Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
DunieVs Advancement. DANIEL III. The Gulden Image net up.
tolling of the stone on the image must mean, destroying judg7nent on the fourth Gentile power, not gradual evangelization of it by grace; ami the destroying judgment vancps from mere self-glorification, ill the fourth chapter, to open opposition to God in the liflh. Nebucliadnezzar demands homage to be paid to his image (cli. 3.), and boasts of his power (ch. 4). But Belsliazzar gws further, blasplieming Gwl by polluting His holy vessels. There
be dealt by Christians, for they are taught to submit to the powers that be, so that it must be dealt by Christ himself at his coming again. We live under the divisions of the Roman empire which began 14(10 years ago, iiid which at the time of His coming shall be definitely ten. All that had failed In the hand of man shall then pass away, and that which Is kept in His own hand shall l)e introduced. Thus the second chapter is the alphabet of the subsequent prophetic statements in Daniel. [TrugeMjES.] God of heaven . . . Icingdom— lience the phrase, "the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 3.
is a similar progression in tlie conduct of God's people. Sbadracli, Mesliacli, and Abed-nego refuse ;)ost7ae homaje to the image of the world-power (eh. 3.); Daniel will not yield iteven a nefirah've homage, by omitting for a time the worship of God (ch. 6). Jeliovah's power manifested for the saints agaitist the world in individual histories (ch.
3.-6.), is exhibited in ch. 2. and 7., in world-wide proplieti cal pictures; the former heightening the ell'ec-t of the latter. The miracles wrought in behalf of Daniel and his friends were a manifestation of God's glory in Daniel's person, as the representative of tlie theocracy before th« Babylonian king, who deemed himself almighty, at a time when God could not jnanifest it in His people as a body. Tliey tended also to secure, by their iinpressivo character, that respect for the covenant people on tlie part of the heatlien powers which issued in Cyrus' decree, not only restoring the Jews, but ascribing honour to the God of heaven, aud commanding the building of the tempU (Ezra 1. 1-4). [Auberlen.] ImageNebucliadnezzar'* confession of Gtxl did not prevent him being a worshippef of idols besides. Ancient idolaters thougiit that eacli nation had its own gods, and that, in addition to these, foreign gods might he worshipped. The Jewish religioi* was the only exclusive one tliat claimed all homage for Jehovah as tlie only true God. Men will in times of troublo confess God, if tliey are allowed to retain their favourite heart-idols. Tlie image was that of Bel, the Babyloniab tutelary god ; or rather, Nebuchadnezzar himself, the pei Bonification and representative of the Babylonian empire, as suggested to him by the dream (ch. 2. 3S), " I'Aox art this head of gold." The interval between the dreai>« and the event here was about nineteen years. Nebuchadnezzar had just returned from finishing the .Jewish anfl Syrian wars, the spoils of which would furnish the meaM of rearing such a colossal statue. [Prideaux.] The colossal size makes it likely that the frame was wood, overlaid with gold. The " heiglit," 60 cubits, is so out of proportion with the "breadth," exceeding it ten times, thai
2). not . . . left to otlier people—as the Chaldees had been forced to leave their kingdom to the Medo-Persians, and these to the Greeks, and these to the Romans (Micah
4.7; Luke 1. 32, a3). l»reali . . . all—(Isaiah 60.12; 1 Corinthians 15.2-1.) 45. wit Uout hands {Note, v. 35.) Tlie connection of the "forasmuch," &c., is, "as thovi sawest that the stone," &c., this is an indication that "the great God," d'c, i. e., the fact of thy seeing the dream as I have recalled it to thy recollection, is a proof that it is no airy phantom, but a real representation to thee from God of the future. A similar proof of the "certainty" of tlie event was given to Pharaoh by the doubling of hisdream (Genesis 41.32). 46. fell upon . . . face, and worshipped Daniel—worshipping God in the person of Daniel. Symbolical of the future prostration of the world-power before Messiah and His kingdom (Philippians 2. 10). As other servants of God refused such honours (Acts 10. 25, 2«;
14. 13-15; Revelation 22.8,9), and Daniel (ch. 1.8) would not taste defiled food, por give up prayer to God at the cost of his life (ch. 6.), it seems likely that Daniel rejected the prof Tered Divine honours. The word " answered" (i>.
