An Idol Response
Tom Shrader walks through Daniel 3, tracing how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood firm against Nebuchadnezzar's command to worship a massive golden image, grounding their refusal in the sovereignty of God and the clear commands of Exodus 20. He draws out three marks that sustained the three men — knowledge of God's sovereignty, knowledge of Scripture, and a willingness to die rather than compromise — and applies each to the everyday pressures believers face at work, in relationships, and in culture. The appearance of a fourth figure in the fire becomes the sermon's central image for Christ's presence with His people in suffering, and Shrader closes by calling the congregation to humble, engaged, prayerful involvement in the world around them rather than withdrawal.
“God either caused or allowed everything in our life, and if that statement is not true, He's not God.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Faithful
Recorded: 2012 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 57 min
Themes: idolatry, suffering, courage, faithfulness, persecution, God's sovereignty, standing firm, cultural pressure, facing workplace pressure, young adult, new believer, struggling with compromise, feeling alone in faith, navigating cultural expectations, student, questioning whether to speak up
Scripture: Daniel 1:8, Daniel 1:17, Daniel 1:20, Daniel 2:5, Daniel 2:10-11, Daniel 2:20-23, Daniel 2:46-48, Daniel 3:1-30, Daniel 4:28-31, Exodus 20:3-5, 1 John 5:21, James 1:6-8, Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 1 Peter 4, 2 Corinthians 1, 2 Chronicles 7:14
Theological Themes: sovereignty of God, christophany, the ten commandments, biblical inerrancy, sanctification, becoming holy, theology of suffering, scripture as authority
Full Transcript
Review of Daniel Chapters 1 and 2
Open your Bibles to the book of Daniel. If you don't have a Bible, raise your hand and we'll give you a copy. If you get a Bible from us, it's page 478. This is a series titled "Faithful," and this is part two. Part one was an examination of the life of Joseph. Today is the third week of part two as we look at the first six chapters of the book of Daniel.
It's important, especially this time of year, because people are traveling. Maybe you missed the first week, or maybe you were here last week and missed the one before. I just want to make sure we're up to speed, so I want to review and remind you what we're looking at.
We're looking at Daniel, and we know Daniel. We know his three friends, most familiar by the names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They are important characters in this book, as well as King Nebuchadnezzar. Those are the four chief human characters in the book. The main character in the book of Daniel, however, is God, and the sovereignty of God is true obviously of all of Scripture, but we really see it in this story.
This story is a historical account of events that took place. They began for us when Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem. He captures the city, and among the different strategies that are part of his victory strategy, he deports the king, some of his family, and some of the best and the brightest. Daniel and the boys were part of that. They were brought back to Babylon, and the king said good help is hard to find, so if we could take these guys because they're extraordinary.
Remember, the boys at this time would have been about 14, 15, 16 years old. The king's thinking was: if we could take them and somehow assimilate them into our culture, they could really prove to be helpful to us. So that was the process that was started in chapter one. We're going to teach them our ways. We're going to feed them our diet. They're going to learn the literature and the language.
Daniel's Resolve in Chapter 1
We said the key verse in chapter one — and in a way it's a verse that repeats in terms of importance all through the book — is that Daniel made up his mind he would not defile himself. Daniel resolves. Today we're going to look at Daniel chapter three, and noticeably absent from the story today is Daniel. So the boys come front and center, and we see the same resolve in their minds that we saw in Daniel's mind.
Daniel had his situation in terms of food. The king wanted him to eat a certain food. His supervisor said you've got to eat it; I'm worried about losing my head. Daniel constructed this little test period. What we learn in chapter one, verse 17, is that God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom, and to Daniel He gave the ability to see and hear and interpret all kinds of dreams and visions. When the king interviewed these boys at the end of the three-year period, they were found, in verse 20 of chapter one, to be ten times brighter, ten times sharper, ten times better than all the others.
The King's Dream in Chapter 2
Chapter two was about the king's dream, and that's what we looked at last week. The king has a dream, and you see in verse two that he goes to the magicians, conjurers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans — those are his go-to guys, his cabinet. Those are the ones he would go to for insight and help and all sorts of direction. He says he can't remember the dream, so he demands that they tell him what the dream was and what the interpretation is. They couldn't do it.
