Wonderful. It's a great song to be singing as we come to the chapter that we're going to be looking at, that I will serve no foreign gods or any other treasure. Let's just pray, shall we, before we dive into this. Lord, we just want to thank you that we're here, we're found again here. Around your word, we also want to thank you. That way, Lord, there are things to learn. Even though, Lord, we may know this passage so well or we may have heard it taught or preached on many, many times, Lord, we just want to pray that you again would speak to us as we seek to hear you and follow you from all that you teach us through, Daniel. We ask this in your name. Amen. One of the interesting things about the passage we're going to come to, and I hope you've been reading it at home, Daniel chapter 3, this whole aspect about the fiery furnace. This is probably the second most well-known story in the book of Daniel behind Daniel in the lion's den. So we're coming to a very, very well-known passage. It's one that's very familiar with. We tell the children this story. It's one of the great. lessons that we would bring. But I think there's much more in here. But before we read, I'm going to do this chapter in two parts. So you can, hey, hey, we're getting quicker. Every other chapter we've done in three parts. This time we're doing it in two. But what I want us to do is I want us to just have a quick recap, because I think it's fascinating to see. And the more I look into this, the more I see this overarching picture that, if truth is told, I've never seen before. I've never really taken time to sit down and really look at it in this way, but I want to do a quick recap. In that over the past six sessions, that being the two chapters, the first two chapters of Daniel, we have been made aware of the enemy strategy and how this strategy will never change. Remember back in chapter one, we looked at the whole idea of isolation, identity and indoctrination, that the enemy Babylon, and we look upon it as the same strategy that happens today. Today, there's an isolation that happens. They try and separate. The enemy tries to separate Christians or followers of Christ from Christ's people. So there's an isolation. There's a shift in identity or a change in identity. We read that in chapter one. They changed their names from names that were aligned with God to names that were aligned with Babylonian gods. They tried to change their identity. And you see that again even today. There will always be an attack on the identity of Christians, bringing slurs. And of course, then the church will try and react against that. And they try and somehow modify the identity to try and not come across as so harsh, just to try and fit in. And I use that word carefully, and we'll get to that in a minute. And then the last bit we've seen was the indoctrination. And the indoctrination is the same. I've always wanted to speak to some politicians who would say that we can't, you know, this whole debate about RE in schools and assemblies in schools and how we can't indoctrinate kids. And I want to go, don't you even, don't you plug your brains in? Because if you're not teaching one thing, you're teaching something else. If you're saying you indoctrinate in Christ, then you indoctrinate in evolution or something else. You cannot take a, You can't be neutral here, you take a stand somewhere. And so here we see that the world will always try and indoctrinate. And it creeps into the church, it creeps into, it's crept into the universities, it attacks our youth and attacks the adults as well. So the indoctrination, we have to be very careful. And we looked at that and how Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, they looked at all manner of Babylonian literature, all the writings that took in astrology and occultism and things like that. And so they were willing to accept certain things because they were in captivity, but we also know that they stood their ground. and they would not make themselves ritually impure. We know that when it talks about being defiled, they wouldn't eat the food. So there was this commitment and dedication of these young exiles to God, God's command, God's will in all this. And then we've seen how God gave favor to these men. Again, this is a recurring theme. Again, if you remember, even in chapter 2, when Nebuchadnezzar was quick to try and kill the wise men, when they said, give us time, he went, no, you're all dead. And yet Daniel went, and what did he ask for? Time. And he got it. God's favor. And this is a recurring theme throughout the book of Daniel, that when God moves, God can change the heart even of Gentile kings and emperors. And so we see God's sovereignty, God's favour, God's grace, God always giving. And so we see this. And so we were left with the overall view of God's sovereignty in his dealing with his people and now with this Gentile king and nation. Then we saw the inability of man. Chapter two, we saw the inability of man when King Nebuchadnezzar commanded that he would be told the dream and the interpretation. And the wise men said, no man can do it. Not even the gods can do it. And they don't, well, perhaps the gods could do it, but they don't even live among us. But no man can do what you ask. So we've seen the inability of man. We see the inability of the so-called gods, the Babylonian gods that they worship. And we were introduced to a recurring dream or vision given by a sovereign God. And I use those words carefully because that's what you see in Scripture. God gave, God gave. God gave. This recurring theme of sovereignty, God's in control, and God speaks to a Gentile emperor, a Gentile king, about what is our history, but also our future, but it was all his future. And I