Daniel 5 - Handwriting on the Wall

At his death in 562 BC, after a 43-year reign, Nebuchadnezzar II bequeathed his successors an empire stretching across Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean. He apparently had five sons and his succession led to several years of instability. It was Evil-Merodach (2 Kings 25:27-30 and Jeremiah 52:31-34) who succeeded his father, but he was assassinated by Nergilissar, his brother-in-law. The latter’s short reign is known only for a campaign in Cilicia; on his death in 556 BC, his son infant Labashi-Marduk acceded to the throne only to fall three months later in another palace plot that brought to power Nabonidus, a worshiper of the moon god sin. Soon after his ascension to the throne, Nabonidus led the army to Palestine and Northern Arabia, leaving his son Belshazzar as co-regent in Babylon. Even priests of Marduk, the national deity of Babylon, became alienated with him.

During the summer of 539 BC, the Babylonians expected a major Persian offensive - Nabonidus had the statues of the kingdom's main gods sent to the capital to protect them from potential capture. The Babylonian armies were crushed at Opis, not far from today’s Baghdad. Cyrus and his great Median and Persian army had been besieging the city of Babylon for months, and some say, for two and a half years. But the walls are so great surrounded by a great moat, fed by the waters of the Euphrates River that there was no way in, until the Persian general hit up an idea - divert the river! When the Persian army entered Babylon on October 12th, the history of ancient Babylonia as an independent political entity came to an end.

(1) A *number of years later, King Belshazzar gave a great **feast for a ***thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.

• Daniel 5:30-31 identifies Belshazzar as the last king of Babylon. Skeptics and liberal critics prior to 1853 used the reference to this king in Daniel 5 as evidence that the entire book was a fraud. They reasoned that the historical record clearly demonstrated that a man named Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon. They were convinced they had discovered another "error" in Daniel. That is, they were "convinced" until 1853 when archaeologists discovered a clay cylinder at Ur in Mesopotamia inscribed with the following prayer... As for me, Nabonidus, king of Babylon, save me from sinning against your great godhead and grant me as a present a life long of days, and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son -my offspring- instill reverence for your great godhead in his heart and may he not commit any cultic mistake, may he be sated with a life of plenitude. (Wikipedia)
  
  Above is the Nabonidus Cylinder from Wikipedia.
• The feast (a drunken orgy) occurred in the great banquet hall, 56 x 173 feet (which was reconstructed by Saddam Hussein).
• **feast:
  • A similar drunken party is mentioned in Esther 1: Esther 1:1-11: This happened in the days of King Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. At that time he ruled his empire from his throne at the fortress of Susa. In the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his princes and officials. He invited all the military officers of Media and Persia, as well as the noblemen and provincial officials. The celebration lasted six months -- a tremendous display of the opulent wealth and glory of his empire. When it was all over, the king gave a special banquet for all the palace servants and officials -- from the greatest to the least. It lasted for seven days and was held at Susa in the courtyard of the palace garden. The courtyard was decorated with beautifully woven white and blue linen hangings, fastened by purple ribbons to silver rings embedded in marble pillars. Gold and silver couches stood on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones. Drinks were served in gold goblets of many designs, and there was an abundance of royal wine, just as the king had commanded. The only restriction on the drinking was that no one should be compelled to take more than he wanted. But those who wished could have as much as they pleased, for the king had instructed his staff to let everyone decide this matter for himself. Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women of the palace at the same time. On the seventh day of the feast, when King Xerxes was half drunk with wine, he told Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who attended him, to bring Queen Vashti to him with the royal crown on her head. He wanted all the men to gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful woman.
• ***One thousand nobles—the cream of Babylonian society—were invited, along with their wives and concubines. Counting waiters, guards, and various onlookers, the total crowd could number well over 8000. The party was the king’s way of diverting attention from the events outside the walls. It was a massive morale-booster, meant to lift the spirits of the entire city. The king knew that to have a good party you needed three things—food, wine, and available women. And preferably all three in large quantities. Such a party would have started early in the day and lasted until after midnight. Course after course would be served, wine would flow freely, entertainment would accompany the food and wine. And sexual pleasure was there for the taking.
• Belshazzar's confidence in the security of his capital is evident in his banqueting and getting drunk while his enemy was at his door. His name, which means "Bel [also known as Marduk] has protected the king," may have increased his sense of invulnerability.

(2) While Belshazzar was drinking, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem, so that he and his nobles, his *wives, and his concubines might drink from them.

• By bringing the Jewish temple items out into public, Belshazzar is mocking the proclamation of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 and Daniel's prophecy.
• Ezra specifically mentions 5,400 different vessels that were taken back to Jerusalem from Babylon.
• *wives, and his concubines: The presence of wives and concubines was generally not practiced at such banquets or held their on as in Esther. The fact that Belshazzar in his drunken state sent for the women to b brought in leaves he reader to fill in the rest.

(3) So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.

