Sermon - Daniel 3:13-18 - Taking a Stand - March 8, 2020
King Nebuchadnezzar built a giant gold statue, summoned all
of the leaders of Babylon, and commanded that they all bow down and worship it.
The king wanted those with influence and power to fall in line under his
leadership. He expected that no one would even consider resisting his command.
He expected that when he told people to jump they would jump without question.
He expected that when he told them to bow down and worship some gold statue
that they would submit to his command.
The king was going to assert control no matter what and to
help ensure that people would follow his command, included an ‘or else’. People
were to bow down and worship what the king had created, or they would be thrown
into a blazing furnace. He was saying, do what he tells you or die. He was making
a statement and trying to get everyone to agree that he was powerful enough to
tell you who to and when to worship and that he had power over your life.
The king made his point pretty clear and everyone there did
exactly what the king expected, they bowed down and worshipped the gold statue.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made a choice to follow God
not the king. They knew that God had commanded them to worship God alone and
not some man-made idol, so they decided to stay away.
Some of the Chaldeans took this as an opportunity and made
sure the king knew that some of the guys that he had appointed were flat out
ignoring him. They wanted the king to know that they do not serve the kings
gods and did not show up that day to worship as he commanded.
We can speculate all day long on what drove the Chaldeans to
betray Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It probably had something to do with
greed, jealousy, or a number of other reasons. You could say the Chaldeans threw
them under the bus, drove over them, backed up, and did it again.
The guys had chosen to be faithful to God in their actions
and things are about to get real ugly for them.
Daniel 3:13-14
“13 Then in a furious rage
Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So
these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar
asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve
my gods or worship the gold statue I have set up?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are being asked by the most
powerful man of their time, why they are not doing what he told them to do? Why
are they not jumping when he says jump? Why are they not bowing when he told
them to bow? Why are they ignoring his commands?
The guys knew the king’s temper and they knew he had the
power to kill them on the spot. They were stuck between that proverbial rock
and a hard place.
I know I have used these guys as a great example of standing
firm in their faith when hit with an impossible challenge, but we need to
remember that they were as human as we are. I wonder if as they were thinking
about how to respond to the king, if they were repeating to themselves
something like, ‘We are not to have other gods, we are not to make idols, we
are not to bow to idols, we are to Fear the Lord our God and worship Him and
Him alone.’
Kind of like when we are facing something, and we pray a
simple prayer or repeat a Bible verse that is special to us. I have been known
to do both of those things when something is getting the best of me. Sometimes I
do it as a way of grounding myself in my faith and sometimes it is just a way
to bring a brief moment of peace in the craziness around me.
These guys may have been doing just that, or they may have
been trying to build up the courage to tell the king what they really believe.
They may have been digging deep to find that faith that the Lord had been
developing and perfecting in them for this exact moment.
Before they could answer the king’s questions, he told them
what he expected.
Daniel 3:15
“15 Now if you’re ready, when you
hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of
music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it,
you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire—and who is the
god who can rescue you from my power?””
The king was giving them one last chance to follow his
command, one last chance to submit to his will, to declare their allegiance to
him, or they would immediately be thrown into the blazing furnace.
While Scripture does not tell us how much time has lapsed
from the interpretation of the dream to the guys standing before the king at
this time. But, sometimes it is hard to imagine that the king could go from
admitting that Daniel’s God was the God of gods and the Lord of kings to now
essentially saying there is no god who can rescue you from my wrath. There is
no god who can protect you right now.
The king has taken the One True God and reduced him to the
same level of one of those fake pagan gods who the other wisemen said they
served. Those fake gods who had absolutely no power because they do not exist.
Daniel 3:16
“16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to
this question.”
If the king was one of those guys who turned red when his
blood pressure spiked, I think anyone within sight of the king would have
feared for their lives. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were telling the king
that they do not need to listen to him, that they are not going to bow to him,
worship his statue, or serve his gods. The king was a man who was used to
getting exactly what he wanted when he wanted and blatant rejection of his authority
was the last thing he expected.
Daniel 3:17
“17 If the God we serve exists, then
he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from
the power of you, the king.”
‘If the God we serve exists’ I remember a father coming to
Jesus because the disciples could not cast a demon out of his son.
Mark 9:20-24
“20 So they brought the boy to him.
When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell
to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 “How
long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father. “From childhood,”
he said. 22 “And many times it has thrown him into fire
or water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and
help us.” 23 Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’?
Everything is possible for the one who believes.” 24 Immediately
the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a
crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You
mute and deaf spirit, I command you: Come out of him and never enter him
again.” 26 Then it came out, shrieking and throwing him
into terrible convulsions. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said,
“He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus, taking him by the hand,
raised him, and he stood up.”
The father doubted and Jesus called him on it. Once the man
declared his faith Jesus cast out the demon.
Doubt can be a nasty thing. It leads to fear, stress,
anxiety, insecurity, inaction, lack of faith, and more. Doubt is one of those
bad words that can keep us from following Jesus when the path before us is
uncomfortable, challenging, or risk. Doubt is a powerful limiting force.
It appears that for a moment the guys expressed some doubt,
but then remembered everything that God had been doing in their lives. They
remembered that while they were captives they lived in the lap of luxury. They
remembered that how God provided the dream and the interpretation and in turn spared
their lives.
They got past the doubt and said that their God can save
them from the blazing fire, and He can rescue them from the king. They were
stating that their God was greater than the king! I am sure the king’s anger
was continuing to grow.
Daniel 3:18
“18 But even if he does not rescue
us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the
gold statue you set up.”
This is one of those times I think this verse needs a giant,
bolded, highlighted exclamation point. The guys were saying that their God had
the power to rescue them, their God was more powerful than the king, but even
if their God did not rescue them on this side of eternity, they were going to
honor the One True God and Him alone. The God of gods, the Lord of kings, the
God of their fathers deserved all of their honor and worship. No threat, no
matter how severe, was going to force them to turn their back on their God.
They took these words 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,”
The guys understood that their lives were hanging by a
thread with a match burning an inch away, yet they were committed to following
the Commands of God not the direction of a man.
Nowadays it seems if the wind changes direction people
change their opinions on what is right and what is wrong. If these guys had
followed that mindset, they may have dismissed the Commandments given by God as
something for way back then, they might have said they were no longer important,
something that they did not need to follow.
2 Peter 3:17-18
“17 Therefore, dear friends, since
you know this in advance, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the
error of lawless people and fall from your own stable position. 18 But
grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be
the glory both now and to the day of eternity.”
How do we grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ? We grow with our Lord by learning and living His Word. Knowing that the
Lord’s Word does not change with the direction of the wind or the opinions of
people, but it is the foundation that helps us to stand on solid ground.
Deuteronomy 4:1-2
“4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and
ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take
possession of the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You
must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it, so
that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you.”
We are not to add anything to God’s Word or take anything
out of it. We are to follow the Commands of our Lord and trust in Him. The
Bible is our Guide, it is the Truth we can stand on, it is the Light that
guides our path.
There are going to be times that we will be challenged. Our
commitment to our Lord and Savior will be tested. We will have doubts, we will
wonder what the best path is forward, we will be anxious and afraid. When that happens,
we need to remember to turn to the Word of God. Trust in what it says. We
cannot be swayed by the wind blowing, popular opinion, or even our emotions.
We need to know God’s Word and trust in what it tells us. We
will face challenges on this side of eternity, it will not always be pretty,
but not matter what happens if we are following Jesus, we will receive an
amazing gift of an eternity in Glory. It may feel like hell on earth, but as
followers of Jesus our deliverance is eternal.
God Bless,
Robert
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