Daniel 3.6-Nebuchadnezzar Warns The Dignitaries That Failure To Comply With His Command To Worship The Statue Of Himself Will Result In The Death Penalty
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday June 6, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 3:6-Nebuchadnezzar Warns The Dignitaries That Failure To Comply With His Command To Worship The Statue Of Himself Will Result In The Death Penalty
Lesson # 83
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 3:1.
This evening we will continue with our study of Daniel chapter 3 by noting verse 6, which records Nebuchadnezzar threatening his dignitaries with capital punishment if they fail to comply with his order to worship the gold image he erected of himself on the plain of Dura in the province of the city of Babylon.
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. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for 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 the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, 5 that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.” (NASB95)
Daniel 3:6 is an adversative clause since it stands in contrast to the previous statement in Daniel 3:5, which records the herald Nebuchadnezzar commissioned announcing to the dignitaries that they were to fall down in order to worship the gold image of the king when they heard the orchestra play music.
Daniel 3:6 records Nebuchadnezzar warning these dignitaries through the herald that failure to comply with this order will result in them suffering the death penalty.
Therefore, the contrast that this conjunction is marking is between obedience to the king’s order to worship the gold statue he erected of himself and disobedience to this order.
“Whoever” is composed of the indefinite pronoun mǎn (מַן) (mawn), “whoever” and then we have the particle dî (דִּי) (dee).
The indefinite pronoun mǎn and the particle dî are employed together and mean “whoever” since they function together as a marker of indefinite reference.
Thus, it is speaking of an unidentified individual in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom who refuses to worship the gold image he erected of himself on the plain of Dura in the province of the city of Babylon.
“Does not fall down” is composed of the negative particle lā(ʾ) (לָא) (law), “not” which is negating the meaning of the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb nep̄ǎl (נְפַל) (nef-al´), “does fall down.”
The verb nep̄ǎl means “to fall down, to be prostrate oneself before someone” in order to express one’s humble submission to someone or something and to honor them and show them respect.
The word’s meaning is emphatically negated by the negative particle lā(ʾ), which is a marker of emphatic negation.
Therefore, these two words refer to the refusal of any of the satraps, military commanders, governors, advisers, treasurers, lawyers and judges from the provinces in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom to prostate themselves before the statue which the king erected of himself in order to worship this gold statue.
“And worship” is a purpose clause since the conjunction wa, “and” functions as a marker of purpose meaning that it is introducing a statement which presents the purpose of Nebuchadnezzar’s order that the dignitaries from the various provinces throughout his kingdom fall down before the gold statue he erected of himself.
The conjunction is introducing a statement which says that these dignitaries were to worship the image of Nebuchadnezzar.
Therefore, this word indicates that Nebuchadnezzar ordered these dignitaries to fall down before the statue of himself at the sound of the music “in order to” worship this image of himself.
“Worship” is the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb seḡiḏ (סְגִד) (seg-eed´), which refers to the act of committing idolatry.
Here the subject of this verb is the dignitaries from the various provinces in Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom who obeyed his orders to assemble for the dedication of the statue and receiving the action of this verb is the statue Nebuchadnezzar erected of himself.
Therefore, this indicates that Nebuchadnezzar was warning these dignitaries that if any of them refused to fall down in order to “worship” the image of himself when they heard the sound of the music, they would be executed.
“Immediately” is composed of the preposition b- (בְּ־) (beh) and its object is the third person feminine singular pronominal suffix hî(ʾ) (הִיא) (hee), “it” which is followed by the feminine singular noun šā∙ʿā(h) (שָׁעָה) (shaw-aw´), “immediately.”
The preposition b- and the third person feminine singular pronominal suffix hî(ʾ) along with the feminine singular noun šā∙ʿā(h) are employed together as a temporal marker and literally mean “in that hour” or “during that very hour” or “immediately.”
The preposition b- is a temporal marker meaning “at” referring to the hour in which any of the dignitaries refuses to worship the image of the king.
The third person feminine singular pronominal suffix hî(ʾ) means “that” and is functioning like a demonstrative pronoun pointing out the noun šā∙ʿā(h), which refers to a period of time in which one of the dignitaries will be executed for not obeying the king’s order to worship the image of himself.
