Q1. Bowing Down

[Celestina33]

Q1. (Daniel 3:8-15) Why do the Jews' fellow government officials report them to Nebuchadnezzar? Why is the king so angry? What is his motivation to have people bow to the statue?
 

 

I think the officials were looking to advance their own postions. What better way than to eliminate those who stood in the way? The king sees it as being unloyal plus it is embarassing to be defied. His motivation to have people bow is to ascertain his power position. ~

[Paulhoward]

We can't miss the fact that God invokes His rightful ownership of His people to Nebuchadnezzar & Darius by demanding that they be free to worship Him. The issue of worship is the defining issue of human history. We were made to worship the One in whose image we were created.. Christ was crucified to restore our place of communion with God in worship. That is, the salvation He purchase for us is not only salvation from death but salvation unto a life of communion with God. In that place of behold img the Lord in worship we are transformed. Since we all become like what we worship there is nothing greater that God would want for His people than for them to worship Him, for there is nothing greater than Himself.

God doesn't long for our worship because He is an egotist in need of our affirmation. Instead He longs for our transformation that takes place in the glory of His Presence, the glory that descends in times of extended worship.

When Adam & Eve sinned they didn't stop worshipping , they simply started directing their worship towards the wrong thing. The enemy's agenda has always been to rob our destinies by getting us to worship anything but God. We see this reflected in these two stories through Neb & Darius (and their people) who clearly understood the fact that Daniel & his friends worship of God was a threat to their kingdom. Their responses to Daniel reveal the tactics that the devil still uses today as He tries to keep people from entering into complete freedom , which is the true fruit of our lives when we live to worship the One worthy of our worship!

Daniel knew what He was up against as his worship was a direct confrontation of the demonic power behind the thrones of these pagan kings.

[PeteD]

Lesson 3 question 1

I agree that the reason the government officials reported the Jews was because of jealousy. The king was angry because of pride - his pride was impugned.

[PrayingMan]

Q1. (Daniel 3:8-15) Why do the Jews’ fellow government officials report them to Nebuchadnezzar? Why is the king so angry?

These Jews are outsiders. Outsiders are typically seen as not having earned the "right" to positions in government above locals. These Jews were a defeated people and did not deserve such positions therefore were objects of accusation and ridicule. The king couldn't accept Jews coming into defy his authority or causing a lack of respect amongst his subjects.

[Old Jerry]

The Jew’s fellow government officials reported them to Nebuchadnezzar because they were jealous of the position that they had attend. The king in angry because this could have been a test to see who they were loyal to him. His motivation to have people bow to the statue was to show that that he had absolute power.

[nancyann]

It was a case as everyone has said of Jealousy and being angry because the "foreigners" were given higher positions than they were.  We see it today were people try to "dig holes for others".

King Nebuchadnezzar was angry because he felt that they had undermined him.  Belittled him in front of his people.

I think te motivation was to show haw great his was and his authority over the people.

[pickledilly]

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were reported by jealous Babylonian government officials who wanted to get rid of these captive foreigners who had previously found such favor with the king and enjoyed the prestige of more important positions than they themselves had. But this report dissolved Nebuchadnezzar's favor as he became enraged that anyone in the empire would refuse his direct order to bow down in loyalty and obeisance before his statue, which indicated submission and worship. This was considered a flagrant insult, even an act of disloyalty and perhaps treason, that these men would refuse to give him “proper” honor by bowing to his golden image.  He would not tolerate such shameful and embarrassing disregard for his position and disrespect for his authority, especially in front of his cadre of officials.

[pkseeker1]

Q1. (Daniel 3:8-15) Why do the Jews’ fellow government officials report them to Nebuchadnezzar? Why is the king so angry? What is his motivation to have people bow to the statue?

Jealousy is as cruel as the grave, and if we have to will too. The king is angry because you could be dead, after all he feels he spared their lives and gave them a chance, however it was God keeping them alive.90- 99ft. tall he thought it was grand, with great workmanship he deemed it worthy of praise, they did not.

