Sermon - Daniel 3:19-30 - Watch for how God is at work in your life - March 15, 2020
The king built a
90ft tall gold statue of some pagan god. He summoned anyone and everyone that
might have some level of influence in his kingdom and then he commanded them to
bow down and worship this statue or face immediate death. It is likely that he
was motivated by trying to regain control after a recent revolt, but he
basically wanted everyone to recognize that he was in charge.
Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego were not there when he ordered everyone to worship the statue and
some of the other guys, made sure the king knew that they were ignoring his
command and were not worshiping his pagan statue. The king being his usual hot-headed
self, summoned them and gave them one last chance to follow his command.
The guys took a
stand and stated that they will not bow down and worship some statue or serve
the king’s gods. They had a little bit of doubt stating ‘If’ the God of heaven
exists, but ultimately, they put their trust in the One True God believing that
if He wanted to rescue them, He could.
It is likely they
held onto the teachings from when they were young boys, that they were to Fear
the Lord, Worship Him, and Him alone. They held on to what they were taught and
the words they had read.
Being able to quote
Scripture word for word is great if you have that ability. Some of us struggle
with that. What is really important though is to know God’s Word enough so that
you can depend on it in your time of need. From quoting a Bible verse to
remembering who Paul says Jesus is in his letter to the Colossians, or even simply knowing that the
Good Book tells us that Jesus is with us always. The more time we spend with
the Word of God the more it will sink in and help us stand strong when the
attacks hit.
The guys took a
stand, they told the king that they were not going to follow his command, they
were not going to worship his god, they were putting their trust in the One
True God.
Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego knew they were choosing between their lives or committing
idolatry. The guys understood they were likely about to make the greatest
sacrifice they had to offer their God. They believed that God had the power to
rescue them, ‘if’ it was His will to do so. They believed that regardless of
what happened in the next few moments of their lives, that they would be
delivered either in this life or with an eternity in Glory.
Let’s see how he
responds.
Daniel 3:19-23
“19 Then
Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed
toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace
seven times more than was customary, 20 and he commanded
some of the best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 So
these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were
tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 Since
the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging
flames killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up. 23 And
these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace
of blazing fire.”
Often, we say these
guys had an amazing faith and we would like to be like them. While there is
some truth to that, the important thing for us to really remember, was that
they understood that our God is worthy of everything we have. Does not matter
what the sacrifice is, whatever we have to give, should be given freely to Our
God. If it is our time, our money, or even our lives… Our God is Worthy of
our everything.
The guys choose to
honor God over anything else. They chose correctly, but kind of upset the king
in the process. The king ordered them to be tossed into the fire. The fire was
so hot the king’s soldiers were killed as they threw the guys into the furnace.
Let’s look at that
again for a moment.
Daniel 3:22-23
“22 Since
the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging
flames killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up. 23 And
these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace
of blazing fire.”
The furnace was
likely built off the side of a mound so they could carry things or in this case
people to the top of it. It was so hot that the soldiers carrying the guys to
the top of the furnace died, yet the guys fell bound into it.
We are already seeing
God at work in these verses. If the flames would have been hot enough to kill
the soldiers, don’t you think the ropes would have been burnt up? If the
soldiers were dead, you would think that the guys would be dead also. The
miracle has happened, but nobody has noticed it yet.
I think this is
common problem today. We are so busy with the craziness of life that we do not
notice that God is at work. We are focused on getting from here to there,
making sure we have enough of this or enough of that, or just trying to stay
caught up with what is going on around us that we miss all that God is doing.
In Luke chapter 10
we find Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to His teaching. Martha on
the other hand was so busy trying to take care of everything that she had no
time to listen. Martha complained to Jesus hoping He would tell Mary to help
her, but instead He gave her a reality check.
Luke 10:41-42
“41 The
Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many
things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the
right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.””
