July 22, 2025 • 28 mins
Tyrannical power meets immovable faith in the dramatic confrontation between Nebuchadnezzar and three faithful Hebrew officials. Against the backdrop of ancient Babylon, a 90-foot golden idol stands as a symbol of arrogance and defiance against divine revelation.
When Nebuchadnezzar summons every government official in his vast empire to bow before his golden image, he creates the ultimate test of loyalty. The king's decree is simple yet devastating: worship or die in a fiery furnace. For most officials, adding another deity to their pantheon posed no moral dilemma. For Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—officials who serve the one true God—the choice becomes a crucible of faith.
Their response resonates across millennia as one of the most powerful declarations of faith ever recorded: "Our God is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace... but if not, we still won't serve your gods." This wasn't blind religious zeal but a profound understanding that genuine faith transcends circumstances and outcomes. Standing alone while thousands bow, these three men demonstrate that true courage isn't the absence of fear but the determination that something matters more than fear itself.
The narrative reaches its climax when the enraged king has them thrown into a furnace so hot it kills the soldiers carrying out the execution. But instead of destruction, Nebuchadnezzar witnesses a miracle—four figures walking freely amidst the flames, the fourth like "a son of the gods." When the three emerge without even the smell of smoke on their clothes, an entire generation of Babylon's leadership witnesses incontrovertible evidence of a power greater than their mighty empire.
This episode reveals how God often works: not by preventing the furnace, but by meeting us within it. When life heats to unbearable temperatures and everything seems lost, remember that the fourth man still walks in fires today. What impossible furnace are you facing? Take courage—the same God who preserved three faithful servants still specializes in fireproof deliverance.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you for again joining us for the Mysteries of
God's Word.
Today we're in Daniel, chapter3, where Nebuchadnezzar is
setting up a massive goldenimage and demanding everyone bow
down to it and then throwingpeople into the fiery furnace
who don't.
Beginning in verse 1, kingNebuchadnezzar made an image of
(00:24):
gold whose height was 60 cubitsand its breadth 6 cubits.
He set it up on the plain ofDura in the province of Babylon.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sentto gather the satraps, the
prefects and the governors, thecounselors, the treasurers, the
(00:46):
justices, the magistrates andall of the officials of the
provinces to come to thededication of the image that
King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Then the satraps, the prefectsand the governors, the
counselors, the treasurers, thejustices, the magistrates and
(01:06):
all of the officials of theprovinces gathered for the
dedication of the image thatKing Nebuchadnezzar had set up,
and they stood before the imagethat Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
In verse 1, we learned thatNebuchadnezzar had made this
image of gold.
If you remember, back inchapter 2, nebuchadnezzar had
(01:29):
received a terrifying dream of agreat and mighty statue and
Daniel had interpreted his dream.
But now Nebuchadnezzar isarrogantly, in defiance of God,
making an image of gold.
The very creation of this imageappears to be a direct attempt
(01:52):
to stop the future that God hasrevealed to him through Daniel.
This image of gold would appearto be a reflection of the image
in his dream, but instead ofbeing made of all of the
different materials thatrepresented the different
kingdoms, nebuchadnezzar makesthis image fully out of gold,
(02:14):
because this tyrannical king isdefying the God of heaven with a
physical image meant toindoctrinate all of the people
in the Middle East with a forcedloyalty.
Nebuchadnezzar wants everyoneto be loyal to Babylon and to
him alone.
(02:34):
We're told the height was 60cubits high and its breadth was
6 cubits.
That means the height of thisstatue was about 90 feet tall
and it was about nine feet wide.
Now, as you get that image inyour mind, you'll see this
statue, which probablyrepresented a form of a human
(02:58):
image, is quite disproportionatewith its height and its width,
with its height and its width,and some scholars propose that
this image was on a tallplatform so that the dimensions
are more appropriate for a humanimage rather than being so tall
and skinny.
And then, in verses 2 and 3, wesee how Nebuchadnezzar sent out
(03:20):
a request for every governmentofficial in his kingdom to come
to this dedication.
We might call this the SummitConference of Babylon.
It actually lists the differentgovernment positions that were
invited twice the satraps, whowere leaders over the regions.
(03:41):
We might think of them as agovernor of a state.
The prefects were rulers overthe law.
We might think of them asmilitary generals or local
sheriffs.
The governors that arementioned here in scripture were
leaders over localizedprovinces like a county or a
(04:03):
city.
Counselors were lawyers,treasurers were accountants and
taxmen.
Justices were judges,magistrates are what we might
consider police.
And then it says all the otherofficials.
Anyone who held a governmentjob in the kingdom of Babylon
(04:26):
was expected to come to thededication of this golden image.
One of the interesting thingsthat we find in this narrative,
however, is that Daniel isnowhere to be found.
Did the king intentionally notinvite Daniel?
Did the king intentionally notinvite Daniel?