think we have to understand this, that God is showing that he is God of the seasons, God of kingdoms and empires. And so we see this recurring. And I love the fact that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, they depend on God through prayer. Remember, the first thing they do when they hear from Ariok that they're going to be killed, the first thing they do is not pack their bag and run, but they pray. They call a prayer meeting. And they seek God in this. Again, it's a sign that they knew God could do these things. And we see this as it comes out. And after they get the answer to prayer, this God-centered prayer, they pray some more. They give thanks. They don't rush off. They take time and say thank you to God for the answer to prayer. Then they give all the glory to God. It's not about them. It's all about God. And I love the way Daniel says to King Nebuchadnezzar when he says, are you here to give me the dream and the interpretation? And he goes, no. No man can do that. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. So Daniel is very quick to give God all the glory and all the honor and point all the attention to God. And again, we see God's sovereignty over the passage of time and the empires of man. We see this very, very clearly. Clearly, God is not caught by surprise. In fact, this is one of the few times that we're told that he says, here is the passage of empires. And right up to Malachi, the end of the Old Testament, where basically that's the Medes and the Persians. You remember there was the Babylonians, the Medes and the Persians, the Greeks, and then the Romans. And then God's empire was going to come. God's kingdom was going to come and smite the statue. And so by the end of the Old Testament, we're still in the time of the Medes and the Persians. So the 400 years of silence is all about the Greek empire and then the Roman empire coming into power during that time. So we see that God's not caught by surprise, but he is actually sovereign in these things and is in control, if we want to put it that way, of time and the passage of time. So I want to read the first 18 verses, if I may, of Daniel chapter 3, verses 1 to 18. And we're going to get right through, not quite to the very furnace quite yet, but we'll be almost there, okay? I think it's very important that we break in to this. In case you're wondering about a title for this, it's not just Daniel chapter three, part one, but going against the flow comes with a cost. going against the flow comes with a cost. And you can see that all throughout Daniel, the book of Daniel. Well, in fact, the first six chapters. Every time they go against the flow, it comes at a cost, but a cost that they are willing to pay. So let's read verses 1 through to verse 18. Says this, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its width 6 cubits. He set it up in the plain of Jura, in the province of Babylon, and King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counsellors, the treasurers, the judges, and the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the councillors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud, to you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the psaltery, and symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship. the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre in symphony with all kinds of music, and all the people's nations and languages fell down and worship, the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O King, live forever. You, O King, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, soldier, you think they just love these instruments. don't you? In symphony with all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the gold image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, give the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now, if you are ready, at the time you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the harp, the lyre, the psaltery in symphony with all kinds of music and you fall down and worship the image, which I have made good. But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you from my hands? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery And he will deliver us from your hand, O King. But if not, let it be known to you, O King, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. Wow. What a great declaration. Could you picture it? We're not going to answer you. I love the way certain translations put this, because rather than saying, they have this phrase in verse 18, but it says, rather than, but if not, there are certain translations that say even if, even if God doesn't. OK, which I think is a wonderful translation of that. But we're going to look at this. And I think it's very important that we understand that as we have seen the strategies of the enemy, now we will see one of the tools that the enemy will use. And again, this is a tried and tested method, and it's not new. And we will see it as we go through. If we were to take time, which we won't, but if we were to take time, we would see it play out in our day. So I want you to think as you hear these things. Out of some research that I did yesterday, that statistics will show us that one of the tools in our day is peer pressure. Let me give you some statistics, if you love statistics. The peer pressure is prevalent in teens. And I would not just say in teens. It's in everybody. Sometimes the older we get, the less we seem to be bothered what people think. But generally, peer pressure does come to play a lot. in all of us in some fashion. But the statistics says there's about 90% of teens reporting its experience often relating to substance use, risky behaviours and appearance. Those are three broad categories. He goes on then to break it down and says, around 38% of young people have been pressured to drink alcohol. Around 32% have sex. 75% of adolescents engage in risky behaviours due to peer influence. 