Why did Nebuchadnezzar make a golden image if only the head of the statue in his dream was gold?
Nebuchadnezzar made the golden image because his dream acted as a catalyst, and his pride drove him to unite the pagan religions in worship of one image representing himself. The gold head he saw in the dream glittering in the sun gave him the idea to build an entire image of gold.
Les explains that Nebuchadnezzar's dream served as a catalyst for chapter 3. By then he had forgotten what Daniel had said, and he had become filled with his own power and self. He wanted to unite all those pagan religions in worship of one image, an image of himself. In the dream he saw the gold head glitter in the Middle Eastern sun, and he got the idea to make the whole image of gold. He made it sixty cubits, about ninety feet high, and six cubits, about nine feet wide, set it on the desert sands, and demanded the whole then-known world worship it. Les also ties this to the Antichrist, the last great world ruler, who will do the same.