BIBLES NET. COM
Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
on the Whole Bible
Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page
|
[Previous] [Next] |
Matthew Henry |
D A N I E L.
CHAP. III.
In the close of the foregoing chapter we left Daniel’s companions,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in honour and power, princes of the
provinces, and preferred for their relation to the God of Israel and
the interest they had in him. I know not whether I should say. It were
well if this honour had all the saints. No, there are many whom it
would not be good for; the saints’ honour is reserved for another
world. But here we have those same three men as much under the king’s
displeasure as when they were in his favour, and yet more truly, more
highly, honoured by their God than there they were honoured by their
prince, both by the grace wherewith he enabled them rather to suffer
than to sin and by the miraculous and glorious deliverance which he
wrought for them out of their sufferings. It is a very memorable story,
a glorious instance of the power and goodness of God, and a great
encouragement to the constancy of his people in trying times. The
apostle refers to it when he mentions, among the believing heroes,
those who by faith “quenched the violence of fire,”
We have here,
I. Nebuchadnezzar’s erecting and dedicating a golden image, and his
requiring all his subjects, of what rank or degree soever, to fall down
and worship it, and the general compliance of his people with that
command,
II. Information given against the Jewish princes for refusing to
worship this golden image,
III. Their constant persisting in that refusal, notwithstanding his
rage and menaces,
IV. The casting of them into the fiery furnace for their refusal,
V. Their miraculous preservation in the fire by the power of God, and
their invitation out of the fire by the favour of the king, who was by
this miracle convinced of his error in casting them in,
VI. The honour which the king gave to God hereupon, and the favour he
showed to those faithful worthies,
| Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image. | B. C. 587. |
|
|
|
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 a 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 music, 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
music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down
and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king
had set up.
We have no certainty concerning the date of this story, only that if
this image, which Nebuchadnezzar dedicated, had any relation to that
which he dreamed of, it is probable that it happened not long after
that; some reckon it to be about the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, a
year before Jehoiachin’s captivity, in which Ezekiel was carried away.
Observe,
I. A golden image set up to be worshipped. Babylon was full of
idols already, yet nothing will serve this imperious prince but they
must have one more; for those who have forsaken the one only living
God, and begin to set up many gods, will find the gods they set up so
unsatisfying, and their desire after them so insatiable, that they will
multiply them without measure, wander after them endlessly, and never
know when they have sufficient. Idolaters are fond of novelty and
variety. They choose new gods. Those that have many will wish to
have more. Nebuchadnezzar the king, that he might exert the prerogative
of his crown, to make what god he thought fit, set up this
image,
v. 1.
Observe,
1. The valuableness of it; it was an image of gold, not
all gold surely; rich as he was, it is probable that he could not
afford that, but overlaid with gold. Note, The worshippers of false
gods are not wont to mind charges in setting up images and worshipping
them; they lavish gold out of the bag for that purpose
(Isa. xlvi. 6),
which shames our niggardliness in the worship of the true God.
2. The vastness of it; it was threescore cubits high and six cubits
broad. It exceeded the ordinary stature of a man fifteen times (for
that is reckoned but four cubits, or six feet), as if its being
monstrous would make amends for its being lifeless. But why did
Nebuchadnezzar set up this image? Some suggest that it was to clear
himself from the imputation of having turned a Jew, because he had
lately spoken with great honour of the God of Israel and had preferred
some of his worshippers. Or perhaps he set it up as an image of
himself, and designed to be himself worshipped in it. Proud princes
affected to have divine honours paid them; Alexander did so, pretending
himself to be the son of Jupiter Olympius. He was told that in the
image he had seen in his dream he was represented by the head of
gold, which was to be succeeded by kingdoms of baser metal; but
here he sets up to be himself the whole image, for he makes it all of
gold. See here,
(1.) How the good impressions that were then made upon him were quite
lost, and quickly. He then acknowledged that the God of Israel is of a
truth a God of gods and a Lord of kings; and yet now, in
defiance of the express law of that God, he sets up an image to be
worshipped, not only continues in his former idolatries, but contrives
new ones. Note, Strong convictions often come short of a sound
conversion. Many a pang have owned the absurdity and dangerousness of
sin, and yet have gone on in it.
(2.) How that very dream and the interpretation of it, which then made
such good impressions upon him, now had a quite contrary effect. Then
it made him fall down as a humble worshipper of God; now it made him
set up for a bold competitor with God. Then he thought it a great thing
to be the golden head of the image, and owned himself obliged to God
for it; but, his mind rising with his condition, now he thinks that too
little, and, in contradiction to God himself and his oracle, he will be
all in all.
