Monday, September 23, 2013

Daniel 3

Daniel 3

This chapter is entirely in Aramaic in the original.

(1) King Nebuchadnezzar made a *gold statue **ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of ***Dura in the province of ****Babylon.

  • *gold statue:
    • The similarity between this image and the one in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream seems to be more than a coincidence. He may have built this based on his dream of the head of gold. Daniel's interpretation led to a swelled head and enlarged ego. In essence, Nebuchadnezzar was saying, "I am going to ascend to the throne of God."
    • It seems that Nebuchadnezzar deliberately made an entire statue of gold, Probably wood overlaid with gold, saying that the day of his reign and authority would never end - in contradiction to God’s declared plan.
    • Why doesn't Daniel tell us what this statue represented? Was it of Marduk or Nebo (Marduk's son)? Was it of Nebuchadnezzar? Was it a Phallus? When the Scripture is "obtuse", it is obtuse for a reason. What does the image set up in the temple by the anti-christ represent - we're not told there either, on purpose.
    • Archaeologists have found ruins about six miles southeast of the city of Babylon that may be the foundation of this image. “On the plains of Dura there stands today, a rectilinear mound, about twenty feet high, an exact square of about forty-six feet at the base, resembling the pedestal of a colossal statue.” (Diamonds from Daniel - William Heslop)
    • World Wide Gentile Empires began with an image set up for the universal worship of man (the Tower of Babel). They will end with another image set up for the self same purpose (Revelation 13:14-15, etc.).
    • It has been suggested that, if the image was dedicated to the god Marduk, a neglect to revere it would be considered an offence against the state and be counted as treason.
    • There are religious overtones to the dedication of this statue in the plains of Dura, just as President Obama's election speech had egotistical religious-sounding statements. If the controversial painting depicting Obama as Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns around his head and his arms outstretched like he’s being crucified wasn’t bad enough, actor and comedian Jamie Foxx referred to the president as the “Lord and Savior”.
    • It is possible that the image represented Nebuchadnezzar's patron god, Nebo or Nabu, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk. There was a shrine to Nebo in Marduk's temple at Babylon to which Nebo was carried in solemn procession on the New Year's Day.
      • Isaiah 46:1: Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight
  • **ninety feet tall and nine feet wide:
    • The size of the image speaks of defiance of God in being six hundred and sixty six cubits (666). That number has special significance as symbolizing the number of man and of the coming Antichrist who will oppose God raise a worldwide kingdom in defiance of God (Revelation 13).
    • Herodotus mentions a similar image, forty feet high, in the temple of Bel at Babylon. It was not the same image, for the one here was on the plain of Dura, not in the city.
    • The normal physical proportions of the human body is five to one, but the image's height and width would be ten to one.
  • **Dura:
    • The Aramaic word dura ("walled place or fortress") is common and refers to a place enclosed by a wall or perhaps mountains. Many scholars believe this to be the same place where they tried to build the Tower of Babel.
  • **Babylon:  It is important to note the role of Babylon throughout Scripture. It is the first place where man attempted to unite the world under a single government and replace God with himself in Genesis with the Tower of Babel, but occurs yet again with the literal historical Babylon and is recapitulated in the Last Days as described again in Revelation 17-18. Babylon always stands for rebellion against the Lord and an attempted substitute for what the Lord provides. In Genesis 11 we see Babel in rebellion against God in a human attempt at worldwide unity both politically and spiritually. This occurs again under Nebuchadnezzar and the establishment of his image. And it is the exact same thing attempted by the final person of the Antichrist in the Last Days when the material, cultural, and religious systems of the world are united under one world federation. “Babel” literally means “gate of God”, so every version of Babylon is a counterfeit that pretends to be the way to heaven.

(2) Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up.

  • We have a number of officials here that indicate a thorough organization of the government offices. The first are the satraps, an old Persian word khshatrapawan for “realm protector.” The signayya’ (“one who is appointed”) were prefects, perhaps military commanders, or lieutenant governors. The pahewata’ were local governors as Malachi 1:8 indicates. The Persian andarsaghar is a “counsel-giver.” The fifth group are “treasurers,” gedaberayya’. The old Persian word databara next came to mean “judges.” Then tiptaye’ were “magistrates.” And finally, the “provincial officials,” or shiltone. The fact that five of these words are Persian in origin may indicate that the account of this chapter at least was written down at the end of Daniel’s life when Persia was in power, perhaps around 532 B.C. And, by the second century most of the Persian words had become obsolete, indicating that it would be unlikely for this story to have been written later in the Maccabean period (160 B.C.).

