Daniel
Chapter 3
King Nebuchadnezzar made a big statue of gold. We do not know what shape the statue was in, but we know that it was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. That is a lot of gold even if it is a thin covering on the outside. And maybe it was all gold.
Some people think that the statue was an image of the king himself, but we do not know that for sure. It could have been a god, or a god in an animal shape.
The king send out messages to all the other kings and rulers, governors, leaders of all the lands and countries that Nebuchadnezzar ruled over and told them to come to the dedication of this statue.
There were hundreds of people who came from all over from far away. They would stay at Nebuchadnezzar’s for awhile.
At the dedication ceremony of this statue there were trumpets and other instruments to make music When the music began the people were to bow down low before the statue.
The king told them that if they did not bow down they would be thrown into a furnace of fire.
The music played and all of the people bowed down except 3 young Jewish men
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (the 3 friends of Daniel’s).
Some of the other wise men went to King Nebuchadnezzar and told him about it.
King Nebuchadnezzar called the 3 men before him. He said, “Is it true that you refuse to bow down to the statue I have made?” “I will give you one more chance to bow down.
Go out there and when the music begins bow down. If you do not I will throw you into a furnace of fire. And what god is going to be able to save you then?”
(This is a thought: The gods the people served and the king served must not have been very powerful gods. Because King Nebuchadnezzar did not think that any god was powerful enough to save these men from the fire.
King Nebuchadnezzar thought that what he planned to do to the men no one or no god could do anything about it. In other words, King Nebuchadnezzar was more powerful that the gods. That they would not be able to stop him.)
The 3 Jewish men told the king, that they would not bow down to the statue even if they were given another chance.
And they said, “If you throw us into the fire of the furnace the God we serve is able to save us from the fire. But if he does not save us we will not bow down to your gods or the statue you set up.”
(Note here: The 3 men were willing to die to stay true to God. They were not going to sin and worship another god. If they died, then so be it. They would stay true to the God of heaven. However, they believed their God was powerful enough that He could save them if He decided to do it. Either way they would be true to God.)
(Being true to God is important. Only the true God has a heaven we want to go to.
Only the true God of heaven can forgive our sins so we can go to that heaven. If we deny (say we do not know) and go against that true God what hope have we?
We should never think “Oh, I will just bow down because I have to but in my heart I love God.”
Jesus said If we deny (say we do not know him) then Jesus and God will say He does not know us. But if we confess that we know God and belong to God then Jesus God will confess that He knows us. Matthew 10:32 ,32 If God/Jesus will not recognize us—–we are out.
We have to be willing to stand up for God when the time comes. It may be the last thing we do for God. But if we do not stand up for God He will not stand up for us when we stand in heaven to be judged before God.
These words of the men made King Nebuchadnezzar very, very angry. He thought he was being generous to let them have a second chance. But they just told him that they never would bow down to the statue or any other god.
The king told his servants to make the fire 7 times hotter than usual.
The soldiers took the 3 men and tied their feet and hands and the soldiers threw the men into the furnace of fire.
Since the fire had been made so hot and the flames were so big when the soldiers threw the men into the fire the soldiers got burned with the flames and died.
The 3 men being tied fell down into the flames.
King Nebuchadnezzar was watching. As he looked he saw 4 men in the fire. He said that one of the men looked like a god —– not like a human—-but special like a supernatural being.
He said: “They are walking around! They are not even hurt by the flames!”
So the king came as close as he could and he shouted to the men in the furnace “Come out!”
The 3 men came out. (The 4th man disappeared.) When the men came out their clothes were not burned. Their hair was not burned. They did not smell like smoke.
The only thing that burned was the ropes that tied them.
King Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach.and Abednego. He has sent his angel to save them in the fire because they trusted in Him. They went against the king’s command and would not bow down to any god except their own God.
The king said, “And so a make a law that no one ruler or common man shall say anything against this God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego . If any one should say anything against their God, I will tear off their arms and legs and tear down their houses. Because there is no other god who can save a person like their God.”
Then King Nebuchadnezzar gave the 3 men higher leadership places in his kingdom.
(Two times now King Nebuchadnezzar has seen the power of the God of heaven shown to him. He saw how God told Daniel the dream and what it meant. Now he has seen how God was able to save men from burning up in the middle of the flames.
These are two very powerful things. Each time King Nebuchadnezzar has praised the God of heaven. However, the king still has not had a complete change of heart. It will take more before he completely knows and recognizes that the God of heaven is more powerful than any god on earth.)