June 5: BREACHING A BOUNDARY
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?” Daniel 3:14
The king’s rash fury provoked by the Chaldeans’ accusation cooled slightly during the time it took for his men to collect and deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to him. The quick loss of the king’s composure was exactly the character trait that these certain Chaldeans (v.8) had aimed to exploit. During this interim however, he thought of Daniel, his closest and most faithful servant. (The absence of Daniel from this vast assembly has been attributed to the understanding by the king of Daniel’s relationship to his God. The king had likely sent him out on a distant assignment during the time of the “dedication”.) But now Daniel’s three friends who had proven themselves excellent in the service of the king, and who held the same religious commitment to God as Daniel, were being hauled in for a public violation. In his maneuver to protect Daniel from the awkward situation, the king had forgotten about the three others whom he did not see as regularly.
The Babylonian culture was long-accustomed to glittering representations of their pagan deities, but never before had such a majestic and imposing statue been presented as this resplendent image. With its tremendous height, magnificent detail, and dazzling glory in the sun, the idolaters thought it perfectly appropriate that it should be consecrated for worship. The wealth and power of the empire represented by this structure was intoxicating to the people. The flush of triumph for the king on this day, having seen the worshipers fall down in unison before it, was abruptly and unpleasantly interrupted by the Chaldeans’ report. The king, who had years ago experienced an introduction to the God of heaven, unwittingly found himself in the midst of a spiritual battle.
The tone of his question to the three young men was calm. After all, a well-bred monarch should be in full possession of his faculties at all times. He continued in forbearance by immediately granting them a second chance to comply with his requirements: “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?” (v.15) Note that the requirement to be present at the event they had respectfully honored. But when the king commanded them to worship the image, a distinct boundary was breached. For love of their God, the three young men could not comply.
Jesus said: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38 (see also Deuteronomy 6:5)
*Note: Due to the practice of brickmaking by the builders of the tower of Babel, numerous large kilns, or “fiery furnaces”, existed on the plain of Dura in the land of Shinar (see Genesis 11:2-3).