Lessons From Daniel Part 3
7 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.
8 At this time some astrologers[a] came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! 10 Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 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.”
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 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? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, 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 will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
In the 3rd chapter of Daniel we read that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up a golden image, that he wanted everyone to bow down to and worship. Anyone who would not worship this golden image, would be thrown into a fiery furnace. In verse 7 it says that, all the nations and peoples from every language fell down and worshiped the golden image.
At some point however, it was brought to the king’s attention that some of the Jews were not bowing down to worship the golden image. The three that would not be obedient to the Kings decree were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three have been referred to as the three Hebrew boys.
These three young men were very resolute in their commitment to God. They knew that the consequences of not bowing down and worshiping the golden image, would more than likely mean death. After all who survives a fiery furnace? That being said, they were still not willing to compromise what they knew to be right, even if the cost was death. They knew that to worship a false god was definitely a violation of what they knew to be true. They knew that there was only one all powerful and mighty God, and he was not created by the hands of man.
They also knew that their God was more powerful than King Nebuchadnezzar or the fiery furnace, and that if their God so chose to, He could save them. What I love about this is that, whether God chose to save them or not they were ok with His will for their lives. They were choosing to be faithful no matter the cost. They were trusting God with their present and their future. They demonstrated a remarkable faith in their great God. Their faith reminded me of this scripture from Job 13:15
Because they were human I feel very sure that they were probably afraid, but they didn’t let their fear overrule their commitment to God. They did not buckle under the pressure of fear. They remained resolute in their conviction to serve and honor God by being faithful to Him even unto the end. Habakkuk 3:16-19.
