The Golden Image

Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, established the city of Babylon. Nimrod was not a good man. He was the first man to establish anti-God civilizations. When God flooded the world to rid it of the evil men and women, Nimrod is the largest catalyst for evils return into God’s creation. Apparently Babylon never really changed.

Lets break this down. King Nebuchadnezzar was not content with Daniel’s interpretation of his dream, and roughly 15 years later (when this story takes place) he is still fixated on it. The dream foretold that Babylon would not be an empire forever, but the king was not content with that. So he sets up a statue that was made of gold, the precious metal that represented the Babylonian empire, and fashioned it to look as close to himself as possible. Then he placed a furnace somewhere close by to burn anyone who defied the kings commands

S,M,A resolved to remain loyal to God. No matter what, they confessed that they will not bend the knee to the king and worship his false image. God had sustained them up to that point, they are not about to turn their back on Him now.

When the music played, and the people fell to the earth, SMA stood there sticking out like a sore thumb. Jealous Chaldeans jumped at the opportunity to turn the Hebrews in. They ran to the king with the news of SMA’s onjection.

The king brought them up to his side and asked if this opposition was true, and this was there response.

Daniel 3:16-18 “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.””

This is one of the best responses I have ever heard. Listen, as Christians, we need to adopt this mentality. If God delivers us, so be it; if not, we will not compromise our morals. The thing is this. It might not have been God’s will that He deliver SMA’s. This might have been the end of the road for these guys. Would it be God’s fault? No. It would be Nebuchadnezzar’s. What if the Hebrews would have bent the knee? They surely would have lived, but they would have pledged loyalty to a false god, turning their backs on the God of heaven.

Life is not going to be perfect. Pray for God’s will to be done, and pray that you will be content with the outcome. God’s will is paramount. He knows what is best. It does not hurt to pray. Even Jesus prayed this “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”” Matt. 26:39.

The same with SMA, they wanted to be saved from sure death, but even if that was God’s plan then they would still follow His will, which is to remain faithful to Him.

But God’s plans for the Hebrews did not end there on that plain. They were thrown into the fire, yes, but they did not burn. You see, God sent someone to protect them in the midst of those flames. Many actually believe that this was Jesus Himself, and the evidence points to this as well.

Nebuchadnezzar was confused. He threw in 3 men, yet he saw 4 and one appeared to be that of the son of a god. He called for SMA to come back out of that fire to which they did. The ropes had burned, but their skin was fine. Their hair was not singed, their clothes were not scorched. They were unscathed.

This led Nebuchadnezzar to come to a realization and make another decree. No God except the God of SMA must be real; therefore, no God except Yaweh may be worshiped in his kingdom.

How the faith of SMA turned the tides of spirituality. When we remain faithful to God, great things can happen. Now you may not turn a nation, and you may not walk through a fire, but you may turn someone else’s life around. You could change their entire eternal destination, then they may go on to lead nations to Christ, who knows?

The key importance is that you trust in God to handle the situation, remain in prayer through it all, and be faithful to the end. Just like SMA