3:2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the {b} dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the {c} king had set up.
(b) Showing that the idol is not known for an idol as long as he is with workmen: but when the ceremonies and customs are recited and used, and the consent of the people is there, then they think they have made a god out of a block.
(c) This was sufficient with the wicked at all times to approve their religion, if the king's authority were alleged for the establishment of it, not considering in the meantime what God's word allowed.
3:1-7 In the height of the image, about thirty yards, probably is included a pedestal, and most likely it was only covered with plates of gold, not a solid mass of that precious metal. Pride and bigotry cause men to require their subjects to follow their religion, whether right or wrong, and when worldly interest allures, and punishment overawes, few refuse. This is easy to the careless, the sensual, and the infidel, who are the greatest number; and most will go their ways. There is nothing so bad which the careless world will not be drawn to by a concert of music, or driven to by a fiery furnace. By such methods, false worship has been set up and maintained.
