you shall not make yourself an idol

Rome would no longer protect the preaching of the gospel but would persecute Christians. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the kings high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them. The orchestra signalled the political leaders that it was time to bow down. In the providence of God, the Chaldeans pressed the link of the three friends of Daniel with the Jews as a group. When placed in a position where we must either obey God or men, then we must obey God and disobey men. E Their deliverance could not have been more complete. All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Nebuchadnezzar was a Chaldean, and yet the king promoted these Jews rather than the Chaldeans to the highest positions in the nation. The first time the image is to be worshipped appears to be at its dedication ceremony, described in Daniel 3. We know what the iron and clay mixture represented, and so did the king: 40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Letters: 1 Corinthians 6:9 Or don't you know that the unrighteous (1 Cor. The text leaves some matters unspecified or unexplained which, from the silence of the passage, I understand to be mysteries by divine intention. Anyone, the king declared, who so much as speaks against the worship of these men will be torn limb from limb and their property confiscated. 29. Weird The Al Yankovic Story 2022 1080p WEBRip DD5 1 X 264-EVO. If you knew more about the kings image, would you not attempt to understand how this idol was to be worshipped? Oh, Justine! He was astonished! Joyce G. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978), p. 106. And He came, and He took it out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. But you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. This posed a serious threat to the Jews. We will avoid straining gnats in order to pursue the camels of our passage (see Matthew 23:24). Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? The moon, oer the combers, looks downward to find us At rest in the hollows that rustle between. you not Publication date: Nov 3, 2022. I believe this occasion is carefully designed and orchestrated to lead a unified worship of the image by those of every nation and language. The prohibition is epitomized by the first two "words" of the decalogue: I am the Lord thy God, Thou shalt have no other gods before me, and Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. He chose, for some reason, to exclude himself. Bible reference - Exodus 20:4-6: You shall not make for yourself a carved imageany likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. The Ten Commandments. You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. Allow me to suggest a possible explanation. The Jungle Book They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save. 43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery (Daniel 2:40-43, emphasis mine). 20 And he commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. Yet Nebuchadnezzars final words are praise and adoration for these three rebels, who refused to bow down, and for the God whom they served, even to death. All rights reserved. In all sources, the terms are translatable as "the ten words", "the ten sayings", or "the ten matters". In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. What the king said next proves to be the most significant statement to come from his lips: What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands? (verse 15). Not to make an idol for yourselfExodus 20:4. Ten Commandments And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindlernot even to eat with such a one. Now the king seeks to insure this will not happen again. A second barrier is our mentally filing the story of these three Hebrews under the category of fairy tale or myth. Some commentators candidly admit, even advocate, that this story is merely a myth, and not history. New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. These regulations had a strong impact on Jewish business dealings with Christians during the Middle Ages. That is complete deliverance. The Hollywood Reporter The actions of Pharaohs daughter virtually nullified the Pharaohs decree, thus reversing the death sentence imposed by the Egyptian king. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! Judaism holds that idolatry is not limited to the worship of an idol itself, but also worship involving any artistic representations of God. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They were delivered through the fire which brought death to their executioners and in a way that destroyed only their bonds.48 They were delivered from sizzling, singeing, and even the scent of smoke. In contrast, Israel persisted in her idolatry, even when warned not to do so. From his perspective, the king did not focus on the stone cut out without human hands (2:34) as the cause of the demise of the entire statue. Fine; figuratively, a catamite. Our study will consider this text in light of both its context in the Book of Daniel and in the history of Israel. For less than $5/mo. a debauchee. This rejection of the existence of foreign gods can be seen as marking the completion of Yahwism's transition into Second Temple Judaism. He planned to subordinate all worship to this god. That failed, too. You shall 3:10-14). But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.. 2 hours ago. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. You shall make no idols. Copyright 2002-2022 Got Questions Ministries. The confidence of these three comes not from any personal assurance of deliverance from the furnace, but from Gods promise to the captives of Babylon that He would deliver them from captivity and restore them as a nation: Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. In both chapters, Daniel and his friends are promoted, but in the latter Nebuchadnezzar recognizes God working miraculously to deliver His servants and acknowledges the superiority of their God over his. For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. Judaism had historically stood out from other religions in the ancient world because of its exclusive monotheism. CHAPTER 20. They wisely agreed. We should not seek to learn what God has withheld from us. Men had to choose between bowing down to the idol or being burned in the flames of the furnace. Why does Daniel place the emphasis here? 20:4 Or a likeness of anything: compare this formulation to that found in Dt 5:8, which understands this phrase and the following phrases as specifications of the prohibited idol (Hebrew pesel), which usually refers to an image that is carved or hewn rather than cast. They were not trying to make an issue of this matter, but only being obedient to their faith and to the Law as quietly and inconspicuously as possible. But this never happened. They could not do what God had forbidden. 