The Most High God
Daniel 3:1-30
May 22, 2016
As you know we are studying through this book of Daniel
And I have told you from the beginning that
Daniel is a book all about the sovereignty of God.
We’ll probably read it many more times before this book and our study of Revelation is over:
Isaiah 40:23-24 “He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.”
Few books in the Bible reveal God’s sovereign control like this one.
And that is interesting since the circumstances of the day
Would tend to lead one to believe that God had lost control.
• His nation has been conquered
• His city has been invaded
• His temple has been burned
• His people have been deported
By all external accounts it would appear that
God was no match for Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian gods
That is why God takes this opportunity
To reveal to all who are watching
That He has not lost control in the least.
We found out that it was God who orchestrated this entire event.
• It was God who granted Nebuchadnezzar’s victory
• It was God who granted Daniel’s deportation
• It was God who also put Daniel in a position of power and influence
And God wasted no time declaring His sovereign power and plan.
In fact that is what we could call chapter 2
SOVEREIGNTY DECLARED
If you will remember, God declared exactly who was in control
And even gave an outline of His plan.
It came in the form of a dream that Nebuchadnezzar could not understand.
• We saw the rise of Babylon (the head of gold)
• We saw the rise of the Medes and Persians (the chest of silver)
• We saw the rise of the Greeks (the belly and thighs of bronze)
• We saw the rise of Rome (the legs of iron)
But we ultimately see that stone that the builders rejected
Will one day destroy them all and set up a kingdom which will never end.
God declared His sovereignty through that dream to Nebuchadnezzar.
Now, if you’ll remember, Nebuchadnezzar didn’t really get it.
(You’ll see tonight that he didn’t really like it either)
After the dream was revealed Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel not God.
He could see that Daniel was a man of God,
But he still refused to see that God was the chief authority
And only sovereign of the universe.
In fact tonight Nebuchadnezzar sets out to prove that God is not.
I know the story tonight is one of our all-time favorites.
• Many of us grew up as children hearing the story about those three Hebrew boys that survived the fiery furnace.
• Often times it is even followed about how God will also deliver you from the fire if you have enough faith.
And surely by now you understand that that promise isn’t entirely true.
We’ve studied Hebrews recently.
Hebrews 11:32-39 “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,”
• It is true that some were saved from great peril.
• It is true that some were not saved from peril.
The salvation of God does not promise earthly deliverance,
It promises eternal deliverance.
So obviously we don’t hold this story up
As some sort of pattern about how not to be killed.
Many saints have been burned to death for their faith in Christ.
Well, if this story is not about escaping the flame, then what is it about?
It is about how God defended His sovereignty
Before a man bent on overthrowing Him.
Did you know that’s what this story was about?
Nebuchadnezzar isn’t just full of himself here.
He just saw a dream about how that head of gold would not last forever.
His objective here is to undo that prophecy
By weeding out any who aren’t totally loyal.
This is Nebuchadnezzar’s attempt to reverse God’s sovereign plan.
But as you will see, God is going to show him otherwise.
6 points to help us work through it tonight.
#1 AN AWFUL PLAN
Daniel 3:1-7
(1) “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.”
Don’t think for a second that this is coincidental.
• Nebuchadnezzar just heard that he was in fact the head of gold and that he would also fall to future kingdoms.
• He builds a statue of gold to demonstrate his greatness and the supremacy of his kingdom.
• Incidentally it is 90’ tall and 9’ wide.
• He’s certainly seeking to make his point.
And then of course you are familiar with the plan.
(4-6) “Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language, that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.”
This is more than just a man puffed up on his own ego.
A man who thinks he is the greatest hangs a banner demonstrating the fact.
This man is seeking to find who is and who is not loyal.
Then he is seeking to destroy those who are not loyal.
THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO WEED OUT ANY THREATS TO HIS KINGDOM.
He is not going to just stand by and wait for his kingdom to fall.
So his plan is to force allegiance or remove the threat.
