Daniel Chapter 3 (Part 2)
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Recap part 1
I want to be clear about comparing biblical situations to your own personal situations.
It’s not about the comparison but it’s about the God of the situation.
And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. 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?”
This is very interesting…
“And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?
I thought you knew…
Beware of narcissistic people!
Apparently Nebuchadnezzar felt like no matter who the god was… the god was not greater than him.
Narcissistic: having an excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one's physical appearance
Signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder
Grandiose sense of self-importance.
Lives in a fantasy world that supports their delusions of grandeur.
Needs constant praise and admiration.
Sense of entitlement.
Exploits others without guilt or shame.
Frequently demeans, intimidates, bullies, or belittles others.
If you are Self-centered you are not God-centered
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.”
These three men took a stand…
They understood who they served and what God required
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Jealous: fiercely protective and unaccepting of disloyalty.
God is a Jealous God!
We cannot relate to this situation if we are bowing down to the Image!
their Loyalty to God.... caused them to take a stand.
their faith in God.... gave God the green light to show!
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated.
Same God!!!
Let’s look at the God of the fiery furnace....
Wait… We have to believe that he is the God of the fiery furnace!
And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the king’s order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Wait.... The flame of the fire killed those men who took them up… But it didn’t kill them!
Same God! - God didn’t show up in the fire.... He was already with them from the foundation of the world!
This is why the devil couldn’t have killed me when he had a chance because he never had the chance!
And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”
He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
“But I see”
The furnace was for Nebuchadnezzar
It was for him to see who was the true and living God!
Nebuchadnezzar had and idea that their were gods… That’s why he said the fourth man looked like a “son of the gods.”
He said I see four men unbound…
Walking in the midst of the fire
They are not hurt
Same God - God will preserve us in the midst of our situations!
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
Same God - The same God who took them in it.... Is the same God that brought them out of It!
And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them.
“gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men.”
The Furnace was for there Formation…
Nebuchadnezzar answered 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 set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”
Same God - “There is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”
The furnace transformed the perspective of the King about the true and living God!
The Furnace answered his question “Who will deliver you out of my hand?”
Remember they were in captivity and God still showed that He is still the God of captivity!
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.