II. A general convention of the states summoned to attend the solemnity
of the dedication of this image,
Messengers are despatched to all parts of the kingdom to gather
together the princes, dukes, and lords, all the peers of the realm,
with all officers civil and military, the captains and
commanders of the forces, the judges, the treasurers or general
receivers, the counsellors, and the sheriffs, and all the rulers
of the provinces; they must all come to the dedication of this
image upon pain and peril of what shall fall thereon. He summons
the great men, for the great honour of his idol; it is therefore
mentioned to the glory of Christ that kings shall bring presents
unto him. If he can bring them to pay homage to his golden image,
he doubts not but the inferior people will follow of course. In
obedience to the king’s summons all the magistrates and officers of
that vast kingdom leave the services of their particular countries, and
come to Babylon, to the dedication of this golden image; long journeys
many of them took, and expensive ones, upon a very foolish errand; but,
as the idols are senseless things, such are the worshippers.
III. A proclamation made, commanding all manner of persons present
before the image, upon the signal given, to fall down prostrate, and
worship the image, under the style and title of The golden image
which Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. A herald proclaims this
aloud throughout this vast assembly of grandees, with their numerous
train of servants and attendants, and a great crowd of people, no
doubt, that were not sent for; let them all take notice,
1. That the king does strictly charge and command all manner of persons
to fall down and worship the golden image; whatever other gods
they worship at other times, now they must worship this.
2. That they must all do this just at the same time, in token of their
communion with each other in this idolatrous service, and that, in
order hereunto, notice shall be given by a concert of music, which
would likewise serve to adorn the solemnity and to sweeten and soften
the minds of those that were loth to yield and bring them to comply
with the king’s command. This mirth and gaiety in the worship would be
very agreeable to carnal sensual minds, that are strangers to that
spiritual worship which is due to God who is a spirit.
IV. The general compliance of the assembly with this command,
v. 7.
They heard the sound of the musical instruments, both wind-instruments
and hand-instruments, the cornet and flute, with the harp,
sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, the melody of which they
thought was ravishing (and fit enough it was to excite such a devotion
as they were then to pay), and immediately they all, as one man, as
soldiers that are wont to be exercised by beat of drum, all the
people, nations, and languages, fell down and worshipped the golden
image. And no marvel when it was proclaimed, That whosoever would
not worship this golden image should be immediately thrown
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace, ready prepared for
that purpose,
v. 6.
Here were the charms of music to allure them into a compliance and the
terrors of the fiery furnace to frighten them into a compliance. Thus
beset with temptation, they all yielded. Note, That way that sense
directs the most will go; there is nothing so bad which the careless
world will not be drawn to by a concert of music, or driven to by a
fiery furnace. And by such methods as these false worship has been set
up and maintained.
| The Hebrew Princes Accused; Fortitude of the Jewish Princes. | B. C. 587. |
|
|
|
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and
accused the Jews.
9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live
for ever.
10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall
hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and
dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship
the golden image:
11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should
be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs
of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego;
these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to
bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these
men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor
worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of
the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all
kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have
made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same
hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that
God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the
king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in
this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of
thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not
serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set
up.
It was strange that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, would be present
at this assembly, when, it is likely, they knew for what intent it was
called together. Daniel, we may suppose, was absent, either his
business calling him away or having leave from the king to withdraw,
unless we suppose that he stood so high in the king’s favour that none
durst complain of him for his noncompliance. But why did not his
companions keep out of the way? Surely because they would obey the
king’s orders as far as they could, and would be ready to bear a public
testimony against this gross idolatry. They did not think it enough not
to bow down to the image, but, being in office, thought themselves
obliged to stand up against it, though it was the image which the king
their master set up, and would be a golden image to those that
worshipped it. Now,
I. Information is brought to the king by certain Chaldeans
against these three gentlemen that they did not obey the king’s edict,
v. 8.
Perhaps these Chaldeans that accused them were some of those
magicians or astrologers that were particularly called
Chaldeans
who bore a grudge to Daniel’s companions for his sake, because he had
eclipsed them, and so had these companions. They by their prayers had
obtained the mercy which saved the lives of these Chaldeans, and,
behold, how they requite them evil for good! for their love they are
their adversaries. Thus Jeremiah stood before God, to speak good for
those who afterwards dug a pit for his life,
Jer. xviii. 20.
We must not think it strange if we meet with such ungrateful men. Or
perhaps they were such of the Chaldeans as expected the places to which
they were advanced, and envied them their preferments; and who can
stand before envy ? They appeal to the king himself concerning the
edict, with all due respect to his majesty, and the usual compliment,
O king! live forever (as if they aimed at nothing but his
honour, and to serve his interest, when really they were putting him
upon that which would endanger the ruin of him and his kingdom); they
beg leave,
1. To put him in mind of the law he had lately made, That all manner of
persons, without exception of nation or language, should fall down
and worship this golden image; they put him in mind also of the
penalty which by the law was to be inflicted upon recusants, that they
were to be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace,
v. 10, 11.
It cannot be denied but that this was the law; whether a righteous law
or no ought to be considered.
2. To inform him that these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
had not conformed to this edict,
It is probable that Nebuchadnezzar had no particular design to ensnare
them in making the law, for then he would himself have had his eye upon
them, and would not have needed this information; but their enemies,
that sought an occasion against them, laid hold on this, and were
forward to accuse them. To aggravate the matter, and incense the king
the more against them,
(1.) They put him in mind of the dignity to which the criminals had
been preferred. Though they were Jews, foreigners, captives, men of a
despised nation and religion, yet the king had set them over the
affairs of the province of Babylon. It was therefore very
ungrateful, and an insufferable piece of insolence, for them to disobey
the king’s command, when they had shared so much of the king’s favour.