In fact, the king says they're going to die if they don't do this. They were so driven by fear that in chapter two, verse 10, they said there is not a man on earth who could do this. What you've asked is unprecedented. It's unrealistic. No human could do it. In verse 11 they say, "Moreover, the thing that the king demands is difficult, and there is no one who could declare it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh." In other words, the paraphrase is: except the gods, and they don't hang out with people like us.
So there is this dream, but no human could interpret it — they got that part right. They talked about these gods with a little g, but there is the God, the God of Daniel. When Daniel comes, we saw all sorts of amazing things about him. Daniel goes to the king and asks for a little bit of time, not because he's just trying to negotiate his way out, but because he's giving God the opportunity to provide the interpretation. God does. God gives Daniel the interpretation of the dream in a dream.
Daniel's Humility Before the King
Daniel's response — and that's what we talked about last week — is worth reflecting on. He said if that were us, there might have been that flinch. If that were me, when I got that dream I'd have gone right to Nebuchadnezzar. We might have said, "Nebuchadnezzar, you're one lucky king, because here I am and I've got it." What we saw instead is Daniel's humility and his dependence upon God.
In chapter 2, verse 20, he said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times. He removes kings. He lifts people up." He is sovereign. And He is the one who reveals — not just in a macro way, but Daniel says in verse 23, to me as well.
Daniel then goes to the king and gives him the dream. Remember the dream: there was a statue with a head of gold, then bronze, representing different empires — the Babylonian Empire, the greatest of them, which was Nebuchadnezzar, then the Medes and the Persians, then the Greeks, then the Romans. The whole point of the dream was that along came this ultimate kingdom, the kingdom of God, which would destroy all human kingdoms. Daniel comes and gives the king the dream he had forgotten and the interpretation of it.
Picking Up Where We Left Off
Last week we left off at verse 46: "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel and gave orders to present him an offering and fragrance and incense. He said, 'Surely your God is a God of gods, the Lord of kings, the revealer of mysteries.'" Then the king promoted Daniel — verse 48 says he gave him many gifts, made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. And then Daniel said, what about the boys? And the boys were promoted as well.
I mentioned last week, almost in passing, think about this: here are these young boys from Judah, probably 17 or 18 years old at this point, who are now put in charge of all the wise men of Babylon. That is going to generate professional jealousy. That is going to generate animosity, bitterness, and resentment — not at Nebuchadnezzar, because he is untouchable, but at these boys. That really begins here, and it plays itself out today.
We saw it at the end of chapter one, we saw it at the end of chapter two, and we are going to see it today at the end of chapter three. Nebuchadnezzar has this moment where he gets the sense — not that he wants to worship Daniel's God, but that he is impressed with Daniel's God. He understands that this is the God, he declares it, and you kind of wonder how long it is going to take him to truly get it.
Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image
He does not get it yet. By the time we reach chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar has a plan. Chapter 3, verse 1: "Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon."
Archaeologists have uncovered not the statue itself, but the base of the statue. The base alone was twenty feet high. The statue was ninety feet high and nine feet wide, sitting on this absolutely flat plain. Think of driving from Gila Bend to Yuma — that kind of flat plain — and there stands this statue. You may have missed this detail: it is not gold-plated. It is a gold statue. The statue is roughly eleven stories high, and the sun would hit it and it would dominate for miles and miles around. As I said, not gold-plated — solid gold. I have no idea, nor did I find anyone who estimated the amount of gold it would take, and obviously that leads me to wonder what it would cost, what its value would be. But I couldn't find anything specific. Here is what I wrote: it's a lot. That is all I wrote. It's a lot.
Remember where we left things — the king says, "Your God is something. He is the God of gods. He is the King of kings. He is really something." Time passes, and in Nebuchadnezzar's head he starts to replay all of this. He thinks about that statue from Daniel's dream and says, why should my empire be limited to just the head of gold? Let's make it head to toe gold. Daniel had impressed him to the point where we have to assume the king is genuinely moved. In chapter 2, verse 47, the king declares this is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, the one who reveals mysteries. He is in awe, he pays homage, he promotes Daniel — he sees all of this.
But somewhere along the way, something shifts in him. He thinks, I don't know if I can accept this forever. And here comes the moment where Nebuchadnezzar had, in fact, sort of acknowledged God, but then at the same time seems to say: I will not allow the God of Daniel to set my kingdom aside. My rule will endure.
The Chronic Problem of Pride
Nebuchadnezzar has a chronic problem, and his is more obvious than yours, but it is the same as yours. I say it frequently from here: I know your besetting sin even though I may not know you personally, and it is ego and pride. Nebuchadnezzar is filled with pride and ego. He is rebellious.