(04:48):
Because it was Daniel thatsupernaturally interpreted a
dream of an image like this?
Was the king perhaps, maybeafraid to invite Daniel, or
perhaps Daniel refused to come?
And maybe the king allowed itbecause of how he had seen
something so spectacular workingthrough Daniel?
While we're not told whyDaniel's not here, we do see the
(05:10):
king in defiance of that verydream Daniel revealed to him,
picking up, in verse 4, and theherald proclaimed aloud you are
commanded, o peoples, nationsand languages, that when you
hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe
(05:35):
and every kind of music, you areto fall down and worship the
golden image that KingNebuchadnezzar has set up.
And whoever does not fall downand worship shall immediately be
cast into a burning fieryfurnace.
In verses 4 through 6, we seethe herald, who is an official
(05:59):
person, of proclaiming the newsfor the kingdom, telling all of
these government officials thatwhen they hear the sound of the
music, telling all of thesegovernment officials that when
they hear the sound of the music, they're to bow down.
We can see that this is amassive event that included a
huge ensemble of musicians fromacross the kingdom of Babylon,
(06:20):
all that came to dedicate thisnew image of gold.
That came to dedicate this newimage of gold, and it was at the
blast of this large band thatthe main event would take place.
Every person that was on thegovernment payroll in the
kingdom of Babylon was to falldown and worship this image of
gold.
It is important to note thisisn't simply a celebration.
(06:44):
This isn't simply anacknowledgement of what King
Nebuchadnezzar has done.
Rather, they are commanded toworship this image, and that
implies that this is both apolitical and religious event.
Perhaps the image was ofBabylon's chief god Marduk, or
(07:07):
Nebuchadnezzar's patron god Nebu.
Whatever the image was,nebuchadnezzar was demanding
from every public official thatthey openly display their
submission both to his authorityand to the worship of this
golden image, and certainly fromNebuchadnezzar's perspective.
(07:30):
When they did so, they wereacknowledging the Babylonian
empire as supreme, and theherald says that whoever does
not fall down in worship shallimmediately be cast into a
burning fiery furnace.
This threat of death by firemakes it clear that
(07:51):
Nebuchadnezzar's intention is toindoctrinate everyone in his
kingdom into Babylonian loyaltyby force, and he's going to root
out anyone who would underminethe kingdom of Babylon.
However, all of the othernations that Nebuchadnezzar had
conquered are not going to findthis command terribly oppressive
(08:13):
, except for the Jews, as theother nations would not see
worshiping another god aspreventing them from worshiping
their gods.
However, the Jews believedthere was only one true God, and
they were commanded by the Lord, god Almighty, not to worship
any other god.
(08:34):
I've noticed that somecommentators believe that
Nebuchadnezzar was targeting theJews because of this?
However, I don't think that'sthe case.
I believe Nebuchadnezzar'sprimary goal here is very
self-motivated.
Nebuchadnezzar wants hiskingdom to be the only kingdom
on earth and he's standing indefiance of what the Lord, god,
(08:57):
has shown him.
Verse 7.
Therefore, as soon as all ofthe people heard the sound of
the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon,harp, bagpipe and every kind of
music, all the peoples, nationsand languages fell down and
worshipped the golden image thatNebuchadnezzar had set up.
Verse 7 is a description of howthis group of babylonian
(09:27):
government officials came fromevery part of the babylonian
empire.
The government officialsincluded people consumed by the
empire from other nations, otherlanguages, other people, groups
, and everyone who had beenconquered by Nebuchadnezzar's
Babylonian empire and now beengiven governmental positions was
(09:47):
to fall down and worship thisgolden image that represented
the kingdom of Babylon.
Verse 8.
Therefore, at that time, certainChaldeans came forward and
maliciously accused the Jews.
They declared to KingNebuchadnezzar O king, live
(10:08):
forever.
You, o king, have made a decreethat every man who hears the
sound of the horn, pipe, lyre,trigon, harp, bagpipe and every
kind of music shall fall downand worship the golden image,
and whoever does not fall downand worship shall be cast into a
burning fiery furnace.
There are certain Jews whom youhave appointed over the affairs
(10:34):
of the province of Babylon.
Shadrach, meshach andAbednegoaldeans came forward and
(10:55):
maliciously accused certainJews.
Now, the Chaldeans that arementioned here are the wise men
that were trained in Babyloniantradition.
In fact, daniel would have beenconsidered a Chaldean.
However, these were certainChaldeans.
These were likely the priestsof the Babylonian god, merodach,
who were jealous of these youngJews that had just been
(11:17):
promoted over them.
And now they're just too happyto report of their disobedience.
These certain Chaldeans nowpoint out that these certain
Jews aren't worshipping yourgods, nebuchadnezzar.
They're not worshipping thisgolden image you've set up.
And these certain Chaldeans arequick to point out how the king
(11:40):
himself appointed these menover the province of Babylon and
they're paying no attention tohim during this most important
event Verse 13.
