Daniel - Part 5
A Hot Spot for Faith
Please first read Daniel 3 ("Three Men in the Fiery Furnace")
So where is Daniel? You won't find him in this story. We
really don't know why Daniel didn't go to the king's event. But
we have a good guess. This meeting was for regional government
officials. Daniel worked in the "federal" staff, while his three
friends worked in the regional staff, serving the city of
Babylon. They were required to attend that event.
Another possible reason why Daniel was absent, was that it is likely
Daniel already knew the purpose of the party. He knew that he
would not be able to obey the King's edict to worship the image of
gold. It is very likely that Daniel was able to arrange for an
"excused absence."
What was the reason for the meeting?
Often kings and emperors required that their government officials show
their loyalty for the king in a religious vow. King
Nebuchadnezzar summoned all his regional staff, to make them swear an
oath of loyalty.
Now, that gold statue... that was big! 90 feet high! A
statue that big normally was not solid gold, but they would have made
it with another metal, covered with gold.
What did that statue look like? Was that an image of King
Nebuchadnezzar himself? Possibly. But more likely
not. Again, we can make a good guess.
That statue was maybe an image for the god named NABU.
King Nebuchadnezzar's name in the Akkadian language (Nabu-kudurri-usur) means
"Nabu, protect my boundary." Another favorite "god" of
Nebuchadnezzar was MARDUK, who is also called BEL.
(Nebuchadnezzar gave Daniel a Babylonian name in honor of Marduk:
"Belteshazzar.") The king wanted everyone in
government to pray to his [the king's] god for his safety and for his
power. That included our three Jewish friends, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego.
Those three had already faced a test, in Daniel chapter 1, when the
king gave them a command that violated their conscience with regard to
their kosher diet. If they had failed that first small test, then
how could they have strength to stand against the big test? But
when the big test came, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego already knew
what to do. They already had practice saying, "No, I can't do
that, no matter the cost."
In that the first test, they had room to negotiate a compromise, that
satisfied both their need for kosher food, and the king's desire for
their good health. But now, here in this new test, they had no
room to negotiate. The king's order directly violated the First
Commandment - we must worship the only One True God and no other.
So when they got the signal (the music) they remained standing.
Notice who reported Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the king --
other government officials, who are jealous for their place of power
and authority. And those tattlers also didn't like Jews.
"O king, there are some men of Judah
whom you made officers in the area of Babylon that did not pay
attention to your order. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. They do not serve your gods and do not worship the gold
statue you have set up." (v.12 NCV)
It is true that Nebuchadnezzar was upset with Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. But he knew that they were good government workers, so
he gave them a 2nd chance.
"In a
moment you will again hear the sound of the horns, flutes, lyres,
zithers, harps, pipes, and all the other musical instruments. If you
bow down and worship the statue I made, that will be good. But if you
do not worship it, you will immediately be thrown into the blazing
furnace. What god will be able to save you from my power then?" (v.15)
Here Nebuchadnezzar made a big mistake. He didn't only challenge
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He challenged GOD!
"I am more powerful than your God.
Your God can't save you from me."
Often in the Bible we see proud people make the same mistake, and
always, God wins.
Now notice how our three friends answer the king:
"Nebuchadnezzar,
we do not need to defend ourselves to you..." (v.16)
Oops! The proper legal greeting for to the king is, "O King, live forever!"
But these three don't say that. They refuse to flatter the king with a
lie! King Nebuchadnezzar is mortal and will die same as everyone
else. He is not God!
Continuing their answer:
"If
you throw us into the blazing
furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace. He will
save us from your power, O king. But even if God does not save
us, we
want you, O king, to know this: We will not serve your gods or worship
the gold statue you have set up." (vv.17&18)
Wow! That is a wonderful confession of faith. Their faith
in God didn't depend on what God did for them. No, their faith focuses
on WHO GOD IS and their relationship with Him forever.
One man in the Bible named JOB suffered much. During his worst
suffering, Job said,
"Even if God kills
me, still I will trust Him!" (Job 15:13)
Job also said,
"I
know that my Defender lives,
and in the end he
will stand upon the earth.
Even after my skin has been destroyed,
in my flesh I will
see God.
I will see him myself;
I will see him
with my very own eyes." (Job 19:25-27 NCV)
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had that same kind of faith.
True faith doesn't look at our situation.
True faith looks at God alone, regardless of our
situation.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to accept death, honoring
God. Today, many Christians around the world still face
persecution and death, because they live for Christ Jesus. They
are willing to die for Jesus, because they know Jesus
already died for them.
The answer from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego really upset
Nebuchadnezzar.
"Make
the fire seven times hotter!"
Pour in more fuel! Pump in more air! (Yes,
Nebuchadnezzar seemed to have a lot of hot air.)
Well, you know what happened. They tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, and they threw them into the fire.
Then Nebuchadnezzar saw something strange. He said,
"Look! I see four
men walking around in the fire. They are not tied up, and they are not
burned. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods." (v.25)
What does that mean? Whom did King Nebuchadnezzar see? Did
Jesus Christ show Himself here, 500 years before His human birth?
Maybe. But we must understand that in Old Testament times,
non-Jewish people often called angels "sons of God."
Nebuchadnezzar himself later explained that he saw an angel protecting
those three men. (v.28)
God promises that He sends His angels to protect us against
danger. Angels are His servants. We can't see them work.
but we give thanks to God for those protectors.
Now Nebuchadnezzar's attitude changes. Notice how what he
calls those three men.
“Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, come out!
Servants of the Most High God, come here!” (v.26)
The Most High God. Who is
that?
Nebuchadnezzar, like many other people in that time, believed in many
gods. People chose their favorite gods, depending on what they
wanted, or what they most feared. Those "gods" were not all
fake. The Bible teaches that many of
those gods were really evil spirits, fallen angels that joined SATAN'S
rebellion against God. People that worship those false gods,
don't love those spirits. They use those spirits.
They try to control
those spirits, for getting some benefit from them. And they know that they can't control the
Most High God, the God Who made
everything. They know that they can't use Him! Those people
understand that they can't make the Most High God serve them, but they
don't know how to love
and serve Him.
King Nebuchadnezzar also understood that his "god" was
not the top #1 God. And the king understood that his three
government servants were really His [God's] servants. The
king understood that his little NABU or MARDUK had no real power
against the One
True God.
Nebuchadnezzar's anger against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego change
to respect -- respect for them, and respect for their God. But
did Nebuchadnezzar also trust God, and worship Him, and serve
Him? No, the kings' pride was still to strong for
that, as we will see next week.
Lord Jesus,
Help us always trust You, no matter our situation.
Help us always trust You, no matter what other people think.
Lord Jesus,
Help us always have courage, same as Daniel and his three friends.
Help us always honor you in everything we say and everything we do.
Help us always keep our eyes looking to You.
Lord Jesus,
You already gave your life for us.
Now we give our lives to You.
Please make our hearts burn with love and service for you.
Amen.