44
Trong đời các vua nầy, Chúa trên trời sẽ dựng nên một nước không bao giờ bị hủy diệt, quyền nước ấy không bao giờ để co một dân tộc khác; song nó sẽ đánh tan và hủy diệt hết các nước trước kia, mà mình thì đứng đời đời;
Daniel 2:44
Reward
A "reward" in the Bible represents something that brings people together, or brings spiritual states together, and binds them. In the Bible, of course -- especially the New Testament -- we're told repeatedly to do what is good and right "without thought of reward." That's because removing the idea of a natural reward lets us be aware of spiritual rewards, which are actually intrinsic to the good that's being done. On a relatively low level, we feel delight in doing something nice and useful for someone else; that delight is a reward. The love that can exist between partners in a committed, loving marriage is a reward. The delight we feel when we truly want what is good and know how to create it is a reward. And ultimately, our conjunction with the Lord and the delight of His love and salvation is the deepest reward of all. These are the things meant when the Bible speaks of "rewards.
Daniel 3:1-7
1
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3
Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4
Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,
5
that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up;
6
and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
7
Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