After today, there is going to be another one of these remarkable moments where Nebuchadnezzar says, "Wow." But by the time we get to chapter four, he has had a little time to regroup. Look at chapter 4 — we will get to it next week, but here is a hint. Chapter 4, verse 28: there is a dream that happens, Daniel is again involved, and it says twelve months later Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power for the glory of my majesty?"
And finally God says, all right, that is enough. "While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you.'" God lifts up. God puts down. Who is going to win the election in November? Whoever God raises up. I have a certain hope about what I think God is thinking, but who knows? God raises up. Did God raise up Hitler? Yes. Why? I am not trying to be intellectually dismissive when I say I am not going to spend time on the whys — it is simply because God has a purpose and God has a plan.
God raised up Nebuchadnezzar, and look at God's patience. Three different times we have these enormous moments where Nebuchadnezzar sees the truth, but his chronic problem is: you know what, it is all about me. If I remember correctly, they used to run chariot races on top of the walls of that palace — that is how impressive it was. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world. So Nebuchadnezzar finishes dinner, and he is strolling around the top of the palace wall, and his favorite song is "How Great I Art." That is his chronic problem.
A New Religion on His Terms
That chronic problem manifests itself fully here in chapter three. He says, I have a new idea for religion. He may not want to declare himself God outright, but he is going to tell everyone what they can worship. They can worship this statue — his statue.
Here is how he lays it out. Chapter 3, verse 2: "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers..."
The Golden Image and the Command to Bow
The judge, the magistrates, all the rulers in the province came to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the King set up. Then the satraps and the prefects and the governors and the counselors and the treasurers and the judges and the magistrates — all the rulers of the province — were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the King had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "To you the command is given, O people, nations, men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn and the flute and the lyre, the trigon" — anybody got their lyre with them today? — "the psalter, the bagpipe" — that would ruin it all. I don't know what a lyre is, but it can't be worse than a bagpipe. "And all the kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar has set up, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast in the midst of the furnace of blazing fire."
"Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn and the flute and the lyre and the trigon and the psalter and the bagpipe and all the music, all the people, nations, and every man of every language fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up."
So there is the story. You are going to worship this image.
The Resolve of the Three
Now if you have been with us, it should not be very difficult to see that this is not going to work for Daniel. We have already seen Daniel resolve that he was not going to eat the food, so he is certainly not going to bow down to this statue. As I said earlier, what is interesting is that Daniel is not mentioned in this chapter, but the boys are. What you see is that the boys have the same resolve that Daniel had, and obviously what I want to plead with you is that it would be the same resolve you would have as you face these situations in your own life.
Jealousy and Accusation
"For this reason, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews." You can almost hear it in the language. You see it in verse 12 when they say, "There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province." You can almost hear the jealousy and the bigotry, the resentment in their voices.
Here is what I want you to see: that same thing can occur among co-workers, neighbors, classmates, friends — and I will add church members. People who look at one another and, for whatever reason, are incurably insistent upon talking about people, whether it be slander or gossip. What is particularly difficult in the church, of course, is tearing people down rather than building people up.
It seems reasonable just understanding sin. I have been talking with Sandy a lot this week about sin, and I am struck by how sin makes life so predictable — how you can almost count on people to sin. So here are these men, and they were passed over by these Jewish young men. They cannot stand these guys.
And by the way, if anything, they should be grateful to Daniel, because what did Daniel do? He saved their lives. The king had an edict out to kill all of these men if they could not produce an interpretation of his dream, and Daniel did. But rather than being thankful, they are embittered toward him, and they are looking for ways to destroy Daniel and destroy the boys. This is the occasion, because they are watching — and when everyone else is bowing down, they look around and notice these men are not bowing.
As I said, Daniel is not there. He may be out serving in some other area of the province; we do not know why. But these accusers jump all over the opportunity.
The Accusation Before the King
"They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, 'O king, live forever. You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of'" — the horn, the flute, the lyre, the trigon, the psalter, the bagpipe — "'and all kinds of music is to fall down and worship the golden image, but whoever does not fall down and worship should be cast in the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over'" — and they do not say it that way, but the implication is there — "'namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have disregarded you. They do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.'" They are saying: these men are not bowing down — I do not know if you noticed, king, but we were watching.
"Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, 'Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image I have set up?'" Interestingly, no answer is given there; the assumption is obviously that no, they do not.
The King Offers a Second Chance
Then the king gives them a second chance. Verse 15: "Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn and the bagpipe and all music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made — very well." There is an assumption built into that offer, and I am not certain it is the only thing driving it, but it is certainly a driving thing in a lot of relationships — and as I said, you can count on sin. The assumption is that everybody has a price.
Years ago, the first real job I ever had out of college — well, one summer I worked construction. The irony of that makes everyone laugh, but I worked with these men. It was the first time I had to join a union. It was the first time I was told to slow down because we did not want to be too productive. I will not bring those two things together; I will just say we worked very, very slowly, alongside men who had been doing this job forever. And they would say, "College boy" — that would be me —
Pre-Deciding Your Convictions
My boss taught me a valuable business lesson: almost everybody has a price. I might not do it for a dollar, but I would do it for a hundred. I would never do that under normal circumstances. Here is the key, and this is an application point that goes back to chapter 1, verse 8: you need to resolve in your mind ahead of time. Pre-decide your decisions. Our convictions, our beliefs, and the actions that flow from what we truly believe will affect how we behave.
In James chapter 1, James is talking about faith and says, "But we must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from God." He is double-minded and unstable in all his ways. James is saying there needs to be a resolution to this.
These boys in Daniel understood a whole range of things, and my assumption is — though it is not in the text — that they had talked about this beforehand. Remember when Daniel was confronted with the command to interpret the dream? It does not say he called a meeting. He went home, and the boys were already there praying. My guess is they were not sitting around watching ESPN or playing video games. They were talking about life and talking about situations that could arise.
My assumption, or at least what would be true in my life, is that they would have role-played scenarios and talked through all the options — things that might come up and why. They may not have talked specifically about what to do if there is a ninety-foot image of gold and they are commanded to bow down and worship. They may not have addressed that exact situation. But they certainly had those principles firmly in mind.
So when the king confronted them, they did not have to deliberate. That was a done deal for them. They were not working it out in the moment. They were confident because the decision had already been made.
The Foundation: The Ten Commandments
Turn to the book of Exodus, because this is what was driving their resolve. Exodus chapter 20 — page 40 in the Bible provided for you. The heading may say "The Ten Commandments." These boys understood this. They knew exactly where they stood.
It says, "You shall have no other gods before Me." Exodus 20, verse 4 continues: "You shall not make for yourselves an idol, or a likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God."
He is jealous in the right way. When I think of jealousy, I tend to think of something petty — I don't want you to have this, it's all about me. But God is saying this is not about Him in that sense. He wants what is best for you. He is a jealous God, and what He calls you to do is glorify Him. He will not share that glory with anyone or anything.
What an Idol Actually Is
That is what an idol is: anything that takes the place of God in your life. At the end of 1 John, John closes this way — 1 John 5:21 — "Little children, guard yourselves from idols." Not just big ninety-foot statues on twenty-foot pedestals, but anything that creeps into your life whose presence usurps the attention, the worship, the time, the energy, and the effort that should be devoted to God — and instead is devoted to this, whatever this happens to be.
I was up in Flagstaff recently, and there were a group of guys who play golf four or five days a week. I played one day and I left the house at 7:30 and got back at 2:30. That is essentially the whole day, and these men were doing that four or five times a week. Now, I want to be careful here because any time you use an example like this it can sound judgmental, and I do not mean it that way at all. It could be anything. It could be your kids. It could be anything that has quietly moved into the place in your life that belongs to God.
Confidence in a Sovereign God
These men were confident — not cocky, but confident in God. Nebuchadnezzar says to them in the last part of verse 15, "If you don't worship, you will be immediately cast in the midst of the furnace of the blazing fire, and what God is there that can deliver you out of my hand?" He forgot what he had declared just a chapter ago — that Israel's God is the God of gods. People forget.
I love verses 16, 17, and 18. "Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us out of the furnace of the blazing fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand.'" They were saying: you claim nobody can deliver us, but our God can. Have you forgotten already? The answer, of course, is yes.
Then I love verse 18: "But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up." That single verse captures everything that sustained these three men.
Three Things That Sustained Them
I made a simple list of three things that kept Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing. The first is that they knew God was sovereign. They knew He was able. They knew He was God — that is exactly what they said. He is able; He can do this; He rules over you. It is everything Daniel had already declared and everything we understand when we define who God is.
