Daniel 3

This month we are looking at The Book of Daniel verse-by-verse.

In the previous post, we saw:

Daniel identified and interpreted the king's dream...something people believed ONLY the gods were capable of doing.

The interpretation was prophecy that was mostly yet to be fulfilled in Daniel's time AND still has one component yet to be fulfilled today.

Nebuchadnezzar promoted God to the leader of all gods AND Daniel to leader of all wise men.

Nebuchadnezzar had grown in his belief in God...however, he still didn't recognize God as Supreme over everyone including himself.

What was God going to do? Was God going to punish Nebuchadnezzar or help him grow more?

Today we will find out the answers to those questions...


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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
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;
6 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."

Nebuchadnezzar made a god!

The king wanted EVERYONE to bow down and worship the god that he had made. Clearly, Nebuchadnezzar saw himself above "the gods".

(Notice, the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar created shared some of the same characteristics as what was spoken about LATER in time in The Book of Revelation. Also, the previous chapter concerned a dream the king had about an image with a gold head. Could the image in this chapter be the king's attempt to recreate what he dreamt about? Was this image really an attempt to get everyone to worship the king?)

"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.
8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews.
9 They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live for ever.
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;
11 and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed 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."

Accusations were brought against Daniel's three friends...Where was Daniel?

Notice, we are covering The Book of Daniel. In this third chapter of Daniel, Daniel was not mentioned. Why?

There seemed to be only two reasons:
1. Daniel worshipped the image
2. Daniel wasn't present at the ceremony to which EVERYONE was invited

Why do you think Daniel was not mentioned? (My answer is in the Comments section of this post.)

"13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said unto them, Is it of purpose, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that ye serve not my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
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?"

Notice, Nebuchadnezzar was once again in a rage and acting HASTY.

The king openly asked who was that God that would deliver you out of my hands? CLEARLY, Nebuchadnezzar saw himself ABOVE God.

"16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer thee in this matter.
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 thy hand, O king.
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."

Verses 17 and 18 were HUGE...

The three friends' answer was that they had faith in their God to deliver them, BUT IF THEIR GOD DID NOT deliver them, they would still NOT serve the king's gods and worship the king's image.

THAT really covered all the bases. They did believe in something that they couldn't see and hadn't happened yet...and stated this to the king's face. Then they jump ahead and stated that even if their God didn't come through, they would still have faith...so NOTHING was going to cause them to worship the image created by the king.

"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."

Wow! We thought Nebuchadnezzar was mad before...now he was FULL of fury. The furnace was seven times hotter...

"20 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.
21 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.
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."

Again, we have another reference to Nebuchadnezzar acting URGENTLY. Verse 22 PROVED the furnace was able to kill Daniel's three friends because the men who threw them in died! (There are some people who state the furnace wasn't hot enough to kill the three friends!)

"23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace."

They fell down in the furnace...they clearly came in contact with the heat of the furnace.

"24 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
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 aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods."

AGAIN, we have another reference that Nebuchadnezzar acted in HASTE! Clearly, this was a person who was ruled by his amygdala. He was NOT going to learn by understanding. He was ONLY going to learn by experience...hence, the many EXAMPLES that the king had to live through.

They saw four men loose and walking around...and the fourth looked like a son of the gods! (WOW!) Some people believe this was an angel...some believe it was Jesus. Regardless, it was a spiritual manifestation that was sent to protect the three believers.

Also, during the I Corinthians Series, we covered how some people believe heaven is hotter than the lake of fire. We saw how this would mean that we would have superior bodies and those in the lake of fire would not be able to experience heaven because it would actually be more painful to them than the lake of fire. In this story in The Book of Daniel, the spiritual protector AND the three friends were able to withstand "hell-like" temperatures...

"26 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."

NOTICE: Nebuchadnezzar declared they worshipped the MOST HIGH GOD...

"27 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."

Not only were they NOT harmed, but the smell of the fire was not on them. I have a background in fragrances and understanding our sense of smell. I look for passages in the Bible dealing with these topics. I believe the fact that NOT even one molecule from the flames resided on ANY of their persons showed that they were converted to something beyond the flesh...to something that the Physical had NO power over.

"28 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.
29 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."

Nebuchadnezzar promoted God AGAIN!

However, Nebuchadnezzar still believed he must protect this God...

So now we weren't quite sure if Nebuchadnezzar believed he was above this God OR if he thought he was EQUAL to this God because this God could do something the king couldn't...but the king thought he could do something this God couldn't.

"30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon."

The king also promoted the three friends of Daniel...and Daniel was not mentioned in this chapter. In fact, the God was called the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego...three names that referenced gods different than the God they believed in. The king realized these three men believed in a God different than their names suggested...but the king still called them by these "ungodly" names.


SUMMARY
God gave Nebuchadnezzar another opportunity to grow.

This heathen king responded by recognizing that God was the MOST HIGH God...this was the Good News.

The Bad News was that the king seemed to think that God was NOT above Nebuchadnezzar. Whether he saw God as EQUAL to him or not was debatable.

Daniel was not mentioned AT ALL in this story that took place in The Book of Daniel. If anything, so far, this book seemed to be MORE about Nebuchadnezzar than it did about Daniel.

Nebuchadnezzar continued to grow with each interaction with God's true believers. The king was ruled by his amygdala and was unable to learn through understanding, so he continued to require stressful situations because he only learned by experience.

Nebuchadnezzar had grown in his belief in God...however, he still didn't recognize God as Supreme over everyone including himself.

What was God going to do? Was God going to punish Nebuchadnezzar or help him grow more?

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