Then Nebuchadnezzar, in afurious rage, commanded that
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegobe brought.
So they brought these menbefore the king.
(12:01):
Nebuchadnezzar answered andsaid to them Now, if you're
ready, when you hear the soundof the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon
harp, bagpipe and every kind ofmusic, to fall down and worship
(12:24):
the image that I have made, welland good, but if you do not
worship you shall immediately becast into the burning fiery
furnace.
And who is the God who willdeliver you out of my hands?
In verses 13 through 15, thistyrannical king Nebuchadnezzar
(12:46):
is consumed by rage and he isquick to use the death penalty
when he does not feel he's beingobeyed or the primary objective
of making Babylon the onlykingdom on earth is being
fulfilled.
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego are brought before the
king, and King Nebuchadnezzargives these three companions a
(13:07):
second chance to worship theimage.
He says if you're ready, whenyou hear the sound of the music,
fall down and worship.
He hopes, now that they've beensingled out and they stand
before him, they'll worship theimage.
And then, in Nebuchadnezzar'stypical display of irreverence
for the God of heaven,nebuchadnezzar arrogantly asks
(13:32):
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegowho is the God who will deliver
you from my hands?
Verse 16.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegoanswered and said to the king O
Nebuchadnezzar, we have no needto answer you in this matter.
If this be so, our God, whom weserve, is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace,and he will deliver us out of
(13:55):
your hand, o king.
But if not, be it known to you,o king, that we will not serve
your gods or worship the goldenimage that you have set up.
Verses 16, 17, and 18 are thereply of Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego to the king, and theyshow absolute confidence and
(14:19):
trust in the Lord, god Almighty.
In saying they have no need toanswer the king, they weren't
disrespecting him, but ratherthey know that it is God who
will deal with this idolatrousand tyrannical king, not their
arguments.
Furthermore, they knewfirsthand that this entire event
(14:42):
of the golden idol byNebuchadnezzar was an act of
defiance against the God thathad revealed those other
kingdoms that were comingbecause they were part of
praying for Daniel not very longago, when Daniel interpreted
the king's dream and God,implying their service to the
(15:17):
Lord comes before their serviceto the king.
They tell Nebuchadnezzar thattheir God is able to deliver
them, even from the fieryfurnace, and he will deliver
them out of the king's hand.
And then they say but if noteven as they trust in the Lord's
(15:37):
ability to do this, they haveno special revelation that it is
God's plan to deliver them.
They simply know that he is theGod of the universe and he can
if he wants to.
They recognize that God has noobligation to save their lives
from the fiery furnace, but hewill act according to his will
(15:59):
and for his greater purpose.
Will act according to his willand for his greater purpose.
And then, as these three menhave stood in faith against the
king's decree, with their verylives on the line, they make a
final declaration to the kingthat they will not serve his
(16:34):
gods or worship the golden imageVerse 19.
Ordered some of the mighty menof his army to bind Shadrach,
meshach and Abednego and castthem into the fiery furnace.
Then these men were bound intheir cloaks, their tunics,
their hats and their othergarments and they were thrown
into the burning fiery furnace.
(16:55):
Because the king's order wasurgent and the furnace was
overheated, the flame of thefire killed those men who took
up Shadrach, meshach andAbednego, and these three men,
shadrach, meshach and Abednego,fell bound into the burning
fiery furnace.
In verses 19-23, again, we'reconfronted with this king's
(17:23):
uncontrollable rage when he isdefied, his fury has so consumed
him that he's lost hiscomposure publicly.
And now the king wants the fireof this furnace to match the
fire of his rage, and he'sasking it be brought up to its
maximum capacity.
As he does so, he calls forsome of the strongest men in all
(17:48):
of his army to bind Shadrach,meshach and Abednego.
And these same strong men areto take Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego up to the top of thefurnace and cast them in.
So the strong men bound thesecompanions in multiple locations
so that they had no opportunityto struggle.
(18:09):
And then the scripture tells usthat the furnace was overheated.
Nebuchadnezzar heated thisfurnace to the point where it
was more than the furnace itselfwas built to take.
Additionally, we're told, theking's order was urgent, meaning
(18:32):
the king demanded that thisharsh punishment be done
immediately when the furnace wasbrought up to full heat.
So those strong men from theBabylonian army were forced to
take Shadrach, meshach andAbednego to the top of that
furnace at its raging fire.
And as they did so they wereovertaken by the flames and died
(18:52):
.
As they were casting, the threecompanions in, shadrach,
meshach and Abednego fell fromthe top of the furnace to the
bottom with their bindings stillon Verse 24.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar wasastonished and rose up in haste.
He declared to his counselorsDid we not cast three men bound
(19:17):
into the fire?
They answered and said to theking True, o king.
He answered and said but I seefour men unbound, walking in the
midst of the fire, and they'renot hurt.