God either caused or allowed everything in our lives, and if that statement is not true, then He is not God. He is the God who rules over all the universe and every square inch of it. He has absolute authority over every person, place, and thing that exists. Nothing can usurp His plan. These three men understood the sovereignty of God, and that is a matter of faith.
Faith Defined: Hebrews 11
The author of Hebrews addresses faith directly in Hebrews chapter 11, which is known as the Hall of Fame of Faith. It contains a long list of men and women who demonstrated faith in their lives and whom God blessed. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen." Eugene Peterson paraphrases verse 1 this way: "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It gives us the assurance of things hoped for."
When we encounter the phrase "things hoped for," we need to rethink that word just a little. This time of year when I go to Flagstaff, I will make a trip to Barnes and Noble and buy two or three college football magazines. Iowa was ranked 32nd in one of them, 144th or 153rd in another. Every year there is that level of anticipation as the season begins, and then the disappointment. If you are a Cubs fan, you know exactly what this is like — it is the Fourth of July and the Cubs are mathematically eliminated already.
Sandy and Sarah and Haley and I are going back for the Iowa–Iowa State game. This will be like Haley's fifth game, and she has not seen Iowa win yet. So we said the other day, "I hope the Hawks win." What we mean by that is: maybe they will, maybe they won't — we hope they do and we will be grateful if they do. That is something clearly not yet decided. That is not the way the word "hoped for" is used in Hebrews 11:1.
The things hoped for in Hebrews 11 are the things we have been told are true, and we are anticipating them the way a child anticipates Christmas morning. How important is faith? Look at verse 6: "Without faith it is impossible to please God." We are told this over and over again. In its simplest form, faith is to trust God — to believe God is who He said He was, that His Word is true, that God said it and that settles it, and that it does not even matter whether you believe it or not, because it is settled. Jesus is Lord whether you believe it or not, and hopefully you have come to the point where you declare that. That is the idea of faith, and that is exactly what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrated.
Back to Daniel: What They Knew
Back in Daniel, that is precisely what they are saying in verse 17. God is able to deliver us. We know this. He is the God who delivers. He is the God who heals. But — and this is critical — that does not obligate Him, which is what they are saying in verse 18. Even if He does not deliver us, that does not mean He is not God. He is the God of gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is supreme, He is absolute, He is the authority, and they understand that. He is sovereign. He rules.
Knowing Scripture
The second thing that sustained them is that they knew their scriptures. Because they knew their scriptures, when this crisis arrived, it was not a difficult decision in terms of what to do — different perhaps to carry out, but not difficult to decide. They had been told clearly: you cannot bow down to idols. They did not have to think through it as a group. God said it, and in a sense it is as simple as that. If God says do it, do it. If He says get away from it, get away from it.
Not all issues are that clear, honestly, but God has given us what we have described before as an open book test.
Living by the Open Book
God says this life is an open book test, and here are all the answers right here. We talked about this before when we discussed 2 Timothy chapter three, where Paul writes that all scripture is inspired by God, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training, and righteousness. The way we like to put it: the Bible tells us what's right, what's not right, how to get right, and how to stay right. This becomes absolutely essential to us. For us to function in this world the way that God would have us function, we have to know His word.
In a sense, this place is a classroom, and tomorrow you are going out into the laboratory. Not to see if God's word is true — we know it's true. Not to see if it works — we know it works. But to see if indeed you have the faith to trust God.
Willing to Die — and Willing to Live
The third thing they knew, and this is interesting, is that they were willing to die for their convictions. Their convictions were going to drive them. Now, in all likelihood, you are not going to be asked to die for your faith. I have this thought in my mind — I don't know if it's entirely accurate — but imagine someone broke in here right now and said, "You're the guy up front, we'll start with you. Deny Christ or we'll kill you." I would want to make sure I understood: if I deny Christ, I'm okay, but if I don't, they'll shoot me. I think I would take the nozzle of that gun, put it right here, and say, "Just do it fast." I think I would do that.
Because I think it is a lot harder to live for Christ than to die for Him. I was reading the other day about the Romans dipping Christians in wax and lighting them on fire — I don't know how I would do with that. But staying with the simpler illustration, dying for your faith in a moment like that seems easier than the daily work of living for Him. Think of it this way: if your child was out drowning, you would risk your life to go get that child. But many of you won't take the time to come home from work and simply be present with that same child. It is much easier to die for your kid than to live for him.