40% of young people felt pressured to look or dress a certain way. 28% report their social status increased after giving in to peer pressure. And around 27% to use drugs. Peer pressure is a big tool. And when I looked at that, one of the big things, as you see here, peer pressure. This is all about peer pressure. Be like everybody else. Fit in. Just do what everybody else is doing. Don't stand out. Don't be an individual. And I always love, in today's culture, it's like, I'm an individual, but I do what everybody else does. which is a bit of a contradiction in terms really, but they give in to peer pressure to look and act a certain way. In fact, in broad categories it says that boys are more likely to feel pressured to act tough, break rules or get into fights. Girls are more likely to feel pressured about their appearance. That's general terms that, again, this research was putting out. It's all about peer pressure. And I think this is an important lesson for us. We're not immune to it in many ways. And the people that we worship with may not be immune to the peer pressure. And so as we come to this chapter, we're going to see how certain three young men stood up to peer pressure. and they face some immense peer pressure. We'll see that. First thing about it is, what statements do people, I wonder what you think about this, what statements do people or businesses make by building impressive structures? What do you think people are trying to say, or what do you think businesses are trying to say by building big structures? They're stronger than you. They last longer. They're more impressive than anyone else. Very dominant. All these things. Put that in the context of this chapter, King Nebuchadnezzar built a gold image. We'll get back to that in a minute. Now, if we were to read the book of Daniel sort of sequentially, that is the chapter three following chapter two, we would be forgiven for making the mistaken assumption that within a week, month, or even a year of chapter two, Nebuchadnezzar had built the statue. You know, like he had this dream, this recurring dream, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, they give the interpretation. So Nebuchadnezzar goes, great, fantastic. And then the next year, he goes, I'm going to build an image. We'd be mistaken in thinking that by the way we read scripture. Chapter 1, as we know, is the first year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, around 605 BC, when we looked at this and we seen that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were all taken into captivity when they were about 15-ish. OK, that's dependent if they're all brought in at the same age when they were captured. So around 15 when they were captured. Chapter 2 is the second year. Daniel and his three friends are around 18 years old. And we looked at the discrepancy and how that's all done by the recording of when Nebuchadnezzar actually took the throne and everything else. So you're talking by the end of chapter 2, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Nazariah are 18. and when they get into the king's service, and they've given the interpretation of the dream. They give the dream and the interpretation. By chapter three, we are told, many scholars, they're sort of a bit sketchy on this, but generally speaking, the broad ballpark belief is that chapter three is Nebuchadnezzar's 18th year. Okay, so you're talking 16 years have passed between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. So that gives you an idea. It's not just a quick flip of the switch and he builds a statue. Some time has passed. in this idea. And so we're told that the chapter three is 25 years before Nebuchadnezzar dies, and that Daniel and his three friends, they're around 30 to 33 years old at this point. They're young men. So we've seen them go through their teenage years. They're now young men at this point. It's sometime after this, chapter 3, sometime between chapter 3 and chapter 4, that Nebuchadnezzar goes back to Jerusalem and Jerusalem falls, the walls are destroyed, the temple is destroyed, and people are taken into captivity for a third time. And there we see this from Jeremiah chapter 52 verse 29. Now we're not gonna spend a lot of time in it, but I just think it's good to put it in context that this, just to give you an idea that 18 years has passed. And we're going to try and plug in to Nebuchadnezzar's thinking at this point. I'm going to tell you what I think on top of what most people will say. And I don't want to say I'm right and they're wrong. But we don't know some things. And we all read into it. But I'll tell you what I think is happening. So here we have the first act of defiance okay verse one of chapter three brings us out our first act of defiance we're going to see two acts of defiance um so far and this is the first one that Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height is 60 cubits, and its width is 6 cubits. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't measure in cubits. So it takes us a little bit of an idea to try and figure out what a cubit is, especially a Babylonian cubit. But before we get there, I want us just to think that the king made an image of gold. There's been a lot of debate over this. Okay, so we're talking about an image. Let me just see, some think it was an obelisk, you know, like those pyramid type, big long image, big long statue image things. You see there's one of the Vatican, just outside the Vatican, these obelisks, this huge thing. Some think it was an image of one of the Babylonian gods. Some believe it was an image of Nebuchadnezzar himself. Nobody really knows. But what I find interesting more than anything else is not what it was the image of, but what it was made of. Now, when you look at the 60 cubits and the 6 cubits wide, it works out to be about 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. So basically, you're talking, it starts there and it goes up to your point. So it's a bit like an obelisk. It's a bit of a weird shaped image in many ways. It's so big that they believe it was made of wood and then overlaid with gold. So it wasn't solid gold, but it had the appearance of solid gold. So it would have been overlaid, made out of wood, and then overlaid. The question that needs to be asked is, why did the king erect such an image? Why did he do it? Well, again, as I say, there are many who have come off with, grand ideas, but the most prevailing one is, and I tend to believe this one myself, is, if you think back to chapter two, you remember the gold head, then you had the silver chest and arms, then you had the bronze, then you had the iron. Who was the golden head? Nebuchadnezzar. He was the head. He made a whole image of gold. So many believe, many will take the stance, and I believe it's true, that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten the dream. Remember, it's 18 years has passed. He's still empire. His empire in his eyes is still growing. It's still the biggest empire of the day. It's still powerful. It's still awesome. It's still fearsome. And so he just forgot. He may have just forgotten or he may have just pushed it to the back of his mind. My empire will never come to an end. And so he makes a whole image made of all gold to try and make a statement that his empire will never end. Interestingly. So this could be the first act of defiance against God. God said your empire was going to last. And it was going to last for a certain period of time. And you will be replaced by the Medes and the Persians. And Nebuchadnezzar, in true fashion, went, oh, no, I won't. And I will prove it. And he made this big image of all gold to try and bring out this. fact, this effect that the empire was going to last for a long, long time. Then we have the first decree in here. It's interesting as well. Now that this image is up, and one of the reasons I hesitate to say who the image is of, because of how the scriptures go, because they talk about serving the image, they talk about the golden image, they talk about Nebuchadnezzar's gods, they don't say who the image is of. They just talk about worshiping the image. So we don't quite know. The scripture isn't quite clear on who the image is of. But here's the first decree, and it's this. And I'm going to summarize verses 2 through to 7. And it's this. When you hear the band, you have to bow and worship. That's it, really. I'm not going to repeat all the instruments and everything else. But it's fascinating to note here. the groups that were brought into play. The attendees appear in descending order and are described with two Semitic terms, satraps and prefects, and five old Persian loan words. So again, these names are being used by Daniel to describe. These are one or person. Persian names but two are Semitic in nature or Babylonian in nature. So you've got the Satraps and the Prefacts and everybody else and they're all there and the Herald says to the people of every language. Now this is a bit hyperbolic. He's not talking to everybody at the same time, everywhere, because that's not how it's going to happen. But remember, Babylon brought people from the conquered lands into Babylon. So there were people from every tribe, nation, and tongue there. So he talks to all the nations. And in essence, he's saying, it doesn't matter what God you worship, when you hear the band, You worship this idol. You worship this image. And if you don't, the fiery furnace awaits you. And again, I've just noticed this as I read it through again tonight, that he says, you will be thrown in immediately. Immediately. But they weren't. Were they? They weren't thrown in immediately. And I think it's fascinating, again, a sense of God at work here, God laying the groundwork for this Gentile king to be aware of our God and how great our God is. So you get these heralds declaring this in a very hyperbolic or exaggerated fashion, that they have to worship. And it's in the plain of Jura. And that's around eight or nine miles from Babylon. So it's outside the city in the plain of Jura. It's about eight or nine miles. And some scholars have said that they could actually see the smoke of the furnaces bellowing up from such a great distance, which we'll get to in a minute. So the demand that all come to dedicate to the dedication ceremony means that Nebuchadnezzar meant to use that worship of this image to test their allegiance. Please be aware of that. He wants to see if they will give him 100% allegiance. And so he puts this test out. Are you going to buy and worship this image? No matter what your religious books say, or no matter what your God may say, are you going to show me the allegiance and worship this idol? Are you going to stand? But remember, if you stand, the furnace awaits. So that's the option, OK? The instance. The interesting thing here is that the word used for worship here will denote a deity. So that's why some think it was a god, an image of a god, because it denotes a deity, although nobody can be completely sure. Let me just see. Nebuchadnezzar is using the furnace as a weapon of opportunity, OK? I want to put that out there. It's a weapon of opportunity. Why do I say that? Because they're still hot from building the idol. Many believe that they're still hot. That's why he could say, put