Daniel 3:1 – “All is Well”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold. Its height [was] sixty cubits [and] its width [was] six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Durah in the province of Babel.

As I wander into chapter 3 of this book, I’m reminded of what I said at the onset of my study: “I want to say it is a particularly pleasant prospect for me to embark on a study of this book because I have always found it to be of profound practical implications. So much of the OT is set in the context of the nation of Israel where the Lord Himself is at least supposed to be King. In the book of Daniel, we find a godly man living in a world that feels no obligation to even acknowledge the God of Heaven, much less respect His will. Much like us Gentiles, Daniel had to live out his faith in a completely pagan world, and, in that, I find his example to hold what I believe are profound implications for your life and mine.”

Even as I consider this very first verse of Daniel chapter 3, I have the same thoughts. Here we get to observe Daniel’s three friends as they live and work in this very real world where God’s rule is given at most lip-service. As Nebuchadnezzar was shown in chapter 2, the plain simple fact is that God rules. God rules in the lives of men and nations. You and I know that, but the world around us does not. That means, for us believers, as we go out to work, as we interact in our neighborhoods and communities, as we come and go whatever we do, the plain, simple fact is that, sooner or later, our faith will clash with our world.

How should we then conduct ourselves in such a world? “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” We resort to our Bibles and learn all we can from the godly men and women (and even the ungodly) whose lives (and deaths) and the choices they made are recorded “for our admonition.” “He who walks with the wise shall be wise.” That is precisely my motivation as I would dig into the verses of this chapter. I want the Lord’s light. I want His truth. I want to be free. I want to “walk with the wise.”

I say all of that so anyone who stumbles across these scratchings of mine will understand why I have not the slightest hesitation about seeking in these verses practical truths to live by in my everyday life – and particularly at work, where most of us spend the majority of our waking hours and where very particularly we are called to live out our faith in a world and in a place that may or may not give a hoot what the true and living God thinks – but also a world full of the very people who so desperately need to see Him!

So … all that said – Nebuchadnezzar is the king. Nebuchadnezzar is in charge. He makes the rules. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wake up on this particular morning living and working in this world where Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians make the rules.

Nebuchadnezzar has decided to build an image sixty feet tall and at least plated it with gold.

For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, it is what it is. Once again, they get up in the morning and this is the world they live and work in. No one asked their opinion – but they still have to live and work here.

Sound familiar? Is it not the same world you and I live in? And if it is, then we should be able to learn a great deal from these three young fellows and how they conduct themselves in this world.

Looking at the text, people have debated endlessly how much time might have transpired since the events of chapter 2 – Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and his exclamation to Daniel that “Your God is the God of gods!” It is almost shocking to us as we read, to hear him say, “Your God is the God of gods,” then in the very next chapter he’s building an image of gold for people to worship. I guess I’ve always assumed the “head of gold” thing just went to his head and somehow the image was really all about worshipping him. But it doesn’t say that. And it doesn’t give us any indication at all of how much time transpired in between. We’re just told the events themselves.

Actually, if we let our minds wander back into their culture, I don’t think it would be so shocking, regardless of the time interval. Other than the Jews, the ancient peoples were total polytheists. The Jews of course believed, “The Lord your God is one God,” but everyone else assumed there were many – perhaps thousands – of gods. And, in their world, it was totally okay to pay homage to someone else’s god, or even to ascribe greatness to that god, without in any way detracting from your own worship of your own god. Each nation had their own god and it was always okay to acknowledge someone else’s god. You basically worshipped whatever god and however many gods it took to get whatever it is you wanted. That was their world.

So when we read Nebuchadnezzar saying, “Your God is the God of gods,” he’s not in any way turning from the worship of his own god(s). We’re only shocked because we read his words seeing the world through our eyes, not his.

People also debate endlessly about the image itself. What was it? Assuming it is a statue of a man, people object to the proportions of 60 high x 6 wide. That would too tall and thin for a good depiction of a man. Others respond, perhaps it was actually a statue up on a pedestal, with the total dimensions of 60x6. Others note that the Babylonians were apparently pretty lousy artists and it is quite possible their “man” is simply out of proportion. I personally think it very likely it was actually a giant phallic symbol. Once again, we’ve got to let our minds wander back to their culture, not ours. In their world, a phallic was one of their favorite religious symbols. In that case, I would suggest, the proportions would be perfect. Once again, that may be shocking or even offensive to us, but this is a culture from 2600 years ago and half way around the world.

So whatever the elapsed time since chapter 2 ended and whatever the image actually looked like, it is what it is. This is the guys’ world.

I’m headed out this morning into my world. In a purely secular sense, it is no different. This is the Times of the Gentiles. Believers don’t necessarily run my world. For me, though, and like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we go knowing that ultimately the One really running the world is, in fact, our good God. Although the Gentiles may not acknowledge it, God rules. Nebuchadnezzar is about to find out it’s true. Like the guys, I need to head out into my day believing it.

As George Washington said with a smile as he passed away, “All is well.”