In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how, “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits” and “then an herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. And whoso falls not down and worships shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace”, and in chapter three and verse seven of his book, Daniel shared what happened “at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet” where we read,
Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
The verse reads, “Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, ...” Daniel began with the words, “therefore at that time” or “wherefore, then and on this account when the moment arrived”, “when all the people” which means “at the time and moment each, every, the whole and everyone of the human beings both male and female” “heard the sound” or “were given the faculty for hearing, perceiving, discerning and distinguishing the noise or music” “of the cornet” which means “belonging to the horn”, “flute” which refers to “a musical pipe named from it's whistling sound”, “harp” or “a musical instrument like a lyre or zither”, “sackbut” which refers to “a triangular musical instrument with four strings which was also known as a trigon and was similar to a lyre”, “psaltery” or “a stringed triangular instrument like a lyre or harp”, “and all kinds of music”which means “and every type of instrumental music”. Daniel said at the moment the “people” perceived the noise of the instrumental music, they took the following action.
The verse goes on to say, “... all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.” Daniel continued with the words, “all the people” which means “each, every, the whole and everyone of the human beings both male and female”, “the nations” or “people groups and tribes”, “and the languages” which means “and the diverse speeches and tongues”, “fell down and worshiped” or “bowed down and prostrated themselves and gave homage to” “the golden image” which means “the idolatrous figure made of gold” “that Nebuchadnezzar the king” or “that Nebuchadnezzar whose name means 'may Nebo protect the crown' and was the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive” “had set up” which means “erected, fixed and established in place”. Daniel said every one of the human beings, tribes and diversities of tongues bowed down and gave homage to the golden idol erected by King Nebuchadnezzar.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how the “people” from different “nations and tongues” all bowed down to the golden idol that King Nebuchadnezzar made and ordered them to worship. We can only imagine what an assault this was on Almighty God. God gave King Nebuchadnezzar his power, position and rule over the world, and He alone was to be worshiped. The same is true today, and because God loves us, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to worship Him and Him alone all the days of our lives.
Next time Daniel says, “at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews”, 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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