Sermon - Daniel 3:1-12 - Faith Stretching - March 1, 2020
When we last talked about Daniel and his friends, they were
being elevated to esteemed positions in the Babylonian empire. Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego were appointed to manage the province of Babylon and
Daniel remained at the king’s court. In a short period of time these guys were
taken by force from their homes to now being leaders in their new home.
While the events of chapter 3 appear to follow chapter 2 chronologically,
the Bible does not give us a clear picture of how much time has passed since God
used Daniel to interpret the dream. From everything I have read I believe it
has been at least several years and maybe 10, 15, or 20 years. There is a level
of familiarity between the guys and the king and they were given a second
chance, which could imply some level of knowing each other.
We have talked some over the last several weeks at how God
was using the challenges before Daniel and his friends to grow their faith.
Those events were preparing the guys for the events we will be looking at the
next couple of weeks. We need to remember that Jesus is the source and
perfecter of our faith. Every ounce of faith we have starts with Jesus and
grows by Him working in us. We can choose to follow Jesus, we can choose to
look to Him, but the strength to stand firm, the wisdom to see His path for us,
the Faith we need to trust in Him at all times comes from Him.
Philippians 4:19
“And my God will supply all your needs according to his
riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
We tend to think of things when we read this verse. A roof
over our heads, food on the table, protection for our family, and the jobs we
need in this world. Those things are physical needs, but they are not all of
our needs. If we are following our Lord Jesus, He will meet all of our needs
and that includes the things we cannot see, faith, wisdom, peace, joy,
strength, and more. As we choose to follow Jesus each day, He will provide
exactly what we need.
Daniel’s friends are about to face a life-threatening ordeal
that will require them to have faith in God. They will need faith that is
greater than one has on day one of choosing to follow God, they will need faith
that has been stretched, strained, challenged, and ultimately strengthened. The
events leading to this chapter and likely others not documented in the Bible
for us to read were used by God to develop the faith needed for this new challenge
before them.
Daniel 3:1
“3 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue,
ninety feet high and nine feet wide. He set it up on the plain of Dura in the
province of Babylon.”
No idea if Nebuchadnezzar got the idea from the dream he had
or not. He may have had this statue built in the first couple of years of his
reign, maybe after a revolt around his tenth year, or sometime around his eighteenth
year after some Judeans were deported. Regardless of when it was built or if it
was inspired by the dream, the king decided it was a good idea to build a giant
statue of gold. Which really seems odd for a guy that recognized that Daniel’s
God was the God of gods.
Daniel 2:47
“47 The king said to Daniel, “Your
God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, since
you were able to reveal this mystery.”
The king recognized that the God of Daniel is the ‘God of
gods’ and ‘Lord of kings.’ He recognized that God was greater than he was and
any of the other gods around, but then he turned around and built a giant
statue of one of his pagan gods.
It is one of those things that makes me shake my head, but
should I be surprised? We see people who recognize they need Jesus when life
spirals out of control but forget all about Him when things are good. The king
was no different than many people today.
Daniel 3:2-3
“2 King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to
assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges,
magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces to attend the dedication of
the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 So the
satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and
all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue the
king had set up. Then they stood before the statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up.”
If you were in a position of power, you were summoned to the
dedication of the statue that king had made. Satraps were the chief
representatives of the king, the prefects were military commanders, governors were
civil administrators, advisers helped those in leadership, treasurers were the
accountants, judges administer the law, magistrates passed judgement in keeping
with the law, and pretty much everyone else who had some level of influence or
responsibility. Everyone that the king would need to keep in line if he was
trying to unite the kingdom under his leadership. He built the statue to be a
symbol of unity under his leadership. He was trying to assert control as a
young ruler or one who was recovering from a revolt.
Daniel 3:4-5
“4 A herald loudly proclaimed,
“People of every nation and language, you are commanded: 5 When
you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind
of music, you are to fall facedown and worship the gold statue that King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up.”
Nebuchadnezzar did not gather everyone to show off his 90-foot-tall
gold statue. He gathered everyone so that they could publicly submit to his
command. He wanted everyone to see that he was the boss. He expected that when
he told the people to jump, they would jump without question. When he told them
to fall face down that they would do it without question.
He was expecting everyone to publicly recognize him as king
with complete authority over the nation and over their own lives.