47)iniplies that Daniel had objected to these honours; and in compliance with his objection, "the king ansvered. Of a truth, your God is a God of gods." Daniel had disclaimed all personal merit in v. 30, giving God all the glory (cf. V. 45). commanded . . . sweet odours—Divine lionours (Ezra 6. 10). It is not said his command was execitted. 47. liord of kings—The world-power shall at last have to acknowledge this (Revelation 17. 14; 19. 16); even as Nebuchadnezzar, who had been the God-appointed "king of kings" (v. 37), but who had abused the trust, is constrained by God's servant to acknowledge that God is the true "Lord of kings." 48. One reason for Nebuchadnezzar having been vouchsafed such a dream is here seen, it seems best to suppose the thickness from breast to bacK to be intended, which is exactly the right proportion of n •well-formed man. [Auqustine, De Civilale Dei, 15. 2k.] Prideaux thinks the 60 cubits to refer to ifte image and pedestal together, the image being 27 cubits high, or 4i yi feet, the pedestal 33 cubits, or 50 feet. Herodotus (1. irH) conflrms this by mentioning a iimi7ar image, 40 /eci hit/h, viz., that Daniel might be promoted, and the captive people of God be comforted: the Independent state of the captives during the exile, and the alleviation of its hardin the temple of Belus at Babylon. It was not tlie*fMi« image, for the one here was on the plain of Dura, not in the city. 3. princes—" satraps" of provinces. [GeseNius.] captains— ruJc?-*, not exclusively military, ahei-- iffs—men learned in the law, like tlie Arab Mufti. [GeskNIUS.] 3. stood before the Image—in an attitude of devotion. Wliatever the king approved of, they all opirovo ships, were much due to Daniel. 49. Daniel reqneste<l Contrast this honourable remembrance of his humble friends in his elevation with the spirit of the children of the world In the chief butler's case (Genesis 40. 23; Eccle-
Biastes 9. 15, IG; Amos 6.6). In the gate—the place of holding courts of Justice and levees In the East (Estlier 2.
of. There Is no stability of principle in the ung<xl<y. 4. The arguments of the persecutor are In brief. Turn o? burn. 5. cornet—a wind instrument, like thi; French horn, is meant, flute-a pipe or pipes, not bio A'n transversely as our "flute," but by mouth-pieces at the end, gackbnt—a triangular stringed instrument, having short strings, the sound being on a high sharp key. psaltery —a kind of harp, dulcimer—a bagpipe consisting of two pipes, thrust through a leathern bag, emitting a sweet plaintive sound. Chaldee Sumponya, the inodern Italian Zampngna, Asiatic Za.mbonja. fall down—that the recusants might be the more readily detected. 6. Noothernatlon but the Jews would feel this edict oppressive; for it did not prevent them worshipping their own gods beside*.
19; Job 29.7). So "the Sublime Porte," or Gac, denotes the sultan's government, his counsels being formerly held in the entrance of his palace. Daniel was a chief counsellor of the king, and president over the governors of the dif Terent orders Into which the Magi were divided.
CHAPTER III.
Ver. 1-30. Nebuchadnezzar's Idolatrous Image; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-neqo are delivered FROM THE Furnace. Between the vision of Nebuchadnezzar in the 2d ch., and that of Daniel in the 7th, four narratives of Daniel's and his friends' personal history ar« Introduced. As ch. 2. and 7. go together, so ch.