them seven times hotter, because they were still hot. They didn't have to relight them. They were still going. And so they believe that this was like, if you want to say, fresh off the press, in one sense. This was a freshly made idol. The furnaces were still hot. And so Nebuchadnezzar would use these furnaces as a weapon of opportunity. The mention to immediate execution suggests it was an opera ration at the time of the decree. So again, we must understand when he says you will immediately be thrown into the fairy furnace, if the furnaces weren't on, it wouldn't be much of a threat, would it? Let's face it, be thrown into a cold furnace, a furnace that's out, doesn't carry much weight, but to put it in, be thrown into a furnace that's hot, that's still lit, that's still blazing, now that's a threat. So they believe that, again, it was just a weapon of opportunity, and these were still going. The second act of defiance. So we've had the first act of defiance is Nebuchadnezzar, who builds this image. And as I said, I believe it's to say that my kingdom will go on. It will not end. You've got one. You've got the first. decree to worship the image. Now you've got the second act of defiance here. And that's from verses 8 to 18. Verses 8 to 18, you've got the act of defiance by Daniel's three friends. Now, I want to point something out here. And we touched on that last time. You will notice through the reading of this passage that Hananiah, Meshel, and Azariah are there, but Daniel isn't. And many people have said, we don't know where he is, and perhaps he's away on sort of the king's business, or going off to some foreign land, and nobody really knows. And I proposed to you last time that because he was serving in the king's court, he was there where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, or Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were out among the people. And so when he called all the leaders of the provinces, The administrators of the provinces, that was Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. And so they had together, where Daniel didn't, because he was in the king's court. Okay, he was sort of second in command in many ways. So that's a possible theory. I'm not saying it's foolproof or watertight. I'm just saying that gives a logical understanding why Daniel wasn't there. Okay, so we got the three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They don't fall down and worship And it's fascinating how this will play out. It's fascinating in many ways. We've already been aware that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refusal to defile themselves by food. And remember, if you lifted one of these graphs, one of these that we looked at the structure of the book of Daniel, we're now in chapter 3. And we've seen that chapter 1, chapter 3, and chapter 6 are linked. And they all have a similar theme or a similar idea. Chapter 1, they refused to defile themselves. Chapter 2, they refused to worship an image. Chapter 3, Daniel refused to pray to anybody else other than God. There's this sense of staying pure to God in chapters 1, chapter 3, and chapter 6. So they're all linked. And so we're into chapter 3. And so we see how they've refused to defile themselves with the king's food. They refuse to go with the crowd and break the commands to worship an idol. Now, this is very crucial. They refused to break God's commands. We have to hold on to that. They just weren't being annoying. They weren't just being pig-headed. They wanted to stay true. Remember, the whole emphasis of chapter 1 was they did not want to break the commands of God by defiling themselves, making themselves ceremonially unclean. Here, they were staying true to the second commandment. Okay, and I'll come back to this. So verse 7 states the obedience mostly of the people present to the declaration to worship. You know, everybody else fell and they didn't. The three guys stood. That sort of gets you to stick out like a sore thumb really, doesn't it? I don't know if you've ever been in a crowd this size and you're all stood up and everybody sits down. What's your first desire to do? Sit down. Even if they don't say sit down, you just don't want to be the one stood up, so you sit down. And it would be the same in reverse here. When everybody falls and worships, the desire for each person is just to fit in and to fall down. Even if they don't worship, they just don't want to be seen to be different. But these guys didn't. They stood up. They stood. They stayed standing because, I believe, of the second commandment. Verses 8 to 12, if the golden image is a link to chapter 2, so the astrologers could also be a link. The astrologers are not mentioned in the list of people. This is not to imply that they were not there, just that they were not mentioned. In verses 2 and 3, they could be hinted at when it says, all the other officials. So they could have been there. So the people forget in time. They forget Nebuchadnezzar's great declaration that there's only one true God, that only Daniel's God is the true God above all gods, the revealer of mysteries, they forget all that. And I think that's why, I can't remember who said it, when they said, I preach the gospel so often because I forget it so quickly. We forget in time. We do. It's just who we are. And so it's good to keep being reminded. And so here, we have people forgetting. So what happens is the astrologers, the wise men, rat them out. They rat out Hananiah, Meshel, and Azariah. They rat them out. Because the king isn't there, because we'll see that. The king commands it. They are brought to him. So the king doesn't see it. So they're ratted out to them. These guys squeal on them. They go and tell their stories. Now