The problem for God’s people of course is that this is not a command which can be obeyed.
Worshiping graven images was strictly explicitly forbidden in the Ten Commandments. There is no gray area here. This is forbidden.
And that leads to a truly remarkable part of the story.
#2 AN AMAZING DECISION
Daniel 3:8-12
These Chaldeans come and remind the king of his order.
(It may be that these Chaldeans helped Nebuchadnezzar devise this plan, which would also explain why they are so intent on seeing it carried out)
They recognize 3 Hebrew boys who refused to bow.
(12) “There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
It wasn’t so much that these three “disregarded” Nebuchadnezzar
As it was that they REGARDED GOD.
This story is commonly used as an example of
When it is ok NOT to submit to the governing authorities.
You remember the command:
Romans 13:1-3 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;”
But nearly every time I have ever taught that verse, inevitably someone says, “Yes but we don’t have to submit if they go against God’s commands”
(As if God didn’t know some governments would be corrupt
When He inspired that verse)
I generally respond, “Where does it say that in those verses?”
To which they usually say, “Nowhere, but what about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego?”
Look, you will not find these men being unruly or unsubmissive.
It is true they do not obey the king’s command,
But that does not mean that they are rebellious.
In fact, they still submit.
They simply submit to the consequences of their choice.
• They are not out to start a revolt
• They are not some sort of “Braveheart” characters ready to kill the enemy
• They are not on Facebook bad-mouthing the king
They just can’t obey this command,
But they are willing to endure whatever the consequence.
And we couldn’t be more amazed with a decision than we are with there’s.
These three boys willingly faced the flame in order to be obedient to God.
(Let that sink in)
Revelation 13:11-17 “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.”
There isn’t much difference there.
These men are choosing to condemn themselves in order to obey God.
This story ISN’T primarily about their faith,
But we’d be mighty foolish not to recognize it.
• It forces us to ask questions of ourselves and our commitment.
• It forces us to wonder how important obedience to God is in our lives.
• It forces us to examine ourselves.
And in this search there is one thing we must all come to grips with.
WE FACE THIS DECISION EVERY SINGLE DAY
What?
No we don’t, no one is threatening to throw us in the fire.
Maybe not, but we still face the decision of
Obedience or disobedience every single day.
You can thank God that the stakes have thus far not been this high.
So far, we’ve just faced little battles that test our level of obedience.
But rest assured we are facing them.
And I am forced to ask myself this sobering question.
“If I can’t be obedient when faced with the insignificant repercussions that I face today, do I really think I’d be obedient if faced with the flame?”
It certainly compels each of us to seek God’s help in growing our faith.
We are not yet a finished product.
These men made an amazing decision in light of unbelievable consequences.
An Awful Plan, An Amazing Decision
#3 AN ARROGANT BELIEF
Daniel 3:13-15
Oh, now we’re getting somewhere.
Nebuchadnezzar is starting to show his true colors.
These men dared to defy him and made him angry.
And these boys were brought before the king.
And the king is certain he is able to intimidate them
Into doing what he commands.
His speech is very direct and condescending and the ultimatum is clear.
“If you are ready…to fall down and worship…very well”
But the very interesting part is
THE STATEMENT OF ARROGANCE Nebuchadnezzar makes.
“and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
• This is more than just a political stunt from a king with an ego.
• This is a king who did not appreciate a god who told him his kingdom wouldn’t last forever.
Nebuchadnezzar is not just challenging Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, he is challenging God.
He is throwing down the gauntlet that
No god can keep him from doing what he wants to do.
Do you see that?
#4 AN ASSERTIVE ANSWER
Daniel 3:16-18
This is absolutely one of the most famous answers
Recorded in the entire Bible.
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.”
That is, “there’s no need for you to play the music again.”
“We already know what we’re going to do and our minds are firm.”
(17-18) “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. “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.”
There is not a doubt in our mind that God is able to deliver us.
Furthermore, we are convinced that He will deliver us.
Their faith is obvious.