[Moises Percu]

 Why do the Jews’ fellow government officials report them to Nebuchadnezzar? Why is the king so angry? What is his motivation to have people bow to the statue? 

 

They were jealous because young foreigners had so important responsabilities in Babilonian Empire. The king was angry because he considered this attitude a personal challenge from the young Jews. His motivation to have people bow was to show who was in charge.   

[joy irowa]

The jews fellow govt. official reported to the king because of jealousy

 

The king was angry because they disobeyed his order

 

The motivation was that they will be thrown into the fiery furnace

[Frangena]

• The Jews' fellow government officials reported them to Nebuchadnezzar because they did not like the so called 'foreigners' being offered better jobs in the government than the local and loyal citizens.

 

• The king was angry because he concluded that the Jews were disloyal to him and anyone who does not obey the law had to face the consequences.

 

• The motivation to make people bow to the statue was tat whoever did not bow was going to be thrown into the fiery burning furnace to be consumed by flames. He boasted that there would be no god to rescue anyone thrown into that fire because he thought he was too powerful as the king. I think this statement also gave more motivation to the Jews because they had faith in their God.

[Commissioned]

Q1. (Daniel 3:8-15) Why do the Jews’ fellow government officials report them to Nebuchadnezzar? Why is the king so angry? What is his motivation to have people bow to the statue?

The government officials reported Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to Nebuchadnezzar because they did not like the Jews and the fact that they held higher positions made it worse still.  The king got angry because he felt disrespected by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as they refused to bow down before the image. The king's motivation for the people to bow to the image is not being thrown into the fire and losing their life.

[elizabeth kerr]

God does not tell us everything we would like to know in the Bible, but He tells us everything we need to know in order to know Him as God, to trust and worship Him as our God, and to live in the ways that honor and glorify Him.  The things He doesn't tell us, we don't need to know.  The things He doesn't tell us, we can only speculate about.

 

God does not tell us why the astrologers were watching the officials to see who would and who wouldn't bow down to the statue or if their seeing that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't bow down and worship it was just an accidental observation.  He also does not tell us why they reported this observation to the king.  Maybe they were jealous of the Jewish men because they held the top positions in the province, positions the astrologers desired for themselves.  Maybe they believed that only Chaldeans should hold these top positions with power and authority over other Chaldeans.  Maybe they hated the Jews just because they were Jews.  Maybe they thought that all residents of the empire, or at least all government officials, should show their loyalty to the king by some test or oath, and would have reported anyone they observed not bowing down to the statue.  Maybe they thought everyone should obey every command of the king without question or hesitation.

     These reasons are not uncommon throughout history and in some places, even today.  In parts of the Muslim-dominant world,  it is unacceptable, even criminal, for a non-Muslim to hold any position that gives him power and authority over a Muslim, even in a private company.    Loyalty oaths are also not so rare today as well as in the past.  In the 2nd century AD, some Roman emperors demanded that all residents of the empire take a loyalty oath that "Caesar is Lord," and ostracized and persecuted those who refused.

 

God also does not tell us why Nebuchadnezzar was irate that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had not worshipped his statue, just that he was and tried to convince them to do so.  Maybe it was his pride that objected to his being defied.  Maybe he was embarassed that some of his highlevel officials whom he trusted had publicly defied him.  Maybe he was concerned that since they did not obey him, they were planning to lead a revolt against him.  Maybe he was worried that if all his officials did not obey his command and he let them get away with it, others would follow their lead and disobey others of the king's more important commands;  such was the case when Queen Vashti refused to obey King Xerxes' command to appear before him and his guests when they were drunk - - the wise men of his court told him that he had to severely punish Vashti for her defiance or else all the other wives in the empire would despise and defy their husbands (Esther 1:10-22).

 

I don't think it is wrong to think through these possibilities for things God does not tell us and to consider one more likely than the others; but I think we must not build our understanding of the passage on our speculation of what it was that God did not tell us. 

[linda bass]

The Jews' fellow government officials report them to Nebuchadnezzar because they were jealous that Daniel's friends had received better positions then they did.

