Daniel: Faith in the Fire (7)
Text: Daniel 3:13-30
So last time, we saw that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down to the image that Nebuchadnezzar built. They weren’t making a big scene out of it, but some jealous Chaldeans reported them, and they were brought before the king…
And I love this passage that we’re going to look at today, because it is a very clear picture of what faith looks like.
Let’s go to Daniel chapter 3 (READ Daniel 3:13-30).
So Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury. He’s in a rage.
And we talked about this a little last time. The world loves it when you engage in its sin, because when we as Christians don’t do that… and when we hold to our convictions and stand strong – it condemns the world and convicts the worldly. Sinners want to be affirmed in their sin. They want it normalized and affirmed because it helps dull their conscience. They’re still guilty before God, but when they are affirmed by everyone around them, it helps put that out of their mind. It takes it from the forefront.
And even Christians… Christians who stumble… guess what? They don’t want to be around other Church members… they stop gathering, because they feel convicted. The solution isn’t to run away. It isn’t to seek affirmation from the world. The solution is to repent. To be honest with God and say, “Yes, God, I am sorry for my sin. I am sorry that there are still areas where my heart loves idols, and the world has a strong pull on me. Give me the strength and grace to repent. Give me a holy hatred for sin, and help me to love You more and more.”
But Nebuchadnezzar… he’s filled with fury. He’s mad. And he orders the furnace to be heated seven times more than it usually was. That serves no purpose in the execution of these guys… it’s just that Nebuchadnezzar is an overly dramatic bipolar, narcissist.
And so, the three Hebrew young men are brought in… and Nebuchadnezzar begins by asking, “Is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image I’ve set up?”
He’s basically saying, ”Hey maybe these boys didn’t know… or understand… but I’m going to give you another chance to deny your God, and worship this idol… this false god. I’m going to give you another chance, now that you see this blazing furnace, and feel it’s heat. Just bow to the world and its master, and all will be well.
And it’s interesting… because again, Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t just say, “Bow down to the image.” He says, “When you hear the sound of the music – bow down.” And as we saw last time, these instruments were from every corner of the Babylonian empire, and even beyond. So the idea here is that this was a multi-cultural music ensemble.
It’s a picture of how all the world is bowing down to Satan and false religion.
But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are like, “No! No, we won’t bow down. We don’t serve false gods. We don’t worship demons. We aren’t going to conform to this world. We are going to trust in God, and we’re going to stand for God.”
And catch this… “We’re going to trust in God, and we’re going to stand for God EVEN IF He doesn’t deliver us from this terrible death.”
Look at verses 16-19 again (READ).
Man, I love that! That’s faith!
And I once heard a pastor say, “Well, these boys did that because they had nothing else to lose.”
But let’s examine that claim… Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, at this time, had been appointed to high ranking positions in the government. They were among those officials that the king summoned in verses 2 and 3.
And that also explains to us why Daniel wasn’t here. Daniel is above those ranks. He’s exempt from this. So it wasn’t like Daniel compromised. He was higher rank, so he wasn’t subject to this command… but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego… they were lower rank… but still… they had good positions.
So, they had good paying, government jobs. That meant that they lived in nice homes, had nice things, they had plenty to eat, certain privileges in life… in-fact, they may have even been living better now in Babylon than they had in Israel. Basically they had all the things in Babylon, that you and I have in Babylon… THE WORLD. They had just as much to lose as any of us… and maybe even more. Not to mention their own lives.
But they understood that a life of ease in this world could not compare – couldn’t even begin to come close to what awaits us in eternity. They were looking for the kingdom whose Builder and Maker is God.
And so, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say, “We’re going to trust in God, and serve only God, even if He doesn’t deliver us from this… we will not bow down.”
Their faith was not in their deliverance, their faith was in their God.
And I don’t know about y’all, but I read that and it just pumps me up! I mean, that’s better than William Wallace saying, “You may take our lives, but you’ll never take our freedom.”
