Daniel 3:29
Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 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.
After Christ Himself walked unhurt with the three faithful servants in the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar turned from wrath to praise and issued a decree throughout his realm that anyone speaking against their God would be cut in pieces and their houses destroyed, because no other god can deliver in such a way. He did this after setting up a golden image in the plain of Dura to glorify Babylon and himself and demanding all worship it in God's place, contrary to the dream showing earthly kingdoms would pass away before the kingdom of heaven. His public confession exalting the Hebrew God's power and authority as worthy of supreme adoration was right and pleasing to God, and was meant to spread his conviction to all peoples of earth. Yet in using death and destruction of homes to force that reverence he exceeded his right as a temporal ruler, and compelling worship of God by death was as wrong as condemning to the flames all who refused the image, for God never compels obedience but leaves all free to choose. Their loyalty when commanded to false worship shows God's people must not surrender obedience when civil authority makes it seem disloyal, and the same union of church and state will set up a Sunday idol in place of the Sabbath until a universal decree declares Sabbathkeepers deserving of death.
Decree and Its Setting
The events belong to the same year Daniel and his companions entered the service of the king of Babylon, severely testing the integrity of these youthful Hebrews and proving before an idolatrous nation the power and faithfulness of the God of Israel. The setting is Nebuchadnezzar making a golden image in the plain of Dura to represent the kingdom of Babylon and more particularly the king himself and his glory, to be worshiped by all as God in His place. He did this after being told he was the head of gold, showing that earthly kingdoms would pass away and be followed by the kingdom of the Prince of heaven filling the whole earth, yet he determined to make an image all of gold. He read the scriptural interpretation of his dream about Babylon and other kingdoms in accordance with his own idolatrous mind and ambitions and turned it into a display meant to convert all nations to worship the image.
Christ Himself walked in the fiery furnace with the three faithful servants who would not bow the knee to the image. Nebuchadnezzar with remorse and shame saw four men loose walking unhurt in the fire, with the form of the fourth like the Son of God, and called for the servants of the most high God to come forth. They came out unhurt before the vast multitude without even the smell of fire upon them and their garments, producing a striking change in the minds of the people so that the great golden image was forgotten.
After this wonderful deliverance unharmed from the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar issued a decree throughout his realm and to every people, nation, and language. Anyone speaking anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be cut in pieces and their houses made a dunghill, facing severe punishment and destruction of persons and homes, even a death decree. This was because there is no other god that can deliver after this sort. Their deliverance testified to that power and led the king and his officials to witness God's protection and recognize His power.
The decree came because Nebuchadnezzar turned from wrath to praise and thanksgiving to Jehovah. With his heart wrought upon by the wonderful miracle proving God's unequaled power to save, he believed in God and His superior power to deliver His servants. He was compelled to acknowledge that the living God is above every earthly power, exalted Jehovah as more powerful than any other kingdom and above all other gods, honored Him, and testified to His power.
What the Decree Reveals
The history of the wonderful deliverance of the three Hebrew worthies brings out important principles regarding the working out of the purpose for the children of obedience and the children of disobedience. When idolaters were roused to crush out the truth, the Lord brought His servants face to face with kings and rulers, so that the rulers and their people might receive the light. It stands as one of the times the greatest monarchs were led to proclaim the supremacy of the God whom their Hebrew captives worshiped, after a persecution in which many exiles suffered and not a few lost their lives because they refused to disregard the Sabbath and to observe the heathen festivals.
Their faithfulness in refusing to worship the king's image led the king and his officials to witness God's protection and recognize His power, and their deliverance testified to that power. After God delivered them from the fiery furnace, public acknowledgment was made that no other god could deliver in this way, and decree was made that no people, nation, or language should speak against their God without severe punishment. The decree was the effort to spread abroad to all peoples of earth the conviction that the power and authority of the Hebrew God is worthy of supreme adoration. The right public confession exalting the God of heaven above all other gods was pleasing to God, and it was right to make the royal confession of allegiance and reverence as widespread as the Babylonian realm. The idolatrous king, compelled by the miracle to acknowledge that the living God is above every earthly power, thus protected His honor by law.
In threatening death and destruction of persons and homes for speaking against God, he exceeded his right as a temporal ruler. He had no civil or moral right to force subjects to make the same confession of faith and reverence. That use of death to compel worship of God was as wrong as his decree condemning to the flames all who refused to worship the golden image. God never compels obedience but leaves every person free to choose whom to serve.
God's incessant providence gave light to Nebuchadnezzar and brought him into reasoning relation with Daniel concerning prophecies against Babylon and other kingdoms, so that Jehovah would be exalted as more powerful than any other kingdom. His heart was wrought upon by the wonderful miracle proving God's unequaled power to save, so that he believed in God and His superior power to deliver. Daniel instructed that all, whether king or subjects, must read dreams in the light of the living Oracles and must not read the Scriptures and providence in the light of dreams. Nebuchadnezzar had read the scriptural interpretation of his dream about Babylon and other kingdoms in accordance with his own idolatrous mind and ambitions and turned it into a display of idolatry supposed to convert all nations to worship the image.
Faithfulness and Final Crisis
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego stood firm in faith against the power of Nebuchadnezzar, and God's Word enabled people helpless in themselves to withstand the power of the world. Their remaining loyal to God when a ruler commands worship of an image shows that God's people must not surrender obedience to God when civil authority makes loyalty to His commandments seem disloyal, and their faithfulness makes the principle guiding them manifest.
Their refusal to bow will be repeated when a period comes in the Southern States that forces decisions for or against the commandments of God. Until that time the introduction of truth among the colored people cannot be done in a haphazard or presumptuous way, and believers and teachers must not take a defiant and resistant course that would needlessly close the way to work fields not yet touched. The experience at Dura shows that God's faithful servants may be abused for refusing false worship, and in the end a universal decree will declare Sabbath keepers deserving of death.
The same union of church and state that set up the golden image sets up a Sunday idol where God's holy Sabbath of the fourth commandment should be, with human laws demanding it be worshiped as sacred and holy, as men exalt their power where God should be. The advisers who ensnared the Hebrew captives by leading the king to decree that every knee should bow repeats today in striving to turn God's people from allegiance. The men who sought to destroy Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were themselves destroyed, showing that those who make cruel enactments seeking to destroy are destroyed by the recoil of their own actions.