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Chapter 3 The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace 1King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.2He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.3So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.4Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language:5As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.6Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” 8At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews.9They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!10You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold,11and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace.12But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.” 13Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,14and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?15Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” 16Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.18But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 19Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual20and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.21So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.22The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,23and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, O king.” 25He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” 26Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,27and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.29Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” 30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
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brother_fel - (eBible Mentor) about 1 year ago.
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They say that Catholics worship statues and saints.
When you have a picture of your gf in your wallet and when you miss her you take it out and look at it and even talk to it and kiss it is that idol worship ?
Catholics do NOT worship statues or worship saints! A statue is merely a representation of someone who was once living, or in secular terms it can also be a sign of something, such as independence. What about that picture of your family that you have on your desk at work. Your picture helps you to remember and it brings back memories. Are you worshiping your picture every day? Of course not!
Praying to Saints is really asking the saints to intercede for us since they are closer to God but we do not worship them. The same way when you ask a friend to pray for you to God because you have a final test coming up. This is called intercessionary prayer or asking someone to pray for you to God.
To show that we are only asking to pray for us, lets take a look of the Hail Mary Prayer
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen
If you notice we are only asking Mary to pray for us exactly the same when asking friend or a relative to pray for us when you are sick or has a test.
We ask the Saints or Mary to pray for us because they are closer to God.
In Fact Martin Luther was devoted to our Lady.
You can also pray to God directly if you want. Praying to Saints is only optional like if you need extra help so your prayer will be heard by God.
Veneration is showing respect or honor, not worship.
Veneration of Saints is asking them for intercession.
The only one worthy of worship is God, and God alone! If a Catholic did worship a statue or saint, they would be excommunicated from the church. You must remember that the Catholic Church is traced back to the apostles. They could not take a picture of Jesus and carry it around in their pocket--cameras did not exist. But in the early Church, one way of remembering was by erecting statues of those of importance, such as Jesus, Mary, etc. Why do you think that it is so odd that Catholics have statues in their churches and no other denomination does? Because Catholics carried the tradition from the early Church!
If statues were so taboo by God, then why did God command Moses, while in the desert, to put a serpent on a pole?
Num 21:8 And the Lord said unto Moses, make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten when he look upon it, shall live.
Then what about the construction of the Ark of the Covenant?
Ex. 25:18 God said to Moses - And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat (vs. 20) And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look at one to another…
1Kings 7:23 He made also a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round all about; the height of it was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.
1Kings 7:24 And a graven work under the brim of it compassed it, for ten cubits going about the sea: there were two rows cast of chamfered sculptures.
1Kings 7:25 And it stood upon twelve oxen, of which three looked towards the north, and three towards the west, and three towards the south, and three towards the east, and the sea was above upon them, and their hinder parts were all hid within.
1Kings 7:26 And the laver was a handbreadth thick: and the brim thereof was like the brim of a cup, or the leaf of a crisped lily: it contained two thousand bates.
Now, there is an instance when God forbids statues, and that is the well known incident in
Exodus 32-8 when the people created a molten calf. This calf was not a reminder but it was created to be a God so that it could be worshiped.
As you see, a statue is harmless if it is being used as a representation of someone or something, but when the statues becomes a God that is worshiped, then there is much harm and those who worship as such are wide open to the wrath of God.
Idol Worship... This is another argument aimed against the Catholic Church since it has statues of Jesus and Mary, and other saints.
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Aren't all those statues in the Catholic Church the same as worshipping graven images?
EXUDOS 20:2-6
Ex. 20: 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
First, one must understand what a graven image is in the context of the Old Testament. To make a graven image is to create an image out of some medium, such as clay or wood, and worship it as a God. The statues or pictures of Mary are not worshipped as a God. If a Catholic worships a statue of Mary as a God, they are guilty of idolatry.
The Lord did not forbid the making of images. In fact, God commanded Moses to shape a brazen serpent. This serpent was able to cure the people of the serpent bite, if they looked upon it Numbers 21:8
Later, when the people turned to idolatry of the serpent, Hezekiah had it destroyed (II Kings 18:4).
Here you see the balance. Images are good, if they are helpful, but not if they encourage idolatry.
Moreover, the Lord commanded that the image of two Cherubim be constructed on the top of the Ark of the Covenant on either side of the Mercy seat. Was this the sin of idolatry? I think not.
Mary is the mother of God and the saints are the friends of God. If keeping their pictures or statues helps to inspire us to a more holy life, then it is a good thing. Don't you have pictures of your family in your home? Is this idolatry?
Or when someone dies, should you destroy all images or pictures of them, lest you be guilty of worshipping them?
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His-son - (eBible Novice) about 1 year ago.
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I want to start by saying that I believe we are all in the body of Christ (Catholic and protestant). We are called to love each other and build each other up in our relationship with the head of the church (Christ!). Praying to the saints can be idolatry for some, and so can money, and little league and anything else that we allow to get between us and God.******Jesus taught us "when you pray don't babble on and on as the people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again." Mathew (6:7) He taught us to pray the "Father" in heaven, and he made it clear that "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) Scripture teaches that when we do not know what to pray, we can look to the Holy Siprit for help. "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don't even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." (Romans 8:26) There is not one passage in scripture that tells us to pray to the saints (though there are plenty calling us to pray with each other!) Jesus loved and respected his mother Mary, but he put her in her proper place in Mark 3:33-35. "Jesus replied 'Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? Then he looked at those around him and said. These are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." Jesus was without sin, so he was not showing a lack of respect for Mary (standing outside when he said this!). Why pray to people (dead or alive) when we can go to the source in God?
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