And, besides, the high station they were in would make their refusal
the more scandalous; it would be a bad example, and have a bad
influence upon others; and therefore it was necessary that it should be
severely animadverted upon. Thus princes that are incensed enough
against innocent people commonly have but too many about them who do
all they can to make them worse.
(2.) They suggest that it was done maliciously, contumaciously, and in
contempt of him and his authority: “They have set no regard upon
thee; for they serve not the gods which thou servest, and
which thou requirest them to serve, nor worship the golden image
which thou hast set up.“
II. These three pious Jews are immediately brought before the king, and
arraigned and examined upon this information. Nebuchadnezzar fell into
a great passion, and in his rage and fury commanded them to be
seized,
How little was it the honour of this mighty prince that he had rule
over so many nations when at the same time he had no rule over his
own spirit, that there were so many who were subjects and captives
to him when he was himself a perfect slave to his own brutish passions
and led captive by them! How unfit was he to rule reasonable men who
could not himself be ruled by reason! It needed not be a surprise to
him to hear that these three men did not now serve his gods, for he
knew very well they never had served them, and that their religion,
which they had always adhered to, forbade them to do it. Nor had he any
reason to think that they designed any contempt of his authority, for
they had in all instances shown themselves respectful and dutiful to
him as their prince. But it was especially unseasonable at this time,
when he was in the midst of his devotions, dedicating his golden image,
to be in such a rage and fury, and so much to discompose himself. The
discretion of a man, one would think, should at least have
deferred this anger. True devotion calms the spirit, quiets and
meekens it; but superstition, and a devotion to false gods, inflame
men’s passions, inspire them with rage, and fury, and turn them into
brutes. The wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion; so was
the wrath of this king; and yet, when he was in such a heat, these
three men were brought before him, and appeared with an
undaunted courage, and unshaken constancy.
III. The case is laid before them in short, and it is put to them
whether they will comply or no.
1. The king asked them whether it was true that they had not worshipped
the golden image when others did,
“Is it of purpose?” so some read it. “Was it designedly and
deliberately done, or was it only through inadvertency, that you have
not served my gods? What! you that I have nourished and brought
up, that have been educated and maintained at my charge, that I have
been so kind to and done so much for, you that have been in such
reputation for wisdom, and therefore should better have known your duty
to your prince; what! do not you serve my gods nor worship the
golden image which I have set up?” Note, The faithfulness of God’s
servants to him has often been the wonder of their enemies and
persecutors, who think it strange that they run not with them
to the same excess of riot.
2. He was willing to admit them to a new trial; if they did on purpose
not do it before, yet, it may be, upon second thoughts, they will
change their minds; it is therefore repeated to them upon what terms
they now stand,
(1.) The king is willing that music shall play again, only for their
sakes, to soften them into a compliance; and if they will not, like the
deaf adder, stop their ears, but will hearken to the voice of the
charmers and will worship the golden image, well and good; their
former omission shall be pardoned. But,
(2.) The king is resolved, if they persist in their refusal, that they
shall immediately be cast into the fiery furnace, and shall not
have so much as an hour’s reprieve. Thus does the matter lie in a
little compass–Turn, or burn; and, because he knew they buoyed
themselves up in their refusal with a confidence in their God, he
insolently set him a defiance: “And who is that God that shall
deliver you out of my hands? Let him, if he can.” Now he forgot
what he himself once owned, that their God was a God of gods and
a Lord of kings,
ch. ii. 47.
Proud men are still ready to say, as Pharaoh, Who is the Lord that I
should obey his voice? or, as Nebuchadnezzar, Who is the Lord, that
I should fear his power?
IV. They give in their answer, which they all agree in, that they still
adhere to their resolution not to worship the golden image,
We have here such an instance of fortitude and magnanimity as is
scarcely to be paralleled. We call these the three children (and
they were indeed young men), but we should rather call them the
three champions, the first three of the worthies of God’s
kingdom among men. They did not break out into any intemperate
heat or passion against those that did worship the golden image, did
not insult or affront them; nor did they rashly thrust themselves upon
the trial, or go out of their way to court martyrdom; but, when they
were duly called to the fiery trial, they acquitted themselves bravely,
with a conduct and courage that became sufferers for so good a cause.
The king was not so daringly bad in making this idol, but they were as
daringly good in witnessing against it. They keep their temper
admirably well, do not call the king a tyrant or an idolater (the cause
of God needs not the wrath of man), but, with an exemplary calmness and
sedateness of mind, they deliberately give in their answer, which they
resolve to abide by. Observe,
1. Their gracious and generous contempt of death, and the noble
negligence with which they look upon the dilemma that they are put to:
O Nebuchadnezzar! we are not careful to answer thee in this
matter. They do not in sullenness deny him an answer, nor stand
mute; but they tell him that they are in no care about it. There
needs not an answer (so some read it); they are resolved not to
comply, and the king is resolved they shall die if they do not; the
matter therefore is determined, and why should it be disputed? But it
is better read, “We want not an answer for thee, nor have it to
seek, but come prepared.”