(4) They drank toasts from them to honor their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

• Drunkenness and idolatry go hand in hand. There are more gods in Japan than there are Japanese to worship them. There are at least 300 million gods in India. Man is a worshipper. Man is religious and must worship God or gods.
• Proverbs 20:1: Wine produces mockers; liquor leads to brawls. Whoever is led astray by drink cannot be wise.
• Proverbs 31:4-5:  And it is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave liquor. For if they drink, they may forget their duties and be unable to give justice to those who are oppressed.
• Ephesians 5:18: Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.
• God does not condemn having a good time, but can He be glorified in it? Can God be invited to your party?
• Drunken parties such as this one, the one in Esther, King Herod's in Matthew 1 and modern ones all lead to foolish decisions often leading to disaster.
• There is no need for us to go into a description of the ambiance of a party of drunken people. We may assume that, as the king lifted up the cup filled with wine, which had been part of the temple ritual, he made irreverent references to the Almighty whose temple had been destroyed in Jerusalem

(5) At that very moment they saw the *fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king's palace, near **the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote,

• 
• Is it possible that the hand was Christ's as it reached through another dimension to where the party was being held? God was watching the goings on and condemned them and the use of the holy objects.
• *fingers: The same divine hand which had previously written the two tablets of the law for God’s people, the same divine hand which later wrote on the ground in defense of a poor fallen, but penitent woman, now writes the death knell of Belshazzar and proclaims his doom.
• Exodus 31:18: Then as the LORD finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God.
• *the lampstand: Is this the lampstand from the Temple? How ironic it would be, then, that the Temple lampstand would illuminate the handwriting on the wall!

(6) and his face turned pale with fear. Such terror gripped him that his knees knocked together and his *legs gave way beneath him.

• *legs gave way: A euphemism for he collapsed to the floor and ----- in his pants.
• In one brief hour the boastful, powerful, profane king becomes a shivering, shaking, helpless and hopeless mortal.
• Suddenly, the room goes quiet. The atmosphere changing from drunken party mood to horror and terror.

(7) The king shouted for the enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers to be brought before him. He said to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor and will wear a gold chain around his neck. He will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom!"

• They could read it but could not tell what the writing meant.

(8) But when all the king's wise men came in, none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant.

• Unable to decipher their meaning, the wise men come and go. The king’s fear and distress intensifies while the others remain terror stricken.

(9) So the king grew even more alarmed, and his face turned ashen white. His nobles, too, were shaken.

(10) But when the *queen mother heard what was happening, she hurried to the banquet hall. She said to Belshazzar, "Long live the king! Don't be so pale and afraid about this.

• *queen mother: Probably Nitocris, Nebuchadnezzar's wife, Belshazzar's grandmother. The Adam Clarke’s Commentary believes that this queen was the widow of Nebuchadnezzar, which would make her “Amiyt, daughter of Astyages, sister of Darius the Mede, and aunt of Cyrus.”
• This was a banquet for the nobles and their wives, it seems unlikely that the wife of Belshazzar would have been absent from the banquet.
• The queen mother’s confidence in Daniel does not seem to have been related to any personal faith in his God. She refers to Daniel and his great wisdom in pagan terms and makes no reference to Daniel’s God as the God of the Jews. She simply refers to his wisdom as having its source in “the gods.” She viewed his wisdom as extraordinary, but not the wisdom of a sovereign God. Her knowledge of Daniel and his God is superior to that of Belshazzar, but inferior to that of Nebuchadnezzar’s final assessment (see Daniel 4:2-3, 34-37).

(11) There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar's reign, this man was found to have insight, understanding, and wisdom as though he himself were a god. Your *predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief over all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers of Babylon.

• *predecessor: father in the original - can also mean grandfather.

(12) This man *Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has a sharp mind and is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means."

• *Daniel: She uses Daniel’s Hebrew name.
• During the regime and reign of Belshazzar, Daniel had evidently been forgotten and was retired. He was probably set aside by the pleasure-loving, lustful king.
• When the party started, Daniel was nowhere to be found. No doubt he was in his room resting and praying. And why would they want Daniel in the first place? The world never invites the people of God to an orgy. After all, if you invite one of those narrow-minded, legalistic fundamentalists, sooner or later they are going to be offended and probably make a big scene. Better to leave them off the guest list altogether. But as we shall see, Daniel soon becomes the life of the party.

(13) So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king asked him, "Are you Daniel, who was exiled from Judah by my predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar?

• What a striking figure the venerable old gentleman as he stood before that drunken crowd! Courage and confidence were shining forth from his godly face.

(14) I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you and that you are filled with insight, understanding, and wisdom.

(15) My wise men and enchanters have tried to read this writing on the wall, but they cannot.

(16) I am told that you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read these words and tell me their meaning, you will be clothed in purple robes of royal honor, and you will wear a gold chain around your neck. You will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom."

• Conservative scholars generally agree that Belshazzar shared a co-regency with Nabonidus, especially in Nabonidus’ absence from Babylon. This could explain how Belshazzar offered the man who could interpret the writing on the wall the position of third ruler of the kingdom.

(17) Daniel answered the king, "Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means.

