THE FAITHFUL IN THE FIRE
DANIEL 3:1-30
INTRODUCTION
In the land of Babylon the children of Israel were confronted with paganism and idolatry. The worship of the synagogue allowed the Jewish people to worship their God. This lesson will look at the faith of three Hebrew boys as they faced a fiery furnace.
THE THE GOLDEN GOD OF THE
KING
The King of Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar the conqueror of God's people. The King like many folks today erected himself a god to worship. Being the King he could command everybody to worship his god.
Some folks today keep their little Buddhas, St Christopher medals ,and many other objects that they trust and have faith in.
The King was not cheap in his beliefs. This idoltrous man built himself a golden god.
The image that he worshipped and wanted everyone else to worship stood sixty cubits high. In our English measurement thats about 90 feet high and 9 feet wide.
Nebuchadnezzar looked up at least sixty cubits to see his God, when in reality he should have looked up higher than the heavens. The golden god of Nebuchadnezzar was located in the plain of Dura in the providence of Babylon to be more precise.
Dan. 3:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,
whose height was threescore
cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of
Dura, in the
province of Babylon.
I cannot understand why Nebuchadnezzar built this golden god after the God of heaven revealed his dream in chapter 2.
But this does not surprise me, because I have known people to leave the Lord Jesus and his church, and turn to cults such as Jehovah Witnesses, Mormans, Seventh Day Adventist, and other denominational bodies.
The king decreed that his priests and rulers would come dedicate this image for worship.
Dan. 2:3-4 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather
together the satraps, the deputies,
and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs,
and
all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image
which
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the satraps, the deputies,
and the
governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and
all the rulers
of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image
that
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that
Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald cried aloud, To
you it is commanded,
O peoples, nations, and languages,
When the people heard different instruments of music playing they were all to fall down and worship the image. Every person from all nations were under orders to fall down and worship the idol.
Dan. 3:4-5 Then the herald cried aloud, To you it
is commanded, O peoples, nations,
and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,
flute, harp,
sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship
the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up;
To keep everyone obedient and in line the King declared that if a person refused to fall down and worship, they were to be burned in the midst of a fiery furnace.
Dan. 3:6 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth
shall the same hour be cast into
the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
When the time of worship was sounded all the people hit their knees and prayed to their golden god.
Dan. 3:7 Therefore at that time, when all the
peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute,
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations,
and
the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar
the king had set up.
THREE WHO WOULD BEND OR BOW TO THE GOLDEN GOD
In the land of Babylon were three young men who would not bend, or bow, and worship this golden god.
These young would not submit under order of death, they were: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. This faithful trio knew there was only one God they could serve.
Ex. 20:3-5 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee
a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,
or that
is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Thou shalt not
bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon
the third
and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me,
Daniel may have been out of town or else we would have read about him to. Dedicated Daniel would not have bowed or bended his knee to this idol.
The Hebrew trio eveidently were despised and resented by certain of the wise men of Babylon. The chaldeans and the other astrologers could not tell the King his dream and the Hebrew Daniel had been elevated as well as his companions in the favour of the King. The wise men that knew the Hebrew boys faith could not wait to squel on our faithful examples. Daniel 3:8-12
There are some things that is legal and lawful under society but is unlawful in God's sight. Things like pornography, abortion, gambling and many other things. The Hebrew boys chose like Moses to suffer affliction rather than to curry favour with the people.
Heb. 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he was grown up,
refused to be called the son
of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to share ill treatment
with the
people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; accounting
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for
he looked
unto the recompense of reward.
I am thankful they young men didn't say "well everybody else is doing it". They had to much courage and faith than to do this.
Why are we so contnet to follow the multitude and do evil?
They would not bow or bend to the idol even one time.
Adam and Eve only ate of the forbidden fruit one time and it damned their soul.
