to all of you, I'm sure, Daniel chapter 3. I suppose if anyone ever attended Sunday school, they've heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And so the story is one which is very often told in Sunday school about the three friends of Daniel who went through the fiery furnace. We're going to look at it this morning and under the title of least that God is able to deliver you. We find that God is able to deliver us. When we speak about being delivered in the Old Testament, it carries the thought of salvation. For God did deliver his people from many situations where salvation brought them out by the hand of God. And we perhaps can think of a number of people in the Old Testament who did experience such things as the salvation of God. Whether we talk about David, King David in his particular trials that he had, or we talk about possibly Joseph in his situation with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and Pontifex. And of course, before that, there were other patriarchs who came through many situations that would have called for deliverance or the hand of God to get them through. You may have had experiences where the hand of God has brought you through some particular trial or other. Well, in the book of Daniel, as Daniel faced many of the circumstances that he was under, we find that he also was under the care and protective graces of God. But not only Daniel, but these three particular friends of Daniel were under God's protective graces as well. You may remember that in the first chapter of the book of Daniel, there was a certain dream that Nebuchadnezzar had, and that Daniel had to go to prayer that God might give him the answer. well we find that who do you suppose he got to pray with him but these three friends and we find that these three friends then were very much in relationship to God that is they had a close relationship to God and so it should not surprise us that God comes to their aid when they are in a serious situation and of course you may find yourself in a serious situation you may find that you are in need of deliverance from a certain trial or a certain hardship and you may find yourself looking to God And so there are some lessons to be learned from this particular account that goes beyond the simple story we often tell Sunday school children. Not to say that that story that is often given doesn't have merit to it, especially as it is taught by Sunday school teachers. I wouldn't say that, but I would just say Think about this story for yourself instead of for the Sunday school children who normally might be hearing it. Think about it as God may give it to your heart and you may receive it as one which is a good reminder to us of God's work in our own lives and how that he does not forget those who pray. Daniel chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was three square cubits and the breadth of it six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Now I'm going to take a little bit different approach to the message this morning. I'm going to read a portion and then give comment to it to help to bring some continuity to the overall picture of what's going on. Some of the commentators believe that this particular account took place maybe 18 to 22 years after the more infamous dream that Nebuchadnezzar had. So sometimes we read a chapter and another chapter right after it and we think well these things all happened in very close proximity. But that probably is not the case. This particular account now takes place somewhere between 18 and 22 years after. the question is now why did Nebuchadnezzar erect this great statue? and was it a statue of himself? was it an image of himself? well here again most commentators who have studied the scriptures disagree but if we take it for what it is saying I think we will all come to the same conclusion that Nebuchadnezzar was trying to gain the loyalty of worship unto his realm by establishing something that these three friends could not worship. As we think about history we know that there have been a number of emperors and monarchs and kings who had sought to do the same thing. During the Roman period, of course, emperor worship was mandatory upon pain of death. And there have been other lesser countries since then that also demanded such worship. whether it be oriental countries for instance in the period where Genghis Khan in China if one didn't bow before Genghis one could lose their head in other words this sort of thing had taken place in other periods of time so it should not surprise us that maybe King Nebuchadnezzar thought he might gain a little more control over his people and his country if he were to demand such worship of an image that he might erect. And so he erected this image. The image, according to the heights here, three square cubits as the width of it. Yeah, no, the height, excuse me, was three square cubits, and the breadth of it was six cubits. So it's 90 feet high and 10 feet thick, if you will, if you want to look at it that way. And the proportion seems to be quite difficult to imagine, something 90 feet high and only 10 feet thick. Most say, well, This was probably something that was set upon a base. That is, it was some kind of a pedestal base, and then the image was placed upon the base. But it was an impressive and colossal kind of an image. In fact, it was not to be put in the city of Babylon, but it was to be put out upon the plain of Dura. And this plain, though it does not seem to be of any particular note other than that it was the plain in Babylon, as it is meant to say, that it was placed on an area of very wide expanse where a number, perhaps thousands of people could come and where the image could be viewed by all the same. And we're in that part of the country of Babylon, which is Iraq today. Very arid, flat country. You can imagine when the sun is shining brightly in Iraq or in Babylon, And there was a golden image established 90 feet high and it was on a plane and everybody could see it from a distance. It wouldn't take anybody to wonder what that was that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Everybody knew it the minute they saw it. And so in verse 2, then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes the governors and the captains and the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image. drop down to the bottom part of verse 3, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, then a herald cried aloud to you, it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages. Now while I'm speaking you can just kind of read in between the lines there that I kind of skipped over I just wanted to say to this, it is important that we do note who he called to worship this image. It was not the farmers who supplied the food for Nebuchadnezzar City. It weren't the gardeners who were taking care of the hanging gardens of Babylon. It weren't the street