©John Yerkes
Chapter 3:8-18 (ESV) - Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 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?”
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.”
Question to consider: Do the people in this account remind you of anyone today?
One of the reasons we can glean personal application from scripture is that no matter how much time has passed, the heart of man is unchanging, and the temptations remain the same. Even though Nebuchadnezzar had conquered much of the ancient world at this point, the Chaldeans would have been among those native to the kingdom, and the men who rose up against the Jews would have been the original counselors to the king.
Despite the fact that Daniel rose up and saved them from certain death after they were not able to fulfill the king’s request, they were jealous of the resulting power given to Daniel and his friends. They may not have been able to speak the word of God, but they were experts at political persuasion and had no qualms about bowing down to an idol if it meant gaining favor with the king.
Nebuchadnezzar was the wealthiest and most powerful man in the world at that time and believed he could be like a god and fashion the world in his own image. We know this to be true by his arrogant question, “And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
Throughout history there have been men just like Nebuchadnezzar, and as powerful as they may be, they are easy to manipulate because of their narcissistic pride. It took no effort to turn Nebuchadnezzar against the friends of Daniel for not bowing down to his image, and this would aid in their plans to subvert Daniel’s favor with the king.
Despite the satanic schemes to undermine God’s influence in the kingdom, and despite the demonic rage of Nebuchadnezzar’s power, the men of God were not called to rise up in battle but merely to stand in faith. Their response was epic. Nebuchadnezzar’s threats were meaningless. If God wanted to deliver them, He would, and there was nothing Nebuchadnezzar could do to stop Him. Even if God chose not to deliver them, they had faith in the righteousness of God and knew that they would ultimately be raised up in Him.
The apostle Paul understood that the battle before us was a spiritual one, and that we prepare with the armor given to us by God. Our role in this battle is not to bloody the enemy but to stand like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:13)
Our Father in heaven, praise You for the promise of eternal life in Christ! He is our rock and salvation, our fortress. We shall not be shaken and find our refuge in Him. Please help us to trust in Him always. Amen.