(1.) They needed no time to deliberate concerning the matter of their
answer; for they did not in the least hesitate whether they should
comply or no. It was a matter of life and death, and one would think
they might have considered awhile before they had resolved; life is
desirable, and death is dreadful. But when the sin and duty that were
in the case were immediately determined by the letter of the second
commandment, and no room was left to question what was right, the life
and death that were in the case were not to be considered. Note, Those
that would avoid sin must not parley with temptation. When that which
we are allured or affrighted to is manifestly evil the motion is rather
to be rejected with indignation and abhorrence than reasoned with;
stand not to pause about it, but say, as Christ has taught us, Get
thee behind me, Satan.
(2.) They needed no time to contrive how they should word it.
While they were advocates for God, and were called out to witness in
his cause, they doubted not but it should be given them in that same
hour what they should speak,
Matt. x. 19.
They were not contriving an evasive answer, when a direct answer was
expected from them; no, nor would they seem to court the king not to
insist upon it. Here is nothing in their answer that looks like
compliment; they begin not, as their accusers did, with, O king!
live for ever, no artful insinuation, ad captandam
benevolentiam–to put him into a good humour, but every thing that
is plain and downright: O Nebuchadnezzar! we are not careful to
answer thee. Note, Those that make their duty their main care need
not be careful concerning the event.
2. Their believing confidence in God and their dependence upon him,
It was this that enabled them to look with so much contempt upon death,
death in pomp, death in all its terrors: they trusted in the living
God, and by that faith chose rather to suffer than to sin; they
therefore feared not the wrath of the king, but endured, because
by faith they had an eye to him that is invisible
“If it be so, if we are brought to this strait, if we must be
thrown into the fiery furnace unless we serve thy gods, know then,”
(1.) “That though we worship not thy gods yet we are not
atheists; there is a God whom we can call ours, to whom we faithfully
adhere.”
(2.) “That we serve this God; we have devoted ourselves to his honour;
we employ ourselves in his work, and depend upon him to protect us,
provide for us, and reward us.”
(3.) “That we are well assured that this God is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace; whether he will or no, we are sure
that he can either prevent our being cast into the furnace or rescue us
out of it.” Note, The faithful servants of God will find him a Master
able to bear them out in his service, and to control and overrule all
the powers that are armed against them. Lord, if thou wilt, thou
canst.
(4.) “That we have reason to hope he will deliver us,” partly
because, in such a vast appearance of idolaters, it would be very much
for the honour of his great name to deliver them, and partly because
Nebuchadnezzar had defied him to do it–Who is that God that shall
deliver you? God sometimes appears wonderfully for the silencing of
the blasphemies of the enemy, as well as for the answering of the
prayers of his people,
Ps. lxxiv. 18-22; Deut. xxxii. 27.
“But, if he do not deliver us from the fiery furnace, he will
deliver us out of thy hand.” Nebuchadnezzar can but torment and
kill the body, and after that, there is no more that he can do; then
they are got out of his reach, delivered out of his hand. Note, Good
thoughts of God, and a full assurance that he is with us while we are
with him, will help very much to carry us through sufferings; and, if
he be for us, we need not fear what man can do unto us; let him do his
worst. God will deliver us either from death or in death.
3. Their firm resolution to adhere to their principles, whatever might
be the consequence
(v. 18):
“But, if not, though God should not think fit to deliver us from
the fiery furnace (which yet we know he can do), if he should suffer us
to fall into thy hand, and fall by thy hand, yet be it known
unto thee, O king! we will not serve these gods, though they are
thy gods, nor worship this golden image, though thou thyself
hast set it up.” They are neither ashamed nor afraid to own
their religion, and tell the king to his face that they do not fear
him, they will not yield to him; had they consulted with flesh and
blood, much might have been said to bring them to a compliance,
especially when there was no other way of avoiding death, so great a
death.
(1.) They were not required to abjure their own God, or to renounce his
worship, no, nor by any verbal profession or declaration to own this
golden image to be a god, but only to bow down before it, which they
might do with a secret reserve of their hearts for the God of Israel,
inwardly detesting this idolatry, as Naaman bowed in the house of
Rimmon.
(2.) They were not to fall into a course of idolatry; it was but one
single act that was required of them, which would be done in a minute,
and the danger was over, and they might afterwards declare their sorrow
for it.
(3.) The king that commanded it had an absolute power; they were under
it, not only as subjects, but as captives; and, if they did it, it was
purely by coercion and duress, which would serve to excuse them.
(4.) He had been their benefactor, had educated and preferred them, and
in gratitude to him they ought to go as far as they could, though it
were to strain a point, a point of conscience.