sweepers who were employed by Nebuchadnezzar's slaves to keep the sidewalks clean. It weren't the bricklayers who had made the beautiful bricks with the images upon them that adorned the walls. And it weren't those who were on city construction who were maintaining the huge walls of Babylon. No, these were the important people of all of the nations that represented Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. It was the princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, etc. those rulers well and we remember who Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were they were in the company of these very people and so what was Nebuchadnezzar seeking to do but to gain the loyalty of all his ruling subjects and these were all over from came from all over Babylon from the great empire of Babylon from one end of it to the other which covered a massive expanse of territory. Remember that at this time he is the head of gold of the great image to which he dreamed about. He is the epitome of that king and ruler on the image. He is the golden kingdom. And so he is a very powerful king. And he rules over many nations. And so as we read there in verse 4, Then, and Harold cried aloud to you, it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages. And so we find that these people represented the peoples, the nations and the languages to which Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom ruled over. Now this becomes quite significant when we think about Nebuchadnezzar. One thing that we might say about him that he is a very proud king. That he is one who had great authority that he is very much in control. There's no one higher on the authority scale than he himself. And so he was looking to get his subjects under control. Let's read a little bit further. That at that time that ye hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, he fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. So he had quite a display of musical instruments, if you will. Now remember that Nebuchadnezzar didn't do anything in a small way. He had the most beautiful city, one of the seven wonders of the world, he had a most beautiful idea of how life should be he was going to control it he had a most terrible view of what could happen to his subjects if they did not obey him and in this particular case we find that his pride was that if any disobeyed him they would be immediately incinerated. You wouldn't die a slow death out in the hot sun, but you would be thrown in a fiery kiln which would be provided at hand. You wouldn't have to wait at all. And so the The image that we have here is one on a very grand scale that Nebuchadnezzar was bringing together a people that he had a reason to accomplish it to unify his kingdom and in that purpose he would not allow any to escape his rule. and so as much as he was challenging anybody foremost of all he was challenging anybody's god because Nebuchadnezzar though he worshipped many gods himself yet we find that he himself wanted to be worshipped as well though this particular image is not necessarily believed to be of him yet it is a image to be worshipped and so any image which is meant to be worshipped is in fact idolatry and any image under when somebody puts somebody under an obligation to worship such a thing it is not only Idolatry, it is the worship of a God. That is what idolatry is all about, is to worship somebody's God. And so, here again it is, comes down to whose God is greater? Is the God of Gods, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, is that God really the greatest God? It's kind of like an unspoken statement. But it is one which is underlying everything that Nebuchadnezzar does. And the reason it is, is because that is what idolatry is all about. Idolatry is something that someone worships that does not represent the true God. The true and living God. and so all other kinds of worship are in fact idolatrous worship if it is not the worship of the true and living God and so we find Nebuchadnezzar is this kind of a king he is full of pride and he has built an image to worship and he expects everybody to worship it especially those within his province and they represent the people and so if he can get all of these people, these rulers, these princes, these governors, these sheriffs, these counselors, these treasurers if he can get all these people on his side to do what he says they can get the people that they control also on their side and they'll be all on the same page as they say and so that is the big contest that you're looking at in verse 6 and whosoever falleth not down and worshipeth shall at the same hour be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace all the people, the nations and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up and so as you look at verse 6 and verse 7 together we see that he brings together those components to which he wanted and we find that this kind of thing is of course nothing new to history But it is something that was important for the king. And we find that as God meant for Nebuchadnezzar to come to some sense of reality about who he really was and who the God of Israel is, this became a contest that would begin to shake the the reign or the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar to a great extent. In verse 8, wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. Now remember here we have another set of people. We have all the nations of the world, we might say well these are all Gentiles. He just says nations of the world. and languages, and then we have the Jews. Remember, biblically speaking, the Jews were a people set apart unto God. It's like you and I, when you really come down to it, when you want to boil it down to a practical reality in life. As Christians, we are a people that are set apart to God as well. Even today, we find there is much to do about everything as a relationship to Christians. I mean, yes, there is a lot being talked about socialism. There's a lot being talked about community and doing things and being politically correct. There's a lot being talked about politics and who's right and who's wrong and when you take the nations of the world, the peoples and the languages of the world What one people would not be able to fit into the little puzzle that Nebuchadnezzar was putting together. It was the Jewish people. What one people in our society in, if you will call it a revived Roman Empire, which is building up to be something someday. What one people are not going to fit into the puzzle of life. it will be the Christians, because in both cases the true Christian worships the one true and living God. The Jew in this day were known to be the people of God, a nation established by God, and a people who could only worship one God. And so we find that there are some parallels in a practical way that we can look at. As we look a little bit further in the reading, in