And the appearance of thefourth is like a son of the gods
.
(19:37):
Verses 24 and 25 describe theshock of Nebuchadnezzar.
All of a sudden, somethingastonishing and frightening
shocked King Nebuchadnezzarright out of his chair.
And the king shouts to hiscounselors who were with him did
we not cast three men boundinto the fire?
(19:59):
And they replied to him True, oking.
But to Nebuchadnezzar's greatshock, the impossible was
revealed before his very eyesWhile some of the greatest and
strongest men of his army died,tossing these men into the
furnace from the heat.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegoare unscathed and they're in the
(20:22):
middle of this furnace withtheir bonds broken, walking with
a fourth person.
And Nebuchadnezzar says thatthis is like a son of the gods.
This phrase, a son of the gods,is a reference to an angel.
Nebuchadnezzar recognizes asupernatural being in the midst
(20:43):
of the fire with these three men.
This angel may have very wellbeen the angel of the Lord, the
pre-incarnate Jesus Christ,verse 26.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near tothe door of the burning fiery
furnace.
He declared Shadrach, meshachand Abednego servants of the
(21:09):
Most High God, come out and comehere.
Then Shadrach, meshach andAbednego came out of the fire.
This dumbfounded king walkscloser to the furnace door as he
watches these four men in thebottom of the furnace, and then
he calls out Shadrach, meshachand Abednego, servants of the
(21:32):
Most High God, come out and comehere.
Nebuchadnezzar, in this momentof experiencing something beyond
human understanding, somethingthat defies his very power as
king, now calls these three menservants of the Most High God.
(21:53):
The king acknowledges, muchlike he did with Daniel in
Daniel, chapter 2, verse 47,that this God of the Jewish
people, the God of Shadrach,meshach and Abednego, is the God
of gods.
He's the Lord of kings.
However, like the demons,nebuchadnezzar's acknowledgement
(22:14):
of God's power doesn't keep himfrom continuing to defy God.
And there's something veryinteresting to note on this
title the Most High God that isused in scripture.
Here in Daniel, this title theMost High God is used with
Nebuchadnezzar as a paganjourneying toward faith.
(22:37):
However, in other scriptures,the title the Most High God is
only used by the demonic worldto reference to the Lord, for
example in Isaiah 14.14, whenit's describing how Satan fell
from heaven, he said.
(22:57):
Also, we find this title inMark 5-7, where Jesus heals a
man with a demon.
(23:19):
The verse reads, finally, inActs 16.17, we read about a
fortune teller who had beenpossessed by a spirit of
divination, and she followedPaul around crying out these men
are servants of the Most HighGod, picking up in verse 27,.
(23:39):
High God, picking up in verse27,.
And the satraps, the prefects,the governors and the king's
counselors gathered together andsaw that the fire had not had
any power over the bodies ofthose men.
The hair of their heads was notsinged, their cloaks were not
harmed and no smell of fire hadcome upon them.
(24:00):
To me, verse 27 is really anexplanation of why God rescued
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegofrom this fiery furnace.
All of the leaders of thekingdom of Babylon who were
gathered for the dedication ofthis idol and had just bowed
(24:20):
down to it now were coming tosee how the Lord God displayed
his mighty redemptive power overShadrach, meshach and Abednego,
when they themselves hadrefused.
This list of leaders describedin verse 27 are the political
leaders that ruled over everyregion, every county and every
(24:43):
city, and the redemptive miraclethat they see shows this
greater purpose.
What God did with Shadrach,meshach and Abednego here gives
a testimony to an entiregeneration of ruling class
citizens in Babylon as to thepower of the one true God.
(25:03):
The Lord God supernaturallycontrolled every detail of the
fire so that his name would beknown and there would be no
other possible explanation.
Not only were the threecompanions completely untouched
by the fire, but uponexamination, they didn't even
(25:24):
have the smell of the fire uponthem.
Verse 28.
Nebuchadnezzar answered andsaid Blessed be the God of
Shadrach, meshach and Abednego,who has sent his angel and
delivered his servants whotrusted in him and set aside the
king's command and yielded uptheir bodies rather than serve
(25:47):
and worship any god except theirown god.
In verse 28, kingNebuchadnezzar blesses the god
of Shadrach, meshach andAbednego.
It's important to recognizehere that King Nebuchadnezzar
doesn't recognize the Lord Godas his God, but rather this is
the God of Shadrach, meshach andAbednego.
(26:09):
Now, after being publiclyhumiliated by the supernatural
work of the Lord God in front ofall of the leaders of Babylon,
nebuchadnezzar is eager to addthe god of Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego to the long list ofdeities that are accepted in
Babylon Verse 29,.
(26:31):
Therefore, I make a decree anypeople, nation or language that
speaks anything against the godof Shadrach makes a very public
(26:53):
and political move.
He decrees that the god ofShadrach, meshach and Abednego
is to be revered as a god ofpower in the kingdom of Babylon.