Gen. 3:2-6 And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the
fruit of the trees of the garden
we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden,
God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest
ye die. And
the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for
God doth know
that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye
shall be as
God, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the
tree was good
for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was
to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave
also unto
her husband with her, and he did eat.
Some young people only drink and drive one time and kill someone. Sometimes folks have sexual relations only once and become pregant or infected with AIDS, venereal dieases or a number of other ailments.
Being a child of God takes courage to stand against sin, Satan and self. These men in this account had the metal and courage to be the best they could be!
I Cor. 15:58 Be ye steadfast unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord.
They chose to die faithful to God than to live and be unfaithful!
May we choose to die free in Christ than to live in spiritual death in sin.
When confronted by the King they declared they would not bow nor bend to the golden god.
Dan. 3:18 But if not, be it known unto thee,
O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
The king was told that they knew God could deliver them but they did
not know if God would deliver them. The thing they did know and was
certain of was that they would not worship Nebuchadnezzar's golden idol.
THE PUNISHMENT AND PRESERVATION OF THE THREE
The king was not used to be told no! After he was informed that the Hebrew boys would not bow or bend then he was very angry.
Dan. 3:19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and
the form of his visage was changed
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded
that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to
be heated.
The King commanded the furnace to be heated 7 times hotter than usual
and that the young men be burned alive.
Dan. 3:19-20 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and
the form of his visage was changed
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded
that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to
be heated.
And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace
The servants of the king were so diligent to do the bidding of the king that they died putting the young men in the furnace.
The fire of the furnce was so hot that the mightest men of the King died. The three Hebrew boys and their faith went into the fire while his men died on the outside of the furnace.
Dan. 3:21-22 Then these men were bound in their hosen,
their tunics, and their mantles,
and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery
furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent,
and the
furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.
The king looked into the furnce and saw four men walking inside while
his men lay roasting outside of the fire.
The Hebrew boys were in their bonds no more but were free. The fire
did not sing or melt them into ashes.
The most amazing thing Nebuchadnezzar saw was a forth form in the flames
that he describes as being like the son of God.
Dan. 3:22-25 Therefore because the king's commandment was
urgent, and the furnace
exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Then
Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste: he spake
and
said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst
of the
fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He
answered and
said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they
have no
hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
For the Christian the hymnal says it well: And
he walks with me and he talks with me
And he tells me I am his own
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known.
The three Hebrews were summoned from the fire and the smell of fire was not upon them. The hair was not singed, they were not burned or blacked. The King thought his fire would barbeque the boys but God protected them. Even the King admitted the impotence of his God and the power of the God of heaven, whom the three companions served.
Dan. 3:26-28 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the
mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he
spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of
the Most
High God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego
came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the satraps, the deputies,
and the governors,
and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, that
the fire had no
power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither
were their hosen
changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them. Nebuchadnezzar
spake and said,
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his
angel,
and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's
word, and
have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god,
except their
own God.
Nebuchadnezzar quickly composed himself and issued a royal edict.
He proclaimed that the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was not to
be blasphemed. If any spoke against God, they were to be cut in pieces,
and their houses renovated
into manure heaps!
Dan. 3:28-29 Nebuchadnezzar spake and
said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his
servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and have
yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except
their own God. Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation,
and
language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a
dunghill;
because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort.
The Lord rewarded his children by sparing their lives in the furnace. The King rewarded them by promoting them in standing and rank among all of Babylon.
Dan. 3:30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon.
CONCLUSION
When we face the fire of life we need our faith to sustain us.
The God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is our God and as his children
through Jesus Christ God's son we can walk the fiery furnaces of life.
Do you have the faith to stand sin against satan and the crowd? To
become a child of God on must obey the lord. His plan of salvation
is this:
Believe Jesus as the son of God, John 8:24
Repent and turn from sin, Acts 2:38
Confess with the mouth the diety of Christ, Romans 10:10
Baptized, immersed for the saving of the soul, Mark 16:16
Faithful serve the lord unto death, Revelation 2:10