remember, 18 years prior, their hides were saved by Hananah, Mishel, and Azariah. These guys saved their life. And yet now, they rat them out. And again, I'm not going to try and make too much out of this. But again, I think we have to understand that the world doesn't play nice. And Satan doesn't play nice. The enemy is not a nice player here. And so here, they come to the king, and they rat them out. And they say certain things before we get there. The faithful, uncompromising obedience of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. That is what they cannot stand. This is an unfaithful, or sorry, a faithful stand. They will not bend in any shape or form. Even in the face of death, they will not bend. They stand and they stand true for God. So the astrologers repeat the decree to the king. They said, oh, King, you said. This reminds us of Daniel 6, when they all go to the king and go, oh, King, you said. This is what you said. These are your words. So you back them up. So again, they use the king's words against them. And so they repeat the decree. It's fascinating to see that while we do not know where they were in the crowd and just how visible they were, given the arrogance and jealousy of the other wise men in other chapters, it would not take too much to surmise that there was an immediate report given to Nebuchadnezzar. Remember, these guys were jealous. These wise men were envious. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah got what they wanted. They were elevated. God blessed them in many ways because of their faithfulness. And yet, it's everything that they wanted. So they're still jealous. And jealousy and envy lasts for years, doesn't it, if we're really honest? Anger. can last for years also. And we see that here. It's fascinating to show that the things that they point out, they say there's some Jews. First, they pick on the ethnic aspect of them. These Jews that you brought, they're part of the captives. Again, they're trying to demean them, bring them down, but they try and separate their ethnicity and say they're the Jews. They're very separate to us. They don't want anything. They don't want to be like us. Sorry. So Nebuchadnezzar's responsibility for those disloyal subjects is implicit attack on his abilities as king. They say, they don't respect you, O king. Notice what they do. What Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah do is that they obey the second commandment, which we'll get to in a minute. But what the report is, they don't respect you, O king. They show you dishonor. They start to bring a wedge between the king and them. They try to bring a separation between the king and these Jews that they are so quick to point out. There's disrespect for the king personally, there's disrespect for his gods, and there's disobedience to his command. So they don't like you, they don't like your gods, and they'll disobey you. That's what they're saying. That's what these guys report back to the king. Not a bit of wonder the king is angry, because he's hearing how they disrespect him. They disrespect his commands, and they don't want to worship the gods. Not a bit of wonder he's angry in all of this. Now I'm not trying to give Nebuchadnezzar a get out of jail free card, not by any stretch of the imagination. Because remember I said he showed the first act of defiance. So he's being in an act of defiance against God. And these three guys stand in obedience to God. Exodus chapter 20, verses 4 to 6, is the second commandment. Does anybody know what the second commandment is? You shan't make any other image and bow down and worship. But you're not to worship any other idol. You don't need to worship God. So they're obeying the second commandment as good Jews, they're obeying God's commands. But also want to point out something else, that in Daniel chapter six, verse five, again, these wise men, it's always the wise men that acts so stupid, these wise men. They, when the king gives the command to pray to no other person except to the king himself, they say that Daniel, the only way they can get Daniel is in connection with the law of his God. The only way they can get Daniel is in connection with the law of his God. Daniel 6 verse 5 says, then these men said, we shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God. So again, the enemy knows how to, if we love God with all our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength, he knows the way to get us is to attack the law of God. If we are going to stay true to God, then he will attack it. And I stand in obedience with Paul in Romans chapter 13, verses 1 to 7, that says that we are to obey every earthly leader as long as they're in obedience to God. The minute they step outside of obedience to God, I will obey God over man, every single time. I'm not, we're not here to try and provoke a rebellion or an uprising or anything like that. I think as Christians, we should say, you're free to do what you want, but you step out of line with my God and I'll follow him before I follow you. And that's what they did. And so the enemy knows the only way to get a true born again on fire Christian is to get them by bringing a charge or some sort of scheme against the law of God. Because we will always follow God more than men. And then we have the act of deliverance by God, verses 13 to 18. Very quickly here we see that Nebuchadnezzar does not appear. Sorry. Nebuchadnezzar does not appear to have been present in Dura. He calls him to come here. He's furious with anger. And I always loved the way they said, he's furious with anger. I mean, enrage. I mean, how else would you be furious? You know, but this is really angry here. They're trying to give out this idea that he's not just a bit upset. He's