• Why would he decline Belshazzar’s offer? Daniel knows that the king’s gifts are virtually useless. What good would it do Daniel to be given the third highest office in the administration of Belshazzar when his reign would end that very night? Daniel was not “for hire.” As God’s prophet, Daniel spoke to men for God. He was not like Balaam, whose ministry could be bought, and not like so many TV preachers today.
• When he entered the banquet hall and realized the kind of carousing that had been going on and seeing the holy objects from the temple in Jerusalem, Daniel must have been deeply shocked. Even a polished and polite person like Daniel found it difficult to show courtesy to someone who had so blatantly insulted the God he worshipped. To accept gifts and honors from this king would have meant condoning the sacrilege. Daniel knew the city of Babylon was under siege and could fall to the Persians at any moment. He had no guarantee that his own life would be spared by the enemy. People who face death can allow themselves to be brutally honest.

(18) Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory, and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar.

(19) He made him so great that people of all races and nations and languages trembled before him in fear. He killed those he wanted to kill and spared those he wanted to spare. He honored those he wanted to honor and disgraced those he wanted to disgrace.

(20) But when his heart and mind were hardened with pride, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.

(21) He was driven from human society. He was given the mind of an animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules the kingdoms of the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule over them.

(22) "You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself.

• He knew about the pride of his grandfather, he knew how God had humiliated him and degraded him by depriving him of human reason and conscience, he knew that God had restored the mad monarch and had given back to him his dominion, power and glory, he knew Nebuchadnezzar's proclamation of Daniel's God being the one and only true God, he knew all this and hence sinned against light and knowledge. He loved sin rather than holiness and died without hope.

(23) For you have defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone -- gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!

• It's interesting to note that Belshazzar didn't call Daniel a liar or deny the accusations, nor kill him as would be normal.

(24) So God has sent this hand to write a message.

(25) "This is the message that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.

• The words would have been written in consonants only or even, as the rabbis say, not horizontally, but vertically. It is obvious that Daniel was needed to interpret the words.

(26) This is what these words mean: Mene means 'numbered' -- God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end.

(27) Tekel means 'weighed' -- you have been weighed on the balances and have failed the test.

(28) Parsin means 'divided' -- your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

• Pares means divided; paras means Persia. As in Hebrew, there were no vowels in Aramaic.
• God had written a riddle on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace and Daniel solved the puzzle for the king. Daniel would have been familiar with Jeremiah’s prophecy about Babylon, which made the explanation of the riddle relatively simple to him. Jeremiah had foretold that attackers from the north would invade Babylon. He had stated that the city would be well stocked with provisions and protected by walls, fortifications and gates. The city would be taken by trickery and the capture would involve the drying up of certain channels of water. Finally, the city would be taken while a feast was going on in which the leading people of the nation would participate. This knowledge made the interpretation of riddle rather simple for Daniel:
• Jeremiah 50:3: For a nation will attack her from the north and bring such destruction that no one will live in her again. Everything will be gone; both people and animals will flee.
• Jeremiah 50:9: For look, I am raising up an army of great nations from the north. I will bring them against Babylon to attack her, and she will be captured. The enemies' arrows will go straight to the mark; they will not miss!
• Jeremiah 50:24: Listen, Babylon, for I have set a trap for you. You are caught, for you have fought against the LORD.
• Jeremiah 50:41: "Look! A great army is marching from the north! A great nation and many kings are rising against you from far-off lands.
• Jeremiah 51:36: The LORD says to Jerusalem, "I will be your lawyer to plead your case, and I will avenge you. I will dry up her river, her water supply,
• Jeremiah 51:39: And while they lie inflamed with all their wine, I will prepare a different kind of feast for them. I will make them drink until they fall asleep, never again to waken," says the LORD.
• Jeremiah 51:53: Though Babylon reaches as high as the heavens, and though she increases her strength immeasurably, I will send enemies to plunder her," says the LORD.
• Jeremiah 51:57: "I will make drunk her officials, wise men, rulers, captains, and warriors," says the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty. "They will fall asleep and never wake up again!"
• Jeremiah 51:58: This is what the LORD Almighty says: "The wide walls of Babylon will be leveled to the ground, and her high gates will be burned. The builders from many lands have worked in vain, for their work will be destroyed by fire!"

(29) Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

• Either Belshazzar knew that Daniel was right, and bravely tried to do the best under the inevitable circumstances or he disbelieved the whole thing and promoted Daniel in a display of big-hearted fun.
• Daniel held this post for only a few hours. This shows how temporary the awards and accolades of this world are. In the kingdom that succeeded Belshazzar, Daniel was also promoted, but that was due to God, not to Belshazzar.

(30) That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.

