Daniel 3: Deliverance of the trusting from the fiery furnace
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Chapter 2 Vision Recap
Insert Graphic
Application Recap
Chapter 1 - Resolution defeats compromise.
Chapter 2 - Internal testing prepares us for external testing.
You should fast.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Introduction
Chris LeDoux Song, This Cowboy’s Hat.
In the song, a cowboy and his friend are enjoying a beverage at a bar and a gang of bikers proceed to mock the cowboy and threaten to take his hat. The song reflects on the sentimental value of the hat and at the end Chris LeDoux puts it like this to the biker crowd,
“Now if your leather jacket means to you what this hat means to me
“Now if your leather jacket means to you what this hat means to me
The I guess we understand each other, and we’ll just let it be
But if you still think it’s funny, man, you got my back up against the wall
And if you touch my hat, you’re gonna have to fight us all.”
This cowboy would rather risk a beating than lose his hat, and in Daniel chapter 3, Shadrach (Hanaiah), Meshach (Mishael), and Abednego (Azariah) would rather lose life than lose worship a false God. You, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego possess something that is worth losing everything to keep, your faith. As we discuss and reflect on this story you need to pretend, or use your imagination, whereby in the same situation you too can say “But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold image that you have set up.”
Application
Faithful unto death is the expectation, not the extreme for all who believe.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
This doesn’t mean you will be martyred for the faith, but it does mean that your greatest foe will likely be death. Dying well matters for the Christian.
It is NOT your struggle with sins. It is not your lust, your greed, content you put before your eyes, etc. It is your most devastating foe: death.
Take heart, believer. The apostle Paul reminds in .
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Baseball story - You can’t claim you have faith in your team unless you stay until the end of the game.
Read
Repetition in Chapter 3
3 times - “satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials”
“sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music”
“people, nation, or language”
10 times - “furnace”
7 times - “burning fiery furnace”
11 times - “worship”
Only place in all of Daniel the word worship is used is in chapter 3.
7 times - “fall”, “fell”, “down”
5 times - “cast”
13 times - “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”
6 times - “golden image”
3 times -
Outline of Daniel 3
Scene 1: The king’s command (v1-7)
The greek text, has the phrase “In the eighteenth year” (see )
This is the year the temple is destroyed (586 bc)
Scene 2: The leadership rushes before the king (v8-12)
“maliciously accused the Jews” means “ate their pieces” as we might say “he at his lunch” (Longman, 79)
Scene 3: The king’s rage (v13-15)
Scene 4: The people of God are faithful to death (v16-18)
Supernatural sparing of life is an implicit teaching of resurrection.
God to David: You will have an eternal kingdom.
An eternal kingdom requires eternal life.
We're enslaved.
We die.
We die.
Therefore we must be resurrected.
Pre-incarnate Christ?…likely no.
the messiah is described as one who “comes forth from the ancient of days” but is “separate and distinct from the ancient of days”. I think taking a position that this is the pre-incarnate Christ cheapens
Nebuchadnezzar says...
“son of the god’s” (Daniel
Scene 5: The king’s rage (v19-23)
Bound in clothes due to the king’s urgency.
Becomes a marker of God’s deliverance as the clothes are not harmed.
The king of Babylon has killed with fire before.
‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,”
Scene 6: The king rushes before the leadership (v24-25)
Who is the fourth person?
Pre-incarnate Christ?…likely no.
the messiah is described as one who “comes forth from the ancient of days” but is “separate and distinct from the ancient of days”. I think taking a position that this is the pre-incarnate Christ cheapens
Nebuchadnezzar says...
“son of the god’s”
“God has sent his angel and delivered his servants”
Scene 7: The king’s command undone (v26-30)
Clothes were not harmed.
We don’t see Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego again in the book of Daniel after this.
Biblical Theology in Chapter 3
Looking back, in the new kingdom of God his people do not worship the golden image.
“plain of Dura” - we just moved from a high place (mountain) in chapter 2 to a low place. Where else in the bible can you think of a high place and a low place and a golden image?
In the old covenant, the people of God were unfaithful, but in the new covenant, or the new exile the people of God will be faithful.
Looking forward, in the new kingdom of God the burning fiery furnace is reserved for the wicked.
In , you see God indicate that the day of the lord will be marked by judgment through fire ()
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.
The point here is fire, unlike water, can destroy everything. In the flood, the living creatures are spared judgment (though there lives were likely difficult). Some things can be restored when submerged in water…nothing can be restored submerged in fire.
There are two places in all the bible where the words “fiery furnace” are used. (Hamilton)
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.
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.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Skip back up to . We see a mustard seed that grows into a mighty tree…but like a stone that grows into a mountain in Daniel 2.
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
From Hamilton
With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology The King and His Kingdom: Daniel 3:6 in Matthew 13:42, 50
What Jesus describes is a reversal of human wickedness that sets things right:
• Nebuchadnezzar commanded people to commit idolatry. Jesus commands people to render true worship.
• Nebuchadnezzar cast the righteous into a fiery furnace. Jesus will cast the wicked there.
• Nebuchadnezzar was unable to punish the righteous, and his own soldiers suffered because of his rash foolishness. Jesus will succeed in visiting justice against the wicked; his angels are in no danger; nor will Jesus be foolish or rash.
With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology The King and His Kingdom: Daniel 3:6 in Matthew 13:42, 50
What Jesus describes is a reversal of human wickedness that sets things right:
• Nebuchadnezzar commanded people to commit idolatry. Jesus commands people to render true worship.
• Nebuchadnezzar cast the righteous into a fiery furnace. Jesus will cast the wicked there.
• Nebuchadnezzar was unable to punish the righteous, and his own soldiers suffered because of his rash foolishness. Jesus will succeed in visiting justice against the wicked; his angels are in no danger; nor will Jesus be foolish or rash.