God’s Word for You
Daniel 3:4 The herald
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, September 21, 2025
4 Then a herald proclaimed loudly, “It is commanded to you, O peoples, nations, and languages…
In this brief and seemingly incidental verse we have a few things to notice, and it will be easier if we take them in ascending order of importance rather than as they appear in the verse. First, the command is given to more than just the people who were assembled in the plain of Dura. This command was for everyone under the sway of Babylon, but this first dedication ceremony was for the leaders and especially anyone who was part of the noble blood of the various peoples of Babylon.
Peoples, nations and languages meant that no one was omitted. Translations of this order would have to be made into any languages that were used within Babylon, as we see in Ezra 4:18 and Esther 4:8.
“Herald” (Aramaic charoza, כָרוֹזָא) sounds very much like the usual Greek word, keryx (κῆρυξ). The Aramaic word occurs only here, but in a context with several other Greek terms (we will find these in the approaching list of musical instruments). The titles of military officers and various soldiers are often shared across languages, sometimes without understanding what they mean. “Lieutenant,” a French word, is used with only slight variations in French, Italian, German, and English-speaking armies. A humorous example is the English title Admiral. Such a word did not exist until English and French navies came into contact with Muslim forces in the Levant. Hearing that there was a title that superseded general by the Muslims, they began using this word for a naval commander with authority over a whole squadron of ships. The term that they heard as “admiral” was really “Emir-al,” meaning “prince of the cities of…,” as in (the) Emir al-Rabba. The Muslims laughed when they thought of a man governing waters, but the name stuck in most languages.
This person, the herald, was a heathen official, proclaiming a heathen command to people that included believers in the true God and many, many unbelievers. We are reminded that a Christian lives under the authority of God and also under the authority of whatever government God has placed over him (the State). We must be especially concerned that we do not mix the head, the mission, or the means of operation of Church and State.
The head of the Church is Christ. “God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church” (Ephesians 1:22).
The mission of the Church is to make disciples of all nations, which was the commission Jesus gave to his disciples before his ascension.
The means we use is the means of grace, the Gospel in Word and Sacrament (Matthew 28:19). The Gospel is the only tool that converts hearts and souls to Christ. We cannot make Christians by forcing people to look, talk, and act like Christians—forcing people to behave a certain way is a use of the Law that does nothing at all to save souls.
The head of the State is whatever governing authority God places over people; whatever government they have. No one form of government is ordained by God to be superior than others. The idea of a king is used throughout the Bible because it was the commonest government known in those centuries.
The mission of the government or State is to provide for the earthly well-being of its people.
The means used by the government is punishment. God gave the government the right, for example, to punish murder with death (Genesis 9:6), and to provide other ways to protect the people under its care (such as Cain trying to build a walled city for his growing family in Genesis 4:17). Even when a government is ruthless or corrupt, it is still “God’s servant to do you good” and “an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4).
If the State interferes with the Church, the mission of the Church will be lost, because the State does not operate with the true Gospel for conversion. The State only operates with punishments and laws. This would destroy the Church. If the Church, on the other hand, interferes with the State, it will only make the same mistake. It will attempt to use the power of the State (laws and punishments) to further the kingdom of God, but it will fail. People are not converted or “shoe-horned” into faith through threats.
When God’s ministers serve as heralds or ambassadors for Christ (1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11) it is only in the sense of serving God alone and in delivering the word of God the way that a government’s herald or ambassador carries the message of a king to other governments (Habakkuk 2:2).
A secular herald was not permitted to speak his own mind but to deliver his King’s message. “Where is the herald? Speed him hence; Let him greet England with our sharp defiance” (Henry V, III:5). A herald of Christ likewise does not speak his own mind, but the words and message of Christ in plain language for people to hear, so that their hearts will be terrified by their sin, and their hearts will then be healed and soothed and swayed to faith in Christ by the Gospel, to win hearts for the kingdom of heaven. As Paul the herald of Christ proclaimed, “What you have heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching” (2 Timothy 1:13). Do not change what Christ our Lord has said, nor what the Holy Spirit has caused to be written through inspiration. Let this be the message in your heart and the joy of faith in our Savior for everlasting life.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.