They cast them into the burning fiery furnace

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Daniel 3:19-23

One thing you never want to do is make the king mad. But that is just what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had just done. They had refused to worship the golden image Nebuchadnezzar had made and instead turned to the God of Israel telling the king that God would save them but even if He did not they still refused to worship any other gods.

So the king heated an already hot oven even hotter, in fact seven times as hot as normal. So hot in fact that the king’s own men were killed just by getting close enough to toss the three into the fiery furnace. Had this been a TV series we would end the season here. Everyone would have to wait until next year to see just what had become of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But God’s word is not a TV series and we do not have to wait for what happens next.

Still, what is the story ended here? What if God did not save Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Would this have diminished God or show us that His powers are limited or maybe His love is limited? Of course not. To believe that one needs to take a very limited view of whom God is and who we are. That view sees this life as all there is or at the very least as the most important part of our lives. But is this is the most important part of an eternal existence it is very short and for the most part not very easy.

We can become so fixated on this life and cling to it so hard that we forget that the best is yet to come. We have eternity to spend with God doing his work and worshiping and praising Him directly not from a distance. In the next phase of our life God will make His dwelling place with us. We need to remember that we are just passing through this place. Any bad things that may happen to us here are just a blink of an eye on our eternal lives. Real healing and real peace are not for this world. Real healing and real peace will be ours in the new earth. That is a place where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain and no more tears. We will be cured of all our ailments. That is where we belong.

Have a blessed day,

David

But if not

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

Too often we want to make conditional deal with God. We might pray that we will do something for God if only He will give us something in return. When we do so we are treating God like one of our buddies, someone who is our equal not like the God of the universe. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not try to bargain with God.

They had faith that God would save them from the death that the king had in store for them but even if God did not save them they still refused to bow down to any god but God. They knew that whatever God gad planned for them God was in control. Their lives were in God’s hands not Nebuchadnezzar.

We get so caught up in what God can do for us that we too often forget that it is we who need to be doing things for God. We are commanded to spread the Good News to all the world. Our reward is not here on this earth but in the next life on the new earth. Whatever rewards we received in the here and now are just bonus blessings.

Have a blessed day,

David

But if you do not worship

Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” Daniel 3:13-15

It is not good to make the king mad. Of course you need to make sure you don’t anger the wrong king. Make an earthly king mad and he may punish you and that punishment may be severe but earthly kings can only inflict punishment for just so long. The human body can only endure so much punishment then it will shut down. But if you turn away from the King of Kings that decision will be an eternal one.

In today’s verses we see that Nebuchadnezzar has called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to give them one last chance to bow down and worship the golden idol the king has had built. For the majority of the world at Daniel’s time this would not seem to be much of a problem. After all what was one more god? Typically when a people were conquered they would accept the gods of the conquer and in some instances the conquer would accept some or all or the conquered gods. So the Jewish attitude was probable a bit of a puzzle to most. Still the wise men of Babylon were not to let this golden opportunity to get rid of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

What about Daniel? Well it is most likely Daniel may have been occupied somewhere else in the kingdom. What we will see later tells us Daniel was no more likely to bow down to a golden idol than Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. No, if the wise men could have included Daniel they would have.

Sometimes we think that we no longer need to worry about worshiping idols such as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were required to do. We would of course be wrong. Most of the times we set up our own idols in place of God. Maybe it is our job or it could be a fancy car or extravagant house. Society wants us to worship at the altar of tolerance. We are told that not only should we have to accept people’s differences but we need to embrace these differences, else we will be called haters. No we have just as many idols today to worship as they did back in Daniel’s time. What we need is to show the same devotion to God as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Have a blessed day,

David

These men pay no attention to you

Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3:8-12

It seems it is human nature that whenever someone does well others become jealous and wish harm to the person. When Daniel was able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and was rewarded by the king he may have impressed the king but he also made enemies of the wise men of Babylon. Then when Daniel shared his new powers with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, his friends, they also gained the wise men as enemies.

I am sure that as soon as Daniel and his friends were promoted by the king the wise men began to plot their downfall. One of the things that made the Jews different from all the surrounding people was their monotheism. They worshiped one and only one God, the God of Abraham. Even surrounded by polytheists the devout Jew remained loyal to God. So when the wise men saw that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not complying with the king’s order to worship the idol they went to the king and let him know what was going on.