• The death of Belshazzar at the hand of Darius is a partial fulfillment of the prophecy revealed to king Nebuchadnezzar by his dream in chapter 2. The kingdom of silver is introduced in Daniel 5, when Darius captures Babylon, and Belshazzar is put to death. The Medo-Persian kingdom is born, fulfilling the first part of the prophecy revealed through Daniel.
• Jeremiah 27:6-7: Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. All the nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until his time is up. But then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon.
• On October 12, 539 B.C., Cyrus’ general captured Babylon without a battle. Herodotus: "Hereupon the Persians who had been left for the purpose at Babylon by the river-side, entered the stream, which had now sunk so as to reach about midway up a man's thigh, and thus got into the town. Had the Babylonians been appraised of what Cyrus was about, or had they noticed their danger, they would never have allowed the Persians to enter the city, but would have destroyed them utterly; for they would have made fast all the street-gates which gave upon the river, and mounting upon the walls along both sides of the stream, would so have caught the enemy as it were in a trap. But, as it was, the Persians came upon them by surprise and took the city. Owing to the vast size of the place, the inhabitants of the central parts (as the residents at Babylon declare), long after the outer portions of the town were taken, knew nothing of what had chanced, but as they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and reveling until they learnt the capture but too certainly."
• This lowered the level of the river so his troops marched through the water and under the river-gates. They still would not have been able to enter had not the bronze gates of the inner walls been left inexplicably unlocked, possibly by traitors. This was exactly what God predicted in Isaiah 44:28-45:7 and Jeremiah 51:57-58. God opened the gates of the city of Babylon for Cyrus, and put it in writing 200 years before it happened!
• Nebuchadnezzar had made Babylon into the world's mightiest fortress. The outer wall was so thick that no battering rams or instruments of warfare were able to knock it down. The presence of a second inner wall made any attempts to scale the walls suicidal. As a result, Babylon appeared impregnable. The walls of Babylon had been built over the Euphrates river. Thus, that river flowed through the city at all times, providing a constant source of fresh water. In anticipation of a blockade by Medo-Persia, the Babylonians supplied the city with enough food to maintain its population for more than twenty years. Ancient historians indicate that, in light of these great preparations, the people of Babylon laughed at the siege of their city by Medo-Persia.
• 
  Above map from www.bible-history.com/
• The prophecy concerning the fall of Babylon in Isaiah, chapters 13 and 14, has never been fulfilled, but awaits its fulfillment in the Day of Jehovah, the Great Tribulation. The prophecies seen in Jeremiah, chapters 50 and 51, have been only partially fulfilled, but certain portions of them await fulfillment in the Tribulation. These prophecies of Jeremiah constitute an example of the Law of Double Reference. The prophecies concerning the overthrow of Babylon, of Revelation, chapter 18, most definitely await fulfillment in the Great Tribulation.
• The doom of Babylon here foreshadows the doom of Babylon the Great in Revelation 17:5: A mysterious name was written on her forehead: "Babylon the Great, Mother of All Prostitutes and Obscenities in the World."
• In that same city and in that same palace, two hundred years later, Alexander the Great who had been undefeated by the armies of the world, fell and lost his life in a drunken debauchery in that same place.
• When Cyrus made his grand entrance, Daniel presented him with an ancient scroll of Isaiah, which contained a personal letter addressing him by name [Josephus, Antiquities, XI, I, 2]. Isaiah had died 150 years before Cyrus was born!
  • Isaiah 44:27-28: When I speak to the rivers and say, 'Be dry!' they will be dry. When I say of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd,' he will certainly do as I say. He will command that Jerusalem be rebuilt and that the Temple be restored."
  • Isaiah 45:1-5: This is what the LORD says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never again to shut against him. This is what the LORD says: "I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness -- secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. "And why have I called you for this work? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. I called you by name when you did not know me. I am the LORD; there is no other God. I have prepared you, even though you do not know me,
  • Cyrus was duly impressed. He freed the captives and returned the vessels that had been plundered from the Temple 70 years earlier. He even gave them incentives to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple (2 Chronicles 36:22; Ezra 1:1-4). [Only about 50,000 Jews responded to this royal proclamation and returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel
    • 2 Chronicles 36:22-23: In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the LORD fulfilled Jeremiah's prophecy by stirring the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation into writing and to send it throughout his kingdom: "This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem in the land of Judah. All of you who are the LORD's people may return to Israel for this task. May the LORD your God be with you!"
    • Ezra 1:2-3: "This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem in the land of Judah. All of you who are his people may return to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you!