But for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, this was resolved in their minds — it was a settled matter. Are you going to be asked to die for your faith? Probably not. But you may experience a loss of popularity, loneliness as people pull away from you, ridicule, or perhaps even economic cost. Those are the real tests of daily conviction.
A Generation Without Convictions
There is a survey — a little older, but I have no reason to think things have changed — showing that 45% of high school seniors said they could not think of one thing they would die for. Not family, not friends, not faith, not country. Think about the implications of that. Think of all the things that historically moved people to sacrifice. If you begin to think about the things that made America great — and I have to be careful here because I can get very negative quickly — none of those appeals are going to work on this generation. Even the Army eventually figured it out. "Uncle Sam wants you" gave way to "Be all you can be" — because the message had to become about the individual. Otherwise, they were never going to reach anyone.
Two Cities in Collision
These events in the book of Daniel are wonderful examples of a collision between two worlds. James Boice — and I reread his book this week, it's called *Two Cities, Two Loves*, his take on Augustine's *City of God* — describes Nebuchadnezzar as a secular humanist. His point is simply this: like all secular humanists, Nebuchadnezzar believed that everything exists of man, by man, and for man's glory. You can see the collision course immediately. The world says it is all of man. We say, no, God did it. Evolution fits perfectly into that framework — it says we can figure everything out, and if we cannot figure something out, it either does not exist or is explainable without God. That is what it ultimately does: it removes God, and it sets up the entire worldview you see around you today.
I think a lot of people underestimated how significant that shift was. They dismissed it — "the evolution thing isn't that big a deal" — but now those ideas are deeply embedded in the culture.
The Doctrine of Separation
The other thing Boice addresses, and I will touch on it briefly even though it can be a volatile topic, is how secular humanists today define the doctrine of separation of church and state. That doctrine originally meant the king will not interfere in the church, and the church will not interfere with the king — and both are servants of God. What is alarming now is that there seems to be a clear message from the state: do not bring your faith into public life. And yet every one of these politicians cannot finish a speech during an election year without saying "God bless America." I am not sure what that phrase means in their equation. But what concerns me deeply is the direction that message is heading.
The Church Must Engage
Those of us who are in the church are beginning to say, "I don't think I should be messing around with the state." There is a concern there. You live in a country, and God has brought you here sovereignly and placed you here. The fastest way to see this country head south further and faster than it is, is for the church to say, "That's dirty, that's secular, and this is sacred." We need to be involved and engaged in these issues.
Can you imagine, during the time of slavery, saying, "You know what, that's really a state issue — I don't think the church should be involved"? These are moral issues that God speaks to. So all of these things are intertwined, and we need to be careful there.
Why God Allows the Fire
God has declared that you will be taken care of, you can be taken care of — but even if He doesn't, why would God place someone in something like this and not take care of him? I made a list of four reasons.
Number one, it makes your faith stronger. My daughter Sarah, in her sophomore or junior year of high school, was in a terrible accident and had a brain seizure. I came to church that Sunday and must have heard from half a dozen people, "God is good — Sarah's going to live." So I put my notes away and delivered a message that Sunday titled, "God is Good Even If She Dies." I don't judge God based on my circumstances. He is not good because things happen to us that are good. As Scripture tells us, the testing of our faith produces endurance.
Number two, it gives you a great testimony. I watched Susan for seven years, and I heard people say, "Oh, she's so strong." I would think about that, because I am with her a great deal and she is strong — but my fear was that it trivialized how difficult life was for her. Even so, you have a testimony.
Number three, it allows you to serve others and to be served in difficult times. Number four, you have something to say. It is 2 Corinthians chapter 1 — you can say, "I have been there." That is why God may bring certain things into your life. Why would He allow it to be burned up? For His good and their glory.
Even If He Doesn't
I love verse 18: "Even if He doesn't." The response of these young men is, "We are not going to serve your gods." He is the Potter, we are the clay. He is God; I am not. He does not owe me an explanation.
I was once with a lady who had become a follower of Christ whose husband was a Jewish attorney. He hated Jesus and everything around faith. She was dying of cancer, and I arrived at the hospital right as he was delivering a powerful speech to her that ended with, "Where is your God now?" I think that reveals not so much anger against her, but anger against God.