(5.) They were now driven into a strange country, and to those that
were so driven out it was, in effect, said, Go, and serve other
gods,
1 Sam. xxvi. 19.
It was taken for granted that in their disposition they would serve
other gods, and it was made a part of the judgment,
They might be excused if they should go down the stream, when it is so
strong.
(6.) Did not their kings, and their princes, and their fathers, yea,
and their priests too, set up idols even in God’s temple, and worship
them there, and not only bow down to them, but erect altars, burn
incense, and offer sacrifices, even their own children, to them? Did
not all the ten tribes, for many ages, worship gods of gold at Dan and
Bethel? And shall they be more precise than their fathers? Communis
error facit jus—What all do must be right.
(7.) If they should comply, they would save their lives and keep their
places, and so be in a capacity to do a great deal of service to their
brethren in Babylon, and to do it long; for they were young men, and
rising men. But there is enough in that one word of God wherewith to
answer and silence these and many more such like carnal reasonings:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to any images, nor worship them.
They know they must obey God rather than man; they must rather suffer
than sin, and must not do evil that good may come. And therefore none
of these things move them; they are resolved rather to die in their
integrity than live in their iniquity. While their brethren, who yet
remained in their own land, were worshipping images by choice, they in
Babylon would not be brought to it by constraint, but, as if they were
good by antiperistasis, were most zealous against idolatry in an
idolatrous country. And truly, all things considered, the saving of
them from this sinful compliance was as great a miracle in the kingdom
of grace as the saving of them out of the fiery furnace was in the
kingdom of nature. These were those who formerly resolved not to defile
themselves with the king’s meat, and now they as bravely resolve
not to defile themselves with his gods. Note, A stedfast self-denying
adherence to God and duty in less instances will qualify and prepare us
for the like in greater. And in this we must be resolute, never, under
any pretence whatsoever, to worship images, or to say “A confederacy”
with those that do so.
| The Three Hebrews in the Furnace; Deliverance from the Furnace. | B. C. 587. |
|
|
|
19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his
visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the
furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army
to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them
into the burning fiery furnace.
21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and
their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace.
22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the
furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that
took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell
down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in
haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we
cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered
and said unto the king, True, O king.
25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in
the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the
fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning
fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come
hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the
midst of the fire.
27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s
counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose
bodies the fire had no power, nor was a hair of their head
singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire
had passed on them.
In these verses we have,
I. The casting of these three faithful servants of God into the fiery
furnace. Nebuchadnezzar had himself known and owned so much of the true
God that, one would have thought, though his pride and vanity induced
him to make this golden image, and set it up to be worshipped, yet what
these young men now said (whom he had formerly found to be wiser than
all his wise men) would revive his convictions, and at least engage him
to excuse them; but it proved quite otherwise.
1. Instead of being convinced by what they said, he was exasperated,
and made more outrageous,
It made him full of fury, and the form of his visage was
changed against these men. Note, Brutish passions the more they are
indulged the more violent they grow, and even change the countenance,
to the great reproach of the wisdom and reason of a man.
Nebuchadnezzar, in this heat, exchanged the awful majesty of a prince
upon his throne, or a judge upon the bench, for the frightful fury of a
wild bull in a net. Would men in a passion but view their faces
in a glass, they would blush at their own folly and turn all their
displeasure against themselves.
2. Instead of mitigating their punishment, in consideration of their
quality and the posts of honour they were in, he ordered it to be
heightened, that they should heat the furnace seven times more than
it was wont to be heated for other malefactors, that is, that they
should put seven times more fuel to it, which, though it would not make
their death more grievous, but rather dispatch them sooner, was
designed to signify that the king looked upon their crime as seven
times more heinous than the crimes of others, and so made their death
more ignominious. But God brought glory to himself out of this foolish
instance of the tyrant’s rage; for, though it would not have made their
death the more grievous, yet it did make their deliverance much the
more illustrious.
3. He ordered them to be bound in their clothes, and cast into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace, which was done accordingly,
They were bound, that they might not struggle, or make any resistance,
were bound in their clothes, for haste, or that they might be consumed
the more slowly and gradually. But God’s providence ordered it for the
increase of the miracle, in that their clothes were not so much as
singed. They were bound in their coats or mantles, their
hosen or breeches, and their hats or turbans, as if, in
detestation of their crime, they would have their clothes to be burnt
with them. What a terrible death was this–to be cast bound into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace!
v. 23.
It makes one’s flesh tremble to think of it, and horror to take hold on
one. It is amazing that the tyrant was so hard-hearted as to inflict
such a punishment, and that the confessors were so stout-hearted as to
submit to it rather than sin against God. But what is this to the
second death, to that furnace into which the tares shall be cast
in bundles, to that lake which burns eternally with fire and brimstone?
Let Nebuchadnezzar heat his furnace as hot as he can, a few minutes
will finish the torment of those who are cast into it; but hell-fire
tortures and does not kill. The pain of damned sinners is more
exquisite, and the smoke of their torment ascends for ever and
ever, and those have no rest, no intermission, no cessation
of their pains, who have worshipped the beast and his image
whereas their pain would be soon over that were cast into this furnace
for not worshipping this Babylonian beast and his image.
