ~19.8 inches. Doing the math, the height of this image was 99 feet, nearly as tall as a 10-story building, and 9.9 feet wide, nearly as wide as the height of a basketball hoop from floor to rim
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| Luxor, Ramses II |
Some scholars are of the opinion that this
statue or image was not a representation of the king at all. Archer believes
that “it is far more likely that the statue represented Nebuchadnezzar’s patron
god, Nebo (or Nabu). Prostration before Nebo would amount to pledge of
allegiance to his viceroy…, Nebuchadnezzar.”2
We have come acquainted with
Nebuchadnezzar from 2 Kings, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Thrice this ancient foe of
Israel invaded Jerusalem in B.C. 605, 597, and 586. Nebuchadnezzar’s Chaldean
name was Nabu-kudurri-usur, meaning “O Nabu, watch over my heir” or some
variation of that theme of divine protection. His father was Nabopolassar (ca.
658-605 B.C.), founder of the Chaldean empire.
The Babylonians were not into god-kings;
they didn’t consider monarchs to be a god. Daniel’s friends, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah, interpreted this towering image erected by Nebuchadnezzar as a
representation of a false god (Nabu). Their refusal to bow (prostration) to the
golden image would be tantamount to failing to show allegiance to the king. If
they bowed to this representation of Nabu, they would live to breathe another
day, but at the cost of violating their belief in monotheism (Deut 6:4) and repulsion
of idolatry (Ex 20:3-5). <><
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1. http://www.freebiblecommentary.org
Dr. Bob Utley had mentioned that a large platform had been found six miles from the ruins of the
ancient city of Babylon, which measures forty-five feet by forty-five feet by
eighteen feet. This may have been the base for Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. No
source was provided on the discovery.
2. Gleason L. Archer, Jr., “Daniel,” in The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary, Vol. 7 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), 50-51.