really, really angry. at these guys. I mean, after all, he's just promoted them. 18 years, he has had them as almost third or fourth in command of his empire. And so he's furious at these guys because it looks bad on him. So Nebuchadnezzar summons Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to come before him. And Nebuchadnezzar, he will use their Babylonian names. Notice, again, this quick change of identity. They stand for God, yet he will use their Babylonian names. I find that fascinating how they're always trying to bring an identity with. So if you're identified with this God, why won't you worship this God? Or if you're identified with us, why won't you live like us type of thing? So he uses their Babylonian names. And he asks. He says, it seems strange that Nebuchadnezzar asks. He asks this. He says, is it true? Is what I'm being told true, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold? And could he have taken it as a personal rejection because, he says, I have set up? So he turns to him and says, is it true? is what I hear true, that you will not worship, you don't serve my God, you won't serve my God, the gods of Babylon, you don't worship my image, that I've done this, so it's a slide on him, and you almost pick them and go, well, yeah, you're right, King. That's it. Now here's the first thing. And what you need to notice here, you get what's known as a conditional clause here. An if-then. If you do this, then this will happen. Or if you will act in this way, then this will happen. It's an if-then clause. It's a conditional clause. There's a condition involved. And so he says this. If you're ready, if you do not worship, then you win the fiery furnace. So an if-then. If you're ready, if you're ready to bow, if you're ready to worship the gods that I set up, if you're ready to disobey your god and break the commandments, if you're ready to do it, great. If not, the fiery furnace awaits you. It's an if then. I wonder how you would operate if you were faced with that. Now, here's the answer. And again, I just wanna be very quick here. I remember speaking on this before in church, but I love the way these men give, they're very clear with their answer, verses 16 to 18. They're very, very clear with their answer. And we wanna just pick out some things that they have said. First of all, they said, we don't need to defend ourselves. We don't need to defend ourselves. In fact, they said, we don't have to answer you, King. They're not going to defend themselves. Why should they defend themselves? Because it is true. They worship the Lord, their God, the God that reveals mysteries, the God above all gods. Why should they defend themselves? So they're not going to defend themselves. There's this bold, informal manner of address that commanded Nebuchadnezzar's attention and at the same time fuelled his rage. Can you picture it? You're saying to the king, well, really, we don't have to answer you. That must have been like a red rag to your bull. He is the king. He is the emperor. He is the one in charge. They should be answering him. And they just said, we don't have to. So that must have been like a red rag to your bull. He says, in fact, that they offer no defense or don't even desire to offer a defense is tantamount to a guilty plea. So they said, yes, you're right. And all these things, that's who we are. And focus the attention of the reader on God. Notice they shift it from them. Again, everything is God-centered. They shift the attention off themselves. and put it on God. The God we serve, it's all about God. They focus it back on God. We don't have to give an answer because the God we serve is able. Notice that. It's a definite statement based from a knowledge of their God. It was God that they must obey, not man. It is God that they must obey and not man. And I say that carefully because I've heard it too many times said by certain Christians. And really what they mean is, I want to do what I want to do, not what you want to tell me. And sometimes what they want to do is not what God says to do anyway. So I think we have to be careful. But if it's in line with the word of God, if it's in line with the commands of God, if it's in line with the commandments of God, then we obey God, not man. Simple as that, because we must give an answer to God when we see him face to face. In verse 17 he says, if we are thrown into the furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us. It must be noted that this is an understanding of God and his ability, not the certainty of his actions. We, we, we, We read into it the answer of next week's sort of session. We know they get saved, go, well, they knew they were gonna get saved, did they? That's not what they said. They said, our God is able. There was no certainty that he would, but they knew he could. There's an understanding of who God is and his ability And it's a challenge on us to constantly get to know God more and get to know his ability and know what he can do and to know what God is like. So it's a movement from the knowledge about God and an understanding of God's ability. This may be a reference only to the inevitability of their execution. I mean, they probably thought, well, that's it. You know, we're going for, you know, pick your furnace, you're going into it. Like, they must have knew they were going there. And yet they said, the God we serve is able. Wow. That's a statement of, I don't want to necessarily say faith, it's a statement of knowledge in God's, in who God is and in God's ability. The God that they serve. The narrative here is, to this point, sets up the second and more important conditional statement. Even if. If God, I love that, even if. Even if God doesn't. Did you get that? Or God