This writing is to teach us some vital lessons of faith that we
as Christians are to learn from this event which took place more than 3000
years ago in the ancient Babylonian empire. Paul said these things were written to teach us that we might
continue to be patient, brave, and strong in faith (Romans 15:4).
Daniel 3:1-30
The king Nebuchadnezzar constructed a very huge image made of
gold. The golden image was the statue of Nebuchadnezzar himself, and it was 90
feet high (that was really huge). He set this image up in the plains of Dura.
He then summoned all his top and low ranking officials to
Dura on a particular day for the dedication of the golden Image and commanded
that when they heard the sound of horn, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery and
tambourine, played with all kinds of music, all men were to
fall down and worship the image.
REFUSE TO BOW TO
CIRCUMSTANCES
But the bible tells us that out of the men that were the
officials that attended the dedication of king Nebuchadnezzar’s image there
were three young Hebrew men who refused to bow and worship Nebuchadnezzar’s
golden image. Their Babylonian names were:
(1) Shadrach (meaning : illumined by the sun –god)
(2) Meshach (meaning : who is Ishtar or who is Easter)
(3) Abednego (meaning: The slave of Nebu. Nebu was the Babylonian
god of wisdom and education)
But these weren’t their real names.
Their real names were:
(i)
Hannaniah
(meaning : The Lord is gracious )
(ii)
Mishael
(meaning : who is the Lord)
(iii)
Azariah
(meaning : The Lord is my help)- Daniel 1:6,7
Why did Nebuchadnezzar change heir names? He did so in order
to brain wash them and make them forget their true identity as the covenant
children of the almighty God. As a child of God born again and spirit filled,
knowing who you are is very vital to your success in life as a Christian.
Knowing you true identity in Christ will help you to never settle for a low
kind of life. Knowing your true identity will help you to stand your grounds
against the wiles of the adversary knowing who you really are in Christ will
help you know your rights in Him.
You see, in this world, there is no success without risks,
trials and challenges. If we are to experience victory over them, then we must
never bow to them, no matter the pressure. Learn to get your mind away from
your problems and fix it on the word of God. Always remember that no problem
can defeat you, not even the devil and his evil armies. The moment you are
tempted to worry and fret about some problem, turn it over to the Lord in
prayer and start confessing your victory over it. Throw the worries away and
become reckless in faith and confidence in the word of God, and it will amaze
you how everything will work out fine. Our faith is the victory that overcomes
the world (1 John 5:4).
DON’T BE BRAINWASHED BY
THE ENEMY
Although these three Hebrew young men submitted to their new
names, nevertheless they refused to be brainwashed by the king and his
Babylonian customs. Unlike others, we are told they refused to bow to the
golden statue of king Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel
3:4-12).
These three Hebrew men are a type of believers who never
allow the adversary and the traditions of this world system to brainwash them.
They are examples of believers who refuse to yield to circumstances and
situation and pressures from the world system. This includes you and I. The
world may call us names, they may label us this or that, but we know who we
are. We can never forget who we are and what we stand for. Refuse to go by the
name the world calls you. You belong to Christ.
Those three Hebrew folks were not afraid of the fire. They
were not afraid of circumstances and the threats of the king or enemy. They
believed in God’s ability to rescue them. But it’s not a matter of just
believing that God is able, you must also believe that God is willing to do it
for you now, not tomorrow. Religion says God will do it for you tomorrow, they
say God is getting ready to do it (as though He were not ready now), and maybe
He will do it in the future. But true faith says God has done it. It demands
that we receive what God has already done for us in Christ. True faith is
present tense. This is what the three
Hebrew young men did. They believed and then decreed. They were steadfast in
declaring God’s ability to rescue them. The same will work for you if you
follow their example by holding on to your declaration of God’s word and you
refuse to succumb to the world’s pressures and circumstances.
You will agree that like the other youths, these three Hebrew
youths could have given excuses why they should obey the king and bow to the
golden image. There were many excuses they could have given, such as: (i) Why
not join the system
(ii) They could have said, ‘let us cooperate with the king
and win him to Christ later.
(iii) If you can’t beat them, you join them
(iv) He who fights and runs away always lives to fight
another day!
(v)It is better red than dead.
(vi) God understands.
(vii)A living dog is better than a dead lion.
(viii) Half bread is better than none.
All these excuses and many more could have been used. But
Shedrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to succumb. They just held on to the
word of God. They were steadfast.
Notice, if these three men who weren’t born again and who
didn’t have the Holy Ghost living in them could be steadfast on the word of
God, then how about us today, who live under a better covenant, and are filled
with the Holy Spirit.
WHERE WAS DANIEL?
Some people have suggested that Daniel was not present at the
dedication ceremony of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, that his official duties
as prime minister in Babylon required him to travel extensively. But this is
not true.
Daniel. As we are made to know was the second mast powerful
person in the whole of Babylon. Daniel 2:46-49. From common sense, it is
unthinkable that the king Nebuchadnezzar as proud as he was could hold such a
very prominent occasion and not invites his prime minister (second in command).
