In the book of Daniel, Daniel speaking of Nebuchadnezzar shared how, “the king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you could reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king”, and in chapter three and verse one of his book Daniel shared how, “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold” where we read,
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits,
and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
The verse reads, “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits:” Daniel began with the words, “Nebuchadnezzar the king” or “Nebuchadnezzar whose name means 'may Nebo protect the crown' and was the royal ruler and leader of the Babylonian Empire who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive” “made and image of gold” which means “fashioned and formed an idolatrous figure with gold metal”, “whose height was threescore cubits” or “which was sixty cubits or ninety feet high”, “and the breadth thereof”which means “and the width of the idolatrous figure was” “six cubits” or “about nine feet wide”. Daniel shared how “King Nebuchadnezzar” formed and fashioned an idolatrous figure with gold metal which was about ninety feet high and nine feet wide.
The verse goes on to say, “he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.” Daniel continued with the words, “he set it up” which means “he, King Nebuchadnezzar, erected, stood and established the idolatrous figure” “in the plain of Dura” or “within the field belonging to Dura whose name means dwelling and was a place in Babylonia”, “in the province of Babylon” which means “within the region and district belonging to Babylon whose name means confusion (by mixing) which was the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates”. Daniel said King Nebuchadnezzar erected his golden idolatrous figure within the field of “Dura” that was located within the region and district of “Babylon”.
When we think through Daniel's words in this verse, we learn how King Nebuchadnezzar reacted after being told he was the “head of gold” within the idolatrous figure of his “dream”. Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar that he was a “king of kings”, and perhaps after revealing that his kingdom would be replaced by a weaker kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar decided to erect an idol of gold for people to worship. We shall learn more about this “idol” in our next verses, but for now, let us learn from the mistake King Nebuchadnezzar made. God gave Nebuchadnezzar his position of authority and power, and because his power would eventually be removed, he would never be able to prevent what God knew was coming after his kingdom was gone. God wants all of us to be in a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead, He made the way through belief and trust in Him for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and helped by His Holy Spirit to know that we are always to give glory and credit to Him and never to make an “idol” of ourselves.
Next time we see how, “Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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