And, as is typical forNebuchadnezzar, the king's
decree carries with it thepenalty of torture and death for
(27:16):
anyone who would speak againstthe god of Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego.
And then, in our last verse forthe day, verse 30, the king
promoted Shadrach, meshach andAbednego in the province of
Babylon.
If we remember, at the end ofchapter 2, the king had also
promoted Shadrach, meshach andAbednego over the province of
(27:40):
Babylon, and their initialappointment was at the request
of Daniel, who had been giventhe authority over the province
for interpreting the king'sdream.
It would seem now, however,these three companions are both
restored to their priorpositions, but also promoted in
such a way that they have moreauthority, perhaps full
(28:03):
authority, over the province ofBabylon.
Thank you for joining me forDaniel, chapter 3.
God bless you this week.
Thank you for again joining us for the Mysteries of
God's Word.
Today we're in Daniel, chapter3, where Nebuchadnezzar is
setting up a massive goldenimage and demanding everyone bow
down to it and then throwingpeople into the fiery furnace
who don't.
Beginning in verse 1, kingNebuchadnezzar made an image of
(00:24):
gold whose height was 60 cubitsand its breadth 6 cubits.
He set it up on the plain ofDura in the province of Babylon.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sentto gather the satraps, the
prefects and the governors, thecounselors, the treasurers, the
(00:46):
justices, the magistrates andall of the officials of the
provinces to come to thededication of the image that
King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Then the satraps, the prefectsand the governors, the
counselors, the treasurers, thejustices, the magistrates and
(01:06):
all of the officials of theprovinces gathered for the
dedication of the image thatKing Nebuchadnezzar had set up,
and they stood before the imagethat Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
In verse 1, we learned thatNebuchadnezzar had made this
image of gold.
If you remember, back inchapter 2, nebuchadnezzar had
(01:29):
received a terrifying dream of agreat and mighty statue and
Daniel had interpreted his dream.
But now Nebuchadnezzar isarrogantly, in defiance of God,
making an image of gold.
The very creation of this imageappears to be a direct attempt
(01:52):
to stop the future that God hasrevealed to him through Daniel.
This image of gold would appearto be a reflection of the image
in his dream, but instead ofbeing made of all of the
different materials thatrepresented the different
kingdoms, nebuchadnezzar makesthis image fully out of gold,
(02:14):
because this tyrannical king isdefying the God of heaven with a
physical image meant toindoctrinate all of the people
in the Middle East with a forcedloyalty.
Nebuchadnezzar wants everyoneto be loyal to Babylon and to
him alone.
(02:34):
We're told the height was 60cubits high and its breadth was
6 cubits.
That means the height of thisstatue was about 90 feet tall
and it was about nine feet wide.
Now, as you get that image inyour mind, you'll see this
statue, which probablyrepresented a form of a human
(02:58):
image, is quite disproportionatewith its height and its width,
with its height and its width,and some scholars propose that
this image was on a tallplatform so that the dimensions
are more appropriate for a humanimage rather than being so tall
and skinny.
And then, in verses 2 and 3, wesee how Nebuchadnezzar sent out
(03:20):
a request for every governmentofficial in his kingdom to come
to this dedication.
We might call this the SummitConference of Babylon.
It actually lists the differentgovernment positions that were
invited twice the satraps, whowere leaders over the regions.
(03:41):
We might think of them as agovernor of a state.
The prefects were rulers overthe law.
We might think of them asmilitary generals or local
sheriffs.
The governors that arementioned here in scripture were
leaders over localizedprovinces like a county or a
(04:03):
city.
Counselors were lawyers,treasurers were accountants and
taxmen.
Justices were judges,magistrates are what we might
consider police.
And then it says all the otherofficials.
Anyone who held a governmentjob in the kingdom of Babylon
(04:26):
was expected to come to thededication of this golden image.
One of the interesting thingsthat we find in this narrative,
however, is that Daniel isnowhere to be found.
Did the king intentionally notinvite Daniel?
Did the king intentionally notinvite Daniel?
(04:48):
Because it was Daniel thatsupernaturally interpreted a
dream of an image like this?
Was the king perhaps, maybeafraid to invite Daniel, or
perhaps Daniel refused to come?
And maybe the king allowed itbecause of how he had seen
something so spectacular workingthrough Daniel?
While we're not told whyDaniel's not here, we do see the
(05:10):
king in defiance of that verydream Daniel revealed to him,
picking up, in verse 4, and theherald proclaimed aloud you are
commanded, o peoples, nationsand languages, that when you
hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe
(05:35):
and every kind of music, you areto fall down and worship the
golden image that KingNebuchadnezzar has set up.
And whoever does not fall downand worship shall immediately be
cast into a burning fieryfurnace.
