The Worship Of The True God

THE WORSHIP OF THE TRUE GOD

Daniel 3:1-30

INTRODUCTION

Our passage this morning talks about THE WORSHIP OF THE TRUE GOD. Please open your bibles to Daniel 3:1-30. We are going to focus on 3.13-18 but let me give you a summary of the chapter so we can establish the context.

A. Daniel 3:1-7

King Nebuchadnezzar required his subjects both the officials and the people to worship the image of gold that he made. He also decreed that those who fail to worship the image would be immediately thrown into a blazing furnace.

B. Daniel 3:8-12

The officials and the people responded to the decree except the administrators of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Therefore some astrologers denounced the Jews and reported to the King how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defied the King’s decree.

C. Daniel 3:13-18

King Nebuchadnezzar confronted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and warned them that if they are not going to worship the image of gold they would be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood against the order and trusted their God instead. Consequently, they were thrown into a blazing furnace.

D. Daniel 3:19-27

The king was furious and ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded the soldiers to tie up the three friends and throw them into the blazing furnace.

Interestingly, after some time the king noticed that there were four men walking around the fire, unbound, and unharmed. When he called them out, the three came out of the fire unharmed and alive.

E. Daniel 3:28-30

King Nebuchadnezzar praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because he delivered his servants. Afterwards, he issued a decree that no one can say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego because there is no other god who can save the way he saved the three.

What does God want us to learn from this narrative? The narrative teaches us about God’s power, trust in God, courage, and true worship and the danger of worshiping idols. But what I would like for us to focus on is the subject on THE WORSHIP OF THE TRUE GOD.

ILLUSTRATION Christian worship is the most momentous, the most urgent, the most glorious action that can take place in human life.—KARL BARTH.

I believe it is safe to say that the worship of God is the one of the main teachings of the Bible. God saves us to worship and honor Him. God delivered Israel from Egypt so that they could worship Him. When we read the book of Revelation, it tells us that in heaven worship would be the main activity of God’s creation and angels.

No wonder Satan demanded worship from the Lord Jesus Christ because he wanted to rob God of his glory and honor. (See Matthew 4:8-10) The Bible listed several reasons why we should worship God like – He is God, our Savior, our Protector, Our Provider and etc.

The Bible also teaches us to worship God joyfully, willingly, gratefully, sincerely, and etc. Daniel 3 gave us important principles in worshiping God today. The reason they resisted the worship of the image of gold is because of their commitment to worship the true God of Israel. Their convictions showed how we should worship God today.

EXPOSITION

1. WE SHOULD WORSHIP GOD EXCLUSIVELY. (3.12)

The reason Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego resisted the King’s decree was they knew that the God they believe in should be worshiped exclusively. I suspect that the King was not against the God of Israel but he also believes in the like Babylonians gods:

APSU – the ruler of gods and the underworld oceans.

TIAMAT – the great goddess and wife of Apsu.

ANU – the god of the sky

EA – the god of wisdom, arts, and crafts

MARDUK – the wisest of the gods

ENLIL – the god of the air between earth and sky

ISHTAR – the goddess of love and war

The King however, did not know that the God of Israel demanded an exclusive worship. The Jews believed in the only one and true God, the creator of heaven and earth, the beginning and end of everything, the God who existed before everything else and the God whom their forefathers worship.

Later on, the King recognized the convictions of these three men (See Daniel 3:28-29)

They are willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. (v. 28)

King said that there are no other god can save in this way.

God himself demanded an exclusive worship by his people. (See Exodus 20:1-6; Isaiah 45:5-7, 18, 21-22) No one and nothing should share our worship of God.

I know we are better than the pagan to worship pagan idols but we worship other forms of gods like money, power, jobs, and people. This happens when we give priority in serving the interests of these items I have mentioned.