(3) So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

(4) Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command!

(5) When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.

  • Nimrod was the first person to attempt to unify the religions of man by self deification. Nebuchadnezzar here attempts exactly the same thing and both were types of the coming “Beast” the last head of the Gentile world who will insist on being worshipped:
    • Revelation 13:3-18: I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery -- but the fatal wound was healed! All the world marveled at this miracle and followed the beast in awe. They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they worshiped the beast. "Is there anyone as great as the beast?" they exclaimed. "Who is able to fight against him?" Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do what he wanted for forty-two months. And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and all who live in heaven, who are his temple. And the beast was allowed to wage war against God's holy people and to overcome them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation. And all the people who belong to this world worshiped the beast. They are the ones whose names were not written in the Book of Life, which belongs to the Lamb who was killed before the world was made. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand. The people who are destined for prison will be arrested and taken away. Those who are destined for death will be killed. But do not be dismayed, for here is your opportunity to have endurance and faith. Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, and he spoke with the voice of a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast. And he required all the earth and those who belong to this world to worship the first beast, whose death-wound had been healed. He did astounding miracles, such as making fire flash down to earth from heaven while everyone was watching. And with all the miracles he was allowed to perform on behalf of the first beast, he deceived all the people who belong to this world. He ordered the people of the world to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. He required everyone -- great and small, rich and poor, slave and free -- to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed to understand this. Let the one who has understanding solve the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
  • The Roman Caesars each claimed Divine honors. Papal Rome has put a man up as vicegerent of the Lord, the Vicar of God and foolish man stoops to kiss his toe.

(6) Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

  • Chuck Missler: A revolt in 596 BC may have set the stage for the wide scale reaffirmation and swearing allegiance in support of Nebuchadnezzar.
  • From Nebuchadnezzar’s viewpoint, it was inconceivable that any reasonable person could refuse this simple demonstration of loyalty to the king.
  • Because of the description found in chapter 3 and also because of archaeology discoveries, it seems that this was a large, domed kiln with an opening at the top and an earthen ramp leading up to it. It also had a door on the bottom for putting in charcoal and taking out ashes. This was a common form of capital punishment during this period (cf. Code of Hammurabi 110,157 and Jereremiah 29:22).
    • Jeremiah 29:22: Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that whenever the Judean exiles want to curse someone they will say, 'May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!'
  • Nebuchadnezzar regarded refusing to worship the image as treason, not only as a religious offense. In this, Nebuchadnezzar is just like most politicians, who often seem willing to use religion to strengthen their grip on political power. Politicians are happy to blend together spiritual allegiance and national allegiance. An example of this was displayed in 1936 when Herr Baldur von Schirach, head of the youth program in Nazi Germany, said: "If we act as true Germans we act according to the laws of God. Whoever serves Adolf Hitler, the fuehrer, serves Germany, and whoever serves Germany serves God."
  • In one of the earlier excavations at Babylon, a strange building was discovered which initially appeared to be a firing kiln, much like those used to fire bricks and pottery. However, a cuneiform inscription revealed the purpose of the structure:
    “This is the place of burning where men who blasphemed the gods of Chaldea died by fire” (Rimmer, p. 325). While no one suggests that this was the actual furnace into which the Jewish boys were thrown (and from which they were delivered!), it does demonstrate that the scriptural account is consistent with the religious cultism of ancient Babylon. In addition, there is a cuneiform inscription from the library of the Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal. It was discovered at Nineveh about a century ago, and is now housed in the British Museum. The inscription reads: “Saulmagina my rebellious brother, who made war with me, they threw into a burning fiery furnace, and destroyed his life” (Caiger, p. 176).

(7) So at the sound of the *musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

  • *musical instruments - Aramaic: the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and other musical instruments.

(8) But some of the *astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews.

