Untitled Sermon (20)

Is unity good or bad?

I think as Christians we’d say that it’s vitally important for people to dwell in unity. Consider the words of this well-known leader:

The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and cooperation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life.[1]

This leader goes on to say,

The unity of a nation's spirit and will are worth far more than the freedom of the spirit and will of an individual; and that the higher interests involved in the life of the whole must here set the limits and lay down the duties of the interests of the individual.[2]

Here he encourages disciples to continue to dwell in unity. Because it is through unity that we will find resolve to go forward:

Remain strong in your faith, as you were in former years. In this faith, in its close-knit unity our people to-day goes straight forward on its way and no power on earth will avail to stop it.[3]

For this leader unity is of upmost importance.

We’ve talked about this before, but there are biological reasons for us to desire unity. Oxytocin “the happy chemical” is released whenever we feel connected to others. In his book, Collective Illusions, Todd Rose says this about oxytocin

“…oxytocin increases our likelihood of complying with or temporarily supporting a position we may personally dislike. In search of this happy hormonal reward, we tend to prioritize behaviors that benefit our relationships.”

We prioritize unity. Our hearts long for unity, stability, and empire building. None of these are necessarily bad things. I’d argue that all of these come from how God made us. Unity, stability, being fruitful and multiplying, is the stuff of the Garden of Eden.

The problem, though, is that ever sense human sin entered into the world—we can be united around the wrong things. Those quotes earlier…? Adolf Hitler.

Unity around a Nazi worldview is clearly not a good thing. You can be united around the wrong thing. We see it in the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, and we’re seeing it again here in Daniel 3.

Daniel has just shared with this powerful king the meaning of a scary dream—his empire will someday fall. There is an empire, not made with human hands, which will someday rule and reign.

In Daniel 2:44 we read that “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed...” keep that language in your mind...

Nebuchadnezzar hears this and takes it to heart. But he responds by trying to unite his kingdom…by centering everything on his kingdom…giving people the unity, safety, security, empire building, etc. that we all desire.

Listen in…we’re going to look at all of Daniel 3, but let’s just stand and read Daniel 3:1-7 for now, particularly listen for the phrase “set up”...

Daniel 3:1–7 ESV

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Did you notice all the times that the author of Daniel tells us that Nebby “set up” this statue?

And did you notice all of these lists…All the “peoples, nations, languages” are there with all the important people playing all of their instruments....the picture here is to cast this really wide net—everybody is doing this thing…and then to center it on one thing—this statue.

One other thing that we need to know about Babylon. They were polytheistic. What that means is that they didn’t care if you still kept all your other gods. Nebuchadnezzar isn’t demanding that you throw out your gods, he’s just demanding that you add another (him…or at least his gods).

He’s willing to tolerate any belief---even a belief in YHWH—so long as that belief is willing to bow a knee. You can fly your flag, just make sure it’s under the Babylonian flag. You can worship however you please in your own private space—so long as it’s subordinate to the demands of Babylon.

When the music plays—you bow down. If you don’t, then you get kicked out of the kingdom by way of a fiery furnace.

It’s working. Look at verse 7. The whole world is bowing to Nebuchadnezzar it seems:

English Standard Version Chapter 3

Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Let’s think about this for one second how easy it would be to bow a knee. You don’t have to give up anything, really. You just have to add something. It’s not asking you to abandon your faith, necessarily. You can keep that with you.

If you don’t bow a knee—then you’re going to be destroyed. And we can’t underestimate the social pressure here. Everybody is bowing a knee.

I am thinking here of the Wizard of Oz. The scarecrow, the tin-man, the cowardly lion, Dorothy…they all have things that they need, and they are told that the only way they can get it is by going to see the Great and Powerful Oz.

And remember that scene when they are in that long hall and the Great and Powerful Oz causes smoke and fire and quite this scene—and it just terrifies the lion? Well, that’s what is happening here…I mean that statue is massive. It’s the Great and Powerful Oz...

This is how he is presenting things. You see that big statue, you see the unity, you see the luxury, the beauty of Babylon, all the things that your heart could want—I’ll happily give these to you friend. Just trust me, rely on me, be part of my kingdom.

