Narrative Commentary – Sunday, 1 December
2013
Daniel 3: The
Golden Image
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden
statue whose height was sixty cubits and whose width was six cubits; he set it
up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.8 Accordingly, at this time
certain Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King
Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, have made a decree, that
everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and
entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue, 11 and
whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of
blazing fire. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the
affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These pay
no heed to you, O king. They do not serve your gods and they do not worship the
golden statue that you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage
commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought
those men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not
worship the golden statue that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you
hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical
ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and
good.[a] But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a
furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my
hands?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to
you in this matter. 17 If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.[b] 18
But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we
will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
The Fiery Furnace
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with
rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He
ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, 20 and
ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So the men were
bound, still wearing their tunics,[c] their trousers,[d] their hats, and their
other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22
Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the
raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 But
the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the
furnace of blazing fire.
The Prayer of Azariah in the Furnace
24 They walked around in the midst of the
flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the Lord. 25 Then Azariah stood still
in the fire and prayed aloud:
26 “Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our
ancestors, and worthy of praise;
and glorious is your name forever!
27 For you are just in all you have done;
all your works are true and your ways right,
and all your judgments are true.
28 You have executed true judgments in
all you have brought upon us
and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our ancestors;
by a true judgment you have brought all this upon us because of our
sins.
29 For we have sinned and broken your law
in turning away from you;
in all matters we have sinned grievously.
30 We have not obeyed your commandments,
we have not kept them or done what you have commanded us for our own
good.
31 So all that you have brought upon us,
and all that you have done to us,
you have done by a true judgment.
32 You have handed us over to our
enemies, lawless and hateful rebels,
and to an unjust king, the most wicked in all the world.
33 And now we cannot open our mouths;
we, your servants who worship you, have become a shame and a reproach.
34 For your name’s sake do not give us up
forever,
and do not annul your covenant.
35
Do not withdraw your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham your beloved
and for the sake of your servant Isaac
and Israel your holy one,
36 to whom you promised
to multiply their descendants like the stars of heaven
and like the sand on the shore of the sea.
37 For we, O Lord, have become fewer than
any other nation,
and are brought low this day in all the world because of our sins.
38 In our day we have no ruler, or
prophet, or leader,
no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense,
no place to make an offering before you and to find mercy.
39 Yet with a contrite heart and a humble
spirit may we be accepted,
40
as though it were with burnt offerings of rams and bulls,
or with tens of thousands of fat lambs;
such may our sacrifice be in your sight today,
and may we unreservedly follow you,[e]
for no shame will come to those who trust in you.
41 And now with all our heart we follow
you;
we fear you and seek your presence.
42 Do not put us to shame,
but deal with us in your patience
and in your abundant mercy.
43 Deliver us in accordance with your
marvelous works,
and bring glory to your name, O Lord.
44 Let all who do harm to your servants
be put to shame;
let them be disgraced and deprived of all power,
and let their strength be broken.
45 Let them know that you alone are the
Lord God,
glorious over the whole world.”
The Song of the Three Jews
46 Now the king’s servants who threw them
in kept stoking the furnace with naphtha, pitch, tow, and brushwood. 47 And the
flames poured out above the furnace forty-nine cubits, 48 and spread out and
burned those Chaldeans who were caught near the furnace. 49 But the angel of
the Lord came down into the furnace to be with Azariah and his companions, and
drove the fiery flame out of the furnace, 50 and made the inside of the furnace
as though a moist wind were whistling through it. The fire did not touch them
at all and caused them no pain or distress.
51 Then the three with one voice praised
and glorified and blessed God in the furnace:
52 “Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our
ancestors,
and to be praised and highly exalted forever;
And blessed is your glorious, holy name,
and to be highly praised and highly exalted forever.
53 Blessed are you in the temple of your
holy glory,
and to be extolled and highly glorified forever.
54 Blessed are you who look into the
depths from your throne on the cherubim,
and to be praised and highly exalted forever.
55 Blessed are you on the throne of your
kingdom,
and to be extolled and highly exalted forever.
56 Blessed are you in the firmament of
heaven,
and to be sung and glorified forever.
57 “Bless the Lord, all you works of the
Lord;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
58 Bless the Lord, you heavens;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
59 Bless the Lord, you angels of the
Lord;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
60 Bless the Lord, all you waters above
the heavens;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
61 Bless the Lord, all you powers of the
Lord;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
62 Bless the Lord, sun and moon;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him
forever.