  • *astrologers - Aramaic: Chaldeans. The term ‘Chaldeans’ in verse 8 is an ethnic use of the term, despite the poor NIV and NLT translations (astrologers). They were the ‘master race’ and it is clear they resented the Jews who had been given power over them. It didn't take long for them to get revenge, did it?
  • The Chaldeans owed their lives to Daniel and his friends. Had Daniel not revealed the king’s dream and its meaning to Nebuchadnezzar, all of the wise men of the land would have been put to death. Now, they show their gratitude by pointing out the disobedience of the three Hebrews to the king.

(9) They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king!

(10) You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments.

(11) That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace.

  • The furnaces in Babylon were used to fire the bricks that were used to build the city. Each brick bore the name and image of Nebuchadnezzar, and many can be seen today in the British museum. These may have been fired in the very furnace spoken of here.

(12) But there are some Jews - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”

  • Obviously, Daniel must not have been there. He was probably away on business of the affairs of state. For had he been there, he surely would not have bowed.
  • What about the other thousands of Jews that had been deported to Persia? Perhaps, these Chaldeans saw that Daniel was elsewhere and saw this as an opportunity to get rid of these three Jews and then they could deal with Daniel later
  • Earlier, Daniel acted as a leader of these three, but now they must act on their own without Daniel's counsel.
  • Think about Hitler's ovens, the tools to rid the world of the hated Jews. Why are they universally hated or at least despised?
  • Many Israelites worshipped idols in Palestine, and Moses had predicted that they would worship them in exile, but these young men were as scrupulous about their observance of the Mosaic Law as Daniel. For them, death was preferable to disobedience. Nebuchadnezzar's gods were responsible for his success, according to Mesopotamian thinking, and to disregard them was tantamount to repudiating Nebuchadnezzar.

(13) Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in,

(14) Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up?

  • The three clearly understand that they are being asked to worship an idol - the very practice that caused God to have Nebuchadnezzar attack Judah in the first place! They stood their ground and refused.

(15) I will give you *one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then **what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

  • *one more chance: I doubt he would have given anyone else a second chance.
  • **what god: He was soon to find out what god will be able to rescue them! Like Pharaoh of old, he would learn that the God of Israel is to be heard and obeyed; the God of Israel is able to deliver His people.
    • Exodus 20:3-6: “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected - even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
    • What possible purpose could God have in allowing the three Hebrew children to be cast into the fiery furnace? God had chosen that the nation of Israel should be a light unto the Gentiles. In their turning from God to idolatry, they were no longer a witness to the Gentile world. God Himself will give a witness to this Gentile king. In threatening the three Hebrew children with the fiery furnace, the king asked, "what god will be able to rescue you from my power?" The three Hebrew children in their response said, "the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power." What God? Our God - YWHW! God showed the king what God was able to deliver from him.
    • The god he really believes in is himself, not the gods of Babylon.
    • Satan is speaking through him and causing him to pretend he is stronger than the God of Israel: This king who earlier had acknowledged Daniel's God as the God of gods and Lord of kings was now saying, "I am greater than your God. Your God is nothing. He cannot deliver you from my hand. Worship me and my gods or be burned in a furnace."

(16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.

  • The Aramaic word order in verse 16 places the emphasis on the word ‘we.’ That is, God himself would provide the king the answer to his question.
  • While Romans 13 instructs believers to obey their rulers and laws, Acts 4:19 and Acts 5:29 make it clear that a Christian can never obey a government at the expense of obedience to Christ. Governments and rulers are never allowed to control our conscience or tell us how to worship.

(17) If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty.

  • The top was like a chimney, where smoke from the fire could escape. It could serve a second purpose as well - offenders could be cast into the fire by being thrown down from above. At the bottom there was a door or hole through which fuel could be added and air for combustion introduced.

