Trust in Exile (Daniel 3:1-30)

The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

All right, good morning. You can go ahead, grab your Bibles, open up to Daniel chapter three. Daniel three, as we continue in our series this morning, as you’re turning to Daniel three, imagine for a moment that you and your family have gone to Niagara Falls, not just to see the falls, beautiful as they are, but to see a world famous tightrope walker who’s going to walk from one side of the falls to the other. And because you got there nice and early, you have front row seats. I mean, you are right there. You can hear the roar of the crowd behind you, the roar of the falls in front of you. You’re getting, you know, sea spray on you, all that good stuff. And actually get to interact with a tightrope walker some and so when he first goes out, you know, he plays with the crowd. He kind of steps out and does one of these right away, and everybody gasps, and all that good stuff. And he looks back and winks at you, and it’s fun. And then he’s, you know, goes across. He runs across. He is like superhuman kind of thing. So he’s doing cartwheels. He rides a unicycle across, and then he grabs a wheelbarrow, and he looks at you, because, again, you made the mistake of being in the front row. Okay, so splash zone for the falls, but also splash zone for the tightrope walker. And so looks at you, and he says, What do you think? Do you think I can push this wheelbarrow across and you’re like everything I’ve seen you do? Yes, I don’t think that’ll be a problem for you. What if it were full? Like, absolutely, I, again, don’t doubt it in the slightest. Do you think I could push a person across. Of course, you could hop in. How do you respond? Because you’ve just said you think he can do it. I’m scared of heights, so there’s a right answer here. Okay, like, Absolutely not. You should not get in the wheelbarrow. Okay, we understand that, but, but you understand that the question that’s really being asked. There is a question that’s being asked of us all the time in different ways, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly, which is, do you trust me? Do you trust me? And that question’s never asked in a vacuum, is it? Nobody’s ever just like, hey, just checking in. Do you trust me? Great. Thanks. Good to know. It’s always followed up with a command. Then, right? Do you trust me? All right, then take my hand. I’ma pull you across and like that. And how you answer that question probably depends on the person who’s asking it and your relationship to them. So if it’s kind of a slimy salesman, do you trust me? No, I don’t. I don’t think this is gonna make my life better. This is the best deal that I can get. Please go away. If it’s your parent you know, loves you and is explaining to you something that needs to happen right now. You know, you’re like, I had this just this week, right? I had to take one of our kids to get a test, medical test done, not a painful one, but this child had just seen a bunch of shots earlier in the week. So, like, you know, apologies to Dave and Jenny, but you know, doctors are evil, like, that’s what happens. They stick things in you. No, I don’t trust you. Was definitely the vibe I was getting from this particular child. But then, you know, I was able to this one’s not going to hurt, okay, it’s not going to actually did the test. That was how fun it was, and it didn’t hurt. And it was like, Okay, I learned to trust. I learned to trust. Do you trust me? It’s a question that God asks of us daily as well and in small ways. In truth, every time we have the option to obey Him or disobey Him, we’re being asked, Do you trust me? You want me to forgive my enemy? Do you trust me? Do you trust me? This is for your good. Okay? You know like that’s the question. So asked of us many times a day in small ways, but every now and again, it’s asked of us in a really, really big way, and that’s what we get in our passage this morning, famous in store, famous story involving Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I’m sure many of you are familiar with it, so if you haven’t been with us so far and Daniel, here’s where we are. Daniel and his friends. These are our God fearing Jews who have been taken as basically prisoners of war from Jerusalem to Babylon. They’ve now been trained up in the Babylonian court and are serving as advisors to King Nebuchadnezzar, pagan god and so he’s the one who’s going to, you know, kind of create this crisis for them that we’re going to watch unfold in three scenes, with the question that’s just hanging over the whole thing is, do they trust him? Do they trust God? And, of course, the follow up question is, will we all right? So let’s look at it again. Three scenes. Scene one, jealous rivals. Let me read it for us. Daniel. Chapter three, verses, one to 12. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, 60 cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of dura on the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before it. Then the Herald loudly proclaimed nations and peoples of every language. This is what you are commanded to do as soon as you hear the sound of the horn flute. Zith. Lyre harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre harp, and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. At this time, some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, May the king live forever. Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harppipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up. Alright. Pause there. So we’ve got some troubling connections to last week. Last week, you may remember Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a giant statue. Okay, we got a giant statue again, going up at this point. And remember, in the dream last week, the head was made of gold, and that was Nebuchadnezzar His kingdom. And then it was going to be supplanted by other kingdoms that got weaker and weaker and weaker and all of that. So it’s interesting that he’s now setting up a statue that is entirely gold. It’s almost as though he’s saying no kingdom’s going to supplant mine. Not even God’s like so this is going to be gold from top to bottom, from head to toe. Probably not a good sign that he sets it up. This plane of dura is the same place that the Tower of Babel was connected, was constructed. And of course, it is the same sin at work here, where he is trying to make a name for himself, as opposed to exalting the name of God. Actually pay attention to how often King Nebuchadnezzar the name shows up here. It shows up quite a few times. And maybe most troubling of all is the command. When you hear the music and you’re standing in front of this giant statue you’re supposed to fall down and worship. And it’s translated a little bit differently, but those are exactly the same words that we have in chapter two, verse 46 when it says that King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor. So he had learned this lesson, that Daniel’s God is God of gods and Lord of kings, but enough time has passed that he has now forgotten the God he once honored. Probably a good reminder for us, because I would imagine some of us could point back to moments like that too. There were times when God was especially real to us. We knew who he is, what he’s done for us in a meaningful way, and then the time passes, and we just kind of come down off that mountain high. That’s what happened here with Nebuchadnezzar anyway. So he summons leaders from every part of His kingdom, diverse cultures represented. And it’s important for us to remember that these are also conquered lands. So this is a moment of empire worship as well. The picture here would be like in the days of the Soviet Union. And this would be like saying it’s not just people from Russia, but, you know, we’ve got the Lithuanians and the Latvians and the Estonians. We’ve got people from Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and from Belarus and Moldova and all the rest. Right? They’ve all come together, and they’re all doing the same thing. So it’s showing the strength and unity of the empire itself. And it seems to go well, like Nebuchadnezzar is very happy presiding over all the pomp and circumstance of this moment, except that there’s one group that wouldn’t participate, which means he doesn’t have the unity in his empire that he thought he did, which is going to explain our next section when we get there in a moment. It is interesting, though, that for as faithful as these Jews are, they are quietly faithful. They’re not strident in their disobedience of the king, which is in marked contrast, again, to some today in American evangelicalism, where there’s just a sense of like, you gotta get on social media and start hate posting right away. How dare the government tell me to you know, that’s not what they do. And by the way, is not new, a unique sin to America or anything like that. Like there’s always been Christians like this, origin, famous church theologian, not a good one, mind you, but a famous church theologian from hundreds and hundreds of years after Christ, he, at one point wanted to throw himself in front of the Emperor’s chariot, Caesar’s chariot, you know, proclaiming Christ as Lord as He gets run over. And you’re like, does that savor of Jesus? Like, does that seem like the kind of thing Jesus would do? No, of course, not. Also not what these faithful Jews do either so they are faithful, but they’re quietly faithful. They’re so quietly faithful that Nebuchadnezzar didn’t even notice.