Oh, and if you don’t…I’ll throw you in a fiery furnace. It’s like playing that Would You Rather game. Would You Rather be given a million dollars and a lifetime supply of peach cobbler OR get thrown into a burning hot furnace?

That seems like an obvious choice. And everybody in the empire is making it...

Well....almost.

We learn in verses 8-12, by way of a few malicious Chaldeans, that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to worship.

These Chaldeans are probably jealous—because they’ve been promoted and their Jews and that just shouldn’t be. And so they try to stir up the king. “These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods (that’s an intentional framing…they don’t say ‘our gods’…they are framing it as a personal offense)…they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

They refuse to acknowledge your kingdom! So Nebby responds as kings do. The text says he is in a furious rage but it seems like the king is trying to give them an out. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding, maybe it’s just a malicious accusation. They’ll play the music again—give another chance…now you can bow.

Listen to verse 15—hear the arrogance...”But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

Think about something for just a moment. Nebuchadnezzar burned the Jewish temple to the ground in 586 BC. In his mind what does that mean? It means that the god who was supposed to be protecting that temple—the god whose house that was—well he’s an impotent god. At least in the face of the great and powerful Oz. He can’t deliver!

How will they respond?

Daniel 3:16–18 ESV

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Now you need to know that verse 17 is particularly difficult. And it’s really not reflected in our translations. What the text literally says is something like how the NET Bible translates it,

“If our God whom we are serving exists, he is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire...”

Or it could be something like this,

“If our God, whom we worship, is able to save us, he will save us from the furnace of fire.”

But you can see how that’s difficult and so we translate it in such a way to try to help it make a bit more sense. “If it be so....” or “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace”. But that’s really not what they are saying. They aren’t questioning whether they’ll get thrown in the fire.

Nor do I think are they actually questioning either God’s existence or his ability. But rather they are using Nebuchadnezzar’s language OR they are saying, “we aren’t sure if he’ll actually save us from the fire.” And I think given verse 18—which has another conditional—that is what the meaning is.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego absolutely know that God is able to protect them. He can deliver them from the furnace. But they just aren’t sure if He is going to. They don’t know His will. But they trust Him.

Oh, what wonderful faith this is. Burn us up, king. We aren’t going to bow to you under any circumstance. Keep your peach cobbler—throw us in the fire.

As expected the king is furious. He cranks up the heat…and it’s seven times hotter…and he picks his strongest guys in his army to tie up these three teens. That’s overkill isn’t it? But it’s a flex. He’s putting all of his strength and anger…he’s showing all of his strength!

It’s the Great and Powerful Oz cranking up all of his bells and whistles....but look what happens. Look at verse 22…the flame kills the men who took Rack, Shaq, and Benny.

Do you see what’s happening here? This is Toto pulling back the curtain and the Great and Powerful Oz is exposed as the impotent and insecure man that he is. Nebuchadnezzar can’t even protect the strongest men in his army. They are consumed by the fire.

And really if we can stop back on this story we see that all of those lists and all of the pomp and stuff that is going on here…it’s all a mirage. It’s comical. It’s completely empty. It’s just a big show. The big giant statue…it’s pathetic. He has to “set it up”. It’s what he made with his hands....it’s the thing of every human kingdom…every idol. It’s not real. It’s not ultimate.

Daniel is exposing this. He’s exposing this of all the human kingdoms. And it’s intentional—because there are always going to be Nebuchadnezzar’s. Human leaders who offer empty promises and empty threats.

And if we can see it for what it is, then it can be robbed of its power. The Nebuchadnezzar’s of the world do not hold ultimate power. Nor do they hold the keys to pleasure. They don’t define goodness. They aren’t ultimately in control.

And we see this because as Rack, Shack, and Benny fall into this furnace—we’re supposed to see them as vulnerable and not in charge either—they are just as impotent as Nebby. But there is a fourth man in that fire.

Now there is much debate on the identity of this fourth man. Is this a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus? Is this an angel? Personally, I lean towards it being a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. But the text doesn’t let us be definitive here. So, we just have to say that this fourth man is God’s means by which these three youth are preserved.

The point is that Nebuchadnezzar said, “what God can deliver them out of my hands...” Well, the God of Rack, Shack, and Benny. That’s who. They weren’t even harmed. Not even singed.