(18) But even *if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

  • *if he doesn’t:
    • They were utterly confident in God’s power to deliver them. They trusted in His abilities to do that which was entirely supernatural. And secondly, they were completely submissive to God’s will. They didn’t say, ‘We’re going to trust in God because He is going to deliver us.” They said, ‘We’re going to trust in God even if He decides not to deliver us.’ Their faith was not in their deliverance, their faith was in their God. And there is no more awesome passage in the Bible when these men look the most powerful monarch in the face and say, ‘Even if he doesn’t deliver us, we’re not going to worship your god or bow down to your statue.’ That’s the kind of loyalty and faith that the Lord God is calling us to. Faith does not regard death or any other tragedy to be a mark of its failure, either of God’s faithfulness or of ours. We are called to follow Him, to trust in Him and leave the events to Him.
    • Job 13:15 (KJV): Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
  • Remember that this conviction began with the lesser choice about the food they should eat.
  • Matthew 10:28: “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
  • Romans 14:8: If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
  • "Do not judge the situation by the king's threat and by the heat of the burning fiery furnace, but by the everlasting God and the eternal life which awaits you. Let not flute, harp, and sackbut fascinate you, but hearken to the music of the glorified. Men frown at you, but you can see God smiling on you, and so you are not moved." (Spurgeon)
  • History has always recorded the "recanters," the unfaithful who when the test of their faith came they folded under pressure and denied the Lord Jesus to save themselves embarrassment or their lives. The recanters are those who chose the easy way and give up their testimony at any threat they face. It is a traumatic thing to face death and be given the option to deny the Lord and save one's lives. It is hard for us who have never faced such a trial of faith to imagine what it would be like and how we would react. Foxe's Book of Martyrs records the testimonies of tens of thousands who were persecuted for their faith and the many who chose death rather than to deny the Lord Jesus. Dying faith is supreme faith because there is nothing more precious to us than our lives.

(19) Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual.

  • The phrase ‘heated seven times more’ is a common idiom and should not be understood literally. It simply means to make it as hot as possible, which is what they did.

(20) Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.

(21) So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments.

(22) And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in.

(23) So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.

(24) But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.

(25) “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like *a god!”

  • *a god - Aramaic: like a son of the gods.
  • The king probably meant that this fourth person appeared to be super-human or divine from his viewpoint as a pagan polytheist.
  • Many scholars see in this and other references the preincarnate Christ; of which there are many such appearances (Genesis 18; 32:30; Exodus 3:2; Joshua 5:13-6:5; Judges 6:11). If so, this would be Jesus.
  • We don't know if Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego knew that the Son of God was with them in their fiery trial. Sometimes we are aware of Jesus' presence in our trials and sometimes we are not - but He is there nonetheless.
  • "Diamonds from Daniel" by William Heslop:
    • HE CAME DOWN and LINKED arms with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
    • HE CAME DOWN and WALKED with Enoch.
    • HE CAME DOWN and TALKED with Noah.
    • HE CAME DOWN and FEASTED with Abraham.
    • HE CAME DOWN and WRESTLED with Jacob.
    • HE CAME DOWN and MANIFESTED himself to Moses.
    • HE CAME DOWN and FILLED the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple.
    • HE CAME DOWN and REVEALED the will of God to Gideon and Manoah.
    • HE AME DOWN and GUIDED Israel through the wilderness.
    • HE CAME DOWN and DEFENDED Israel as Captain of the Lord’s hosts.
    • HE CAME DOWN and DELIVERED Daniel from the den of the lions and the three Hebrews from the fiery furnace and finally
    • HE CAME DOWN and was born in a stable and cradled in a manger - God manifested in the flesh.
  • The most astonishing phenomenon is the presence of a fourth person, whose radiance must have outshone the fire so as to qualify him as “a son of the gods.”
  • In direct fulfillment of Isaiah 43:2 the flames didn't even touch them!
    • Isaiah 43:2: When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.
  • Matthew 18:20: For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them."

(26) Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.

  • When Nebuchadnezzar calls the boys out by name, he makes no mention of that fourth person!

(27) Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!

  • Hebrews 11:33-34: By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.
  • This whole account illustrates - perhaps serving as a type - of the future of Israel during the Great Tribulation:
    • Nebuchadnezzar is like the Antichrist, who forces the whole world into one religion of idolatry
    • Nebuchadnezzar’s image is like the image described in Revelation 13, that the whole world will be commanded to worship
    • The fiery furnace is like the Great Tribulation, which will be great affliction for the Jews
    • The three Hebrew men are like Israel, who will be preserved through the tribulation
    • The executioners who perished are like those in league with the Antichrist, who Jesus will slay at His return
    • The mysteriously absent Daniel is like the church, not even present for this time of great tribulation
  • Now these are young men who have learned that there are things more important than life. It is better to be dead and obedient to God than alive and disobedient to him.