verse 9, they spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, The liar, the sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoever falleth not down and worshipeth that, he should be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O King, have not regarded thee, they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. So now we find that they name them in particular. They are no longer just the Jews, now they are three officials within the kingdom of Babylon. Remember, as Daniel interpreted the dream for Nebuchadnezzar, one of the, if you will, rewards of the interpretation of that dream was that Daniel was promoted to a high office in the province of Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were promoted in other provinces also in Babylon. And now there are some who are accusing that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will not bow down to this image. Here is the persecution which often comes against those who worship the true and living God. Here is the persecution that has over the centuries come against those who have worshipped God, who have worshipped the true God, who have worshipped Jesus Christ. And we have found them throughout history. We have found them in the early church in the first century, as each one of the apostles met their fate. and died martyrs death, Stephen being the first of them. We have found them during the Middle Ages when the church became so corrupt that it hunted down such Christians throughout the Piedmont areas of Italy and those areas wherein Christians secluded themselves from the corrupt church and they hunted these Christians down the Albigensians and other Christians and they slaughtered them and they killed them. We find the also of course this is ultimately what brought on the Reformation was the great persecutions of Christians as well as the great corruption of the church And we find that persecutions eventually, of course, even during the Reformation period became so difficult. And we find that under the kings of England, or queens, there were great persecutions as well. Persecution at this time could be seen just in this nucleus of which was coming against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Also look at verse 14, Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready, at the time when all kinds of music would be played look at the bottom of verse 15 but ye will worship not ye shall be cast in the same hour in the midst of the burning fiery furnace and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? we have the gods of the idols of Babylon which Nebuchadnezzar was allegiant to and we have the God who is the God of Israel. Which one will you serve? It seems that we have heard this before on Mount Carmel when we recognize that one great prophet named Elijah went to the top of that mountain among the prophets of Baal and had a contest as well fire came down from heaven when Elijah spoke but the prophets of Baal could bring nothing but slash themselves and cut themselves as they would they could not produce anything but their own blood and we find that Elijah was greatly victorious because the God of Israel was victorious because the God the living God, the true and living God, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the one whom we serve in the person and work of Jesus Christ, his Son, was victorious. And so, again, the king is somewhat irate, if you will. Okay, verse 16, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Well, what was the attitude of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? We're not going to spin you a yarn, Nebuchadnezzar. We're not going to give you some fluff. We're not going to give you a snow job. We're going to tell you what we really think. As Christians, we need to be able to tell people the truth. We need to tell the truth. We ought to be willing to say what the Bible says. They won't like it. You may even be persecuted for it. You may even get somebody irate at you for it. You may find that you will be condemned for it but we have to do it because we can do no other we cannot serve any other God there is no other God but the true and living God and therefore we are called to do that verse 17 if it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Here is something else we should be much aware of. The true knowledge of God, once it is known, we cannot deny. As believers, We cannot deny that which we know to be true. Nebuchadnezzar was going to learn a lesson in what it was to truly know a God to worship. Hadrach, Meshach and Abednego could no more deny the true and living God than they could deny themselves their own existence. They knew him. As Christians, we know Jesus Christ as our true Lord and Savior. We know no other because there is no other. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me. We've read the scripture this morning concerning the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gave his life for the sheep. The Good Shepherd called his own unto himself. All that cometh to the Father cometh by me. There is none other. And so we have the same truth. It is far removed from the day of Nebuchadnezzar and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. But it is the same truth. It is that truth that sets apart from all other. And so Nebuchadnezzar was about to learn that these three friends would not be intimidated. Verse 19, Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his vicious was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated, and he commanded the most mighty men that were in the army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Well, it is very possible that this furnace might have been built precisely for this job of incinerating people that would not bow down to the image. But it may have been that it was a great kill for burning and treating brick. Babylon had a lot of brick. And it may have been that Nebuchadnezzar just said, well, I guess I'll build this image right near the kill, and anybody who doesn't want to pay attention, well, I will just cast one in every now and then, and pretty soon everybody will bow their knees. And so who's to start with but three Jewish young men who loved the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, who believed in the Decalogue, and believed in the God of Israel. You know, if you and I believe the Word of God, if you and I believe what the book holds you have in your hand, we can do no other but to follow it and to be true to it. And so these three did ignite a fire themselves, and the fire was in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar. It made him furious. because they would not bow their knee no matter what. You know, what does it say? You can do good unto your neighbor and it's like heating coals of fire. Or I should say your enemy. You can do good to your enemy and it's like heaping coals of fire upon their head. Well, we're