(31) And *Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

• *Darius the Mede is only named in the Book of Daniel. He is not to be confused with Darius I in Ezra, Haggai and Zechariah or Darius II (the Persian) in Nehemiah.
• The Nabonidus Chronicle mentions two Medo-Persian military leaders active in the fall of the city of Babylon - Ugbaru and Gubaru. Ugbaru was a military leader of Cyrus' forces who captured the city of Babylon, but in the campaign he was wounded and died several weeks later. Another person with a similar name, Gubaru, was also a military leader. He was appointed by Cyrus as governor of the city or province of Babylon, an office he held for many years (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, vol. 2, p. 17 and R. K Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, pp. 341-347).
• In 1971, Iran celebrated the 2500th anniversary of the monarchy of Cyrus the Great who founded an empire (Agean Sea to the Indus River).
• Cyrus succeeded in welding the Medes and Persians into a unified nation that continued for two centuries, until the time of Alexander the Great (331 B.C.).
• Among other things, Daniel 5 is a picture of the coming judgment of God upon sinful men and nations. In the Book of Daniel, chapter 5 demonstrates that while God raises up heathen nations and uses them to accomplish His plans and purposes for Israel, He will also judge them for their sins.
• What do we see in Daniel chapter 5? A pagan nation at the height of its power, and corruption. A pagan government and high society drunk with power and consumed with seeking pleasure of all kinds….worshipping the gods of gold and silver and all things material….what do we see in the king’s court? Sexual immorality. Drunkenness. Greed and materialism. Idolatry. Blasphemy. No care or concern for their history of sin and God’s judgment. No remembrance of God’s grace and mercy for those who repent. How does America and Europe fit this description?.
• 

Above map showing the extent of the Persian empire is from www.crystalinks.com/persia.html

PERSONAL APPLICATION

• God has a limit to how far He will allow men to go in their sin. In His longsuffering and mercy, God may allow men to continue in their sin for a time. But there is a time for judgment. The king and his Babylonian dinner guests crossed the line that fateful night in the banquet hall of Babylon. Judgment day had come, and the writing on the wall announced its arrival.
• Daniel hadn’t been invited to the party, he wasn’t part of their culture, he wasn’t part of their religion, he wasn’t a member of the “in crowd” and that was the point - in their fear and trembling, they were looking for someone completely different, someone who might be able to help them. Daniel makes clear that he’s not interested in money, power or prestige - he’s not trying to be in their club - .he certainly doesn’t want to be part of their pagan culture or corruption. He is God’s ambassador, so he agrees to explain the hand of God to the king and his court. Giving all glory and honor to the Lord, Daniel fearlessly makes known the word of the Lord, even at great risk to his own life. Are you God's ambassador to a fallen world. Are you fearlessly able to tell the truth and call a spade a spade? Are we in the party or outside of it?
• Are you willing to be a Daniel? Consider the high price of his service to the Lord: He was taken captive from his homeland. Forcibly given a new home, new name, new diet, new education, new job in a brutal pagan empire. Arrested, convicted, imprisoned, sentenced to death. Yet he never faltered….he never wavered….he clung to the Lord….he knew His God….he listened to His God….he was a man of prayer….he understand the Word….he studied God’s Word diligently and carefully (chapter 9 he’s studying Jeremiah!)…..and when God told him to speak, he spoke boldly and without reservation…..he didn’t pull any punches….he did so at great risk, but with great faith and courage. In Matthew 24:15, Jesus calls Daniel “the prophet”….for that is what he was.
• Is America in a “Nebuchadnezzar moment” (where we still have an opportunity to repent and be restored), or a “Belshazzar moment” (where God removes His favor from us and turns out the lights)?
• The world is fearful and confused. Millions across the globe can see the handwriting on the wall. They know something is terribly wrong. They sense something terrible is coming. But they cannot read the handwriting or understand what it means. That’s your job.
• Regarding Belshazzar's drunken party, God does not condemn having a good time, but can He be glorified in it? Can God be invited to your party? A man of God doesn't belong at a drunken party - and should be surprised if he's invited to one!
• Like the cups from the Temple, our bodies are holy to God, and are to be used to the glory of God, not sin and not drunkenness:
  • 2 Corinthians 4:7 (KJV): But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.
  • Romans 6:12-13: Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.
• A century ago, Joseph Parker, the famous London preacher made a relevant point. When the world throws an orgy, the children of God are not invited. We don’t fit in and our values would just be a nuisance when the world wants to party. But let a marriage break up, or let cancer hit, or let the children get in trouble, or the career hit the rocks, and whom do they call? They call the faithful men and women who know the Lord. Daniel wasn’t invited to the party, but when God intervened and no one had the answer, suddenly Daniel was the one man the king wanted to hear from.  You may not be invited to every party, but you will get the call when trouble comes. When it happens, be bold to speak the truth in love.

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://studyingdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/08/references-for-book-of-daniel.html
• Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

Daniel 4 - the Testimony of Nebuchadnezzar

This whole chapter is the testimony of the greatest king that ever lived, the greatest tyrant that ever ruled. It is the story of how God broke the pride of his heart, humiliated him, humbled him, allowed him to exercise his pride until it resulted in what always results when men live in pride - madness. Who brought him to this? Humanly speaking, it was Daniel and his friends; four young men were used of God to win the heart of the greatest king of the greatest empire the world has yet seen. Chapter 4 of Daniel is unique. It is the only portion of the Old Testament written by a Gentile.

We do not know exactly when the events of this chapter occurred. Some historians place it at the middle of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, perhaps shortly after Chapter 2. Others place it at the end of his reign and date this letter at the last year of his life. A likely scenario is that these events transpired between the 30th and 35th years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, about 20 years after the events of the fiery furnace. Daniel would be in his upper 40’s at this point.

(1) King Nebuchadnezzar sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: "Peace and prosperity to you!