In verses 4 through 6, we seethe herald, who is an official
(05:59):
person, of proclaiming the newsfor the kingdom, telling all of
these government officials thatwhen they hear the sound of the
music, telling all of thesegovernment officials that when
they hear the sound of the music, they're to bow down.
We can see that this is amassive event that included a
huge ensemble of musicians fromacross the kingdom of Babylon,
(06:20):
all that came to dedicate thisnew image of gold.
That came to dedicate this newimage of gold, and it was at the
blast of this large band thatthe main event would take place.
Every person that was on thegovernment payroll in the
kingdom of Babylon was to falldown and worship this image of
gold.
It is important to note thisisn't simply a celebration.
(06:44):
This isn't simply anacknowledgement of what King
Nebuchadnezzar has done.
Rather, they are commanded toworship this image, and that
implies that this is both apolitical and religious event.
Perhaps the image was ofBabylon's chief god Marduk, or
(07:07):
Nebuchadnezzar's patron god Nebu.
Whatever the image was,nebuchadnezzar was demanding
from every public official thatthey openly display their
submission both to his authorityand to the worship of this
golden image, and certainly fromNebuchadnezzar's perspective.
(07:30):
When they did so, they wereacknowledging the Babylonian
empire as supreme, and theherald says that whoever does
not fall down in worship shallimmediately be cast into a
burning fiery furnace.
This threat of death by firemakes it clear that
(07:51):
Nebuchadnezzar's intention is toindoctrinate everyone in his
kingdom into Babylonian loyaltyby force, and he's going to root
out anyone who would underminethe kingdom of Babylon.
However, all of the othernations that Nebuchadnezzar had
conquered are not going to findthis command terribly oppressive
(08:13):
, except for the Jews, as theother nations would not see
worshiping another god aspreventing them from worshiping
their gods.
However, the Jews believedthere was only one true God, and
they were commanded by the Lord, god Almighty, not to worship
any other god.
(08:34):
I've noticed that somecommentators believe that
Nebuchadnezzar was targeting theJews because of this?
However, I don't think that'sthe case.
I believe Nebuchadnezzar'sprimary goal here is very
self-motivated.
Nebuchadnezzar wants hiskingdom to be the only kingdom
on earth and he's standing indefiance of what the Lord, god,
(08:57):
has shown him.
Verse 7.
Therefore, as soon as all ofthe people heard the sound of
the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon,harp, bagpipe and every kind of
music, all the peoples, nationsand languages fell down and
worshipped the golden image thatNebuchadnezzar had set up.
Verse 7 is a description of howthis group of babylonian
(09:27):
government officials came fromevery part of the babylonian
empire.
The government officialsincluded people consumed by the
empire from other nations, otherlanguages, other people, groups
, and everyone who had beenconquered by Nebuchadnezzar's
Babylonian empire and now beengiven governmental positions was
(09:47):
to fall down and worship thisgolden image that represented
the kingdom of Babylon.
Verse 8.
Therefore, at that time, certainChaldeans came forward and
maliciously accused the Jews.
They declared to KingNebuchadnezzar O king, live
(10:08):
forever.
You, o king, have made a decreethat every man who hears the
sound of the horn, pipe, lyre,trigon, harp, bagpipe and every
kind of music shall fall downand worship the golden image,
and whoever does not fall downand worship shall be cast into a
burning fiery furnace.
There are certain Jews whom youhave appointed over the affairs
(10:34):
of the province of Babylon.
Shadrach, meshach andAbednegoaldeans came forward and
(10:55):
maliciously accused certainJews.
Now, the Chaldeans that arementioned here are the wise men
that were trained in Babyloniantradition.
In fact, daniel would have beenconsidered a Chaldean.
However, these were certainChaldeans.
These were likely the priestsof the Babylonian god, merodach,
who were jealous of these youngJews that had just been
(11:17):
promoted over them.
And now they're just too happyto report of their disobedience.
These certain Chaldeans nowpoint out that these certain
Jews aren't worshipping yourgods, nebuchadnezzar.
They're not worshipping thisgolden image you've set up.
And these certain Chaldeans arequick to point out how the king
(11:40):
himself appointed these menover the province of Babylon and
they're paying no attention tohim during this most important
event Verse 13.
Then Nebuchadnezzar, in afurious rage, commanded that
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegobe brought.
So they brought these menbefore the king.
(12:01):
Nebuchadnezzar answered andsaid to them Now, if you're
ready, when you hear the soundof the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon
harp, bagpipe and every kind ofmusic, to fall down and worship
(12:24):
the image that I have made, welland good, but if you do not
worship you shall immediately becast into the burning fiery
furnace.
And who is the God who willdeliver you out of my hands?
In verses 13 through 15, thistyrannical king Nebuchadnezzar
(12:46):
is consumed by rage and he isquick to use the death penalty
when he does not feel he's beingobeyed or the primary objective
of making Babylon the onlykingdom on earth is being
fulfilled.