Therefore, these three words form an expression which literally means “in that hour” or “during that very hour” and speak of a specific period of time or point in time after a prior point of time, implying a virtually simultaneous action.
Here the prior point of time would be the playing of the music by the orchestra which would signify that the dignitaries were to fall down before the gold statue Nebuchadnezzar erected of himself.
The point of time after this would be the dignitaries refusing to fall down in order to worship this image.
Therefore, this expression indicates that Nebuchadnezzar is warning the dignitaries that if they refuse to fall down in order to worship the gold statue of himself when the music begins to play, they will “immediately” or “during that very hour” or “in that very hour” be thrown in the midst of a furnace blazing with fire.
This word emphasizes with the dignitaries that their execution will be swift if they fail to comply with Nebuchadnezzar’s order.
The expression is not saying that at that very moment they refuse to worship the image that they will be thrown in the blazing fire.
Rather it means that in that very hour they would be executed since it would take a certain amount of time to arrive at the place of execution.
This is with the understanding that the place of execution was not on the plain of Dura but somewhere in the city of Babylon or in close proximity from the city itself.
Furthermore, Daniel 3:19 says that the king ordered the executioners to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated when they attempted to execute Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Daniel 3:19 and this expression in Daniel 3:6 implies that the fire at some unknown location was already ready and waiting for the individual who refused to comply with Nebuchadnezzar’s order.
“Shall be cast” is the third person masculine singular hitpeʿel (Hebrew: qal) passive imperfect form of the verb remā(h) (רְמָה) (rem-aw´), which means “to be deposited unceremoniously” into the midst of a furnace blazing with fire.
It does not mean “to be thrown.”
Though linear movement is understood by the term, it does not denote the hurling of an object but rather it refers to placing a person or object in a rough and hurried manner (DBL Aramaic, #10667).
The verb is used here with an unidentified member of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom or his dignitaries as its subject and the unexpressed agency is Nebuchadnezzar and specifically the one who he orders to execute the death penalty.
Therefore, this verb denotes that if any one of the dignitaries refuses to comply with the king’s order to worship the gold image of himself, they would immediately and “unceremoniously deposited” in a hurried and rough manner into the midst of a furnace blazing with fire.
This corresponds with the fact that the executioners who placed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the midst of the furnace blazing with fire were killed by the leaping flames (cf. Daniel 3:22).
“Into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire” is composed of the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh) “into” and its object is the masculine singular construct form of the noun gǎw (גַּו) (gav), “the midst of” which is modified by the singular construct form of the noun ʾǎt∙tûn (אַתּוּן) (at-toon´), “a furnace of” which is modified by the masculine singular noun nûr (נוּר) (noor), “fire” and the feminine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active participle form of the verb yeqǎḏ (יְקַד) (yek-ad´), “blazing.”
The noun gǎw means “the midst of” and is the object of the preposition lĕ, which means “in” since it functions as a marker of location indicating the exact location in which the individual will be immediately and unceremoniously deposited who refuses to comply with Nebuchadnezzar’s order.
The noun gǎw is in the construct state meaning that it is governing the noun which follows it, which is ʾǎt∙tûn which means “furnace.”
This expresses a genitive relationship between these two words and specifically that of possession meaning the noun gǎw, “the midst of” belongs to the noun ʾǎt∙tûn, “furnace.”
The latter is also in the construct state meaning that it is governing the noun nûr, “fire” which follows it.
The genitive relationship is attributive meaning that the noun nûr, “fire” is describing the construct noun ʾǎt∙tûn, “furnace” as “fiery.”
The verb yeqǎḏ means “blazing” since it refers to a blazing fire which produces a relatively very high degree of heat.
In Daniel 3:6, we have Nebuchadnezzar warning those assembled at the dedication of the gold statue that they will be immediately and unceremoniously executed if they refuse to comply with his order to worship this statue of himself.
This is a clear example of unjustified use of the death penalty by Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar and all governmental authorities have been delegated authority by God to employ capital punishment of capital crimes.
Nebuchadnezzar is ordering his subjects to commit idolatry which is prohibited by God (Exodus 20:3, 23).