supposed to do good unto our enemies, are we not? And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego weren't trying to do bad unto Nebuchadnezzar. They were just trying to be true to their God and to serve Him. And that is all God requires of us as well, by the way, to be true to Him. Verse 21, Then these men were bound in their coats and their stockings and their turbans and their other garments, and they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was so urgent that the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound in the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Well, the furnace might have been built somewhat like a huge opening in the top of it that would allow heat to come out if necessary, or exhaust films. And there could have been also a kind of opening in the front that things could be put in, such as brick. but either way we know that Nebuchadnezzar could see in the furnace now he got his strong and mighty men he found three that were loyal to him and he bound up these servants of his called Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and as they were about to get thrown in one of the others got caught up in the whole mess and they didn't survive But here's Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Verse 24, Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and rose up in haste and spoke and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire. and they have no hurt and the form of the fourth is like and I'll quote the King James here the son of God it likes to be translated by most modern translations a son of the gods but I prefer this more contextual rendering because it gives us a true sense immediately that God was in control of the situation. And Nebuchadnezzar's own mind, well, he would have a distorted view of the whole situation anyway, wouldn't he? Since he is not a Jew, and since he does not worship the true and living God, what can he think? anything that he thought was going to be diminishing about who God really is if not completely corrupted but it was a true sense that there was one in the fire like the son of God God was controlling the situation not Nebuchadnezzar And we find that the faith of these three men was the faith of those who were rewarded by God himself. Just as God rewarded the faith of Daniel, God now rewards the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fire, refurnished and spoke, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego the servants of the Most High God come forth and come here then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came forth from the midst of the fire. Now this may sound a little bit confusing to us in the narrative that this godly king can just say to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego they come forth now and so they can walk out. Why do you suppose God did this? Well, this is a little bit perplexing, we might say. But remember the king, Nebuchadnezzar, was established by God. Ever read Isaiah chapter 40? God raises up one nation and puts down another. And all the nations of the world are like a drop in the bucket. So does it surprise you that God has a purpose even for a proud king who has a mighty nation? I mean, after all, God did use Nebuchadnezzar to carry away the people of Israel into the land of Babylon. And he is not through with Nebuchadnezzar yet. He is still working in the mind and heart of this man. as we will yet see as we continue in the book of Daniel so Nebuchadnezzar speaks and God brings Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego out of the fiery furnace Nebuchadnezzar doesn't bring them out just because he opened his mouth God was the one who was controlling the situation we should never forget that We may allow some governor, some president, some potentate, some pontiff or somebody else to speak. But God's in control. We should never forget that. And so here we have God allowing Nebuchadnezzar's three servants to come and continue to serve him. We can continue to serve God in this present world we live in as long as we are in the place God wants us to be. And if we are, whether it be a fiery furnace or it be a proud king, we will be able to do it. Look at verse 27 and following. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors being gathered together, saw these men upon whom bodies the fire had no power, nor was the hair of their heads singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him and have changed the king's word and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any God except their own God. The best that Nebuchadnezzar can come up with is to say their god is bigger than my god but in his own view he was still only a god and that's why that you'll find some of the translators put it the way they do saying a son of the gods when contextually there was no gods anyway if you read the epistles of Paul you would know as we are, that there are no small G-O-D-S gods. They're only made of wood and stone. And in the Old Testament, they were only backed by demons. They had nothing to do with the true and living God. And so we find that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out unscathed in any way whatsoever. Have you ever been in a house that's been through a fire? Well, Nebuchadnezzar didn't even... He didn't even get any smell of fire on them. And they went into a fiery kiln. And they came out completely odor-free. Okay. In verse 29, it changed Nebuchadnezzar's word. he doesn't add any addendum here saying well only Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego don't have to bow down but he did say this therefore I make a decree that every people, nation and language who speak anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses shall be made a refuge heap because there is no other God that can deliver after this thought Nebuchadnezzar was seriously impressed You know what? I think that if we live lives for Christ, we can seriously impress people. Because if we do it God's way, it will be the right way. And even if we get a little trouble, a little guff every now and then, well, that's par for the course. If Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't avoid it, and Daniel didn't avoid it, and Noah didn't avoid it, and David didn't avoid it, Solomon didn't avoid it, Elijah didn't get away without something happening, or Elisha, or Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why should we think we are going to avoid it, but to be true to God? That is enough for us to know that if God so means for us to be delivered out of a situation. He can do it. But even if he decides to let us go through the situation, let it be known, we will serve no other gods. Shall we pray? Loving Father, we thank you for your grace and mercies to us. We thank you for your love and kindness and tender mercies, and that you alone have the power to deliver us. In Jesus' name, Amen.