Through the Fire - Audio
Summary: Verse one says, “King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue...he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.” Daniel 3 suggests that the king decided to solidify his control by unifying the many nations under his rule with a common religion & object of worship. For other nations who believed in more than one god, this simply meant adding one more idol to their list of deities to be worshipped. The Jews could not be faithful to God and worship anyone or anything else. Humanly speaking, if the king’s command stood, it could mean the end of the Jewish faith.
The political authorities of the land are the first group of participants to participate in the worship of the idol. These leaders fall into various groups identified repeatedly by Daniel, representing not only the different levels of government but the various races, languages, & cultures integrated into the government of Babylon. Everyone knew they had two options. It was the image or the furnace; bow down or burn.