Thus his threat to execute those individuals who refuse to worship the image of himself is unjustified and an act of sin and rebellion against God by Nebuchadnezzar.
The Scriptures teach that God has delegated authority to certain men to govern the affairs of certain members of the human race and to carry out capital punishment of those individuals who commit capital crimes (Genesis 9:5-6; Romans 13:1-7).
Capital punishment is taught in the Old Testament (Ex. 21:12, 15-17; 22:2, 18-20; Num. 35:6-34; Deut. 19:1-13; 24:7) and in the New Testament (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13).
Genesis 9:5-6 records for us the establishment of the fourth and final divine institution and capital punishment.
Genesis 9:5 “Surely I will require your lifeblood; from every beast I will require it. And from every man, from every man's brother I will require the life of man. 6 Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.” (NASU)
So capital punishment is the lawful taking of human life by the civil or military authorities.
The death penalty was inflicted by all nations in the ancient world.
In Israel, the main method was stoning, amongst other nations, other forms such as hanging, beheading and crucifixion were used.
The ultimate authority for the death penalty lies with God alone.
In Old Testament Israel, there were various causes of the death penalty: (1) Sacrilege (Exodus 19:12-13) (2) Serious abuse of one’s parents (Exodus 21:15, 17; Deuteronomy 21:18-21; Matthew 15:4) (3) Adultery (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22; John 8:5) (4) Blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16; John 19:7) (5) Idolatry (Leviticus 20:2) (5) Immorality (Leviticus 20:11-16; Deuteronomy 22:21-25) (6) Kidnapping (Exodus 21:16) (7) Murder (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:12) (8) Rebellion (Deuteronomy 17:12) (9) Sabbath-breaking (Exodus 31:14-15; Numbers 15:32-36) (10) Witchcraft (Leviticus 20:27; 1 Samuel 28:9) (11) Rape of a betrothed virgin (Deuteronomy 22:23-29) (12) Bestiality (Exodus 22:19) (13) Child sacrifice (Leviticus 20:2-5).
Numbers 35:30-34, Deuteronomy 17:6-7 and 19:15 teach that capital punishment “cannot” take place unless there are two or more witnesses to the crime and that they all agree in their testimony after being individually interviewed.
The fact that capital punishment was instituted does “not” mean that there is never to be an exception to the punishment of execution for the crime of murder.
With God, justice may be tempered with mercy, in response to repentance.
For example, David was guilty of the capital crimes of murder and adultery in the case of Uriah and Bathsheba respectively and God forgave David when he confessed his sin and thus David instead of dying by stoning or the sword as he deserved, “died in a good old age, full of days, riches and honor (1 Chron. 29:28).
In like manner, a judge or a governor is warranted in taking such mitigating factors as may exist in a given situation into consideration in determining a sentence, legal penalty of capital punishment.
The Bible does teach that there are certain circumstances in which the Christian is justified in disobeying the governmental authorities.
This is called “civil disobedience,” which is the performance of an intentional act that is prohibited by the civil authorities or a refusal to perform an act that is required by the civil authority (The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Edition, page 263).
Christians are commanded to obey the Lord their God (Deuteronomy 13:4; Jeremiah 7:23; John 14:15) and they are also called upon to obey the governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Titus 3:1).
However, civil disobedience becomes an issue for the Christian when these two claims upon the Christian come into conflict meaning when God commands us to do something like proclaim the gospel and teach the Word of God and the civil authorities prohibit this.
The solution to this conflict is that Christian is to obey God.
This is illustrated in Acts 5:27-32 when the apostles were commanded by the Jewish authorities to not proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and Peter told them “we must obey God rather than men.”
In Exodus 1, the Egyptian midwives disobeyed Pharaoh of Egypt’s command to murder infant boys who were born to the Israelite women since murder is against the law of God (Genesis 9:5-6).
In Daniel 3, Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego refused to worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar set up and they were justified in doing so since God prohibited the Israelites from practicing idolatry (Exodus 20:4).
Also, in Daniel 6, the civil authorities prohibited Daniel from praying to the God of Israel and Daniel correctly disobeyed because obeying God is required if the civil authorities contradict God or prohibit the Christian from obeying God.