The Most High God - Daniel 3:1-7

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We last left King Nebuchadnezzar grateful for learning his dream and its interpretation. In fact, he moved a little closer to understanding that Daniel's God was powerful. While he recognized Him as the highest of the gods, he wasn't ready to state that God was the only God. Daniel became head of the province of Babylon and his three friends became the administrators under Daniel.

Daniel 3:1-7 (KJV)
¹ Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, 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.
⁴ Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
⁵ That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, 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 cast into the midst of a burning 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.


What happened next? King Nebuchadnezzar had an image of gold made that was 60 cubits high (a score is 20) with a breadth of six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. In feet the measurement of this statue was 90 feet tall and nine feet wide! From where might Nebuchadnezzar have gotten the idea for this statue? Perhaps he was trying to recreate the image that he had seen in his dream, except that the entire statue was made of gold. According to Edward J. Young in The Prophecy of Daniel there is a mound of brick in that area that measures 45 feet long and 20 feet high. The archaeologist that found the structure said that it appeared to be a pedestal for a large statue (Showers, Renald, The Most High God, p. 30). What did Nebuchanezzar do after this (verse 2)? He had all the officials come to the dedication of the image. Did the officials come to the dedication (verse 3)? Yes, they came to the dedication. What does the herald announce in verses 4 &5? All the people were to fall down and worship the image when the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music began to play. According to verse 6 what would happen if the people did not fall down and worship the image? At that very same hour the person(s) would be cast into a burning fiery furnace. So when the music began to play what did the people do (verse 7)? They all fell down and worshiped the image that Nebuchadnezzar set up. What impact did this have on Daniel and his three friends?

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A Further Thought on Hanukkah

How many of you, who know about the history of Hanukkah or read my last post on Hanukkah See here:, cheered for the Jewish underdogs when that little group of freedom fighters were victorious over Antiochus Ephiphanes, his army, and his evil plot to destroy Judaism? It is an incredible account of how God works for His people. We should all give God praise for what He did. We should also be encouraged by the faith and determination of the Maccabee family.

However, it got me thinking. The Seleucid government was trying to impose Hellenism on the Jewish people. This meant that they could no longer practice Judaism. Specifically, they couldn't:

1. Circumcise their sons
2. Observe Shabbat (Saturday worship)
3. Eat kosher (in fact, they were forced to eat "unclean food")
4. Observe the Lord's feasts

For freedom loving people this is an atrocity! No government should impose restrictions on this kind of behavior. Thankfully, here in America, we don't have this problem, at least not yet.

Although we don't have this situation because of high-handed government officials we do have it in the Christian church! What, you say? Think about this. What happens when a person comes to faith in Yeshua? He or she is expected to attend church on Sunday, eat non-kosher food (think of all the potlucks where ham is served), and ignore the feasts. Circumcision for newborn boys is optional.

Hmm! How ironic! The Christian church falls perfectly in line with Antiochus Epiphanes! This should cause us to sit up and take notice! How did evil become good? Have we made an error in interpreting Scripture? What must we do to get back to viewing good as good and evil as evil?