• This unique chapter is the testimony of a Gentile king about how God changed his heart. In this, Nebuchadnezzar is a good example of a witness (one who relates what he has seen and experienced).

(2) "I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the *Most High God has performed for me.

• *most high God: El Elyon in Hebrew; hhla 'elahh in Aramaic.
• Nebuchadnezzar separates the God of Israel from the Babylonians by calling him the “Most High”.

(3) How great are his signs, how powerful his wonders! His *kingdom will last forever, his rule through all generations.

• Nebuchadnezzar was a great king, but in this chapter he recognizes that God’s kingdom is far greater and His dominion is completely unique because it is an everlasting kingdom.
• *kingdom will last forever: This is in contrast to the changing kingdom represented by the vision of chapter 2.

(4) "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in my palace in comfort and prosperity.

• At this point in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Babylon was at the peak of its size and glory. The wars and rebellions that characterized the first part of his reign were past and he was now enjoying a time of peace and prosperity. At this point, Nebuchadnezzar was focused on the building of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar’s rest was the false peace of the ungodly. God soon shook him from his false security.

(5) But one night I had a dream that greatly frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed.

(6) So I issued an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon, so they could tell me what my dream meant.

(7) When all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers came in, I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant.

• This is not the same dream as in Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar readily told his counselors this dream but they did not tell him what it meant, possibly because they were afraid to.

(8) At last Daniel came in before me, and I told him the dream. (He was named Belteshazzar after my god, and the *spirit of the holy gods is in him.)

• Why wasn't Daniel brought in at first?
• This means that what he saw previously with Daniel and the three Hebrew young men was enough to impress him, but not enough to convert him. Being impressed with God isn’t the same as being converted.
• *spirit of the holy gods: The word “gods” is translated in the plural in most versions but the original Aramaic can be translated in either the singular or the plural based on the context.

(9) "I said to him, 'O Belteshazzar, master magician, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means.

(10) "'While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a *large tree in the middle of the earth.

• *large tree: This was a common symbol of the power and pervasiveness of important men in the Ancient Near East.
• The figure of a tree to denote men in their earthly greatness is often used in the prophets:
  • Ezekiel 31:3-8: You are as Assyria was -- a great and mighty nation. Assyria, too, was once like a cedar of Lebanon, full of thick branches that cast deep forest shade with its top high among the clouds. Deep springs watered it and helped it to grow tall and luxuriant. The water was so abundant that there was enough for all the trees nearby. This great tree towered above all the other trees around it. It prospered and grew long thick branches because of all the water at its roots. The birds nested in its branches, and in its shade all the wild animals gave birth to their young. All the great nations of the world lived in its shadow. It was strong and beautiful, for its roots went deep into abundant water. This tree became taller than any of the other cedars in the garden of God. No cypress had branches equal to it; no plane tree had boughs to compare. No tree in the garden of God came close to it in beauty

(11) The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching *high into the heavens for all the world to see.

• *high into the heavens: This phrase is reminiscent of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:4, which also denotes human arrogance and pride.

(12) It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree.

(13) "'Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a *messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

• *messenger: watcher in the original - presumably an angel.

(14) The messenger shouted, "Cut down the tree; lop off its branches! Shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit! Chase the animals from its shade and the birds from its branches.

(15) But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a *band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live like an animal among the plants of the fields.

• *and of iron: Most commentators assume that it was for the protection of the stump, although some see it as being related to the restraints that bound Nebuchadnezzar during the time that he was deranged.
• The purpose of banding a tree stump is to keep it from splitting and preserve its life. God wasn’t yet done with Nebuchadnezzar. His life would be preserved to accomplish a greater purpose that the Lord had for him.

(16) For seven periods of time, let him have the mind of an animal instead of a human.

(17) For this has been decreed by the messengers ; it is commanded by the holy ones. The purpose of this decree is that the whole world may understand that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses -- even to the lowliest of humans."

• To the Ancient Near East, the historical situation looked as if YHWH had been defeated by the Babylonian gods, but in reality YHWH was using the empires of the Fertile Crescent (Assyria, Babylon, Persia) to execute His will related to His people (cf. Isaiah 10:5; Jeremiah 51:20). God's people were reaping the consequences of idolatry and rebellion. God needed to reassure His people and inform the pagan empires (v. 25) of the source of their current political and military prowess.
• There is a parallel thought-passage in the Book of Exodus. God is speaking through Moses to Pharaoh: "But I (God) have raised you (Pharaoh) up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16 NIV)

(18) "'O Belteshazzar, that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, for no one else can help me. All the wisest men of my kingdom have failed me. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.'

(19) "Upon hearing this, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) was overcome for a time, aghast at the meaning of the dream. Finally, the king said to him, 'Belteshazzar, don't be alarmed by the dream and what it means.' "Belteshazzar replied, 'Oh, how I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!

• Daniel knew that giving the king the true interpretation could cost the king his life. But, he knew that it is more important to stand up for God than to falsely stand up for the king.
• It appears that Daniel liked Nebuchadnezzar personally and had a close personal relationship with him, even though Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan king, who didn't believe in the God of the Bible until a few verses later.