Somebody had to tell on them. Somebody had to tattle. And this is tattling for sure. So some astrologers, it says there in the text, verse 12, though, explains exactly. Why they’re tattling on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and it takes us back to the end of the last chapter. Remember, because they were faithful, because Daniel had interpreted the dream, they were raised up also on on Daniel’s request, and so they were made administrators over the province of Babylon, and that’s what’s talked about in verse 12. There are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, right? Like that’s the issue. So these are either people who got passed over for promotion or maybe these are the ones who got demoted to make way for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. But that’s what’s happening here. These are jealous rivals. This isn’t just tattling on somebody who did something wrong. This is tattling on somebody who did something wrong so that you can take their place. This is like, you know, telling your coach that the captain didn’t finish running the lap, but, you know, took a little shortcut, not because you’re really concerned about the athleticism of the team, because he’s hoping you’ll be made captain afterwards, you know, like, that’s what’s happening here, and that’s why some of you probably had this question as you were reading this week, even, that’s why we only know these three Jews didn’t participate. Like, was it only of all the people in the empire, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that didn’t bow down? What about Daniel? Did any of you ask that question? Like, was he just bowing down? Of course, Daniel wasn’t bowing down. This thing, everything we know about Daniel, but Daniel doesn’t matter, because he’s not in the way right now. So that’s why we know it’s these three Jews. But the big question we have when we read this story then is, why wouldn’t they participate? Like, what’s the big deal? Especially given the severity of the punishment? Would not like to be tossed into a blazing furnace, so why not just go ahead and kind of do this thing right? But they were obeying a higher command. Reminds me of what Peter and the apostles said after the Jewish leaders, ironically, just after Christ’s death and resurrection and ascension into heaven, they told the apostles, you gotta stop preaching Jesus. Okay, you’re causing problems for us. You need to stop preaching Jesus and Peter and the apostles. Peter and the apostles go like we have to obey God rather than human beings. And that’s what Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego are saying, at least internally. They will not disobey God’s commands like You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an image and worship it. You know, like, these are commands one and two. These seem like pretty important ones. There is a good lesson for us in this moment, though, especially where our culture is today. Here is the reminder that not all religious activity is inherently good. There are a lot of people in our culture who look at this and go, this is a beautiful moment. We got all sorts of different cultures coming together, all doing the same thing. And hey, all roads lead to heaven anyway. So what does it matter? It’s beautiful music. It’s a transcendent moment. Let’s just join in and participate. But the thing about worship is that the object matters more than the subject, and that’s not how we think today. Ever since Descartes and we took this subjective turn way back when I think, therefore I am so suddenly I became the most important person in my universe, at least, and it’s kind of the same thing. I worship, therefore it must be good. But what we’re learning here is that how sincere or authentic or meaningful or genuine, your worship is doesn’t matter. What matters is, whom are you worshiping? Is the message true? Is this actually God or not? Helps us as Christians, too, by the way, who would probably go right exactly, yes, we want to worship the right object. We want to worship the God who is there, but it still reminds us that not all religious activity is good. And so there, like, I have had people say things to me like, well, you know, like, I know I’m doing fine. I send my tithe check in every month, and you go, what? What do you think that proves to yourself? Never mind before the God who sees your heart. Nothing. Being here in this room does not, by itself, accomplish anything, so we just have to have that reminder, like, where is our heart? Are we actually here worshiping God? And this is good that we got that little bit in there, because, again, some of you may have been reading this text and thinking, How relevant is this for my life right now, really, because when was the last time that you were tempted to bow down and worship a statue? This is a replica of Nebuchadnezzar statue. I think it’s an Oscar actually, not a real one. Mind you like, we know that it would be silly to worship this, even if this were real gold, which it is not, I can promise you, okay, it’s the silliness that Isaiah draws out in Isaiah chapter 44 it’s maybe the most humorous chapter in all of Scripture, and Isaiah is talking about the folly of worship. Idols. And he pictures, you know, a carpenter who’s there with a chunk of wood, who’s carving out a statue to worship. And, you know, bits of the wood are carved off, and he throws them in the fire so that his hands don’t get cold while he’s carving. And then he puts others in the fire to bake bread that he can offer. So he’s burning the wood to bake bread to offer to the rest of the wood. Like this is ridiculous. Who would do this like a hunk of metal or wood can’t see or listen or speak or save you? And everybody knows that now, the pagans who were worshiping things like this would have responded, right? This