Daniel 3:15
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 musick, 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?
Nebuchadnezzar gave an ultimatum that when the instruments and all kinds of music sounded all must fall down and worship the image he had made, and whoever refused would be cast the same hour into the burning fiery furnace. The golden image set up on the plain of Dura represented Babylon and the king himself in his glory, set up as a rival to the God of heaven to be worshiped in His place. His demand joined civil power to false religion to enforce idol worship, and his question who could deliver from his hands was arrogant defiance challenging God's power to save. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not dishonor God by obeying a human law against His law, would not bow to a symbol of human power because they worshiped God alone, and trusted He was able to deliver them while remaining faithful even if He did not. God proved His power to deliver when Christ Himself walked with them in the fire and preserved them, and the miracle brought Nebuchadnezzar to acknowledge God's superior power. That test over worship enforced by law under threat of death will be repeated when civil power joined to religious authority demands Sunday observance in place of God's Sabbath.
Setting and Defiant Demand
Daniel 3:15 belongs to the time after Nebuchadnezzar had once acknowledged the power of God, when pride and self-exaltation led him to honor idols with increased zeal. It stands set against his earlier dream of a great image, which had revealed events reaching to the close of time and foretold that God would establish an everlasting kingdom that would destroy the earthly kingdoms and endure forever. The golden image he set up on the plain of Dura represented the kingdom of Babylon, and more particularly the king himself, his own glory and the excellency of Babylon.
The image arose because he read the interpretation that he was the head of gold in accordance with his own idolatrous mind and ambitions. That reading perverted the light given to show that earthly kingdoms would pass away before the kingdom of heaven, for the dream had been given to show earthly kingdoms passing away to be followed by the kingdom of the Prince of heaven filling the whole earth. He determined instead to make an image all of gold to take the place of God and to be worshiped as God, hoping by such a display to convert all nations to worship the excellence of Babylon.
The verse gives his ultimatum that at what time the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer and all kinds of music sound, all must fall down and worship the image which he made. Anyone who would not worship was to be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. The public display with its impressive appearance and music was calculated to charm the senses, and the offer of readiness was another chance to obey. The king assumed that his command together with the dreadful immediate punishment would compel obedience.
His question, who is that God that shall deliver out of his hands, expresses defiance and arrogant confidence in his own power. It is a direct challenge to the power of God to save. Falling down before the image was understood by all as an act of worship, and worship of that kind belongs to God alone. The image was a rival to the God of heaven, a symbol of human power set up to take the place of God and be worshiped as God. The verse therefore means a union of civil power with false religion to enforce worship of an idol in the place of God, making human authority a rival to God.
Faithful Loyalty and Deliverance
The ultimatum put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the test whether they would remain loyal to God rather than worship an idol even under threat of immediate death in the burning fiery furnace. The image was a rival to the God of heaven, so their principles and loyalty to Him forbade them to honor it, and they would not compromise that loyalty even to preserve their own lives. They would not violate conscience to obey even a great king, nor dishonor God by obeying a human law against His law. They would not bow to that symbol of human power because they worshiped God alone as King of kings and Lord of lords, and though the decree had made image worship the established religion, that did not change their duty.
The threat of the furnace did not change their decision to remain faithful even at the cost of death, for they trusted that God was able to deliver them while remaining faithful even if He did not. Their integrity was severely tested before an idolatrous nation. That history sets forth the working out of the Lord's purpose for the children of obedience and the children of disobedience, and their trial showed the power and faithfulness of the God of Israel.
God preserved His servants in the furnace and they survived. Christ Himself answered the challenge by walking with the three faithful servants in the fire, showing His power and faithfulness to save and proving that the king's threat could not defeat God's power to deliver. The attempted enforcement instead gave Babylon's rulers and people a public demonstration of the true God. That wonderful miracle wrought upon Nebuchadnezzar's heart so that he believed in God and acknowledged His superior power over every other kingdom and over earthly kings.
End-Time Repetition and Duty
The test on the plain of Dura, where refusal to fall down and worship the image brought the threat of the burning fiery furnace the same hour, will be repeated in this day. Though innocent of wrongdoing, many of God's servants will be given over to suffer humiliation and abuse at the hands of those inspired by Satan and filled with envy and religious bigotry. Especially those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment will arouse the wrath of man, until at last a universal decree denounces them as deserving of death.
As Nebuchadnezzar's advisers schemed to ensnare the captives by leading the king to decree universal bowing, so men today strive to turn God's people from allegiance by cruel enactments. The coercion by public display and music-backed law requiring worship parallels that coercion, with impressive appearance and music calculated to charm the senses while human authority is made a rival to God. The Sunday idol is set up in the same way, with human laws demanding it be honored as sacred and holy where God's holy Sabbath of the fourth commandment should be. Civil power joined to religious authority pressures conscience to violate conscience and obey human enactments requiring Sunday observance in place of God's Sabbath.
Their situation shows the duty to remain loyal to God when human law demands disobedience to His commandments, as when Sunday observance is enforced by law. That same stand will be required in the Southern States when a period comes that forces a decision for or against the commandments of God. Until that time believers must not be presumptuous and must never encourage a spirit of defiance and resistance, even if put in the chain gang. Instead they should go to other cities or countries, pray for those who treat them evilly, and resist not evil.
The threatened destruction also illustrates that those who make cruel laws against God's people may themselves be destroyed by the consequences of their actions. As those who sought to destroy the Hebrew captives were themselves destroyed, so those who make such laws are destroyed by the recoil of their actions.