A Fiery Commitment

• So, Nebuchanezzar told the wise men that they had to not only interpret the dream, but they had to tell him what he dreamt about.

• Now how difficult was that? The king’s wise men didn’t even attempt to interpret or tell the king what his dream was, they simply told him that his request was impossible. Of course, this made Nebuchanezzar furious and so he ordered that all the wise men be killed.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were a part of the king’s personal service; so their lives were in danger as well. Without delay, Daniel told the Hebrew boys what was happening and he asked them to pray to God, so that he could interpret the king’s dream and save their lives.

Since all of this was a part of God’s plan, God gave Daniel the dream and its interpretation, and he went before the king to share what God shared with him. And after Daniel finished revealing Nebuchanezzar’s dream and interpretation, he fell on his face and gave praise to Daniel.

• He showered Daniel with gifts and promoted him to chief officer over all the wise men in Babylon. When God shows you favor, He shows you favor.

• Here Daniel is, brought in as a captive, but now he’s in charge of people who aren’t even his skin color. I tell you, God knows how to elevate you.

Daniel didn’t forget about his friends either, he made a request of the king, and had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon. When God elevates you and shows you favor, don’t forget to reach back and bring someone else along with you. God blesses us so that we may be a blessing to others.

Some of you may be curious about what Nebuchanezzar’s dream was about, so in your spare time this week, read chapter 2 of Daniel and learn more about this dream.

But as a result of this dream, Nebuchanezzar made a golden image that paid tribute to himself. This wasn’t just any old golden image, but this golden image was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, this thing was huge. We may not build golden images, but some of us pay tribute to ourselves when we must see our name in every program that is printed. Everybody else’s name is in size 12 font, but you want yours to be size 18, bolded, and italicized.

So, King Nebuchanezzar had this golden image erected and requested that all of the governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and those of power be present at the dedication of this golden image. And at this dedication, everyone present was told to bow down and worship this image whenever they heard the sound of music. Just a question for you to think about, what does the sound of music make you do?

The king’s decree stated that anybody who refused to bow down and worship the golden image would immediately be cast into a furnace of blazing fire, and this is where we find, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego make a fiery commitment!

Remember, a fiery commitment is a commitment that is full of passion, power, and dedication. It’s a commitment that you stand behind 100%, and give much energy to. This is the kind of commitment that these Hebrew boys made on the day that they were to bow down to the golden image.