isn’t God. This isn’t the god we’re worshiping. This is just an image of the God that we are worshiping. But we’ve already learned in Daniel that the God behind these statues also can’t see or listen or save you, because none of them could tell Daniel’s advisers or Nebuchadnezzar advisors what the dream was. Only the God who is there could do that. But there is a deeper issue than statues of gold. Because, again, I don’t think many of us are tempted to worship a statue of gold. It was John Calvin, much better theologian than Origen, who said that our hearts are idol factories. Our hearts are idol factories. You don’t need wood or gold. It happens right here. What Calvin is saying is that we constantly find things to worship, even if they don’t have, you know, God names attached to them. And he actually says, and is very true, that behind every one of these idols, behind every one of these statues, is the idol of self. I’m really just worshiping Me. I mean, think about it. This isn’t an idol, of course. It’s not really a pagan idol. It’s a statue. I mean, it’s a it’s a trophy. You can buy these on Amazon, and you hand them out to people who win prizes, like whoever came up with the best booth at the Fall Festival. That’s what this is, by the way. Okay, now you know, there you go. So sign up in the lobby after this. It’s a trophy, but, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Because think of how quickly our trophies can become our idols, like success and achievement. I am trusting in my achievements. I want a trophy, guys. I’m trusting in my achievements to give me that sense of worth, significance, to quote the Catechism question we read earlier, right? I’m trusting in something like success to give me hope and happiness, significance and security. Or maybe it’s money. We certainly trust money to give us happiness. And how about security? Absolutely right, or relationships. If somebody’s in a relationship with me, that means it proves that I’m lovable, and so that’s where I’m going to put my trust or control or power, just on down the line. The point is, these are truly idols, even if there’s no statue, these are truly idols. We truly worship them like we fall down in worship at appointed times to serve these false gods. We make sacrifices to them, don’t we? It’s probably not a goat, but time and money and energy, absolutely, that’s worship. Remember, our big question today is, do you trust me? The question next to that is, do you trust this? Do you trust this to save you? And it’s a real question. Look, I’m gonna quote Tom Brady. I’ve quoted him before. This was after he’d only won three Super Bowls, so this was, like, his rookie season, or something like that. He’s married to a supermodel. He has absolutely everything that we think will make us happy. He has got fame and fortune. He’s got the relationship, he’s got the success. He’s got the achievement, you name it, the thing that you think is going to make your life better. He had it. He said this, why do I have three so Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, Hey, man, this is what it is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life me. I think it’s got to be more than this. I mean, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be. I mean, I’ve done it. I’m 27 and what else is there for me? And do you think four more Super Bowl rings later, he changed his mind, marriage ended in divorce anyway. Like, yeah, he’s the greatest of all time. No one cares. How often do you think about Bob Gibson? Some of you are like, I don’t even know what you just said, exactly, exactly my point.
That’s the temptation, though, to think that this will give us what it absolutely cannot. And there is, of course, the pressure to conform like worship the statue you get tossed in a fiery furnace. Again, probably not our danger today here, at least I’m. You act like everyone else in culture, or you will be subjected to teasing and judgment you get squeezed into the world’s mold. How will we possibly resist? The only way we’ll resist is by asking the question, can this save me? Can this save me? Because if your idol is yourself, that is really bad news on a bad day, because then you are on your own. If the God you are worshiping, the God you are trusting in, is yourself, and you are on your own when trouble hits like how is your success going to save you? After you fail, you polish your trophy and be like, Well, I used to be good, at least you see the danger of trusting yourself. It’s a little bit like buying a trophy of a tightrope walker and heading out on the rope yourself, not going to help you, not when it matters. It’s still up to you. But our God is a living God, and he sees and he hears and he can save us, and that’s what we need to remember, especially when Scene two, we have angry kings. Angry kings. Let me keep reading verses 13 to 23 furious with rage. Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, is it true Shadrach Meshach and Abednego that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, Hilaire, harp, pipe and all kinds of music. If you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made very good, but if you do not worship it, you’ll be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what God will be able to rescue you from my hand? Shadrach Meshach and Abednego replied to him, King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. In this matter, if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, that God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. The Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual, commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The King’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. And these three men firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Nebuchadnezzar is furious. He