WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An
international Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday January 14, 2018
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A
BOLD FAITH
(Boldly
serve only GOD)
(Daniel
3)
The
effects of Daniel’s interpretation and revelation to King Nebuchadnezzar
concerning his dream in chapter 2, no doubt played a role in his decision here
in chapter 3, to build a 90 foot statue of himself made of plated gold, with
the intent to have everybody in his kingdom bow down and worship his molten
image, as god.
In the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream by the prophet Daniel, the Babylonian king represented only the “head” of
the gold statue that was made of various other elements, which represented
other kingdoms that would come into being after his kingdom ended.
This towering edifice, erected on the
plains of Dura in the province of Babylon in chapter 3, was Nebuchadnezzar’s
way of heading off these coming kingdoms, and making himself “immortal”, so to
speak, having a kingdom of his own that would be passed down from generation to
generation and, in effect, would never end. It was a foolish attempt by
Nebuchadnezzar to defy the GOD of Daniel, WHOM Daniel said had given him the
answers concerning his dream in the first place.
After having the statue built, Nebuchadnezzar
summoned eight “classes” of his top officials to attend the dedication
ceremonies for this new idol of himself. The “princes”, who were the chief
representatives of the king, the “perfects”, who were the military commanders,
and the “governors”, who were the civic administrators, were all called to
attend. In addition, the “counselors”, who advised governmental authorities,
the “treasurers”, the “judges”, the “magistrates” and other “provincial
subordinates” who served in an official capacity, were also called to attend.
Here in this chapter Nebuchadnezzar is not
calling for the people to honor one of the traditional gods of Babylon, here he
is actually instituting a new form of religious worship with his own image as
the centerpiece, or object of adoration. It is an attempt by the king to unify
government and religion in Babylon, placing himself at the head of both,
literally.
Nebuchadnezzar then issued a decree that
everyone in the Babylonian kingdom must bow down and worship his newly
constructed image of himself whenever they hear the sound of the music playing.
Anyone who refused to comply with his command would be thrown into a fiery
furnace and burned to death. Surprisingly, there were three young men, of
Jewish descent, who failed to comply with the king’s edict.
Now there were some astrologers who went to
King Nebuchadnezzar and reported to him that a certain trio of Jews, namely
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were noncompliant to his new edict. The king
flew into a rage (v.13) and ordered that these three men be brought before him
immediately.
As we know, these three had all been
recently promoted, along with Daniel, to very high positions in
Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom as a result of Daniel’s correct interpretation of the
king’s dream in chapter 2. And it is only because of his fondness of the trio
that Nebuchadnezzar decides to give Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego a second
opportunity (v.15) to change their minds, and bow down to his statue and
worship it as god.
Nebuchadnezzar further admonishes Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego that, if they refuse this final time to worship him, they
would be immediately thrown into the blazing inferno prepared for those who
refused to comply with kingdom policies. However, because of their strong dedication
and conviction to WHO they knew was the Almighty GOD, they defiantly and
steadfastly refused to obey the king’s command, and what follows, is one of the
most famous examples of “men united in dedication to GOD” that can be found
anywhere in the annals of recorded biblical history.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego boldly
replied to Nebuchadnezzar in a state of solidarity that, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we
do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing
furnace, the GOD WHOM we serve is able to save us. HE will rescue us from your
power, your majesty. But even if HE doesn’t, your majesty can be sure that we
will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up (Vs. 16-18
– NLT)”.
In verse 19 we see that the demon inside
Nebuchadnezzar “distorted his face with rage”, and he commanded that the heat
in the furnace be turned up seven times hotter than it was normally kept. And
with that said, the trio was tossed into the flaming furnace. It was now so hot
that, when Nebuchadnezzar’s men opened the door, they were killed by the heat
that poured out from within the furnace.
Moments later, Nebuchadnezzar, from a safe
distance, peered into the furnace, and to his amazement, he was able to see
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with a fourth person, who seemed to be an angel
of sorts, all walking around inside the blazing inferno. The king then ordered
the men to come out of the furnace, and when they did, everyone present was
astounded by the fact that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not harmed by
the fire in any way. In fact, they didn’t even smell like smoke, and their
clothes were all intact.
When we stand by GOD, GOD always stands
with us. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were all employed by an important man,
in fact a king, named Nebuchadnezzar. However, they had sense enough to know
that they should only worship GOD, WHO is the CREATOR of man. If we fear and
worship our earthly employers more than we fear and worship GOD, we are already
on our way to the ultimate blazing inferno that is “Hell”.
Employers should be “served”, sure enough,
in exchange for the wages that they pay us, but only GOD should be “served”,
and “worshiped”. We should never “obey” an employer who is demanding that we
“disobey” GOD. JESUS says that it is impossible to worship GOD and mammon
(money) (Matthew 6:24), and of course, HE is right. We will eventually have to
choose one over the other.
Our faith must cling to the conviction that
GOD is able to keep us safe from the perils that crop up in this life, because,
after all, it is HE WHO controls all things in this life, both now, and forever.
However, our faith should also affirm that, whether or not GOD does choose to
save us, is always a matter for HE HIMSELF to decide. We, as Christians, only
need to keep our priorities in order, which are, “we are to worship GOD only”, “love
people”, and “use things”. And when we mix those priorities in any other order,
we automatically place ourselves out of the Will of GOD.
GOD, will never support us, nor reward us
when we choose to make decisions that place HIM second to people, places, and
things, in our lives. Christians are to remain steadfast in their convictions
to GOD, even in suffering, always standing up for an innocent CHRIST, WHO stood
up for us in our guilt, and taught us through HIS words and actions, how we can
overcome that guilt. And even if it costs us family, friends, jobs, things, or
even our own lives, we must count it all joy, because we have shown ourselves
to be men and women of GOD, in pursuit of GOD’s OWN heart, through obedience
and faith in HIM.
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER- Official Website
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