It was evidently aimed at the Jews by those jealous of their high position in the king's court, who therefore ln» duced him to pass an edict as to all recusants, representing such refusal of homage as an act of treason to Nebuchadnezzar as civil and religious "head" of the empire. So the edict under Darius (Otli ch.) was aimed against the Jews by those Jealous of Daniel's Influence. TUi literal
3. and 6, (the deliverance from the Hons' den), ch. 4. and
6.; of these last two pairs, the former shows God's nearness to save His saints when faithful to Him, at tlie very time they seem to be crushed by the world-power. The second pair shows In the case of the two kings of the first monarchj', how God can suddenly humble the world-power in the height of its Insolence. The latter ad-
Shadrach, Meskach and Abed-nego DANIEL IV. Delivered from the Fiery Furnaet, its own end, for the hotter the fire, the sooner were they likely to be putoutof pain. !41. coaU . . . hosen . . . hat«— Herodotus (1. 195) says that tlie Babylonian costume consisted of three parts : 1. wide, long pantaloons; 2. a woollen shirt; 3. an outer with a girdle round it. So these are specilied [Gksenius], " their pantaloons, inner tunics (7iosen, or stockings, are not commonly worn in the East), and outer mantles." Their being cast in so hurriedly, with all their garments on, enhanced the miracle in that not even the smell of tire passed on their clotlies, though of delicate, inflammable material. tH. flame . . . slew those men—(Ch. 6. 24 ; Psalm 7. 16.) !i3. fell down—not cast down ; for those who brought the three youtlis to the furnace, perished by the flames themselves, and so could not cast them in. Here follows an addition iu LXX., Syrian, Arabic and Vulgate versions, "The Prayer of Azarias," and "Tlie Song of the Three Holy Children." It is not in the Chaldee. Tlie hymn was sung througluiut the whole Church in their liturgies, from the earliest times (RuriNUSiJi<SJ/»i6. Afi. ,a,nil Athanasiu.S). The "astonisliment" of Nebuchadnezzar iu v. 24 i.s made an argument for its genuineness, as if it explained the cause of his astonishment, viz., "they walked in the midst of the lire praising God, <&c., but the angel of the Loi-d caine down into tlie oven" (o. 1 and v. 27 of the Apocryphal addition). Butu. '2iiQi English Keri'io/i explains h is as tonislimeiit, without need of any addition. /H. True, O Iting—God ex-- torted this conlessioii from His enemies' own mouths. 25. four—whereas but Uiree had been cast in. loose— whereas tliey had been cast in "bound." Nebuchadnezzar's question, in V. 24, is as if he can scarcely trust his own memorj' as to a fact so recent, now that lie sees through an aperture in the furnace what seems to contradict it. walliing in . . . midst of . . . fire—image of the godly unhurt, and at large (Jotin 8. 30), " in the midst of trouble" (Psalm 138. 7 ; cf. Psalm 23. 3, 4). They walked up and down in the fire, not leaving it, but waiting for God's time to bring them out, just as Jesus waited iu the tomb as God's prisoner, till God should let Him out (Acts 2.26, 27). So Paul (2 Corinthians 12.8,9). So Noah waited in the ai k, alter the flood, till God brouglit him forth (Genesis 8. 12-18). like the Son of God—unconsciously, like Saul, Caiaphas (John 11.49-52), and Pilate, he is made to utter Divine truths. "Son of God" in his mouth means only aii "angel" from heaven, as v. 28 proves. Cf. Job 1. 6 ; 38. 7 ; Psalm 34.7,8; and the probably heathen centurion's exclamation (Matthew 27. 54). The Chaldeans believed in families of gods: Bel, the supreme god, accompanied by the goddess Mylitta, being the father of the gods; thus the expression he meant one sprung from and sent by the gods. Really
Image of Nebuchadnezzar Is a typical prophecy of "the imoge of the beast," connected with mystical Babylon, in Revelation 13. U. The second mystical beast there causeth the earth, and them that dwell therein, to worship the first beast, and that as many as would not, should be killed (Revelation 13. 12, 15). furnace—a common mode Of punishment in Babylon (Jeremiah 29. 22). It is not necessary to suppose that tlie furnace was made for the occasion. C'f. "brick kiln," 2 Samuel 12. 31. Any furnace for common purposes in the vicinity of Dura would serve. Chakdin, in liis travels (a. d. 1671-1677), mentions that in Persia, to terrify those who took advantage of scarcity to sell provisions at exorbitant prices, the cooks were roasted over a slow fire, and the bakers cast into a burning oven. T. None of tine Jews seem to have been present, excepu tlie officers, summoned specially. 8. accused tl»e Jews lil., ale the rent limbs, or flesh of the Jews (cf. Job 31. 31