summons Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, whose names, as you probably caught as I was reading it, show up a bunch of times in this passage, huh? They never say like they No, it’s always Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, which is also why we know them as Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. They’re kind of interesting. We know Daniel by his Hebrew name, Daniel, not belteshazzo, but we don’t know Hananiah Mishael and Azariah, but few of you would actually be able to say their names. We know them as Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, because this is their story, and it’s happening in a Babylonian context. I do kind of love that we talked about that dual identity week one. And I mean, they’re living it out. They were faithful in Babylon, and they are honored in Scripture by their Babylonian names, even a lesson for us in exile, for sure. But anyway, Nebuchadnezzar summons them to him, and he basically asks them three questions. The first one is, is it true? Did you really not bow down to the statue? The second one is alright, if I give you a second chance, Will you bow down now and then? The third one, if you don’t, what God could possibly save you? That last one is the most important one, because that’s not a question. That’s a challenge, isn’t it? Like what Nebuchadnezzar is saying to them, is your religious fanaticism is about to get you killed. Don’t you think it’s time you tempered it even just a little bit? Of course, this is building suspense for us as well. Remember the first time you hear this story, you don’t know how it’s going to go, like we read in chapter one. Remember that Daniel lived until the first year of King Cyrus, but not Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Is this? It is this the moment when they die? That’s one question we got. The other question we got is, and how are they going to respond? Right here? How are they going to respond to these questions? It turns out the answer is unequivocally no problem whatsoever. So question one, is it true? It says here, we have no need to defend ourselves. This is not a snarky comment. What they’re saying is, basically, we plead guilty, we can make no defense here. You know, like you’re waving your right to attorney. Yeah, absolutely, I can enter the guilty plea. No problem. Don’t need anyone’s help here. So that’s the first. Question. They then answer the third question, what God is able to deliver you? And they say, There’s only one God who can our God, whom, by the way, Nebuchadnezzar, you’ve met before, like you should know better here, but they have this steadfast faith in the living God, and you can just see their minds like strolling back through Scripture and through history. What do you mean? Is there a God who can save is there a God who can make a 90 year old woman conceive the child of the promise? Yeah, I remember that one. What about a God who could help you interpret dreams to save an entire region from famine. Yep, I remember that one too, deliver a whole nation out of slavery in Egypt through plagues and signs and wonders. Uh huh, split the Red Sea, no problem. Jericho walls come tumbling down. Yeah. I think our God can handle this one. That’s the confidence they have here. But notice also that it is a confident submission to God’s will, because they don’t just say he’s going to deliver us. They don’t presume upon God, because then they say, and even if he doesn’t, even if he doesn’t like they know there is no promise in Scripture that he will deliver them from their death here, which is so good, because if they had said that, if they had implied that, I mean, what would they have taken away from all the martyrs throughout history who are faithful to God, and God did not deliver them, one comes to mind immediately. His name was Jesus. God did not deliver him from the cross, but think of all the others. What about Stephen, James, Peter and Paul martyrs in the Old Testament as well? Of course, I’m reminded of the words of revelation 12, verse 11. They triumphed over their enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. That’s Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego right here, and so as a result, and they answer that second question, yeah, if you give us another chance, we still will not bow. They call him Your Majesty. I love that too. Like there’s just a sense of like we’re willing to serve you as king. But we will serve the King of Kings first, and we will not violate his first command in order to obey you. Come What May. And this is just remarkable steadfastness, courage under fire. The image that comes to mind for me, here is, is cleats. Everyone got it. I can move on. Good. No questions. Why cleats you’re asking. I can see your faces. Because what do cleats help you do? Plant your feet, stand firm, right, so that you don’t slip when trial comes. I mean, how does colos say it? We need to be rooted and established in love. What do roots do? They go down deep so the tree doesn’t get knocked over in the wind, and that’s what again, cleats do establish that’s a firm foundation so the building doesn’t give away. Rooted and established in love is such an important part of this too. You can hear in Shadrach Meshach and abednegos Answer that they’re saying like, how could we possibly forsake the God of our covenant, the God who loves us and has bound himself to us. They’re rooted and established in love. That’s what gives them this steadfastness so that they can stand firm in the trial. Viktor Frankl was a Jew who was in concentration camps and later survived the camps, and wrote about the experience of the Jews in these camps during the Holocaust, and wrote about what enabled them to go on in horrors that we can barely even imagine. And he quoted Nietzsche, although probably not in a way that Nietzsche would have approved. But still, he quoted him. He said he who has a why to live can bear with almost any how. That’s what we see here and what we need as well for ourselves, a firm grasp of the why, deep knowledge of gospel truth, the love that’s displayed in the gospel. But even just the shape of the Gospel, the cross precedes resurrection. We die before we’re raised to newness of life. The way to glory passes by the hill of Calvary. And so