And so this powerful king is humbled…or is he? In verse 28 he acknowledges God…but verse 29 shows us that his worldview hasn’t changed at all. He’s just putting YHWH up among the gods which ought to be revered…He is still the God of these men and not necessarily Nebuchadnezzar’s God.

I think this is an important point for us to camp out on here. Let’s think back to that choice of everyone in Babylon. Why would you bow?

For some, they might bow out of sheer agreement. Babylon is awesome, Nebby is awesome, why would I not. Others might bow out of necessity—they don't want to die, they don’t want to take a stand here, they aren’t exactly on board with all this but they also don’t see a huge harm in it. They’ll eat the peach cobbler and avoid the furnace.

But why wouldn’t you bow. You know some might not bow a knee simply because they believe that it should be THEM that has the statue. They don’t necessarily agree with Nebby in principle—they just disagree with who is in power. If they were in power themselves they’d erect their own fiery furnace and throw every unbeliever in the pit.

I want to show you something interesting. Look with me at Matthew 13:36-43

Matthew 13:36–43 ESV

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Do you hear any similarities? Jesus is throwing “all law-breakers” into the fiery furnace. It’s the same language used in Daniel 3.

What’s more, in verse 41 Jesus uses a title “son of Man” which comes from Daniel 7. And do you see all that language of a kingdom? Which one is this? It’s the one which was in Nebby’s dream. Just a few verses before this Jesus spoke of the parable of the mustard seed—which uses language from Daniel 4, and also give us that image of the kingdom coming out of the rock and spreading and growing.

If we aren’t careful we could use the language of Jesus here and just plug it right into the world of Nebuchadnezzar and think that this is what a Christian ought to do in the here and now. As if the only problem in this story is that Nebby is in power and not Jesus Christ.

But that would be missing a few key facts. The rule of Christ is righteous. It is good. Worshiping Jesus is good. It is what we were created for.

Nebby was throwing righteous people into the furnace. He was centering himself and his kingdom. He was taking upon himself judgment that didn’t belong to him. There was nothing righteous about what he was doing…he wasn’t using proper standards. And so his kingship is a failure, he’s not doing what a king ought to do.

But Jesus is perfectly just. Jesus is casting the wicked into the fiery furnace. Not the innocent. Not the vulnerable. The wicked.

The problem, though, according to the Bible is that this is all of us. We’re not innocent. We’re the wicked. This, then, is the wonder of the gospel. We deserve the fiery furnace. Not from Nebby’s foolish and prideful kingdom. No, we truly deserve separation from all that is good and righteous. We’ve rejected this kingdom. We’ve said— “I won’t bow. I won’t dance to your music, Jesus. I’ll dance to my own.” And so he’s giving us what we desire. We’re picking our gods, we’re picking our kingdom, and this is the result.

But God in His great mercy saves us from the fire of our own choosing. He rescues and redeems us. He takes our punishment upon Himself. He goes through the fire of hell on our behalf—so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

And now that he has done this, we are called to be ministers of reconciliation. Not ministers of pushing people in the fire. Ministers of reconciliation. Ministers who tell people the good news.

Tim Keller quote---MORE LOVED AND ACCEPTED

There is more that could be said about idolatry and the idols which we craft in our day. We could tell the story of Nebby through this text—it’s a sad one. But it’s one that fits our own story.

The world, the flesh, and the devil is playing a song for us to bow to. I don’t know the tune for you—but I know the pull of it. It’s a tune which is a bit honest—you’ll be thrown in the furnace if you follow Jesus. You’ve got peach cobbler over here.

What do you want? Death to yourself or peach cobbler?

But the gospel tells us that the peach cobbler doesn’t last, it doesn’t fill us up, it’s not eternal, it doesn’t last. The sorrows of those who run after other gods will multiply. You bow to this tune and you’re always going to be chasing.

And the gospel also tells us that being thrown in the furnace, that death to self that happens—is actually the means of life.

There is a tune being played everyday. Will you bow?

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[1] "My New Order". Book by Adolf Hitler, p. 144, 1941. [2] Adolf Hitler (1938). “Adolf Hitler from Speeches 1933-1938” [3] Adolf Hitler “The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939: An English Translation of Representative Passages Arranged Under Subjects and Edited by Norman H. Baynes”