Psalm 14.4; 27.2; Jeremiah 10. 25). Not probably in general, but as V. 12 states, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Why Daniel was not summoned does not appear. Probably he was in some distant part of tlie empire on state business, and the general summons (v. 2) had not time to reach him before the dedication. Also, the Jews' enemies found it more politic to begin by attacking Shadracli, Meshach, and Abed-nego, wijo were nearer at hand, and had less influence, before they proceeded to attack Daniel. 9. live forever—A preface of flattery is closely akin to the cruelty that follows. So Acts 24. 2, 3, &c., Tertullus in accusing Paul before Felix. 12. serve not thy godjs—not only not the golden image, but also not any of Nebuchadnezzar's gods. 13. bring—instead of commanding their immediate execution, as in the case of the Magi
(cli. 2. 12), Providence inclined him to command the recusants to be brought before him, so that their noble " testimony" for God might be given before the world-powers "against them" (Matthew 10. 18), to the edification of the Church in all ages. l*. Is It true— rather, as Margin [Theodotion], " is itpxirposely that," &c. Cf. the Hebrew, Numbers 35. 20, 22. Notwithstanding his " fury," his past Savour for them disposes him to give tliem the opportunity of excusing themselves on the ground that their disobedience had not been intentional; so lie gives them another trial to see whether they would still worship the image. 15. who is that God— so Sennacherib's taunt
(2 Kings 18.35), and Pharaoh's (Exodus 5.2). not careful to answer thee—rather, " We have no need to answer tliee;" thou art determined on thy side, and our mind is made up not to worship the image: tliere is therefore no use in our arguing as if we could be shaken from our principles. Hesitation, or parleying with sin, is fatal; nnliesitating decision is the only safety, where the path of duty is clear (Matthew 10. 19, 28). 17. If it be so—VarABi.us IranMates, "Assuredly." Englisli Version agrees better with the original. The sense is, Ij it be our lot to be cast into the furnace, our God (quoted from Deuteionomy it was the "messenger of the covenant," who herein gave a prelude to His iucaruation. 26. tlie most liigli God he acknowledges Jehovah to be supreme above other gods (not that he ceased to believe in tliese); so he returns to his original confession, "your God is a God of gods" (cU. 2.
47), from which lie had swerved in the interim, perhaps Intoxicated by his success in taking Jerusalem, whose God he therefore thought unable to defend it. 37. nor . . . an liair—(Luke 12. 7 ; 21. 18.) fire liad no power—fulfilling Isaiah 43. 2; cf. Hebrews U. 31. God alone is a " consuming fire" (Hebrews 12.29). nor . . . smell of fire—cf. spiritually, 1 Thessalonians 5. 22. 28. In giving some better traits' in Nebuchadnezzar's character, Daniel agrees with Jeremiah 39. 11; 42. 12. clianged tlie king's word — have made the king's attempt to coerce into obedience vain. Have set aside his word (so "alter . . . word," Ezra 6. U) from regard to God. Nebuchadnezzar now admits that God's law should be obeyed, rather than his (Acts 5. 29). yielded . . . bodies viz., to the fire, not serve—by sacri-
6. 4) is able to deliver us (a reply to Nebuchadnezzar's challenge, "Who is that God that shall deliver you?"), and He will deliver us, &c. (either from death, or in acath, 2 Timothy 4. 17, 18). He will, we trust, literally deliver us, but certiiinly He will do«o spiritually. 18. But If not, Ac—connected with v. 18. "Whether our God deliver us, as He is able, or do not, we will not serve thy gods." Tlieir service of God is not mercenary in Its motive. Though He slay them, they will still trust in Him (Job 13. 15). Their deliverance from sinful compliance was as great a miracle in the kingdom of grace, as that from the furnace was In the Kingdom of nature. Tlieir youth, and position as captives and friendlcKS exiles, before the absolute world-potentjite and tlie horrid death awaiting them If they should persevere in their faith, all enhance the grace of God, which carried them through such an ordeal. 19. visage . . . changed—He had shown forbearance (u. 14, 15) as a favour to them, but now that they despise even his forbearance, anger " tills" him, and Is betrayed In his wliole countenance, seven times more tlian it was wont— " than it was (ever) »ven to be heated." Seven is the perfect number, i. e., it was made as hut as possible. Passion overdoes and defeats ficing, nor worslUp—by prostration of the body. Decision for God at last gains the respect even of the worldly (Proverbs 10.7). 29. This decree promulgated throughout the vast empire of Nebuchadnezzar must have tended much to keep the Jews from idolatry iu the captivity and thenceforth (Psalm 76. 10).
CHAPTER IV.
Ver. 1-37. Edict of Nebdchadnezzar. containijto