we can trust his heart, because we know what our God does with trials and suffering and evil, and he subjugates them to his perfect purposes. We have to see that this is a question for. Us. Now, I know a lot of us, when we read a story like this and kids, maybe this was your experience. Even as you were reading this story in preparation for today, we put ourselves in their shoes, in their cleats, and we ask the question, what would I have done if I had been there? Would I have been found faithful like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and that’s a good question to ask, but there’s a better question to ask, and the better question is, what am I doing now to live out my faith, to be steadfast and immovable no matter what comes because the same battle that we see here is being fought in smaller circumstances all over the place, like you got a question before you, you know, do I? Do I join in teasing the kid who’s new to school so that I can fit in and be accepted? Or will I be quietly faithful and welcome the new kid, invite him her to sit with me at lunch, introduce him to my friends. We got the question of, like, yeah, don’t I have to get a new phone because the latest one just came out, or something like, don’t have to get a new phone so that I’m not one of the losers at school. And thankfully, you grow out of that. You don’t need a new phone, but it’s a new car, so that I you know, keeping up with the Joneses still, so that temptation never goes away. Am I going to let this gospel opportunity, this opportunity to share the faith, pass me by because I don’t want to make the conversation awkward or risk rejection. The only way to answer those questions is to answer the first one, the one that’s hanging over the whole text. Do you trust him? Do you trust him? Then we can obey. Otherwise, I’m trusting in gilded idols. You see, there really are two problems in this text. Think I’ve said before, kind of my whole approach to preaching, we look at the text. What’s the problem? And how is the gospel the solution? Well, what’s the problem? There are two problems. There’s an internal problem and there’s an external problem. The internal problem is the temptation of idolatry and to worship myself instead of God. But the external problem is persecution, the pressure again to to conform and to worship idols, and that external problem can can pressure us to bend internally, to compromise. So what will sustain us? We gotta we gotta put our cleats on right. We gotta dig our feet in. I will not violate the commands of my living and saving God Come What May and by the way, that what may come can be pretty nasty. As you see, it says that the attitude of Nebuchadnezzar changed at this moment. Actually, it says the image of His face changed interesting because they’re being asked to worship an image. So the image of His face changed, and he condemns them to this fiery death. Now, what’s going on here? You picture something like a lime kiln, which probably doesn’t help you. Didn’t help me. I had to google it. Okay, but now I’m an expert on all things lime kiln. So big stone tower, like a chimney, pretty high up, okay, opening at the top, and then at the bottom, you know, like your pizza oven, kind of shape like, you know, where you can work with materials, you can add, you know, fuel for the fire, and get the stuff out at the end, all that kind of stuff. So that’s what’s happening. So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are about to get tossed in the top of this furnace. The problem is that nebuchadnezzar’s commands are so urgent, so irrationally angry, that they actually conflict. So the soldiers at the bottom throw all this fuel in the fire to heat it seven times hotter than it was already right as the soldiers are getting ready to toss Shadrach Meshach and Abednego at the top and so the flames shoot out and kill the soldiers. Shadrach Meshach and Abednego fall in. Don’t miss the irony of this. By the way, remember Nebuchadnezzar has just said to Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, your religious fanaticism is about to get you killed. Maybe you should disobey your God. The irony, though, is that it’s actually obedience to the false and foolish King’s commands that brings death. There’s a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death. That is a warning for us all, but we still don’t know how it turns out, because they just fell into a really hot furnace, every bit as hot as Nebuchadnezzar wanted. How will things turn out for our faithful followers? Last scene, scene, three faithful followers. The rest of the chapter, 24, to 30, then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? You hear the humor in this? Next one. They replied, certainly, Your Majesty, like, okay, he’s losing it. We knew this was gonna happen. That gold statue is about to he said, Look, I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out. Come here. So Shadrach Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. The satcher’s prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was the hair of their heads singed. Their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise be to the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants, they trusted in him and defied the king to man were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I decree the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces. Their