Daniel 3

Daniel 3

Daniel 1 Daniel 2:4-7:28 Daniel 8-12 Written in Hebrew Written in Aramaic Written in Hebrew Daniel's "No Compromise" Stand God's Prophetic Plan for Gentile Nations God's Prophetic Plan for Israel Daniel 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. made: Da 2:31,32 5:23 Ex 20:23 32:2, 3, 4,31 Dt 7:25 Jdg 8:26,27 1Ki 12:28 2Ki 19:17,18 Ps 115:4, 5, 6, 7, 8 135:15 Isa 2:20 30:22 40:19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 46:6 Jer 10:9 16:20 Ho 8:4 Hab 2:19 Ac 17:29 19:26 Rev 9:20 in the province: Da 3:30 2:48 Es 1:1 Daniel 3 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Image - 15v all in Daniel - Dan 2:31-31, 34-35; 3:1-3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14-15, 18-19 and translated expression(1), image(11), statue(5). Image (06754)(Hebrew = Tselem) is a masculine noun which means image, likeness, statue, model, a drawing, a shadow. The first four uses of tselem all refer to mankind as made in the image of God (Ge 1:26, 27; 9:6). Tselem is used in the description of Adam's offspring Seth "in his own likeness, according to his image (tselem)" (Ge 5:3). The next 2 uses describe idols ("likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice") (1Sa 6:5, 11), then the images of Baal (2Ki 11:18, 2Chr 23:17, cp Ezek 7:20 "the images of their abominations", description of how apostate, unfaithful Judah had made for themselves "male images" with which they might play the harlot = Ezek 16:17 - Talk about perversion!). Men are described as walking "about as a phantom," (Ps 39:6), in other words as shadows, descriptivie of unknowing, senseless, fleeting beings carrying out the motions of life unless they have hope in God (see Ps. 39:7). In Psalm 73 God tells Asaph he will "despise their form (tselem)" (Ps 73:20) referring to those who were well off and without monetary concerns in this passing world. In Amos the people are accused of carrying "images" (idols) which they had made (Amos 5:26, referred to in Stephen's sermon in Acts 7:43). In Ezekiel 23:14, this word refers to pictures of Babylonians that enticed the people of Israel into apostasy when they saw them. Tselem (Hebrew) - 16x Ge 1:26, 27; 5:3; Ge 9:6; 1Sa 6:5, 11; 2Ki 11:18; 2Ch 23:17; Ps 39:6; 73:20; Eze 7:20; 16:17; 23:14; Am 5:26 The use that most directly relates Daniel's description is Exodus 20:4 where Moses records that… You shall not make for yourself an idol (Hebrew = tselem), or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. (Ex 20:4, cp Dt 5:8, 9, 10) Comment: The NAS rendering of "idol" is actually 2 words in the the Hebrew which is more literally rendered "graven image". Carved or graven figures are described frequently in the OT (Ex 20:4; Lv 26:1; Dt 4:16, 23, 25; 5:8; 27:15; Jdg 17:3, 4; 18:14, 17, 18, 20, 30, 31; 2Ki 21:7; 2Ch 33:7; Ps 97:7; Isa 40:19, 20; 42:17; 44:9, 10, 15, 17; 45:20; 48:5; Je10:14; 51:17; Na1:14; Hab2:18) Bob Deffinbaugh notes that… While there seems to be a connection between the statue of chapter 2 and the image of chapter 3, there are striking contrasts between these two representations. Consider these contrasts: Images of Chapter 2: (a) divine origin; (b) a vision only; (c) made of different metals; (d) not an object of worship; (e) privately revealed to Nebuchadnezzar; (f) fairly well described; (g) prompted king to bow down. (h) Ended with the King acknowledging God as the God of gods and Lord of kings. Images of Chapter 3: (a) human origin; (b) a reality; (c) made only of gold; (d) an object of worship; (e) revealed to all; (f) described only generally; (g) men commanded to bow down. (h) Ended with the King acknowledging God as the Most High God Who Alone is able to deliver… What should Nebuchadnezzar have learned from his dream and the interpretation of Daniel, as recorded in Daniel 2? From that dream, he learned that the entire statue (the Gentile kingdoms) disintegrated because a stone struck the feet which were weak. The weakness, he was told, was due to a racial mixture in the last kingdom. Seeking to “fix the feet” by making an idol of solid gold and creating one religion, Nebuchadnezzar constructed the gold image and required every race and culture to worship it. Nebuchadnezzar may have hoped to change the course of history and prolong the glory of his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar was still a pagan though he had acknowledged the God of Daniel and his three friends as a God of wisdom and revelation. In chapter 3, he learned that the God of Israel was also the Deliverer of His people. What the king did not take seriously enough was the Stone, the real cause of the statue’s destruction and the Creator of the new, eternal, kingdom which replaced Gentile rule. Rather than “fix the feet,” he needed to fall at the feet of the “Stone,” Jesus Christ. Nebuchadnezzar did not yet grasp the sovereignty of God over history. Although he was told the dream and its interpretation were trustworthy (2:45), he still believed he could change the course of history. (Faith and the Furnace) Henry