People ask, "Where was God on 9-11?" He was in the same place He was on 9-10. Where is God in the 9-11s of your life? Here is what we do know: He is on the throne and He rules. In essence, what these boys are saying is this — we will not be surprised if He gets us out of the fire, and we will not be disappointed if He does not. If He gets us out, that will certainly not surprise us, because we have seen Him do that over and over again. And if He does not, that does not make Him any less God.
The Furnace
Verse 19 is striking. Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage and his facial expression was altered — one paraphrase says his face turned purple with anger. He gave an order to turn the heat of the furnace up seven times more than it was usually heated. In reality, at that point he is doing the boys a favor. A furnace turned up a hundred times would be far preferable to being slow-roasted to death. But he is not thinking clearly — he is furious.
His command went out to certain valiant warriors of his army to bind the three men and bring them to the furnace. As you see in verse 21, they still have all their clothes on — their trousers, their coats — when they are tied up. Because of the king's command, the fire is raging with extreme heat, and the flames killed the very men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up to throw them in. The furnace was so hot that the soldiers who cast them in were themselves burned up. But in the three men went, still bound, and they fell into the midst of the blazing fire.
The Fourth Man
Nebuchadnezzar was apparently watching all of this, and he was astounded. He stood up in haste and said, "Wait — was it not three men we bound and cast into the midst of the fire?" His attendants confirmed it: three men. Then he said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."
He is saying, "This cannot be right. I know there were three of them." None of the other men stumbled into the furnace — they were all burned up on the outside. But there is a fourth one in there. We know who that is. That is a pre-incarnate Christ. That is Jesus.
If you cannot preach this verse, you ought never to get behind a pulpit again. Peter tells us in 1 Peter chapter 4, "Do not be surprised by the fiery ordeals among you." You are going to have fiery ordeals in your life. And Christ, who became human, is right there in the fire with you. He understands. He thinks the way you think. "I don't know if I can handle one more piece of this."
Walking Through Fire
When you are in that fire, walking around, all of a sudden the doctor who gave you the news, the boss who fired you, or the person who unleashed their wrath on you looks in and says, "Oh my gosh, it's not just you. There's somebody there too." It's the Holy Spirit. It's Jesus. Some will say that's make-believe, but no — that is real. It is a wonderful picture of what takes place in our lives: there are going to be fiery ordeals. You don't want them, and there is almost something wrong with you if you say you do. And yet they are for your own good.
Why would God let that baby die? Why would God let it all fall apart? I was talking to a man the other day — a real estate guy — and we were talking up in Flagg, and everything had just fallen apart. Why would God? You fill in the blank. I cannot always give you the specific reason why, but I can give you the general reason: for your good and His glory. The testing of our faith produces endurance, and He says, "I will sustain you."
That is what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said: He is able to deliver. Do you believe God can put a deal together? Of course. Could God have prevented any of this? Of course. But He didn't. He is the power; I am the water, the clay. That is why I have to preach the gospel to myself every day — He is God, and I am not. The way I would handle things is oftentimes radically different from how God handles them.
Out of the Furnace
While they are still in that fire, walking around, Nebuchadnezzar comes near the door of the furnace and calls out: "Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out — come here." Then they came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's high officials all gathered around and had to be thoroughly confused by what they witnessed.
What they saw was this: the fire had no effect on their bodies. Not a hair on their head was singed, their trousers were not damaged, and they did not even smell like smoke. You cannot light a barbecue and get away without smelling like smoke — yet these men did. It is a striking, undeniable sign of divine protection.
Nebuchadnezzar responded with what is, in many ways, a classic ending to every chapter in this section of Daniel: "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king's command, and yielding up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any other god." This is the same one we discussed last week — the God of gods and the Lord of kings. He protected them, and they had trusted Him.
Nebuchadnezzar then issued a decree: any people, nation, or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will face consequences. And this should sound familiar — it is his go-to line. Back in chapter two, verse five, this is his management tool: anyone who violates this will be torn limb from limb and their house reduced to rubble, "inasmuch as there is no other God who is able to deliver in this way." And then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to prosper in the province of Babylon.
Ordinary People, Extraordinary God
I want to be careful here. In one sense, you could look at these men as heroes — I would use that word differently from "role models." A hero is someone you admire from a distance, like Mickey Mantle. A role model is someone you can actually get on the phone. These three can certainly be heroes to you, worthy of genuine admiration. But here is what I want you to see: there is nothing inherently special about them.