houses be turned into piles of rubble for no other God can save in this way. And the king promoted Shadrach Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. So Nebuchadnezzar leaps up because he sees figures dancing in the flames, which is strange enough, but there are four of them, and the fourth one looks like a son of the gods, or maybe even an angel. He says in verse 28 it is important to see that these are Nebuchadnezzar. Thoughts on who this is, not scriptures, so we don’t really know. Who is it that’s in the fire with him? Is this the pre Incarnate Christ, like this? This Jesus before He took on flesh centuries later, maybe the angel of the Lord, or is this just an angel? We don’t know. But whatever else it is, we know that it is, in Tremper longman’s words, a reflection of Emmanuel, a reflection of Emmanuel, because Emmanuel God with us. God is with them in the midst of their trial, exactly as he promised in the passage that Caitlin read for us earlier, right when you pass through the waters, I will be with you when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. Whoever this is, this reflection of Emmanuel is a preview of the gospel God’s commitment to be with us in our deepest need finds supreme fulfillment. And that baby boy born in Bethlehem, whom we call Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus took on flesh. He walked with us, and he faced all the fiery trials and temptations that this world has to offer. He could have walked away from it right when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are giving their way out. Just go ahead and bow down now and we’ll forgive everything like Jesus had that same opportunity. Matthew, chapter four, Satan comes to him and says, just bow down now and I’ll give you all the kingdoms of this world. You can have glory without the cross, but Jesus remains steadfast. He’s got his cleats on right, standing firm. God was with him through it all, except at one point when facing his greatest trial, he was forsaken by God on the cross, forsaken by his father, my God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? And that is the question, right? Why would God forsake Jesus? Why does God stick with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, but abandon Jesus, or better still, why is he faithful to sinners? And remember, these Jews are in Babylon because they sinned. That’s why they’ve been sent into exile. What about you and me? How often have we bowed down to little statues of gold set up in our hearts? Why is God faithful to us but not to the perfect, unblemished, spotless Lamb of God? We know the answer, of course, because that’s what Jesus came to do. Because on the cross, Jesus took on himself the fire that we deserved all those times we were faithless and bowed down to our little golden statues. See, Nebuchadnezzar is not the only king who won’t Brook disobedience,
but our God was willing to punish Christ in our stead, our sin had to be punished, be loving. If he didn’t punish and he wouldn’t be just, he wouldn’t be just he wouldn’t be loving. He’s not gonna let us continue in what will destroy us like it’s not a loving parent who catches a 10 year old smoking and goes, it’s cool, just keep going with it. So God’s not gonna allow us to keep going in our sin that will destroy us, but he was willing to punish Christ in our stead. So we look at a passage. At this and we go, I should be in that fire by myself. Instead, he’s in there with me. And even better, at Calvary, he took the fires of hell from me. And for me, God’s fierce and just anger at our sin, that’s the love we needed to be rooted and established in if we’re going to be faithful and steadfast, because we know that we are serving a better God than idols. Now they are remarkably preserved in this moment, the ropes burn off, but the clothes don’t even smell. And if you’ve ever been by a campfire, you know that’s miraculous, because that stink doesn’t go away, but they don’t even smell. Oh, it’s interesting, right? I mean, this is a good one for us too, right? They’re preserved in the fire. They’re not preserved from the fire like we gotta know that, because we’re going to face trials too. This is what Peter says first, Peter 412, and 13, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. It’s not strange Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego went through it too. But rejoice in as much as you participate in the sufferings of Christ. He may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed and and Peter actually wraps up this this section in verse 19, by saying, Okay, here’s what you need to do, then commit yourselves to your faithful God and continue to do good. Do you trust me? Yes, Imma commit myself to my faithful God and commit to doing His will, to doing good, not just for our own sakes, so that we don’t get burned up, but for the sake of others too, because we are witnesses of God’s saving presence. Look at verse 27 the effect that their faithfulness has on all the people, all those people who were gathered there to worship this statue in the beginning, they’re all still there. They’re still watching what happens. I mean, just think what that means. It means that God may send us trials for the sake of those around us. I’ll make this one strong, okay, like you may get cancer so that you can be a witness to the God who will deliver you in your cancer to the people around you who do not know Jesus yet, because they’re going to ask you things like, how are you getting through this? And what are you going to say? Because my God is alive. My God can deliver me in this trial, and he will deliver me in the end as well to eternal life. And by the way, when you have cancer, you get to say whatever you want. Nobody can be like, don’t put your religion on me and be like, Okay, that’s