4. It was a remarkable providence that the men, the mighty men,
that bound them, and threw them into the furnace, were themselves
consumed or suffocated by the flame,
The king’s commandment was urgent, that they should dispatch
them quickly, and be sure to do it effectually; and therefore they
resolved to go to the very mouth of the furnace, that they might throw
them into the midst of it, but they were in such haste that they
would not take time to arm themselves accordingly. The apocryphal
additions to Daniel say that the flame ascended forty-nine cubits above
the mouth of the furnace. Probably God ordered it so that the wind
blew it directly upon them with such violence that it smothered them.
God did thus immediately plead the cause of his injured servants, and
take vengeance for them on their persecutors, whom he punished, not
only in the very act of their sin, but by it. But these men were only
the instruments of cruelty; he that bade them do it had the greater
sin; yet they suffered justly for executing an unjust decree, and it is
very probable that they did it with pleasure and were glad to be so
employed. Nebuchadnezzar himself was reserved for a further reckoning.
There is a day coming when proud tyrants will be punished, not only for
the cruelties they have been guilty of, but for employing those about
them in their cruelties, and so exposing them to the judgments of
God.
II. The deliverance of these three faithful servants of God out of the
furnace. When they were cast bound into the midst of that devouring
fire we might well conclude that we should hear no more of them, that
their very bones would be calcined; but, to our amazement, we here find
that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are yet alive.
1. Nebuchadnezzar finds them walking in the fire. He was astonished,
and rose up in haste,
v. 24.
Perhaps the slaying of the men that executed his sentence was that
which astonished him, as well it might, for he had reason to think his
own turn would be next; or it was some unaccountable impression upon
his own mind that astonished him, and made him rise up in haste, and go
to the furnace, to see what had become of those he had cast into it.
Note, God can strike those with astonishment whose hearts are most
hardened both against him and against his people. He that made the soul
can make his sword to approach to it, even to that of the greatest
tyrant. In his astonishment he calls his counsellors about him, and
appeals to them. Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?
It seems, it was done by order, not only of the king, but of the
council. They durst not but concur with him, which he forced them to
do, that they might share with him in the guilt and odium? “True, O
king!” say they; “we did order such an execution to be done and it
was done.” “But now,” says the king, “I have been looking into the
furnace, and I see four men, loose, walking in the midst of the
fire,”
(1.) They were loosed from their bonds. The fire that did not so much
as singe their clothes burnt the cords wherewith they were bound, and
set them at liberty; thus God’s people have their hearts enlarged,
through the grace of God, by those very troubles with which their
enemies designed to straiten and hamper them.
(2.) They had no hurt, made no complaint, felt no pain or uneasiness in
the least; the flame did not scorch them; the smoke did not stifle
them; they were alive and as well as ever in the midst of the flames.
See how God of nature can, when he pleases, control the powers of
nature, to make them serve his purposes. Now was fulfilled in the
letter gracious promise
When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burnt, neither
shall the flame kindle upon thee. By faith they quench the
violence of the fire, quench the fiery darts of the wicked.
(3.) They walked in the midst of the fire. The furnace was
large, so that they had room to walk; they were unhurt, so that they
were able to walk; their minds were easy, so that they were disposed to
walk, as in a paradise or garden of pleasure. Can a man walk upon
hot coals and his feet not be burnt?
Prov. vi. 28.
Yes, they did it with as much pleasure as the king of Tyrus walked
up and down in the midst of his stones of fire, his precious stones
that sparkled as fire,
They were not striving to get out, finding themselves unhurt; but,
leaving it to that God who preserved them in the fire to bring them out
of it, they walked up and down in the midst of it unconcerned.
One of the apocryphal writings relates at large the prayer which
Azariah, one of the three, prayed in the fire (wherein he laments the
calamities and iniquities of Israel, and entreats God’s favour to his
people), and the song of praise which they all three sang in the midst
of the flames, in both which there are remarkable strains of devotion;
but we have reason to think, with Grotius, that they were composed by
some Jew of a later age, not as what were used, but only as what might
have been used, on this occasion, and therefore we justly reject them
as no part of holy writ.
(4.) There was a fourth seen with them in the fire, whose form, in
Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment, was like the Son of God; he appeared
as a divine person, a messenger from heaven, not as a servant, but as a
son. Like an angel (so some); and angels are called sons of
God,
Job xxxviii. 7.
In the apocryphal narrative of this story it is said, The angel of
the Lord came down into the furnace; and Nebuchadnezzar here says
(v. 28),
God sent his angel and delivered them; and it was an angel that
shut the lions’ mouths when Daniel was in the den,
But some think it was the eternal Son of God, the angel of the
covenant, and not a created angel. He appeared often in our nature
before he assumed it in his incarnation, and never more seasonable, nor
to give a more proper indication and presage of his great errand into
the world in the fulness of time, than now, when, to deliver his chosen
out of the fire, he came and walked with them in the fire. Note, Those
that suffer for Christ have his gracious presence with them in their
sufferings, even in the fiery furnace, even in the valley of the shadow
of death, and therefore even there they need fear no evil.