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego are brought before the
king, and King Nebuchadnezzargives these three companions a
(13:07):
second chance to worship theimage.
He says if you're ready, whenyou hear the sound of the music,
fall down and worship.
He hopes, now that they've beensingled out and they stand
before him, they'll worship theimage.
And then, in Nebuchadnezzar'stypical display of irreverence
for the God of heaven,nebuchadnezzar arrogantly asks
(13:32):
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegowho is the God who will deliver
you from my hands?
Verse 16.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegoanswered and said to the king O
Nebuchadnezzar, we have no needto answer you in this matter.
If this be so, our God, whom weserve, is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace,and he will deliver us out of
(13:55):
your hand, o king.
But if not, be it known to you,o king, that we will not serve
your gods or worship the goldenimage that you have set up.
Verses 16, 17, and 18 are thereply of Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego to the king, and theyshow absolute confidence and
(14:19):
trust in the Lord, god Almighty.
In saying they have no need toanswer the king, they weren't
disrespecting him, but ratherthey know that it is God who
will deal with this idolatrousand tyrannical king, not their
arguments.
Furthermore, they knewfirsthand that this entire event
(14:42):
of the golden idol byNebuchadnezzar was an act of
defiance against the God thathad revealed those other
kingdoms that were comingbecause they were part of
praying for Daniel not very longago, when Daniel interpreted
the king's dream and God,implying their service to the
(15:17):
Lord comes before their serviceto the king.
They tell Nebuchadnezzar thattheir God is able to deliver
them, even from the fieryfurnace, and he will deliver
them out of the king's hand.
And then they say but if noteven as they trust in the Lord's
(15:37):
ability to do this, they haveno special revelation that it is
God's plan to deliver them.
They simply know that he is theGod of the universe and he can
if he wants to.
They recognize that God has noobligation to save their lives
from the fiery furnace, but hewill act according to his will
(15:59):
and for his greater purpose.
Will act according to his willand for his greater purpose.
And then, as these three menhave stood in faith against the
king's decree, with their verylives on the line, they make a
final declaration to the kingthat they will not serve his
(16:34):
gods or worship the golden imageVerse 19.
Ordered some of the mighty menof his army to bind Shadrach,
meshach and Abednego and castthem into the fiery furnace.
Then these men were bound intheir cloaks, their tunics,
their hats and their othergarments and they were thrown
into the burning fiery furnace.
(16:55):
Because the king's order wasurgent and the furnace was
overheated, the flame of thefire killed those men who took
up Shadrach, meshach andAbednego, and these three men,
shadrach, meshach and Abednego,fell bound into the burning
fiery furnace.
In verses 19-23, again, we'reconfronted with this king's
(17:23):
uncontrollable rage when he isdefied, his fury has so consumed
him that he's lost hiscomposure publicly.
And now the king wants the fireof this furnace to match the
fire of his rage, and he'sasking it be brought up to its
maximum capacity.
As he does so, he calls forsome of the strongest men in all
(17:48):
of his army to bind Shadrach,meshach and Abednego.
And these same strong men areto take Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego up to the top of thefurnace and cast them in.
So the strong men bound thesecompanions in multiple locations
so that they had no opportunityto struggle.
(18:09):
And then the scripture tells usthat the furnace was overheated.
Nebuchadnezzar heated thisfurnace to the point where it
was more than the furnace itselfwas built to take.
Additionally, we're told, theking's order was urgent, meaning
(18:32):
the king demanded that thisharsh punishment be done
immediately when the furnace wasbrought up to full heat.
So those strong men from theBabylonian army were forced to
take Shadrach, meshach andAbednego to the top of that
furnace at its raging fire.
And as they did so they wereovertaken by the flames and died
(18:52):
.
As they were casting, the threecompanions in, shadrach,
meshach and Abednego fell fromthe top of the furnace to the
bottom with their bindings stillon Verse 24.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar wasastonished and rose up in haste.
He declared to his counselorsDid we not cast three men bound
(19:17):
into the fire?
They answered and said to theking True, o king.
He answered and said but I seefour men unbound, walking in the
midst of the fire, and they'renot hurt.
And the appearance of thefourth is like a son of the gods
.
(19:37):
Verses 24 and 25 describe theshock of Nebuchadnezzar.
All of a sudden, somethingastonishing and frightening
shocked King Nebuchadnezzarright out of his chair.
And the king shouts to hiscounselors who were with him did
we not cast three men boundinto the fire?
(19:59):
And they replied to him True, oking.
But to Nebuchadnezzar's greatshock, the impossible was
revealed before his very eyesWhile some of the greatest and
strongest men of his army died,tossing these men into the
furnace from the heat.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegoare unscathed and they're in the
(20:22):
middle of this furnace withtheir bonds broken, walking with
a fourth person.
And Nebuchadnezzar says thatthis is like a son of the gods.
This phrase, a son of the gods,is a reference to an angel.
