King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
People today often have a short memory. People in ancient times did too, as we see from King Nebuchadnezzar. When Daniel interpreted the king’s dream (chapter 2), he explained to the king, “The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory” (verse 37). In addition, God even gave Nebuchadnezzar a glimpse into what the future held for him and his kingdom. The king learned that his empire would collapse and be followed by a succession of other kingdoms, and that finally the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that would destroy all others but not be destroyed itself. But unfortunately, the dream and its solemn message made no lasting impression on Nebuchadnezzar.
Forgetfulness may be more than just a weak memory. It may be the result of pride. Instead of profiting from the information God revealed to him through the prophet Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar proudly continued to worship false gods. Still worse, he actually used his God-given authority to try to turn people’s attention away from the true God. By so doing, he insulted the God who had made him what he was and who had given him everything he had.
“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.” The huge statue was most likely carved of wood and covered with plates of gold. Similarly, the altar of incense in the Old Testament tabernacle, referred to as “the gold altar” (Exodus 40:5), was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold (Exodus 37:25–28). Some have taken for fact the notion that Nebuchadnezzar’s immense statue was an image of the king himself. It is probably more likely that the image was a symbol glorifying the imperial power of Babylon or representing the gods of Babylon.
The dimensions described here have been criticized for being out of proportion. It has been argued that the statue would be ten times as tall as it was broad (compared to the 6:1 proportion of the human figure). To this it may be answered that the 90-foot dimension may very well include the pedestal on which the statue was mounted. Interestingly, on one of the mounds of ancient Babylon, archaeologists some years ago discovered an actual brick platform, 45 feet square and 20 feet high (Wood, Daniel, page 46).
If the statue Nebuchadnezzar erected was indeed one representing the gods of Babylon, it’s most likely he had two reasons for constructing the image. In the first place, he was declaring his own loyalty to the gods of Babylon. He believed that his gods had made Babylon the leading nation of the world, and he made no secret of that belief.
The king may also have had another reason. Nebuchadnezzar’s successful battle campaigns had in the preceding years brought thousands of prisoners of war to Babylon. The elaborate ceremony on the plain of Dura may have been designed also to impress all newcomers with the fact that Babylon’s gods were superior to the gods of the nations Nebuchadnezzar had conquered. In the same connection, the king also realized that among his royal officials were recently appointed foreigners, graduates of his special training program. These were people who had come not only from other countries but from other religious backgrounds. The great dedication festival would offer them the opportunity to show respect for the gods of Babylon.
The sight of this whole body of officials—everybody who was anybody in Babylon—bowing down before the king’s monstrous image would be a resounding oath of loyalty to the gods of Babylon, as well as to her king. Eight different titles are listed to describe all the officials who were summoned to the dedication, and the meanings of some of the titles are not established. Since the list is headed by “satraps,” who were heads of the provinces of the empire, the names may very well be arranged in descending order, from the most important to the least important.
It is not difficult to visualize the drama of the scene at the dedication ceremony. Row upon row of officials stood at attention before the huge image, waiting for the king’s orchestra to begin to play, to signal them to bow down.
4Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
At the appointed time, the ceremony began. A herald announced the king’s decree, a decree which showed how the king had forgotten what God had told him. At the given signal, all citizens of Babylon, as well as all foreigners living in Babylon, were to bow down in allegiance to the gods of Babylon. What King Nebuchadnezzar demanded was clear enough: “You must fall down and worship the image of gold”!
The king realized, of course, that his royal order could not compel anyone to believe in the gods of Babylon. But what the king could demand, and what he did demand, was that everyone present perform an act of worship to his gods. The orchestra of wind and stringed instruments would provide the signal, at which all within hearing distance were not only to fall down before the image of gold, but to worship it, to prostrate themselves in token of submission to the gods who had made Babylon the leading world power.
Anyone who refused to bow down would be considered guilty of a double crime: disobedience to the king and disloyalty to Babylon and her gods. The penalty—death by fire— would be instantaneous, in a furnace that apparently had already been prepared. All who heard the herald’s announcement knew that the king’s warning was no idle threat. The prophet Jeremiah records the names of several Jews whom Nebuchadnezzar had burned to death (Jeremiah 29:22).
The king’s decree brought results. When the music began, Babylonians and foreigners, officials and commoners alike, “fell down and worshiped the image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” No doubt they had various motives for doing so. Babylonians in the crowd worshiped the god of gold in the blindness of ignorance. There must have been many, however, who bowed down only from the instinct of self-preservation—you do what you have to do to stay alive. There are many today who would agree with that, and who ask, “After all, isn’t that the most important thing in life—staying alive?”
But there were three men in the plain of Dura that day who were convinced there is a higher goal in life than staying alive. And those three remained standing while everyone else around them was bowing to the ground.