They are ordinary men submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit, and that is what makes them extraordinary. They are no different from you. What makes them unique is that they handle things in a supernatural way because they know the God who created all of this.
James Boyce writes this: "Redemption does not change our participation in the culture; rather, it changes us. Therefore the character of our involvement" — and I want to make the point that they are very engaged in the world around them — is transformed. You are going to have opportunities in the coming days, weeks, and months — whether at work, at the gym, or coaching a youth basketball game — to manifest the indwelling Holy Spirit. Because you are in opposition to the world, they will notice.
Let me give you an example. Timmy is helping Tyler coach a boys' team — six and seven year olds — and this other team scores an extraordinary number of points. At the end of the third quarter, a mom from the other team spent the entire timeout out on the court, jawing at the referees. How does that happen? And then the question becomes: what do you do when you see her the next day? Do you say, "Hey, what are you doing tomorrow — want to join me at church?" You are going to have the opportunity, over and over again, to manifest the indwelling Holy Spirit precisely because you are living in opposition to the world's way of doing things.
Triumph, Not Just Survival
They are going to throw you into your own version of the fire — not literally, but your version of it. I come back to these same themes because the fiery ordeals are real: financial hardship, physical hardship, relational difficulties, whatever it may be. And you have the power — not merely to survive, but to triumph — because it is not about you. It is about Him.
What you will see all the way through these first six chapters of Daniel is that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are fully engaged with the culture around them. They understand that in that engagement, the strongest asset they have is their
Humbling Ourselves Before God
Let me take you to a passage in Second Chronicles. Second Chronicles chapter 7, verse 14 is a passage that is used over and over again, and I understand — so you don't need to email me — I understand that it is addressed to the nation of Israel. But I think you can pull some principles out of it. What do we do with a culture?
I had seven days up in Flagstaff, and I read a lot, learned a lot, and watched a lot of the coverage on TV. I have to really guard myself because I get so negative, and there is nothing productive that is going to come out of that. I can also get cynical and then ask myself, well, what should I do?
Second Chronicles chapter 7, verse 14: "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land."
Now, is this a promise? I don't know. Is this a formula that guarantees everything will turn out all right? I don't know. But I do know this: He tells us that as we engage in this culture, we need to humble ourselves.
Humility, Prayer, and Seeking His Face
There is a way to confront the culture that seems like you are participating and helping, and there is another way that seems arrogant. To stand at the funeral of a man who died of old age and start screaming these things at the family does not seem humble to me.
And then there is prayer. I was invited years ago to pray at the City Council meeting in Chandler. I got there and they said, "Oh, we forgot to mention — it's the closing prayer." I said, "You've got to be kidding me." So I sat through that whole meeting. They were frustrated, I was frustrated, and then the mayor said, "Reverend Tom Schrader will close us in prayer." I'm looking around because when most people get that opportunity, they treat it as their chance to preach to the City Council.
So I said, "Father, we come before You tonight for two reasons: one, we think You care; two, we think You can do something about it. Please do. Amen." That, to me, is what prayer is. The whole point of praying is assuming that God cares and that He can do something about it — if nothing else, to change my own heart in the midst of it.
Then He says to seek His face — to find His favor — and to turn from the world, to repent, to turn from our sin. As you engage in the culture, I think that is a great formula for you.
The Strength of Standing Together
That is what these three boys did. They had it figured out, and they did not hesitate. I will tell you another thing I think was a great advantage for them: there were three of them. If they had been there alone, I assume the outcome would have been the same, but I think for Shadrach, for Meshach, for Abednego — I think they would have said to each other, "No, no, let's go into this thing together."
He is a great God. He is an awesome God. He is the supreme God, the sovereign God. We need to know His word so we can encounter the world around us, engage it lovingly, and serve that world — but never worship that world or the false gods it offers.
Looking Ahead
Next week, Nebuchadnezzar finally — God, I am already tired of this — finally comes around. That is enough of that. And Nebuchadnezzar, if you do not know the story, you need to read ahead. He has an interesting experience. It took him seven years to figure it out, which just shows how hard our hearts can be. We will pick up right there next week.
Father, thank You for this awesome, amazing truth. You are a great God. Thank You for loving us and caring for us. God, thank You that You are sovereign. We love You. We know that people here are hurting, and we pray that they would understand that there are men and women at the front of the room who exist to meet with them. God, thank You that You love us even more than we love ourselves. We serve You, and we do that in Christ's name. Amen.