Nebuchadnezzar recognizes asupernatural being in the midst
(20:43):
of the fire with these three men.
This angel may have very wellbeen the angel of the Lord, the
pre-incarnate Jesus Christ,verse 26.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near tothe door of the burning fiery
furnace.
He declared Shadrach, meshachand Abednego servants of the
(21:09):
Most High God, come out and comehere.
Then Shadrach, meshach andAbednego came out of the fire.
This dumbfounded king walkscloser to the furnace door as he
watches these four men in thebottom of the furnace, and then
he calls out Shadrach, meshachand Abednego, servants of the
(21:32):
Most High God, come out and comehere.
Nebuchadnezzar, in this momentof experiencing something beyond
human understanding, somethingthat defies his very power as
king, now calls these three menservants of the Most High God.
(21:53):
The king acknowledges, muchlike he did with Daniel in
Daniel, chapter 2, verse 47,that this God of the Jewish
people, the God of Shadrach,meshach and Abednego, is the God
of gods.
He's the Lord of kings.
However, like the demons,nebuchadnezzar's acknowledgement
(22:14):
of God's power doesn't keep himfrom continuing to defy God.
And there's something veryinteresting to note on this
title the Most High God that isused in scripture.
Here in Daniel, this title theMost High God is used with
Nebuchadnezzar as a paganjourneying toward faith.
(22:37):
However, in other scriptures,the title the Most High God is
only used by the demonic worldto reference to the Lord, for
example in Isaiah 14.14, whenit's describing how Satan fell
from heaven, he said.
(22:57):
Also, we find this title inMark 5-7, where Jesus heals a
man with a demon.
(23:19):
The verse reads, finally, inActs 16.17, we read about a
fortune teller who had beenpossessed by a spirit of
divination, and she followedPaul around crying out these men
are servants of the Most HighGod, picking up in verse 27,.
(23:39):
High God, picking up in verse27,.
And the satraps, the prefects,the governors and the king's
counselors gathered together andsaw that the fire had not had
any power over the bodies ofthose men.
The hair of their heads was notsinged, their cloaks were not
harmed and no smell of fire hadcome upon them.
(24:00):
To me, verse 27 is really anexplanation of why God rescued
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegofrom this fiery furnace.
All of the leaders of thekingdom of Babylon who were
gathered for the dedication ofthis idol and had just bowed
(24:20):
down to it now were coming tosee how the Lord God displayed
his mighty redemptive power overShadrach, meshach and Abednego,
when they themselves hadrefused.
This list of leaders describedin verse 27 are the political
leaders that ruled over everyregion, every county and every
(24:43):
city, and the redemptive miraclethat they see shows this
greater purpose.
What God did with Shadrach,meshach and Abednego here gives
a testimony to an entiregeneration of ruling class
citizens in Babylon as to thepower of the one true God.
(25:03):
The Lord God supernaturallycontrolled every detail of the
fire so that his name would beknown and there would be no
other possible explanation.
Not only were the threecompanions completely untouched
by the fire, but uponexamination, they didn't even
(25:24):
have the smell of the fire uponthem.
Verse 28.
Nebuchadnezzar answered andsaid Blessed be the God of
Shadrach, meshach and Abednego,who has sent his angel and
delivered his servants whotrusted in him and set aside the
king's command and yielded uptheir bodies rather than serve
(25:47):
and worship any god except theirown god.
In verse 28, kingNebuchadnezzar blesses the god
of Shadrach, meshach andAbednego.
It's important to recognizehere that King Nebuchadnezzar
doesn't recognize the Lord Godas his God, but rather this is
the God of Shadrach, meshach andAbednego.
(26:09):
Now, after being publiclyhumiliated by the supernatural
work of the Lord God in front ofall of the leaders of Babylon,
nebuchadnezzar is eager to addthe god of Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego to the long list ofdeities that are accepted in
Babylon Verse 29,.
(26:31):
Therefore, I make a decree anypeople, nation or language that
speaks anything against the godof Shadrach makes a very public
(26:53):
and political move.
He decrees that the god ofShadrach, meshach and Abednego
is to be revered as a god ofpower in the kingdom of Babylon.
And, as is typical forNebuchadnezzar, the king's
decree carries with it thepenalty of torture and death for
(27:16):
anyone who would speak againstthe god of Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego.
And then, in our last verse forthe day, verse 30, the king
promoted Shadrach, meshach andAbednego in the province of
Babylon.
If we remember, at the end ofchapter 2, the king had also
promoted Shadrach, meshach andAbednego over the province of
(27:40):
Babylon, and their initialappointment was at the request
of Daniel, who had been giventhe authority over the province
for interpreting the king'sdream.
It would seem now, however,these three companions are both
restored to their priorpositions, but also promoted in
such a way that they have moreauthority, perhaps full
(28:03):
authority, over the province ofBabylon.
Thank you for joining me forDaniel, chapter 3.
God bless you this week.
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