The king is so angry because Daniel's friends had refused to bow down and worship his golden statue.

The king's motivation to have people bow and worship the statue was to test the loyalty of his officials.

[Lionwolf]

Q1. (Daniel 3:8-15) Why do the Jews' fellow government officials report them to Nebuchadnezzar? Why is the king so angry? What is his motivation to have people bow to the statue?

it is not clear as to why the government officials report the Jews to Nebuchadnezzar but there are several possibilities. It could be the officials feel they are simply doing their duty to the king. Or it could be the officials were trying to gain the king's favor. Another reason might be they are jealous and/or resentful of the Jew's position with the king. Might be all these reasons or something else. Whatever their reason it is clear the Jews were not obeying the king's orders. Nebuchadnezzar was angry because his orders were being disobeyed. To make it worse, his government officials were disobeying his direct orders. It isn't clear why Nebuchadnezzar wanted people to bow to the statue. It does appear to be a display of the king's power and authority. By forcing officials to bow to this immense statue upon penalty of death Nebuchadnezzar is cementing his will upon Babylon.

[Clelie]

The government officials were jealous of the jewish success as they occupied higher positions .

The king became angry because the Jews refused to obey his command to bow before the statue as he considered this to be non negotiable an act of loyalty. 
The king’s motivation to have people  bowing to the statue was to be assured they were  loyal to his rule and to have control over his vast empire. 

 

[Krissi]

When real work has to be done and the stakes are high, even government bureaucrats are able to find competent individuals to lead and advise. I don't think that anti-semitism or religious bigotry was the cause of their rejection of the three young men but rather an inability to figure out who actually can get work done. This assumes that they are faced with real problems that need to be solved, that real work needs to be done.

When there are layers of unnecessary and unneeded bureaucrats and the stakes are low, which is often the case, and real work does not need to be done, then government bureaucrats promote untalented and less capable people than themselves to preserve their own power and status in a system that accomplishes nothing. As time passes, a bureaucracy becomes clogged with incompetent people in jobs that really don't need to be done. At this point, politics prevails. The sort of person who rises to the top in these circumstances is a backroom dealer, a schmoozer and flatterer ... you know the type: people driven to promote the system and each other, not the people. They exist to serve themselves.

The three young men seem to have been capable workers within a bloated bureaucracy, one that promotes sleazy politicians who backbite and promote incompetence. So when the command came to worship the silly idol, the most incompetent workers who filled unnecessary positions quickly fell prostrate before it. These workers knew that their status was not contingent on ability or output, but on placating the powers that above them. Their fear of being outed as unnecessary propelled them to do whatever it took to assuage and stroke egos. Again, when the need to perform a real task is lowest, the need to conform to irrational demands is highest. 

The three young men didn't seem to understand that they represented competence in a system that rewarded incompetence. They could have found a way to be absent when the command to worship the idol was made, to make a "foreign jaunt." But, they didn't do this. They blurted out their real concern. They told the truth in a system that rewards lying and keeping up pretense. And so, they outed themselves.

The king seems like a man who rose to the level of his own incompetence. He was a cog in the system ... the titular head of a house of cards. He knew his own place at the top was contingent NOT on achievement, good governance and competence but rather on maintaining the delicate balance of egos, lies and delusions. The king couldn't handle challenges to the system. And so, the boys who had proven themselves capable were instantly turned into villains. 

I can't help but think this is the same situation that exists in Western nations today. We have an incompetent, multi-layered, self-serving class of bureaucrats who are more interested in maintaining the status quo than actually doing a job. At the top, we have politicians who are elected because of their ability to deceive, not serve. More than anything, they fear people who shine a light on their position for they know, deep inside, they're not needed or wanted and are merely an expensive encumbrance on the body politic. 

Incapable people want to be worshipped, not challenged. They want to be feared, not respected. The golden calf was a meaningless challenge that separated the competent from the political. Those who were competent didn't need or care about the silly idol -- those who were incompetent made a fuss over being seen conforming to the demand, that is, being pegged as a team player who would do anything to keep the system afloat.