And then the statement we love:
“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.”
Do you see that they made their decision regardless of what God might or might not do?
Their decision was not based on what God might do.
Their decision was based on what God deserved.
DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE?
So many today use faith as some sort of lottery ticket
Whereby they can get something they want from God.
The prosperity gospel crowd has so maligned passages about faith
That they have people claiming and expecting God to grant their every request, even though many times those requests are as fleshly as can be.
The faith of these three boys wasn’t about what they could get from God.
Their faith was about what God deserved.
This was their opportunity to honor God in the midst of a pagan world.
Luke 12:11-12 “When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
Luke 21:12-15 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.”
These boys were obviously walking in God’s strength, exhibiting God’s wisdom, and doing so for God’s glory.
But there is another analogy we can easily make.
Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Do you see their worship on display?
• Nebuchadnezzar set out to prove that there was no god greater than him.
• He was setting out to prove that no god could dictate his course or his future.
• He was setting out to annihilate any worship of any god who said otherwise.
These three Hebrew boys refused to let this man make such accusations.
• They didn’t do it by becoming disrespectful
• They didn’t do it by starting a riot
• They didn’t do it by slander and revolt
These three boys simply decided to sacrifice themselves
For the sake of the glory of God.
They certainly believed God would honor that,
But that was really beside the point.
This wasn’t about escaping the fire. This was about honoring God.
This was about worship.
I would submit that THIS IS WHAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR
In the midst of our crooked and perverse culture.
• God could reverse the direction any time He saw fit.
• He could remove any politician, any leader, any judge.
• He could destroy any activist with an evil agenda.
All of that is well within God’s wheelhouse of power.
Yet, for reasons known only to Him, He has not done that up to this point.
• Why would God even allow Nebuchadnezzar to build such a statue?
• Why would God allow our politicians to make such decrees on things
like abortion or gay marriage or transgender rules regarding
bathrooms?
We certainly know God is opposed to such things.
While we can’t know fully what God is doing through all of these things,
We can know fully what God is expecting.
He is expecting worship from His own.
He is expecting our willingness to submit to His will
And to choose to worship Him
Through the sacrifice of ourselves on His behalf.
Might God honor our commitment and change the culture?
Yes, He might, He certainly has that ability.
But even if He does not,
Our decision to worship and obey Him does not change.
It’s not about what God might do, it’s about what God deserves.
These three boys were focused in on that reality.
They chose God over their own personal safety.
An Awful Plan, An Amazing Decision, An Arrogant Belief, An Assertive Answer
#5 AN ANGRY RESPONSE
Daniel 3:19-23
Did you catch that?
• The king “was filled with wrath”
• He ordered to heat it “seven times more than it was usually heated”
• He chose “valiant warriors” to throw them in.
• And the furnace was so hot “the fire slew those men”
See these men had cut to the heart of the matter.
This wasn’t about obtaining worship and punishing those who refused.
This was about proving that no god could stand in his way.
And these three boys unequivocally declared that God could.
That is what infuriated Nebuchadnezzar.
He is about to make an example out of them.
Maybe these three boys were zealots, but when the rest of the world sees how they died, it will squash any further notion of following their God.
These boys were actually thrown into the furnace “still tied up”
And please notice:
THEY NEVER RECANTED
• I can’t imagine being led to a furnace so hot that it slew the people who threw them in.
• Certainly you would be able to feel the heat well before you ever even entered the doorway.
• If there was ever a time to change your mind, that would have been it, and yet these boys stood fast.
All the way to the furnace, and all the way in.
Their decision was to honor God, even with their lives.
#6 AN ASTOUNDED KING
Daniel 3:24-30
(24-25) “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.” 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!”
This is what is commonly referred to as a Christophony
(a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ)
I’m sure Nebuchadnezzar expected screams and wales,
And anything that would benefit his cause of intimidation.
That is not at all what he got.
He saw them having a tea party right there in the middle of the furnace,
And he even saw a 4th man with them.