I am preaching to
myself here. It is very easy to get distracted by all that is going on in life,
when what we need to do is stop and focus on Jesus. When we focus elsewhere, we
can miss what God is doing in our lives, when we focus on Jesus our chances of
seeing Him at work around us increase significantly.
Daniel 3:24
“24 Then
King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw
three men, bound, into the fire?” “Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied
to the king.”
Everyone expected
that the guys would be burnt to a crisp by now. They were probably not paying
attention to the furnace at all until the king jumped up asking how many were
thrown into the blazing furnace.
Daniel 3:25
“25 He
exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire
unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.””
How is this possible? How are they alive? How are there 4 of them? One
of them looks different than the others, He looks like the son of the gods.
The king and those
with him are seeing God at work firsthand. Some will say that the fourth person
walking around in the furnace was a pre-incarnate of Jesus, some say it was an
angel. The word translated as ‘gods’ in this verse truly is a plural form, so
gods is the correct translation. What we know is that the king saw someone that
was not one of his soldiers or one of the three guys he had tossed in there.
The king saw what in his mind would have been a divine being of some sort,
which is correct, but exactly who it is not something we will know on this side
of eternity.
What we do know is
that God was acting in these guys lives and rescued them from the wrath of the
king.
Daniel 3:26
“26 Nebuchadnezzar
then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called: “Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.”
Maybe the king
finally connected the dots that these guys worshiped the same God Daniel did,
or maybe he knew them and their beliefs from the years they have served him.
Either way, we see the king realizing that the God that the guys said could
protect them did just that.
Daniel 3:27
“27 When
the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they
saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their
heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire
on them.”
The fire that killed
the soldiers as they got close to the blazing furnace did not touch the hair on
their heads, their clothes were perfect, and not even a hint of that smoke
smell. The divine protection they received from our God was absolute. No
halfway measures here, God was at work in their lives.
Daniel 3:28
“28 Nebuchadnezzar
exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his
angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him. They violated the king’s
command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except
their own God.”
Once again, the king
recognizes that the God of the Hebrews is the one true God. The king was
impressed by what he witnessed but that is as far as it went. He is like those
that Jesus mentioned where a seed falls upon the path.
Matthew 13:19
“19 When
anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one
comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along
the path.”
The king recognizes
something has happened but really does not understand what it all means. He is
trapped by the belief that the gods really have no power over daily life. He
has believed the lies of his advisors when they tell him that they are the spokespeople
for all the different fake pagan gods. He thinks it is great that the God of
the Heavens has rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego but it has no impact on
who he is or how he lives his life.
Daniel 3:29-30
“29 Therefore
I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says
anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be
torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other
god who is able to deliver like this.” 30 Then the king
rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.”
A threat for all
those who say anything bad about the One True God and a blessing to the guys who
choose to serve God over the king. God was at work in this situation and is
once again triumphant.
The One True God was
triumphant over the king and his pagan gods. Just like when God was triumphant
over Pharaoh and the false gods of Egypt in Moses’ day. When we encounter
things that make us question what is going on, we need to remember these teachings
found in the Bible that show that our God was triumphant in the Old Testament.
Our Lord was triumphant when being tempted by the devil. He was triumphant over
death itself when He walked out of that tomb.
Scripture gives us
plenty of examples, but if we think about it, we can come up with examples of God
being triumphant in our own lives. It may not be something as exciting as being
rescued from a blazing furnace, but each time we see God at work is an example
of His triumph. I have seen God work in the lives of an old high-school friend
or two that were heading down the path of drugs but have turned things around. Most,
if not all of us, have personal experiences of God being triumphant in our own lives
or the lives of people we know. Couple those memories with what we find in the
Word of God and we will have the reminders we need.
As we grow in our
knowledge of God’s Word and remember how we have seen God at work all around
us, it will give us the courage and faith we need for what lies ahead. We need
to trust in our God, Obey His Word, and trust that He will take care of us, in
this world or the next.
God Bless,
Robert
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