And there very well may have been a scene in the spiritual realm. The devil petitioning God to sift these young men like wheat… going before the Throne of God, and saying, “If their lives are threatened, they’ll reject you.” We don’t get those details here, but we know that sometimes it does happen thanks to the Book of Job. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t in this instance… but what we can be sure of is that Nebuchadnezzar is under the influence of Satan, and these three Hebrew youth are sold out for God. They’re not budging.
Verse 13 tells us that their refusal to bow down throws Nebuchadnezzar into a furious rage.
They just defied the king and undercut his whole purpose – his whole grand scheme. He’s demanding a show of loyalty and even worship, and they’re looking him in the eyes and saying, “NO.”
Now secular archaeologists like to say, “Well no 90’ tall statue or image has ever been found on the Plains of Dura.” But what they don’t tell you is that a large brick base was found there, along with large kilns or furnaces. You see, Babylon gets conquered, and it was the practice of the Medo-Persians to take down statues of the previous empires, especially if they were gold, and melt the gold down and make their own statues and images. What the secular archaeologists can’t deny is the discovery of the Babylonian Chronicles and clay tablets that reference Nebuchadnezzars grand building projects and images he built.
The Bible is true – and this account is true… and these young men… Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, really did this. This all really did happen. And I say that because it’s about to get miraculous!
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego get thrown into the furnace. And it was so hot, that the guys who threw them in immediately burst into flames themselves. And they were fully clothed, their clothes should have caught on fire first… but instead… the only thing that burns off of them were the ropes that they were tied with.
Look with me at verses 24 & 25 (READ).
This is what we call a Christophany. Please hear me Church. I don’t know what each and every one of you is going through in life. I don’t know what you will go through in this new year. But I do know, for a fact, that if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, He will be with you every step of the way. It may not be in the dramatic sense of a Christophany – but I promise you – He will be with you.
David said it better than I could. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, FOR THOU ART WITH ME.”
When you are persecuted – He is with you.
When you are struggling – He is with you.
When you are afraid, or sick, or hurting – He is with you.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t know what God was going to do here, but they knew He was with them. They didn’t have to sit down and figure out all the ins and outs. And really… when we get right down to it… it’s wasn’t about, “Ok, guys, if we’re faithful we might die, so let’s decide if we’re going to be faithful or not.” For them it was a question of “What is being faithful here?”
“Ok… faithful is obeying the 1st and 2nd Commandments.
“I AM the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me, and keep My commandments.”
There wasn’t any question about “Should we or shouldn’t we… and what are the consequences.” It was just a question of “What has God commanded?”
What saith the Word? Has God said that we best show love to the sinner, by affirming their sinful lifestyle, or by calling them to repentance? Has God said that the person who professes faith in something or someone other than the Jesus of Scripture is our brother or sister in Christ? Has God said that the person who trusts in their good works has salvation? Has God said that a person can live life, and go through life, never thinking about God, never considering God, never living for God, never gathering with God’s people, never praying, never reading the Bible… and yet be considered a Christian?
If He has not, should we? Would we stand in the place of God?
Let me close with this… God protects and preserves Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He delivers them. But don’t be fooled by Nebuchadnezzar’s decree. He’s done this before. Back in chapter 2 he was all about Daniel and Daniel’s God. And then he built this image. What Nebuchadnezzar says here is, “Wow, the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is powerful.”
But what he DOESN’T say is, “The God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is God alone.” He DOESN’T forbid idolatry in Babylon. Instead he just basically adds Jesus as one of many. He’s like, “Well I did this bad thing… and in order to make up for it, I’ll do a couple of good things. I’ll give you boys a promotion, and allow you to have religious freedom. Maybe my good works will make up for my bad ones.” That’s the worldly mindset on full display for us.
Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins. Only His sacrifice on the cross can atone for them. You and I can never do enough good to pay for even the smallest sin, and no good work can ever be seen as good in our own righteousness. We must be clothed in His righteousness alone.
LET’S PRAY