And though he didn’t know who the fourth man was,
He knew where the fourth man was from.
He looked “like a son of the gods!”
That’s why I told you this story isn’t just about the faith of these boys
And how God delivered them.
This story is about how God defended His sovereignty
To an arrogant king bent on overthrowing him.
God didn’t love these three Hebrew boys any more than He loved all the other martyrs throughout time who have not been delivered.
But God was using these boys
To put His sovereignty on display to Nebuchadnezzar.
And the message should have been crystal clear.
Nebuchadnezzar asked, “what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
God answered, “Me!”
And notice how Nebuchadnezzar’s tune changes.
(26-27) “Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.”
Well, of all the gods that may have existed
There was no doubt to Nebuchadnezzar which one was the greatest.
It was the God that these three boys worshipped.
Nothing could touch them if God didn’t allow it.
And that leads to Nebuchadnezzar’s DECLARATION.
(28-29) “Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.”
I know this sounds good again.
We wanted to believe it a little bit after Daniel interpreted the dream, but you should know that while Nebuchadnezzar is making strides, he is still not there yet.
• First he recognized Daniel as a man of God.
• Here he recognizes God as the highest god.
But he has still not yielded up his life to God’s will.
In short, salvation has still not occurred.
All Nebuchadnezzar does is issue a decree that no one should speak “anything offensive against…God”
Why such a decree?
Because that is precisely what he was trying to do through this statue.
It wasn’t just about getting honor or worship.
The whole point of this statue was to stick his finger right in God’s eye and say, “dreams nothing, You’ll never stop my kingdom. You aren’t God enough to overthrow me!”
That’s what this statue was about.
And God answered.
So now he is calling for a truce between his country and God.
In short, he gives a command that no one should do anything that might make this God mad because “there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.”
In short, “You don’t want to mess with this God!”
And here is the point.
Nebuchadnezzar is now acknowledging God, but that still does not equal salvation.
I actually hear this type of talk with people all the time.
• “I know God is up there.”
• “I know God has always been with me”
• “I believe in a higher being”
• “I believe there is a God who created all things”
BIG DEAL!
God is not looking for a cease fire or a truce
As though you posed any threat to Him at all.
What Nebuchadnezzar and many in our time fail to realize is that
God is not just hoping you will quit being angry at Him
And you will leave Him alone.
(In short, it’s not enough that you aren’t an atheist)
What humanity must realize is that we have offended God
And we must submit our lives to Him!
There is a great difference between Acknowledgement of God
And Submission to God.
Nebuchadnezzar realized the first, but had yet to reach the second.
In fact, if I could fast-forward a moment that is precisely what God is leading him to.
He is about to receive another dream and when Daniel sees the meaning of this one, I want you to recognize Daniel’s advice:
Daniel 4:27 “Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.”
God didn’t just want Nebuchadnezzar to hang a plaque that said,
“God is the Most High God”
That actually sounds a little like what Pilate did by putting a sign over Jesus that said, “King of the Jews” when he crucified Him.
What God wants is submission to Him.
It’s not enough to recognize that God is God.
You must trust Him as your God.
Nebuchadnezzar is moving in the right direction,
But he has still not come to where he must.
The story of Daniel is how the sovereign God of the universe,
Took him there.
And we find stories like this very encouraging.
Not simply because God has the ability to deliver me from harm
(I obviously like that)
• It is encouraging because it reminds me that there is no ruler so big that God can’t handle him.
• It reminds me that there is no agenda so strong that God can’t reverse it.
So when Scripture says to pray for your leaders and for those in authority,
DOES THAT REGISTER A LITTLE BIT MORE NOW?
1 Timothy 2:1-4 “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
The leaders of our nation may be powerful men,
But it doesn’t change the fact that they are still men,
And they pose absolutely no threat to God.
He can get through to them at any moment.
In the meantime He may just be watching to see
If we will choose to worship and honor Him
In the midst of their corruption.
Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
God is in absolute control.
Make sure you live your life in light of that understanding.