(28) Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to *the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

  • Nebuchadnezzar does not renounce his polytheism, but simply says that God is the greatest god among many. God is progressively revealing Himself to Nebuchadnezzar.
  • The Pulpit Commentary clarifies: “The Babylonians had conquered the city of Jehovah, had burned his temple, and had done this through the power of Marduk, so they thought; but here Bel-Marduk had been openly defied by three worshippers of Jehovah. They had been hurled into the very element of Iz-bar, the servant and ally of Marduk, yet fire had been unable to harm them or vindicate the honor of Bel-Marduk. What emphasized this was that the fire that spared the servants of Jehovah slew the votaries of Bel-Marduk, who were eager to show their reverence for Marduk by carrying these Jehovah-worshippers to the furnace. Such a miracle, so wrought before all the high dignitaries of the Babylonian Empire, would go far to take the edge off any taunting reference to the weakness of Jehovah’s Godhead as demonstrated by the ruins of Jerusalem. Jehovah had shown himself as the supreme Revealer of secrets when he enabled Daniel to tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream. He now manifested himself as Master of the most powerful of elements - fire. The Jews could thus maintain their faith unchallenged.”
  • The king had challenged that no god could save them; but the God of the Hebrews showed otherwise. If the people of God remain faithful to God, putting him first in everything, then he will take care of them in this world.
  • *the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: Can you say the "God of" before your name, demonstrating that your life reveals the glory of God? God is defined as the God of Daniel, the God of Shadrach, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac.

(29) Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is *no other god who can rescue like this!”

  • *no other god shows that Nebuchadnezzar is still a polytheist but it also shows that he knows that not even his god, Marduk, could have done what their God did.
  • Notice what Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t say. He doesn’t acknowledge the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego as his God. Nebuchadnezzar’s response is superficial. He was astonished by the miracle and he was no doubt impressed by the courage of these men, but the next chapter, Daniel, chapter 4, proves to us that he has not fundamentally changed in his heart.
  • Nebuchadnezzar now knows a lot about God - but he does not yet know Him personally.

(30) Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.

In Daniel 3:15 Nebuchadnezzar asked, "who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" Now he knows:
- He is the God of the Hebrews (the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego)
- He is the God who sends a Savior (who sent His Angel)
- He is the God of great power (delivered His servants)
- He is the God worthy of trust (who trusted in Him)
- He is the God worthy of full surrender (frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies)
- He is the God who demands exclusive allegiance (that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God)

Did you notice that although this event is recorded in the book of Daniel that Daniel himself is completely absent from the account? He is thought to be away on official business for a prolonged time during which the king, taking advantage of that absence, erects the image and institutes false worship. There are many who believe this illustrates the Rapture of the church and how when the church is out of the world, Satan pursues his plan to enslave the minds and bodies of all mankind. 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 13 make it clear that Satan will have a kind of “heyday” after the church is removed. He will raise up his world ruler and establish both a totalitarian government and a one-world religion in the character of Babylon. Just as these three men were a remnant to God, so the 144,000 sealed by the Lord and protected from Satan’s devices will be a testimony and remnant for Him. (Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-5) Antichrist will set up his own image and force the world to worship it, (Revelation 13) but the faithful remnant will not bow down. Satan will pursue and persecute them with a personal vengeance unlike anything seen before. Therefore Daniel 3 may be a prophetic foreshadowing of Israel during the Tribulation.

PERSONAL APPLICATION

We often face our own fiery furnaces. As mentioned earlier - loss of a job, loss of a loved one (a spouse, a son, a daughter [which my wife and I have endured]), a child growing up to be an unbeliever or living in sin, illness, unanswered prayer, loss of a home, bankruptcy, forced to quit a job because of dishonesty of the boss or the company, ridiculed for believing there is a God or actually "clinging to our guns and Bibles", etc. How we respond to these fiery furnaces make us better or destroy us and our witness - our very purpose for being here in the first place!