1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. We do not fathom or experience the totality of the deliverance which God has for us now, let alone in eternity. For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. Footnotes. In addition to the precedent set by this decree of Nebuchadnezzar, a number of other lessons are to be learned from our text. The god represented by this idol was to be honored and worshipped. L The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judahall the houses on whose roofs offerings have been offered to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured out to other godsshall be defiled like the place of Topheth.. [29][18][17] The transition from monolatry to monotheism and the concept of idolatry can be summarized as the following: 1) Ancient Canaanites worshipped a large variety of gods, though probably not including Yahweh;[30] 2) Canaanites in the lands that would later be known as Israel, Samaria, and Judah began worshipping Yahweh;[21] 3) The early Israelites prioritized Yahweh worship, treating other gods as secondary; 4) The Israelites gradually merged other deities into Yahweh, associating their traits and stories with him;[17] 5) The deities that had previously been merged with Yahweh, and some vestigial traditions and rituals associated with their worship, were eventually seen as superstitions or elements of distinct, separate religions;[29][18] 6) The authors of the most ancient books of the Hebrew Bible argued that Yahweh is the only god that Israelites should worship, and that all other worship angers Yahweh, but did not overtly deny the existence of the other Canaanite deities;[15] 7) It's possible that at some point after the Babylonian captivity, the history and memory of Canaanite gods being worshipped alongside Yahweh in mainstream Yahwistic temples were forgotten; 8) Later Tanakh authors (beginning with the Deutero-Isaiah authors) used the term avodh zereh ( ) meaning foreign worship and argued that "fashioning a god or idol" was foolish and futile, as Yahweh is the only god that truly exists. Images of Chapter 3: (a) human origin; (b) a reality; (c) made only of gold; (d) an object of worship; (e) revealed to all; (f) described only generally; (g) men commanded to bow down. You shall not bow down or worship them, For I am the LORD your God. The third criterion of idolatry is prostration. Create account . Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. Consider these contrasts: Images of Chapter 2: (a) divine origin; (b) a vision only; (c) made of different metals; (d) not an object of worship; (e) privately revealed to Nebuchadnezzar; (f) fairly well described; (g) prompted king to bow down. (5) Why is no mention made of Daniel in chapter 3? God is going to reveal to us our idols and He is going to show you that apart from Him you have nothing. Business dealings with Muslims were not affected because Jews regarded the Muslims as pure monotheists like themselves. If it shall please you to make me a wholesome answer, I will do 2200 your mother's commandment; if not, your pardon and my return shall be the end of my business. Standing virtually alone, they stood up by faith, a faith which qualified them to be listed in the hall of faith : And what more shall I say? For Daniels friends, obedience to the kings command would have required them to commit the sin of idolatry. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. Questia - Gale Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. you shall not make Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. They knew that the fires of hell were more devastating than the fire of Nebuchadnezzars furnace. They left the rest to God. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). Centuries ago, about the time of Abraham, men concentrated themselves in a city on the plain in Shinar (Genesis 11:1-2). 24You shall make (AG)an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your (AH)burnt offerings and your (AI)peace offerings, (AJ)your sheep and your oxen; in every place (AK)where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. The orchestra was set, ready to play once again. From basileus; properly, royalty, i.e. That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? While the executioners were slain by the flames, the three Hebrews were not. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, Men, why are you doing these things? Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow, Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease! 5:19-25), 5. 22 For this reason, because the kings command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. 41 The archaeologist Julius Oppert states that he found on one of these mounds a large brick square, forty-five feet on a side and twenty feet high, which he believes was the foundation of this very image. What Does the Bible Say About Tattoos When the Israelites defeated their enemies and took the images of their gods, they were to destroy them. The Chaldeans would have noted the failure of the three to fall down rather than the king or the other political leaders. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. We apologize for any inconvenience and are here to help you find similar resources. Theirs was a complete deliverance, because God accomplished it. Jewish writers used the works of their own scriptures as well as the works of Greek philosophers to denounce idolatry. Only month and day are displayed by default. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. - Know ye not; rather, Or know ye not, as before.Are you defying God, or does your sin arise from mere ignorance? But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up (Daniel 3:16b-18). Realizing his reputation was at stake, he gave them, before all present, a second chance. The reader of the account is reminded that God is the only Deliverer. Exodus 20:34 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95) 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Ten Commandments