Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image the prophet Isaiah, warn that worship of such powerless objects is not harmless, however: "Those who worship them will be like them," that is, unseeing, unfeeling, unable to hear the truth that God would communicate to them. The Bible presents Daniel and his companions as distinct, positive examples of individuals refusing to pay homage to another god, even at the price of their lives. During the time of the exile, Nebuchadnezzar erects a gold statue of himself and commands all subjects to worship it. Three Jewish officials – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – who had been taken to Babylon as
Old Testament theology land strictly out of love for him and the people he would guide into the Promised Land. Goldingay stated “The structure of Old Testament faith is itself that structure of the gospel - or rather, the structure of the gospel is the structure of Old Testament faith” (Goldingay, "Approaches to Old Testament Interpretation", p. 100). It is the pattern of love in the Old Testament story which fuels the fire that continues in the Gospels. In order to have a true relational (covenant) connection there needs to be a true love relationship. A theological approach which depends entirely on historical