Daniel 3:6
“6 But whoever does not fall down and
worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”
Do what I tell you or else! Worship this statue or you will
die a very painful death! Bow down when the music sounds or pay the ultimate
price!
The king was saying you will listen to me or I will make
sure you are never a problem again. You will follow my commands over your own
thoughts, conscience, or whatever god you choose to worship. You will do what I
tell you or you are dead.
When I read this, I cannot help thinking about some of the
things we hear today. I have heard presidential candidates tell us we need to
let go of our deeply held religious beliefs. They tell us that we cannot choose
to believe what the Bible says. We have people who will tell us that the Bible
is outdated and only for those who cannot think for ourselves. I have heard
that Jesus Christ is not the only way to heaven, that there are many paths available
based on what you believe. People have said that Jesus is a crutch for those
who are weak. Some will teach that we only need to follow a portion of the
Bible. Then there are those who believe morals change with time and if you
think it is ok, then it is ok. An extreme example that we see today is that
abortion and even late term abortions are ok.
I am sure we can come up with a long list of things that we hear
that people expect us to follow, regardless if we agree with them or not. While
we are not facing death by not following what they say, we are facing eternal
damnation if we let these things guide us away from our Lord and Savior. A fate
much worse than physical death.
In this case, the king was telling the people, worship this
statue regardless of your opinion, regardless if you think it was a waste of
gold, or if you like this particular pagan god or not. The king was telling
everyone to worship it because he said so, and for the most part they followed
his command.
Daniel 3:7
“7 Therefore, when all the people
heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and every kind of
music, people of every nation and language fell down and worshiped the gold
statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.”
People from all over, from every nation, regardless of the
language they spoke, and probably regardless of the gods they worshipped
followed the king’s command. They did not question if it was the right thing to
do or not. By following his command, they declared with their actions that the
king held political and religious authority and power of them. They submitted
fully to his control.
1 Peter 2:13-14
“13 Submit to every human authority
because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority 14 or
to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and
to praise those who do what is good.”
Peter tells us to follow those who are in authority over us.
If God has put them in place, we should follow their lead. This is true to a
point. We cannot follow them blindly. There is a line that we are never to
cross. There were a couple of guys who did not follow the kings command.
Daniel 3:8-12
“8 Some Chaldeans took this occasion
to come forward and maliciously accuse the Jews. 9 They
said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever. 10 You
as king have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn,
flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music must fall down and
worship the gold statue. 11 Whoever does not fall down
and worship will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. 12 There
are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. These men have ignored you, the king; they do not serve
your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.””
These leaders came to the king and were telling him that the
guys he personally appointed to lead Babylon were now disrespecting him, disrespected
the god he wanted them to worship, and flat out ignoring his authority. Having
seen the kings temper when looking for someone to interpret his dream, you know
this caused his blood to boil.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew they had to choose
between following God or following the king.
Exodus 20:3-6
“3 Do not have other gods besides me.
4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape
of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under
the earth. 5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not
serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children
for the fathers’ iniquity, to the third and fourth generations of those who
hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand
generations of those who love me and keep my commands.”
The guys were faced with committing idolatry or death. They
understood that they were choosing between their eternal souls or their human
lives. They had seen God work in their lives, they had remained faithful during
trying times, and their faith was being stretched once again. The stakes were
higher now than when the issue was whether they were going to eat the king’s
food and drink his wine, but the test was ultimately the same. Were they going
to remain faithful to God and worship Him and Him alone?
Chances are they remembered these words and took them to
heart.
Deuteronomy 6:13-14
“13 Fear the Lord your God, worship
him, and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow
other gods, the gods of the peoples around you,”
Fear the Lord your God and worship Him. Don’t follow any of
the other gods around you. The guys made the right call when they choose to ignore
the kings idolatrous command. They took a stand for the One True God.
There will be times when our faith is tested to its limit, there
will be times when we are pressured by family, friends, or society as a whole
to act a certain way or to accept something as normal. We may even be expected
to deny our Lord and Savior.
No matter how much we are tempted we need to remember who
Jesus is. He is not one of these little pagan gods that were created by man. He
is the creator of all things. He created the universe and everything in it. He
created each one of us. He has breathed life into our bodies. He is the Way,
the truth, and the life and the only path to an eternity with our Father.
Follow Jesus with all that you have, and He will strengthen
your faith.
Blessings,
Robert
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