(20) You saw a tree growing very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see.

(21) It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches.

(22) That tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth.

(23) "'Then you saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, "Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him eat grass with the animals of the field for seven periods of time."

(24) "'This is what the dream means, Your Majesty, and what the Most High has declared will happen to you.

(25) You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.

• Daniel doesn't mince words and doesn't hold anything back. Instead of reaching for a general point (“we all could use a little more humility”) Daniel brought the truth in love.
• This is similar to what the prophet Nathan said to King David: You are that man! (2 Samuel 12:7)

(26) But the stump and the roots were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules.

(27) "'O King Nebuchadnezzar, please listen to me. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past by being merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.'

• Daniel called for a recognition of sin and repentance. But, the king failed to repent at this point.
• John Walvoord says concerning Nebuchadnezzar, “His concern had been to build a magnificent city as a monument to his name rather than to alleviating the suffering of the poor.”

(28) "But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar.

(29) Twelve months later, he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon.

• God gave Nebuchadnezzar twelve months to repent and he probably forgot about the dream during that time. Nebuchadnezzar interpreted this as inaction on the Lord’s part - God must not have been serious, the interpretation was wrong, maybe God forgot. This is a common lie that many believe concerning the fulfillment of the Lord’s judgment upon sin. He is longsuffering, granting opportunity for repentance that as many as possible would be saved and have eternal life. But, God didn’t forget.

(30) As he looked out across the city, he said, 'Just look at this great city of Babylon! I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence and as an expression of my royal splendor.'

• 
• The king admired all that he had done in beautifying the city–and his works were impressive. This king did build a great city. The immense Ishtar Gates (shown above in the Pergamon museum in Berlin) were his, even the enameled brick facing. He built or rebuilt about twenty temples in Babylon and Borsippa. He also made huge fortifications, shipping docks, and processional ways marked by wall carvings dragons and bulls in different colors. In his inscriptions, he wrote that Marduk, the god of Babylon, was king of the gods, had created everything, and had given him this city. The city had been made in heaven and descended to the land of Shinar. The writings give no reference at all to Yahweh; even though he praises Marduk, he claims all the credit for building this city and this empire. In the British Museum, there are six columns of writing recovered from Babylon with describe the huge building projects of Nebuchadnezzar and his zeal to enlarge and beautify the city.
• Most of the bricks found in the excavations of Babylon carry this stamp: “Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, supporter of Esagila and Ezida, exalted first-born son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon.”
• Pride has always been the major problem of fallen humanity. Proverbs 16:18: Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
• Isaiah 47:1-10: "Come, Babylon, unconquered one, sit in the dust. For your days of glory, pomp, and honor have ended. O daughter of Babylonia, never again will you be the lovely princess, tender and delicate. Take heavy millstones and grind the corn. Remove your veil and strip off your robe. Expose yourself to public view. You will be naked and burdened with shame. I will take vengeance against you and will not negotiate." Our Redeemer, whose name is the LORD Almighty, is the Holy One of Israel. "O daughter of Babylonia, sit now in darkness and silence. Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms. For I was angry with my chosen people and began their punishment by letting them fall into your hands. But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy. You have forced even the elderly to carry heavy burdens. You thought, 'I will reign forever as queen of the world!' You did not care at all about my people or think about the consequences of your actions. "You are a pleasure-crazy kingdom, living at ease and feeling secure, bragging as if you were the greatest in the world! You say, 'I'm self-sufficient and not accountable to anyone! I will never be a widow or lose my children.' Well, those two things will come upon you in a moment: widowhood and the loss of your children. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic. "You felt secure in all your wickedness. 'No one sees me,' you said. Your 'wisdom' and 'knowledge' have caused you to turn away from me and claim, 'I am self-sufficient and not accountable to anyone!'
• Herodotus ( 484-430 B.C.) describes the city of Babylon in his day and its splendor: "The city stands on a broad plain, and is an exact square 120 furlongs (13.63 miles) in length each way, so that the entire circuits is four hundred and eighty furlongs (54.52 miles)….It is surrounded, in the first place, by a broad and deep moat, full of water, behind which rises a wall fifty royal cubits in width, (87 feet) and two hundred in height (350 feet). On the top, along the edges of the wall, they constructed buildings on a single chamber facing one another, leaving between them room for a four horse chariot to turn. In the circuit of the wall are a hundred gates, all of brass, with brazen lintels and side-posts. The city is divided into two portions by the river which runs through the midst of it. The river is the Euphrates, broad, deep, swift stream, which rises in Armenia….The city wall is brought down on both sides to the edge of the stream. The houses are mostly three and four stories high; the streets all run in straight lines, not only those parallel to the river, but also the cross streets which lead down to the waterside."

(31) "While he was still speaking these words, a voice called down from heaven, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom.

