1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.”
7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Daniel 3:1-7
This statue King Nebuchadnezzar created was about 90 feet, or 27.5 meters, tall. The late Pastor and Professor Lehman Strauss stated that this statue and the one of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2 are too much alike to not be connected. The difference is that what God showed the king in his dream was political in nature while this statue was intended as a religious figure. In the dream image, only the head was made of gold, but in this statue, the entire form was of gold. Since many scholars believe there was a period of about 20 years between the dream and this statue, they believe this statue was created in the king’s later years in an attempt to hold on to the power that the “head of gold” in the dream had implied.
Another thing of note here is the three mentions of the number 6 – the image’s height (60 cubits), its width (6 cubits), and the number of instruments used in the celebration (6 named in verse 7). The number “666” is a reference to the Antichrist in Revelation 13:18. In general, the number 6 in the Bible is the number associated with mankind, while the number 7 is the number of completeness and perfection relating to God.
Another question often asked is why Daniel is not mentioned as being present in this chapter. Dr. Strauss again reminds his readers that Daniel had been promoted to a high position in King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, so it is highly possible the king waited until Daniel was gone out of country on an assignment so he would not be part of this religious ceremony.
*In what way are you being pressured today to worship other gods?
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