63 Bless the Lord, stars of heaven;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
64 “Bless the Lord, all rain and dew;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
65 Bless the Lord, all you winds;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
66 Bless the Lord, fire and heat;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
67 Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer
heat;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
68 Bless the Lord, dews and falling snow;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
69 Bless the Lord, ice and cold;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
70 Bless the Lord, frosts and snows;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
71 Bless the Lord, nights and days;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
72 Bless the Lord, light and darkness;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
73 Bless the Lord, lightnings and clouds;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
74 “Let the earth bless the Lord;
let it sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
75 Bless the Lord, mountains and hills;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
76 Bless the Lord, all that grows in the
ground;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
77 Bless the Lord, you springs;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
78 Bless the Lord, seas and rivers;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
79 Bless the Lord, you whales and all
that swim in the waters;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
80 Bless the Lord, all birds of the air;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
81 Bless the Lord, all wild animals and
cattle;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
82 “Bless the Lord, all people on earth;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
83 Bless the Lord, O Israel;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
84 Bless the Lord, you priests of the
Lord;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
85 Bless the Lord, you servants of the
Lord;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
86 Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of
the righteous;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
87 Bless the Lord, you who are holy and
humble in heart;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
88 “Bless the Lord, Hananiah, Azariah,
and Mishael;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
For he has rescued us from Hades and
saved us from the power[f] of death,
and delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace;
from the midst of the fire he has delivered us.
89 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is
good,
for his mercy endures forever.
90 All who worship the Lord, bless the
God of gods,
sing praise to him and give thanks to him,
for his mercy endures forever.”
91 Hearing them sing, and amazed at
seeing them alive, King Nebuchadnezzar rose up quickly. He said to his
counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They
answered the king, “True, O king.” 92 He replied, “But I see four men unbound,
walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the fourth has
the appearance of a god.”[g] 93 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the
furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of
the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
came out from the fire. 94 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and
the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any
power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed,
their tunics[h] were not harmed, and not even the smell of fire came from them.
95 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They
disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and
worship any god except their own God. 96 Therefore I make a decree: Any people,
nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for
there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” 97 Then the king
promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Footnotes:
Daniel 3:15 Aram lacks well and good
Daniel 3:17 Or If our God whom we serve
is able to deliver us, he will deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and
out of your hand, O king.
Daniel 3:21 Meaning of Aram word
uncertain
Daniel 3:21 Meaning of Aram word
uncertain
Daniel 3:40 Meaning of Gk uncertain
Daniel 3:88 Gk hand
Daniel 3:92 Aram a son of the gods
Daniel 3:94 Meaning of Aram word
uncertain(NRSV)
Gospel: John 18: 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom
were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being
handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate
asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For
this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”(NRSV)
Commentary on Daniel 3:1,8-30 by Corrine
Carvalho
The Book of Daniel is an amazingly
complex work.
The so-called Hebrew version of the text,
which contains large sections of material written in Aramaic, contains two
distinct parts: stories of Jews living in exile in Babylon and apocalyptic
visions shown to the title character. The Greek version of the tales is
distinctly longer than the Hebrew version.
Daniel is a prominent character
throughout the book, depicted as a young, wise and pious Jew whose prophetic
abilities are recognized by even the pagan Babylonians. Chapter 3, however, is
the only chapter where Daniel does not appear. Instead, the story tells the
tale of three other Jewish men who face dire consequences for their piety.
While the book is set during the
Babylonian exile (586-538 BCE), it was written down during a period of Greek
colonization, some 400 years later. It is not interested in presenting an
historical account of the Babylonian exile. It contains several historical
inaccuracies, not the least of which is that fact that the Babylonians did not
force their religion on others.
Instead it explores the vulnerability of
peoples living under a religiously oppressive regime, a situation that fits the
time of the Greek overlord Antiochus IV Epiphanes (167-164 BCE). The story of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego represents the choices faced by those who must
either support an oppressive regime or face certain death.
While loss of cultural identity threatens
exiled populations, those who are colonized face a different but no less
serious threat. An exiled population often maintains the sense of being “Other”
in their new place of residence; even if they try to assimilate, they are often
treated as perennial outsiders by native populations. Those who are colonized
have their status inverted. Although they are the native population, regimes
that practice cultural colonization try to wipe out that native culture and
replace it with a foreign one that now becomes hegemonic.