• The similarity between this and the parable of the rich man, whose ground brought forth plentifully, will at once be recalled. As he congratulated himself upon his prosperity, purposed to enlarge his barns, and contemplated years of selfish enjoyment, the judgment went forth, "You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?" (Luke 12: 16-20). In like manner, as Nebuchadnezzar vented the pride of his heart in his foolish boasting, even "while he was still speaking these words", the judgment pronounced by Daniel is repeated by the voice, and immediately executed.

(32) You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.'

• The form of insanity in which men think of themselves as animals and imitate the behavior of an animal has been observed. Some call it generally insania zoanthropica and more specifically in Nebuchadnezzar’s case, boanthropy, the delusion that one is an ox or cow.
• There is even some historical documentation supporting Nebuchadnezzar's period of madness - Berossus priest of Bel who wrote three history books about Babylon in Greek in the fourth and third centuries b.c.

(33) "That very same hour the prophecy was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles' feathers and his nails were like birds' claws.

• There is no corresponding record of this seven-year period of insanity in the secular historical records of Babylon - exactly as we would expect, considering the custom of the times. Nevertheless Abydenus, a Greek historian, wrote in 268 B.C. that Nebuchadnezzar was “possessed by some god” and that he had “immediately disappeared.” (Wood)
• There is no historical record of his governmental activity between 582 B.C. and 575 B.C. This silence is deafening, especially when we keep in mind how Near Eastern leaders liked to egotistically trumpet their achievements - and hide their embarrassments.
• Who held the kingdom together during these seven years? Normally, with a weakened monarch, someone would attempt to take over.

(34) "After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar,* looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the **Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal.

• Nebuchadnezzar could not break free from his madness until God appointed the end of the time. Then, he had the opportunity to humble himself and lift his eyes to heaven.
• *looked up to heaven: This is a symbolic way of referring to his acknowledging God (cf. v. 36) and His sovereignty (cf. vv. 34-35).
• **Most High: This title is first found in connection with Melchizedek, who is termed the priest of the most High God; and who, blessing Abram on his return from the slaughter of the kings, said, "Then Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought him bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14: 18-19).
• This verse has Messianic overtones. This is the meaning of the stone in Chapter 2 from the mountain, which destroys the statue at the feet.
  • Daniel 2:44: "During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed; no one will ever conquer it. It will shatter all these kingdoms into nothingness, but it will stand forever.
• To his credit, the king remembered Daniel’s words and did not show any resentment towards him or God, but prostrated himself before the Most High God. He now knew that he was powerless before this God.

(35) All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He has the power to do as he pleases among the angels of heaven and with those who live on earth. No one can stop him or challenge him, saying, 'What do you mean by doing these things?'

• Deuteronomy 4:39: So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other god!
• Ephesians 4:6: and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all.

(36) "When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and officers sought me out, and I was reestablished as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before.

(37) "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble those who are proud."

• When Nebuchadnezzar took some of the treasures of the Jerusalem temple and put them in the temples of his gods, he had reason to believe that his gods were stronger than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. By the end of Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar knew which God was the true God. And when Nebuchadnezzar knew it, he wasn’t shy about telling people what he had learned - he was a true witness, giving testimony to God’s great works.
• When Israel fails to proclaim the Lord, God turns to the Gentiles to do the same. See Acts 28:28.
  • Acts 28:28 (KJV): Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

PERSONAL APPLICATION

• Being "saved" in the Old Testament, is acknowledging the God of the Bible is the one and only God, and acting upon it. I believe we'll see Nebuchadnezzar do this here.
• One of the things to learn from Nebuchadnezzar is that "having it all" is not enough. Many a king, president, business leader and wealthy person will tell you of the emptiness they feel inside even when they have it all. God designed us with a need to worship him. You avoid that need, and you end up worshipping something else.
• God calls us to be his witnesses for him. To live as examples, to minister to those God calls us to minister to. To live our lives for God. That is the purpose of life itself. This is why Chapter 1 of Proverbs begins with the reminder that: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7a NIV) Once you understand that God is in control, the next step is to live your life for him. Finding your individual role, making yourself available to God for use is living life far greater than anything Nebuchadnezzar or anyone else could do on their own!
• No matter how long it takes, you will experience the consequences of your sin if you do not repent. Sooner or later, all sin will have this dehumanizing effect on the human soul.
• The lesson of this chapter is that God hates pride. In fact, theologians who have analyzed the nature of sin say that the essence of sin is pride. Pride is arrogance, presumption, conceit, vanity, selfishness self-trust and self-satisfaction. Though easily defined, it is more easily recognized in others than in ourselves.
• The first sin ever committed was the sin of pride, Isaiah 14:14 (I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.').
• The struggle with pride is common to us all. We can't "make" ourselves humble though. It is a gift of being in Christ. Ask God to do whatever it takes to cultivate humility in us.
• Like Nebuchadnezzar, we need to be able to relate the story of our conversion to others or the story our relationship to Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:15: Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://studyingdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/08/references-for-book-of-daniel.html
• Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/

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!

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
• Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://studyingdaniel.blogspot.com/2013/08/references-for-book-of-daniel.html
• Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/