Fear the Lord and the King - Why the Three Refused the Idol

Another interpretation [(of Numbers 10:2): "Make for yourself two silver trumpets."]. This is what Scripture says (Proverbs 24:21): "Fear the Lord, my son, and the king." Rabbi Isaac bar Eleazar of Caesarea said: What wisdom made into a crown for her head, humility made into a slipper for her foot. It is written (Psalms 111:10): "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord," and it is written there (Proverbs 22:4): "The heel of humility is the fear of the Lord." Therefore Solomon said: "Fear the Lord, my son, and the king." What is the meaning of "and the king"? Rather: make Him king over you. Another interpretation of "and the king": rule over the evil inclination, which is called a king, as it is said (Ecclesiastes 9:14): "And a great king came against it." Another interpretation of "and the king": [more] than the king; lest you suppose that if the king says to you, "Worship an idol," you should obey him, Scripture teaches (Proverbs 24:21): "Fear the Lord, my son." Thus, when Nebuchadnezzar told Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to worship an idol, they did not obey him, but said to him (Daniel 3:18): "We will not serve your gods, and we will not bow to the golden image that you have set up." (Daniel 3:14:) "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?" [You are saying nonsense! Yesterday, whoever wished to acquire an idol for himself would go to Jerusalem, as it is said (Isaiah 10:10): "And their idols were from Jerusalem and from Samaria." And now you have come to mock my idol! "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?"] Did not the Holy One say to you that you should obey the kingdom in all that it tells you, as it is said (Ecclesiastes 8:2): "I keep the king's command"? They said to him: You are king over us for taxes and tributes, but as for worshiping an idol, Nebuchadnezzar and a dog are equal. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered [and said to King Nebuchadnezzar] (Daniel 3:16-17): "We have no need to answer you in this matter; if our God [whom we serve] exists [He is able to deliver us]." They said: "Whether He delivers or does not deliver, be it known to you" (Daniel 3:18). Thus, "Fear the Lord, my son, and the king." "Do not associate with those who differ" (Proverbs 24:21): with those who say that there are two divine powers in the world, do not associate with them, for their end is to perish from the world, as it is said (Zechariah 13:8): "And it shall come to pass in all the land, says the Lord, that two parts in it shall be cut off [and perish], but the third shall remain in it." Who are the third? These are Israel, as it is said (Isaiah 19:24): "On that day Israel shall be a third." Thus, "Fear the Lord, my son, and the king."