Verse 25
25. four—whereas but three had been cast in.
loose—whereas they had been cast in "bound." Nebuchadnezzar's question, in :-, is as if he can scarcely trust his own memory as to a fact so recent, now that he sees through an aperture in the furnace what seems to contradict it.
walking in . . . midst of . . . fire—image of the godly unhurt, and at large ( :-), "in the midst of trouble" ( :-; compare Psalms 23:3; Psalms 23:4). They walked up and down in the fire, not leaving it, but waiting for God's time to bring them out, just as Jesus waited in the tomb as God's prisoner, till God should let Him out (Acts 2:26; Acts 2:27). So Paul (2 Corinthians 12:8; 2 Corinthians 12:9). So Noah waited in the ark, after the flood, till God brought him forth (2 Corinthians 12:9- :).
like the Son of God—Unconsciously, like Saul, Caiaphas (2 Corinthians 12:9- :), and Pilate, he is made to utter divine truths. "Son of God" in his mouth means only an "angel" from heaven, as Daniel 3:28 proves. Compare Job 1:6; Job 38:7; Psalms 34:7; Psalms 34:8; and the probably heathen centurion's exclamation (Psalms 34:8- :). The Chaldeans believed in families of gods: Bel, the supreme god, accompanied by the goddess Mylitta, being the father of the gods; thus the expression he meant: one sprung from and sent by the gods. Really it was the "messenger of the covenant," who herein gave a prelude to His incarnation.
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