Daniel and his three friends had completed their three years in the royal university, and had been assigned to positions of authority in the Babylonian government. Nebuchadnezzar had conquered most of the countries in the Middle East, and to memorialize his victories, he built a huge gold statue, some ninety feet tall, and nine feet through and ordered all the government officials to demonstrate their loyalty by bowing down to it, as described in Daniel 3:1-6. “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
In Exodus 20:4-5 God had commanded the Israelites, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that
love me, and keep my commandments.”
Now every Jew who has been given authority had to decide
whether they will obey Nebuchadnezzar or God.
Frequently Christians today find
themselves find themselves having to choose between what they believe and what
the government demands. Both Peter and
paul addressed this situation, with I Peter 2:13-14 commanding, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man
for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors,
as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the
praise of them that do well.” When
forbidden by the Jewish authorities to teach in Jesus’ name, however, Acts 5:29
tells us, “Then Peter and the other
apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” As a general rule, Christians are to obey
the laws, whether federal, state or local, but when the laws go against what
God has commanded, God’s command takes precedence. Please understand that is God’s command, not
our convictions or doctrines. We are not
to act out of civil disobedience, but in obedience to God.
Knowing what was commanded, the majority of the rulers,
including the Jewish ones followed Nebuchadnezzar’s command, but three men did
not, according to Daniel 3:7-12. “Therefore at that time, when all the people
heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of
music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came
near, and accused the Jews. They spake
and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every
man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery,
and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden
image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into
the midst of a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over
the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these
men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the
golden image which thou hast set up.”
Satan always tries to capitalize on these conflicts between
human authority and God’s authority to drive people away from God. Nebuchadnezzar immediately called in
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, demanding that they they follow his law or face
the consequences, in Daniel 3:14-15 warning them that they better not trust God
to take care of them. “Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is
it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor
worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear
the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all
kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but
if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning
fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”
Knowing they were doing what God had commanded, the three
were not hesitant to refuse to obey the king, though tye were respectful to
him, in Daniel 3:16-18. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered
and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in
this matter. If it be so, our God whom
we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will
deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king,
that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast
set up.” They believed that God was
the final authority and that he might allow them to be killed, but they were
going to obey him anyway.
Like many political leaders today, Nebuchadnezzar rook their
stance as a challenge to his authority and increased the penalties in Daniel
3:19-23. “Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was
changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and
commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was
wont to be heated. And he commanded the
most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats,
their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was
urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men
that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.”
God allowed them to be thrown into the furnace at its
hottest. He was going to show his power
was greater than that of either the fire or Nebuchadnezzar, as described in
Daniel 3:24-27. “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and
spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the
midst of the fire?
They answered and said
unto the king, True, O king.
He answered and said,
Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no
hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of
the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and
the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose
bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither
were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not save by a last
minute court order or political intervention,
They were saved by the power of God and it was obvious nothing else
could have saved them. Nebuchadnezzar
himself was forced to recognize God’s power, as Daniel 3:28-30 tells us. “Then
Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in
him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they
might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. Therefore I make a decree, That every people,
nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a
dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, in the province of Babylon.”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego acted out of faith, because
they truly believed God. James 2:17-18 tells
us, “Even so faith, if it hath not works,
is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may
say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works,
and I will show thee my faith by my works.”
They had believed God enough to choose to follow God’s laws about
what they were to eat in Daniel 1.
Because their faith was a living thing, it grew and they were able to
act on it here in chapter 3, even though they didn’t know what the results
would be.
God doesn’t always give us the results we desire, as Hebrews
11:35-38 tells us. “Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were
tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better
resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea,
moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder,
were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not
worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of
the earth. Like Job in Job 13:15,
real faith says, “Though he slay me, yet
will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Tod often what we call faith is in
favorable results rather than in trusting God to do what is best. We act so God will do what we want rather
than seeking his will. .
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