Colonized peoples face different choices
than exiles. Often the choices made by a colonized individual affects whole
families who still may be trying to preserve property and autonomy. Some choose
to cooperate with the colonizers, others subvert it, while still others
participate in active resistance. This was as true for the Judeans colonized by
the Greeks as it is today.
The story of the three men gives a
glimpse into those choices. They could accept the religion of the king as
superior to their own. They could go through the motions of bowing to the
statue while still maintaining their own belief. Or they could organize a
rebellion against this oppressive religious practice. They choose none of
these.
Instead, they decide to become living
witnesses to what they believe in, offering their bodies as martyrs as an act
of faith in their God. It is a form of peaceful resistance often associated
today with people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bishop Oscar
Romero.
Throughout the Christian traditions,
these martyr stories ended with the death of the righteous sufferer, whose
reward comes in their post-mortem sanctification. The story of the martyrdom of
Perpetua preserves visions she had of the reward awaiting her in heaven. Second
Maccabees 7, a text in the Old Testament Apocrypha, tells the story of a mother
who watches the martyrdom of her seven sons by this same Antiochus, all the
while exhorting them to be strong and face death. She and her sons trust that
God, who will eventually punish wicked Antiochus, will reward these sons after
death.
In contrast to these later stories, this
tale of willing martyrdom in Daniel 3 ends with the miraculous rescue of the
three men. In fact, the story makes visibly apparent that those who suffer are
not alone. There is a heavenly being who accompanies them as they choose to
meet their fate (verse 25). The text is wonderfully ambiguous about the
identity of this divine figure.
In the resolution of the story, the men
not only survive, but earn a job promotion as a result of their ordeal. How odd
it seems that their reward is their continued service to their king; they now
will work for his wellbeing. This ending calls attention to three important
elements of the story that could otherwise be missed.
First, the story maintains its pacifistic
attitude. Unlike the book of Esther which ends with the Jews slaughtering the
Persians who attack them (Esther 9:5-10), there is no retaliation in this
story. For this author, the perfect denouement is the conversion of the pagans
and the peaceful co-existence of everyone.
Second, the resolution includes the
further assimilation of the men into the colonized system. Shadrach and friends
are not just Jews; they have a hybrid identity. Here their Babylonian
Jewishness mirrors the Greek Jewishness of the book’s original audience.
Third, the fate of these three
individuals is really a story about the fate of a whole people. Notice that at
the beginning of the chapter, these three stand up for the rights of all those
who live under this oppression. At the end of the chapter, the king declares
religious protections for all Jews within his empire.
While the story is not a trickster tale,
the narrative does subvert the hegemonic discourse of the colonizers. The
king’s propaganda rests on his claim of complete power within his realm. All it
takes to unravel this claim is the resolute refusal of these three people from
the margins of that society to accept his claim as reality. Instead, they
replace his claims, not with their own assertion of power, but rather with the
statement that Yahweh is God.
Daniel 3 invites contemporary communities
of faith to reflect on the long-lasting effects of colonization on themselves and
those around them. It provides a model response to violent oppression: the
stubborn refusal to be afraid. It seeks a reconciliation of both oppressor and
oppressed, through which the world is reoriented to God.
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
God of fiery flames,
Even the most raging fire could not
destroy your servants when they called upon you in faith. Give us faith to
withstand anything that rages to deter us from following you. Amen.
HYMNS:
Many and great, O God by Joseph R. Renville,
1. Many and great, O God, are Thy things,
Maker of earth and sky;
Thy hands have set the heavens with
stars;
Thy fingers spread the mountains and
plains.
Lo, at Thy Word the waters were formed;
Deep seas obey Thy voice.
2. Grant unto us communion with Thee,
Thou star abiding One;
Come unto us and dwell with us;
With Thee are found the gifts of life,
Bless us with life that has no end,
Eternal life with Thee.
---
Every time I feel the spirit (trad.)
Chorus: Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Verse 1: Up on the mountains my Lord spoke
Out of His mouth came fire and
smoke
Looked all around me, it looked so
fine
I asked the Lord could it be mine
Chorus: Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Verse 2: The Jordan river is
chilly and cold.
It chills the body but not the
soul.
There aint but one train upon this
track.
It runs to heaven and then right
back.