Every blessing from God runs the risk of having some else get jealous of the person who was blessed. This can happen with unbelievers but is especially bad when fellow Christians become jealous of other Christians. We can think why is that person doing so well when they are no better than I am. Or maybe we think we really deserve that nice house or that new car. So rather than concentrate on what work God has for us and how God has blessed us we get bitter. Soon if we allow jealousy to grow we will forget that we have been blessed at all.

This can be especially true in the US as we are constantly bombarded by ads telling us that our self-worth is tied to the things we own rather than to Christ. When we fall for the world’s view of who we are our effectiveness for Christ diminishes. Jealousness, bitterness and ineffectiveness that is not the road Christians should follow. God has laid out a road for us to follow. We may not get all the things we desire but the prize that awaits us in the end will be so much more than we can imagine.

Have a blessed day,

David

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Daniel 3:1-7

So Daniel not only tells Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamed but also gives the king the interpretation of the dream. Nebuchadnezzar then falls down before Daniel in amazement and declares that Daniel’s God is the God of all gods. One might think that after that Nebuchadnezzar just might want to look into Daniel” god a bit farther. We might think so but we would be wrong.

No, instead Nebuchadnezzar created a golden idol for the people in Babylon people to worship. If they refuse he is ready to condemn them to a death in a fiery furnace. Not much had changed. Of course Nebuchadnezzar was acting as most rulers of the era did. Kings during that time forced their people to worship whichever god the king chose to worship and some even elevated themselves to the role of a god.

What this did cause was a problem among the Jewish captives. Those who still followed God knew that they were commanded to worship only God and no other gods or idols. Today’s verses set up a confrontation between the king and the Jews. If the Jews refuse to worship the golden idol they face a horrible death but if they follow Nebuchadnezzar’s order they face the wrath of God.

Have a blessed day,

David

King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court. Daniel 2:46-49

Both before and after Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel gave all credit to God. After the dream was interpreted what does Nebuchadnezzar do? He falls on his face and pays homage to Daniel. We are not told of Daniel’s reaction but as a pious Jew he would have been shocked to see someone, anyone, falling to their knees before another man. Nebuchadnezzar does acknowledge God but only as the God of gods making God the chief God but not the only god.

Nebuchadnezzar then makes Daniel ruler over the province of Babylon and puts him over all the wise men of Babylon. This power given to Daniel will put him at greater odds with the wise men of Babylon and as we will read later on they will conspire to kill both Daniel and his three friends.

Daniel uses his new found authority to put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of Babylon. They too will have the wise men against them.

One think that I take away from today’s verses is that even when people are confronted with some great event too many are more likely to give credit to men rather than God Just as Nebuchadnezzar did. But I also see how God can reward those who call on Him in times of trouble and then give God the glory for the outcome.

Have a blessed day,

David

A kingdom that shall never be destroyed

And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” Daniel 2:44-45

The final part of the dream is a large rock that is carved out of the earth and destroys the statue. That is the kingdoms of men. So what or better who is the stone cut from the mountain by no human hand? I don’t think it is any surprise that it is Christ who is the rock that will crush the kingdoms of earth.

Now most think that these verses tell about the end times when Jesus will come back and establish His kingdom but I believe it also tell us about Jesus first appearance. While Jesus’ first coming was to provide a way for each of us to be reconciled with God the Father, He also changed to world in a radical way. A way that diminished the power of earthly kingdoms while increasing the worth of the individual.

Before Jesus slavery was the norm. The only ones with true power were the wealthy male land owners. Kings ruled with absolute authority and human life was inconsequential. Women and children were the property of men. Then after Jesus things began to change. Not quickly but gradually over time.

Jesus elevated the status of both women and children. He had women disciples and talked to women and allowed them to learn from Him, something that was unheard of for a Jewish rabbi to do. He told His followers that the Kingdom of God was for the little children and for adults to enter it they needed to come as children. And when He was resurrected it was not men to whose He first appeared but to the women.

Little by little as Christianity spread attitudes began to change. People began to see each other as brothers and sisters. They began to see that slaver was wrong that we should not keep our brother in chains. Women began to see their worth in society change and children were no longer treated as property. Yes we still have a long way to go but we are still in the flesh and the world still needs to see Jesus as who He really is, the Christ and the Son of God.

That is when we need turn to the end times and Jesus’ second coming. Then and only then will we see heaven on earth. After Jesus splits His sheep from the goats of the world and sends them to their self-selected place away from God’s presence will a new kingdom be established. That kingdom is the one that will never end.

Have a blessed day,

David