cool. So you get to talk about it in your trials. All that’s happening here, chapter two, chapter three, and, by the way, chapter four, next week, also are happening, for Nebuchadnezzar sake, like he got his answer to the question in verse 15, what God will be able to deliver you this one? This God, like, that’s good for him to learn this. He eats his words in verse 29 he makes blasphemy a crime. If you guys say stupid things about Shadrach God, like I did, well then you’re gonna get cut into little pieces. I just made the law, though. So it doesn’t apply to me. Okay? Like this is clear spiritual progress in his life. I mean, he calls this God God Most High, which is what the prophets love to call God. Now maybe it just means, like the highest god, like he’s high above the other gods, top God in the pantheon. We’re not sure yet, but it’s wonderful stuff, except we can’t help but feel that something’s missing still, verses 28 and 29 right? It’s the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It’s their God. It’s never my god. Nebuchadnezzar has experienced conviction without conversion, so he knows something new, but he doesn’t act on that new knowledge. We’ve seen this before, because he’s already met the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and Daniel when Daniel interpreted the dream. So now we know when he said Daniel’s God is God of gods, and Lord of kings, like me, I’m a king, he’s my Lord. But that was just a temporary setback on his road to self exaltation. He actually hardens his heart after that moment, because in chapter two, he was executing people who whom he couldn’t trust because they couldn’t explain the dream to him. Now he’s willing to execute the only people he can trust. So his heart is harder at this point, because he’s hardened himself in his worship of self. John Owen, the great Puritan theologian, says there’s like analogy here would be like a man traveling from London to Birmingham, something like that, right? And so back then, 17th century, he’s on horseback or he’s walking. So he’s on his way when he meets with a fierce. Storm. And what happens, of course, is you turn aside, you get under a tree, you duck into a farmhouse, something like that, and then the storm subsides, and you get back on the road and keep walking to Birmingham. So it is with people in bondage to sin. We may have an encounter with the living God, and we are terrified for a moment, but once the storm abates and the terror subide subsides, we get back on our road to self exaltation. How sure are you that you are not Nebuchadnezzar? Have you experienced conviction without true conversion, like you got religion, love hearing that zither music, happy to bow down at that point. All religions good, right? You got religion, but not God. And the follow up question that is, how would you know? How would you know? Well, are you steadfast in trials? Are you changed after the trial subsides? Are you here’s a really good one, tearing down idols. Sorry, Jackie, you have to buy a new one. This kind of takes us to the big idea. And it’s a big idea for everyone, okay, it’s a big idea for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego facing that external problem. And it’s a big idea for Nebuchadnezzar, facing that internal problem, wherever you are today, it’s the same point. The big idea is this, live what you believe. Just live what you believe. Don’t say he’s the most high God, but keep him at a distance. Yeah, I respect Christianity. It’s good for you. It’s just, you know, it’s not my thing. Like that doesn’t work. Okay, don’t say he’s the most high God, but keep him at a distance. Don’t claim that he’s the God of gods. But then keep a bunch of other statues in your heart’s closet. And if you believe that he can deliver you be steadfast, immovable, rooted and established in love. Do you trust him? Do you trust that He is with you, even in trials? How would you know, live what you believe? Go back to our opening illustration. Get in the wheelbarrow. Do you trust me? Get in the wheelbarrow. Do you think I can push you across, then hop in. That’s the idea. Like, sure I think you could push me across the tightrope. Okay, then get in the wheelbarrow. Sure you could deliver me in a furnace. Get in the wheelbarrow. Show your faith. Put your trust in action. Live what you believe. Get in the wheelbarrow. And I want to have a word to kids right now who are here today, like, there is no better time than right now, if you’re ones who have grown up knowing Bible stories, and you kind of like, Yeah, I think they’re true, the way Nebuchadnezzar thought they were true, but you haven’t hopped in yet like your parents would be so happy to explain this to you, your kid, city teachers, your pastors, even be so happy to help you with this that you can look back on today and say, I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. I am in the wheelbarrow. He’s worth it Come what may trust. Believe, live what you believe. Throw out the statues, put your cleats on, get in the wheelbarrow. Let’s pray, Father, we know that you are worthy of all our trust and all our worship. You have proven yourself over and over and over again. I mean, Nebuchadnezzar knew it. He couldn’t possibly have missed it. We know it. We can’t possibly miss it either, if for no other reason than you raised Christ from the dead. That is our proof. We can trust you. You will deliver us to the uttermost into eternity. So help us, Lord, to get rid of the idols that we keep bowing down to as we worship ourselves. Help us to be rooted and established in your love and the beauty of the gospel. And help us, then, Lord, to get in the wheelbarrow to live what we believe for your great Name’s sake and for the sake of those around us who will see our faith and who may just come to believe as a result, Amen.