Hereby Christ showed that what is done against his people he takes as
done against himself; whoever throws them into the furnace does, in
effect, throw him in. I an Jesus, whom thou persecutest,
Isa. lxiii. 9.
2. Nebuchadnezzar calls them out of the furnace
(v. 26):
He comes near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and
bids them come forth and come hither. Come forth, come (so some
read it); he speaks with a great deal of tenderness and concern, and
stands ready to lend them his hand and help them out. He is convinced
by their miraculous preservation that he did evil in casting them into
the furnace; and therefore he does not thrust them out privily; no
verily, but he will come himself and fetch them out,
Acts xvi. 37.
Observe the respectful title that he gives them. When he was in the
heat of his fury and rage against them it is probable that he called
them rebels, and traitors, and all the ill names he could invent; but
now he owns them for the servants of the most high God, a God
who now appears able to deliver them out of his hand. Note,
Sooner or later, God will convince the proudest of men that he is the
most high God, and above them, and too hard for them, even in those
things wherein they deal proudly and presumptuously,
He will likewise let them know are who his servants, and that he owns
them and will stand by them. Elijah prayed
Let it be known that thou art God and that I am thy servant.
Nebuchadnezzar now embraces those whom he had abandoned, and is very
officious about them, now that he perceives them to be the favourites
of Heaven. Note, What persecutors have done against God’s servants,
when God opens their eyes, they must as far as they can undo again. How
the fourth, whose form was like the Son of God, withdrew,
and whether he vanished away or visibly ascended, we are not told, but
of the other three we are informed,
(1.) That they came forth out of the midst of the fire, as
Abraham their father out of Ur (that is, the fire) of the
Chaldees, into which, says this tradition of the Jews, he was cast,
for refusing to worship idols, and out of which he was delivered, as
those his three children were. When they had their discharge
they did not tempt God by staying in any longer, but came forth as
brands out of the burning.
(2.) That it was made to appear, to the full satisfaction of all the
amazed spectators, that they had not received the least damage by the
fire,
All the great men came together to view them, and found that there was
not so much as a hair of their head singed. Here that was true
in the letter which our Saviour spoke figuratively, for an assurance to
his suffering servants that they should sustain no real damage
(Luke xxi. 18),
There shall not a hair of your head perish. Their clothes did
not so much as change colour, nor smell of fire, much less were their
bodies in the least scorched or blistered; no, the fire had no power
on them. The Chaldeans worshipped the fire, as a sort of image of
the sun, so that, in restraining the fire now, God put contempt, not
only upon their king, but upon their god too, and showed that his
voice divides the flames of fire as well as the floods of water
(Ps. xxix. 7),
when he pleases to make a way for his people through the midst of it.
It is our God only that is the consuming fire
(Heb. xii. 29);
other fire, if he but speak the word, shall not consume.
| Nebuchadnezzar Gives Glory to God; Nebuchadnezzar Honours God. | B. C. 587. |
|
|
|
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and
delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the
king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve
nor worship any god, except their own God.
29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and
language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and
their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other
God that can deliver after this sort.
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in
the province of Babylon.
The strict observations that were made, super visum corporis–on
inspecting their bodies, by the princes and governors, and all the
great men who were present upon this public occasion, and who could not
be supposed partial in favour of the confessors, contributed much to
the clearing of this miracle and the magnifying of the power and grace
of God in it. That indeed a notable miracle has been done is
manifest, and we cannot deny it,
Acts iv. 16.
Let us now see what effect it had upon Nebuchadnezzar.
I. He gives glory to the God of Israel as a God able and ready to
protect his worshippers
(v. 28):
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Let him
have the honour both of the faithful allegiance which his subjects bear
to him and the powerful protection he grants to them, neither of which
can be paralleled by any other nation and their gods.” The king does
himself acknowledge and adore him, and thinks it is fit that he should
be acknowledged and adored by all. Blessed be thee God of
Shadrach. Note, God can extort confessions of his blessedness even
from those that have been ready to curse him to his face.
1. He gives him the glory of his power, that he was able to protect his
worshippers against the most mighty and malign ant enemies: There is
no other God that can deliver after this sort
(v. 29),
no, not this golden image which he had set up. For this reason there
was no other god that obliged his worshippers to cleave to him only,
and to suffer death rather than worship any other, as the God of Israel
did, for they could not engage to bear them out in so doing, as he
could. If God can work such deliverance as no other can, he may demand
such obedience as no other may.
2. He gives him the glory of his goodness, that he was ready to do it
(v. 28):
He has sent his angel and delivered his servants. Bel could not
save his worshippers from being burnt at the mouth of the furnace, but
the God of Israel saved his from being burnt when they were cast into
the midst of the furnace because they refused to worship any other
god. By this Nebuchadnezzar was plainly given to understand that
all the great success which he had had, and should yet have, against
the people of Israel, which he gloried in, as he had therein
overpowered the God of Israel, was owing purely to their sin: if
the body of that nation had faithfully adhered to their own God and the
worship of him only, as these three men did, they would all have been
delivered out of his hand as these three men were. And this was a
necessary instruction for him at this time.
