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Daniel 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.
This chapter is a good one to study for it shows how we can start out with the
truth and good intentions but get sidetracked and even into apostasy.
He previously had a dream which only Daniel by the spirit of God could
interpret. In the dream he (Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold on the beast in
his dream. He probably started out being humbled before God because of the
interpretation of the dream which also showed to him that there is a God that
knows all things and it is not the gods of the nations that he previously was
familiar with.
For some reason the king got sidetracked and instead of staying humble and
learning from Daniel the ways of God, he set up and image of gold probably
representing himself and used it as an object of worship. Mankind has always had
the temptation to substitute God for an image made by man.
I emphasize many times in my writings that the church needs to avoid this
temptation and stay clear of images even those intended to represent a likeness
to Jesus, Mary and the apostles. People have a tendency to want to worship
something they cay see and it is forbidden in the Holy Scriptures to make idols
and then bow down to them in worship even if in our minds we think we are
worshipping the true God. Flee from idolatry the apostle John says. There are
demonic influences behind the idols and statues so that we get a religious
feeling and it fools us into thinking it is God we are feeling. It is not God no
matter what kind of feeling we have. We also need to be careful of the thing we
call "the Christmas spirit." It is a good feeling we get at Christmas time with
all the lights, gifts and family gatherings. This good feeling may not be a bad
thing necessarily but it may not be God. It just may not be His spirit we are
feeling, a substitute. It may even cause us to feel sorry for the poor and help
them which is good but it is a result of a religious feeling and may not be from
God. We have to be careful not to substitute another spirit for God's Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not going to lead us into idol worship or voluntary
humility or the worship of angels. We worship God in spirit and in truth. No
lies like Santa Claus or images will be needed in true worship.
Dan 3:2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the
governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the
sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the
image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Dan 3:3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the
treasurers, the counselors, 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.
Dan 3:4 Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations,
and languages,
Dan 3:5 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:
Dan 3:6 And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Any false religion that man sets up will in most cases be forced upon all. There
is no religious toleration in false religious systems. This is always the case.
Demons are behind all false religion and they do not want people to worship the
true God so they will influence their false prophets to forbid by the threat of
death anyone from worshipping different than the majority in power.
In the United States there are many false religions but our laws of freedom of
religion keep them from being able to force this on everyone but if it wasn't
for our laws, they would attempt to do so. We hear all the time of some cult
that has tried to use force in secret but the minute they become known, the law
will stop it. In other countries where there is no separation of religion and
state, the use of force exists.
Unfortunately having freedom also allows freedom to do evil and our only way to
combat this is to teach and preach the truth of God's word with all our hearts
so that the innocent are not deceived. This is why we should never be tempted to
move away from the sound biblical teaching of the bible in order to have unity.
Yes, the bible may cause division but that is preferable to a one world religion
that persecutes and destroys those that do not agree with them. They soon
substitute the word of God for the traditions of men when they get too big. It
has happened before and it will happen again. Power corrupts.
Dan 3:7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people,
the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
This doesn't mean it is wrong to use instruments in worship but we must use it
with caution. We must make sure we worship God in spirit and in truth and we are
not merely being worked up with loud music.
Music was used in this case to stir up passion and worked up people to a
feverish state and caused them to willingly worship this image of gold. This is
why I do not trust in a lot of entertainment, hype and attempts to work up
crowds when we gather for worship. What happens when people leave and the music
stops, can they still live godly lives and influence others to believe in the
gospel. A few praying people going into the service before it starts and
inviting the presence of God and the will of God in the midst is a better
way. We must not lose our dependency upon God at any time.
Dan 3:8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the
Jews.
Be very careful of people false accusing when their motive is not because they
are concerned about truth and holiness but their motive is jealousy or hatred
for one who represents God in reality.
Dan 3:9 They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever.
Dan 3:10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the
sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds
of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image:
Dan 3:11 And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into
the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Dan 3:12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the
province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have
not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which
thou hast set up.
Dan 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
People in power who are on an ego trip usually will act in this way if someone
opposes them or disobeys their direct orders.
Dan 3:14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image
which I have set up?
Dan 3:15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,
flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall
down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye
shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who
is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Here old Nebuchadnezzar challenges their God. He should have known better. Had
he forgotten Daniel already? Perhaps Daniel was out of the country on an errand
at this time and was not present.
Dan 3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O
Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
Dan 3:17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
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.
We see these faithful Jewish men were like Daniel in spirit. They knew God could
deliver them but just in case God chose not to, they would not worship this
image even if it meant their deaths.
I've read of many instances where people were saved by miracles but in many
cases people are martyred for their faith instead. These Hebrews were willing to
accept the will of God in either case.
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 spoke, and
commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was
wont to be heated.
We see here clearly a type of personality that cannot tolerate anyone who
disagrees with them. These are the tyrants of society and they are some like
this in the history of the church. They do more harm to the gospel then anyone
else. The first thing we need to learn is not to lord over people and also not
to feel threatened if someone disagrees with us.
Martin Luther had a problem in this area. He started out having compassion on
the Jewish people but when they rejected his message he turned on them with
fury. This resulted in much evil against the Jews in later years. It actually
justified the holocaust in the minds of some.
Dan 3:20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery
furnace.
Dan 3:21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats,
and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery
furnace.
Dan 3:22 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.
This shows that we do not get away with evil. If any soldier would have found
something else to do during this time, they would have been fortunate.
Dan 3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down
bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Dan 3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and
spoke, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the
midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of
the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of
God.
This could have been an angel. Whoever it was, Nebuchadnezzar thought it was
like some kind of god. I like to think it was the Son of God, Himself whom we
now know as Jesus.
Dan 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery
furnace, and spoke, 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 of the midst of the fire.
Now we see the old king acknowledging that the God of these Hebrews was in fact
the real God. He later gets exalted in himself again and robs God of glory which
we shall study later. Nebuchadnezzar is a good example of people who get
"religion" but are not really born again by God's spirit. They do not really
humble themselves before God and repent of sin, they only get an emotional
religious experience that is temporary, sort of like the parable of the seed
falling on thorny or stony ground. It doesn't last when the trials come. It
could also be a head knowledge religion and not a change of heart and life that
comes when we come face to face with the real God.
Dan 3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors,
being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power,
nor was a hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the
smell of fire had passed on them.
Dan 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, 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 yielded their bodies, that
they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
Dan 3:29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language,
which speak any thing 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 can deliver after this sort.
Here we see religion rare up its ugly head. It was good that he recognized that
there was a real God but he had to try to make up for his past mistake by making
this decree. His heart was not changed. This reminds me of the supposed
conversion of Constantine who was good in that he stopped persecution of
Christians but he was bad in that he used Christianity to unite his kingdom and
began to use force to convert the pagans to Christianity. In doing so we had the
church full of people who had not become true born again believers but only
changed religions.
Dan 3:30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the
province of Babylon.
We see the king wanting to cut off all opposition to his decrees but we can
remember that Daniel was the true believer who desired to save the lives of all
even the heathen wise men of chapter 2.
We must remember the words of Jesus to His true followers:
Luke 9:54 - 56And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord,
wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even
as Elijah did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what
manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy
men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
There is a time coming when God's judgment will come but it must be done by God
and God alone, the church must not harm but preach the gospel.
Daniel Chapter 4
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