Faith is not trust in what we want to happen. Faith is trust in God alone - no matter the outcome! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego show us that faith is not trust in our beliefs. It is not trust in what we want to happen. It is not trust in our ability to read God’s secret will. Faith, quite simply, is trust in God alone. The truest test of your faith is when God’s answer is No! When there is no healing. When there is no deliverance. When the house forecloses. When you lose your job. When your loved one never recovers or even dies. And all the while you have been doing what is right. You are honestly trying to live a life that honors God. That is the greatest test. Is your faith still in God when the answer is No? When there is no miracle?

It is true that God can keep you from the fire, and He often does. But if you are in the fire for His sake, because you refused to bow to the world's images, you will discover that you are not alone in the flame. Jesus our great high priest who went through the fire for us will be with you to preserve you. It is always such a witness to see someone emerge from the fire without even the smell of smoke.

Spurgeon: "Remember also that by yielding to the fear of man you are demeaning yourself. There shall come a day when the man that was ashamed of Christ will himself be ashamed: he will wonder where he can hide his guilty head. Look at him! There he is! The traitor who denied his Lord! The Christ was spat upon and nailed to the cross, and this man was afraid to own him. To win the smile of a silly maid, to escape the jest of a coarse fellow, to win a few pieces of silver, to stand respectable among his fellow-men, he turned his back upon his Redeemer and sold his Lord; and now what can be said for him? Who can excuse him? The angels shun him as a man who was ashamed of the Lord of glory. He is clothed with shame and everlasting contempt. Even the lost in hell get away from him, for many of them were more honest than he. Is there such a man as this before me? I summon him in the name of the living God to answer for his cowardice! Let him come forth and own his crime, and humbly seek forgiveness at the hands of the gracious Savior."

Trapp quotes an English martyr who said this as he was burned at the stake: "O ye Papists, behold ye look for miracles; here now you may see a miracle; for in this fire I feel no more pain than as if I were in a bed of down; but it is to me as a bed of roses."

Samuel Rutherford said, “Duties are ours, events are the Lord’s.” It is our job to be faithful. It is the Lord’s job to decide in His good providence how He’s going to work out the consequences of our faithfulness. Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-nego didn’t have to make some sort of judgment. Well, if we’re faithful we might die, therefore, we’re not going to be faithful. All they had to figure out was what was faithful. Faithful is obeying the first and the second commandment. And then how that works out in God’s providence is up to Him. They didn’t have to figure all that out. All they had to do was do what was right. And God calls us to do what’s right and trust that He will deliver. Matthew Henry has said that a steadfast faith in God will produce a steadfast faithfulness in God. It is precisely their ability to trust God no matter what, that enables them to be faithful when the consequences seem for them dire. When you really believe that God is going to take care of you, no matter what, then you stop worrying about the what because you’re go focused on the God that you trust and who loves you and who cares for you.

Peter teaches us that trials purify and strengthen our faith. He teaches us that in trials themselves it is our faith which enables us by grace to endure and that we are not to be taken by surprise by those trials. And all of those are messages that are taught right here in Daniel, chapter 3.

Our faith needs to face the reality that we may go through the fire. Many preachers today want to convince us that nothing bad will ever happen to us, the enemy can’t touch us, everything we have is divinely protected. Many people walk around with their head in the sand believing nothing bad will ever come and when it does their faith isn’t strong enough to overcome it. It takes a stronger faith to go through the fire and stand strong for God than it does to escape it altogether. We need a faith that is always subject to the divine will of God - no matter what the outcome. The outcome of every thing in our life is subject to the divine will of God. These three young men knew God was able and we need a faith that knows God is able .... but also realizes that our life is subject to God’s divine will and we leave it all in His hands.

Here is what we need to understand: If we are going to live for Jesus in this world; if we are going to be His alone; if we are going to refuse to let this world squeeze us into its mold; then we are going to suffer persecution. That is what the Bible teaches us, 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12. If we are going to live “godly”; if we are going to live for Jesus, then we are going to be persecuted. There will be furnaces of criticism, furnaces of intimidation, furnaces of hatred, furnaces of temptation, furnaces of trials like you cannot imagine. These furnaces will become more numerous and far hotter as society continues to flee from God and from the guidelines He laid down in His Word. That is just the way it is!

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