II. He applauds the constancy of these three men in their religion, and
describes it to their honour,
Though he is not himself persuaded to own their God for his and to
worship him, because, if he do so, he knows he must worship him only
and renounce all others, and he calls him the God of Shadrach,
not my God, yet he commends them for cleaving to him, and not
serving nor worshipping any other God but their own. Note, There
are many who are not religious themselves, and yet will own that those
are clearly in the right that are religious and are stedfast in their
religion. Though they are not themselves persuaded to close with it,
they will commend those who, having closed with it, cleave to it. If
men have given up their names to that God who will alone be served, let
them keep to their principles, and serve him only, whatever it cost
them. Such a constancy in the true religion will turn to men’s praise,
even among those that are without, when unsteadiness, treachery, and
double dealing, are what all men will cry shame on. He commends them
that they did this,
1. With a generous contempt of their lives, which they valued not, in
comparison with the favour of God and the testimony of a good
conscience. The yielded their own bodies to be cast into
the fiery furnace rather than they would not only not forsake their
God, but not affront him, by once paying that homage to any other which
is due to him alone. Note, Those shall have their praise, if not of
men, yet of God, who prefer their souls before their bodies, and will
rather lose their lives than forsake their God. Those know not the
worth and value of religion who do not think it worth suffering for.
2. They did it with a glorious contradiction to their prince: They
changed the king’s word, that is, they were contrary to it, and
thereby put contempt upon both his precepts and threatenings, and made
him repent and revoke both. Note, Even kings themselves must own that,
when their commands are contrary to the commands of God, he is to be
obeyed and not they.
(3.) They did it with a gracious confidence in their God. They
trusted in him that he would stand by them in what they did,
that he would either bring them out of the fiery furnace back to their
place on earth or lead them through the fiery furnace forward to their
place in heaven; and in this confidence they became fearless of the
king’s wrath and regardless of their own lives. Note, A stedfast faith
in God will produce a stedfast faithfulness to God. Now this honourable
testimony, thus publicly borne by the king himself to these servants of
God, we may well think, would have a good influence upon the rest of
the Jews that were, or should be, captives in Babylon. Their
neighbours could not with any confidence urge them to do that, nor
could they for shame do that, which their brethren were so highly
applauded by the king himself for not doing. Nay, and what God did for
these his servants would help not only to keep the Jews close to their
religion while they were in captivity, but to cure them of their
inclination to idolatry, for which end they were sent into captivity;
and, when it had had that blessed effect upon them, they might be
assured that God would deliver them out of that furnace, as now he
delivered their brethren out of this.
III. He issues a royal edict, strictly forbidding any to speak evil of
the God of Israel,
We have reason to think that both the sins and the troubles of Israel
had given great occasion, though no just occasion, to the Chaldeans to
blaspheme the God of Israel, and, it is likely, Nebuchadnezzar himself
had encouraged it; but now, though he is no true convert, nor is
wrought upon to worship him, yet he resolves never to speak ill of him
again, nor to suffer others to do so: “Whoever shall speak any thing
amiss, any error (so some), or rather any reproach or
blasphemy, whoever shall speak with contempt of the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, they shall be counted the worst of
malefactors, and dealt with accordingly, they shall be cut in
pieces, as Agag was by the sword of Samuel, and their houses shall
be demolished and made a dunghill.” The miracle now wrought by
the power of this God in defence of his worshippers, publicly in the
sight of the thousands of Babylon, was a sufficient justification of
this edict. And it would contribute much to the ease of the Jews in
their captivity to be by this law screened from the fiery darts of
reproach and blasphemy, with which otherwise they would have been
continually annoyed. Note, It is a great mercy to the church, and a
good point gained, when its enemies though they have not their hearts
turned, yet have their mouths stopped and their tongues tied. If a
heathen prince laid such a restraint upon the proud lips of
blasphemers, much more should Christian princes do it; nay, in this
thing, one would think that men should be a law to themselves, and that
those who have so little love to God that they care not to speak well
of him, yet could never find in their hearts, for we are sure they
could never find cause, to speak any thing amiss of him.
IV. He not only reverses the attainder of these three men, but restores
them to their places in the government (makes them to prosper,
so the word is), and prefers them to greater and more advantageous
trusts than they had been in before: He promoted them in the
province of Babylon, which was much to their honour and the comfort
of their brethren in captivity there. Note, It is the wisdom of princes
to prefer and employ men of stedfastness in religion; for those are
most likely to be faithful to them who are faithful to God, and it is
likely to be well with them when God’s favourites are made theirs.
|
[Previous] [Next] |
Matthew Henry |
|
Back to Bibles Net . Com – Online Christian Library Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary – Free Download |
Copyright 2008. Bibles Net. Com. All Rights Reserved.