can. Or God can do this. But even if he doesn't, the outcome did not guide their faith in God. Just because they weren't certain of getting the positive outcome, they were saved from the furnace, that wasn't sure at that point. Even though they weren't sure, they were still saying, Even if he doesn't, I'll still serve him. I'm not going to serve your gods. You know, that's just the way it works, King. You know, this is our God. We worship him. We follow him. We obey his commands. And we know he can do this. He is able to do this. But even if he doesn't, we'll still worship him. And there's a big, big lesson here that many times we need to step out, not name it, claim it. But turn to God and say, God, here's what's on our heart. But not my will, but your will be done. That's a difficult, difficult prayer to pray. And in case you think I'm trying to put pressure on it, who taught us to pray that prayer? Christ. Can you picture Christ in his human form in the garden knowing that the cross awaits? In his human form, do you think he wants to go through what he went through? That's why he probably prayed, Lord, God, if there's any other way, any other way, let it be. But not my will, but your will be done. If it's your will that I go through the cross, then I'll go through the cross. Same with these guys. Even if God doesn't save us and we go into the fire, we'll not worship your gods anyway. we're going to keep worshipping our God, even if, it's a wonderful picture here, even if he doesn't. There is no reference of doubt. This is not a reference of doubt, but a clear statement that they chose to remain loyal to God. They did not seek a beneficial outcome. They just sought to stay true to the commandments of God. That's all they wanted. So given their experience of chapter two, they knew God was able, but they did not know if he would. They chose to remain loyal even if it cost their lives. Obedience was worth it. And I say those words so carefully because it's so easy to say it here. From this position where I stand, That is very easy to say. I'm not being faced with a fiery furnace. I'm not being faced with a guillotine, and I'm not faced with a guy with a machine gun on my face. I'm not at that point. But still, the lesson we have to take away from this is for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, obedience was more important than getting everything that they wanted. Now, did they want to die? I don't think they wanted to die, but they were prepared to die. And that's a very different thing. There are statements of certainty here. The God whom we serve is able. He will deliver us from your hands. And I want to put this in brackets, just for your thinking, by rescue. Or by death, these three men were going to be taken off away from the king's hands. By rescue or by death. Whatever way God chose, God was going to take them away from the king's grip. And they were prepared to go with whatever way God wanted. I'm just putting it there, it's a difficult, I know it's a big complex thing to get our heads around, but yet here, again I say they weren't certain, they knew God could. He wanted, we want you to know we will not serve your God to worship the image which you set up. We will not, definite, we stay true to the word of God. We stay true to the commandments of God. Why? Because our God is able. And he will, he will save us one way or the other. One way or the other, we will be saved. Either we'll be saved from death or we'll be saved through death. But we will be saved nonetheless. And I think that's an important lesson to be taken from this before we get into the next bit. But the four points we want to learn from Hananiah, Mishael, and Nazariah. First, faith is trust, confidence, and a firm reliance on God. Faith, confidence, and a firm reliance on God. Time is gone, but in Scripture you have saving faith, the gift of faith, and trusting faith, all laid out in Scripture. I wish we had time to unpack it, but we don't. But faith is trust, confidence, and a firm alliance on God, and that's what these men had. There's faith, there's confidence, there's trust and reliance in God. Faith should be in God's ability, not the desired results themselves. Notice, their confidence was in God and his ability, not in the fact that God was going to put the fires out. they just believed God, they trusted in God and his ability. And that's where our faith should be and our trust should be, in God's ability and in God himself, not in the... what we think is the desired results. God does not work according to our wishes, but according to his will. Again, your kingdom come, your will be done. And as Christ prayed, not my will, but your will be done. Results do not define the relationship with God. I love this one. Results do not define the relationship with God. Let that sing in. As they stood before the king, with a fiery furnace, either before them or behind them. We don't quite know, but it was there somewhere. And they knew it was there. Their results did not define their relationship with God. They loved God. They worshipped God. They were committed to God. They obeyed God. And he will give the results in line with his good and perfect will. And they went with that. They were happy to go with that. And that really struck me in all these things. So, time is gone, but that's the first 18 verses. It sets up this, again, man against God, God's will and his passage of time against man, trying to say, oh no, my kingdom's gonna last forever. It's about three guys who will stand strong on the word of God and the commands of God, knowing their God and what he's able to do. knowing that he will do what's right in line with his will. And the king cannot stop that. Next time, we'll finish the chapter.