Chorus: Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Verse 3: Oh, I have sorrow and I have woe
I have heartaches here below
But while God leads me I’ll never
fear
For I know that He is near
Chorus: Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Chorus: Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
Every time I feel the spirit
Movin’ in my heart I will pray
---
Light one candle to watch for Messiah
“Light one candle to watch for Messiah:
let the light banish darkness. He shall bring salvation to Israel, God fulfills
the promise.
Light two candles to watch for Messiah:
let the light banish darkness.
He shall feed the flock like a shepherd,
gently lead them homeward.
Light three candles to watch for Messiah:
let the light banish darkness.
Lift your heads and lift high the gateway
for the King of glory. Light four candles to watch for Messiah: let the light
banish darkness. He is coming, tell the glad tidings. Let your lights be shining.”
---
CHORAL
My Lord, what a morning by Robert Hobby
1. My lord what a morning,
My lord what a morning,
My lord what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall
You'll hear the trumpet sound,
To wake the nations underground,
Look in my God's right hand
When the stars begin to fall,
When the stars begin to fall.
2. My lord what a morning,
My lord what a morning,
My lord what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall
You'll hear the sinner moan,
To wake the nations underground,
Look in my God's right hand
When the stars begin to fall,
When the stars begin to fall.
3. My lord what a morning,
My lord what a morning,
My lord what a morning,
When the stars begin to fall
You'll hear the Christians shout,
To wake the nations underground,
Look in my God's right hand
When the stars begin to fall,
When the stars begin to fall
---
John Wesley’s Notes-Commentary for:
Daniel:1,8-30
III Nebuchadnezzar erects a golden image,
and requires all his subjects to worship it, ver. 1-7. He is informed that the
Jewish princes refuse to worship it, ver. 8-12. They resolutely persist in
their refusal, ver. 13-18. They are cast into the fiery furnace, ver. 19-23.
Their preservation and the conviction of the king, ver. 24- 27. The honour
which he gave to God, and the favour he shewed to his servants, ver. 28-30.
Verse 1. Made an image - Perhaps he did
this, that he might seem no ways inclined to the Jews, or their religion,
whereof the Chaldeans might be jealous, seeing he had owned their God to be
greatest, and had preferred Daniel and his friends to great honours.
Verse 16. We are not careful - Hebrew. We
care not: there is no need of any answer in this case for it is in vain for us
to debate the matter; the king is resolved to have his will of us, and we are
resolved on the contrary.
Verse 18. But if not - It was therefore
all one to them, which way God would honour himself; they were resolved to
suffer rather than sin, and leave the cause to God. Indeed if God be for us, we
need not fear what man can do unto us. Let him do his worst. God will deliver
us either from death, or in death.
Verse 20. To bind - What did he think
these three men would have refused? Or that their God would defend them from
his power, or that if he had, his mighty men could have prevailed? None of all
this was the case; for God purposed to shew his power when the king did his
worst, and in the thing wherein he dealt proudly, to be above him.
Verse 23. Fell down - All this is exprest
with emphasis, to make the power of God more glorious in their preservation;
for that shame that slew the executioners, might much more easily have killed
them, even before they fell down.
Verse 25. No hurt - See how the God of
nature can when he pleases control the powers of nature! The Son of God -
Probably he had heard David speak of him. Jesus Christ, the Angel of the
covenant, did sometimes appear before his incarnation. Those who suffer for
Christ, have his gracious presence with them in their sufferings, even in the
fiery furnace, even in the valley of the shadow of death, and therefore need
fear no evil.
Verse 26. And spake - With a milder tone
than before, God having abated the fire of his fury. Now he could at once
acknowledge the true God to be the most high above all gods, and the three
worthies to be his faithful servants.
---
Gospel: John 18:36-37
Verse 36. My kingdom is not of this world
- Is not an external, but a spiritual kingdom; that I might not be delivered to
the Jews - Which Pilate had already attempted to do, ver. 31, and afterward
actually did, chap. xix, 16.
Verse 37. Thou sayest - The truth. To
this end was I born - Speaking of his human origin: his Divine was above
Pilate's comprehension. Yet it is intimated in the following words, I came into
the world, that I might witness to the truth - Which was both declared to the
Jews, and in the process of his passion to the princes of the Gentiles also.
Every one that is of the truth - That is, a lover of it, heareth my voice - A
universal maxim. Every sincere lover of truth will hear him, so as to
understand and practice what he saith.
-------
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