In fact we are told that Daniel was the wisest man in Babylon. So how could the
king Nebuchadnezzar organize his royal occasion without having his wisest man around?
Many other people have suggested that perhaps Daniel was unable to attend the
dedication due to sickness or due to being away on some long business trip.
There are even those who have claimed that Daniel may have been watching from a
distance. I suppose they should have even said he was having “jedi-jedi” (a Nigerian slang for
someone suffering from pile), and had to excuse himself to go buy Agbo”, or may
be he was so hungry that he had to excuse himself to go buy ‘nkwobi’ (a delicacy from eastern
Nigerian). All of these assumptions are ridiculous. Some read Daniel 2:49 and concluded that Daniel
was sitting at the gate when the dedication ceremony of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden
image was taking place. That’s not true. You see, the expression “Daniel sat in the gate of the king” was
an idiomatic expression which simply means, “He was appointed prime minister of
Babylon”. That position was the most powerful position in the world of that day
other than the king himself. That meant that no one could see the king without first
obtaining Daniels approval. That also meant that Daniel could make certain
decisions on behalf of the king Wao! What a powerful office. The “gate” implies “the door” or “access” to
the king. So beloved, Daniel was there, sitting next to the king. How do we
know? We know so because we are told that the princes, the governors, and
captains, the judges, the treasures, the counselors, the sheriffs, and ALL the
rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the
golden image (Dan 3:2, 3).
Daniel was there because we are told in chapter two verse 48,
that he was made ruler over the whole province of Babylon, that is to say, he
was made the chief ruler. In addition to that, he was also made the chief of
the governors. How could the lesser rulers and governors be present at the
dedication ceremony and the chief ruler and governors wouldn’t be present. So
he had to be there at the dedication ceremony.
As a matter of fact, Daniel
3:7, Indicates that all of the leaders from the conquered nations from all
over the Babylonian empire were present at the dedication ceremony of the
golden image. Notice that next to king Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was the most
powerful man in the world. He was also considered the wisest man in the world
under the Babylonian reign.
DANIEL HIMSELF NEVER
BOWED TO THE IMAGE
From the honors and Favors given to Daniel, It appeared he
was king Nebuchadnezzar’s most right hand man. No one could see the king
without Daniels approval. Although the Bible never explicitly told us that
Daniel never bowed to Nebuchadnezzar’s image. Nevertheless, we know he did not
because of his position as prime minister and second in command to the king. He
was exempted because of his office. Daniel had special favor before the king.
In addition to that, the bible makes it clear that king Nebuchadnezzar feared
Daniel as a god. We are told that the king himself bowed before Daniel and
worshipped him and commanded that oblation and sweet odors be offered unto
Daniel. Although there is no indication that Daniel accepted this false worship,
so we can see that aside the king, Daniel must have been the only one exempted
from bowing to the golden image. Wao! What an honor. Daniel 2: 46, 47.
In verse 47, the expression “the king answered”, indicates
that Daniel must have refused to be worshipped and directed the king away from
himself to God.
In today’s world, the golden image could be anything that
takes tries to take your attention away from Christ and His finished work. It
could be your religious position, your job, your career, your wealth, your
education or chains of degrees, etc. While these things are not bad in
themselves, it is wise that we never allow them to distract us from our focus
on Christ and His finished work, and commitment to the gospel of grace. We are
not to allow them dominate our lives or ruin our commitment. Paul declares, “Everything
is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible
for me but I will not allow anything to control me”. 1 Corinthians 6:12, ISV
WHY DID DANIEL KEEP
SILENT?
This is a very good question, someone might say. Yes, If
Daniel was exempted from bowing to the golden image because of his elevated
position and God’s favor on him, we agree. But why didn’t he say anything to
prevent his three Hebrew brothers from being cast into the fiery furnace, why
did he keep silent?
Daniel was silent because the Holy Spirit wanted it so. The
Holy Spirit restrained Daniel from speaking because He did not want human
interference in what He was about to do.
If Daniel had interfered, people would have said it was
Daniel who used his position to protect his three Hebrew brothers and that
would have robbed God of His glory. If Daniel had used his position to
interfere, he would have messed up what the Holy Spirit was about to do.
God wanted king Nebuchadnezzar to know that He Jehovah was
not only able to reveal secrets, but that He could also be depended upon to
deliver anyone from harm or danger. He is the great deliverer. Ps 18:2, 3. If Daniel had interfered,
the king would not have learnt this lesson and even more, we would not have
been privileged to learn of this aspect of God’s miraculous ability.
Did you notice it wasn’t God who threw the three Hebrew
Children into the burning fiery furnace? It was Nebuchadnezzar who commanded
that they be thrown into the flames. This indicates that God is not the one who
puts us into fiery trials and tests.
Notice that after the miraculous deliverance of Shedrach,
Meshach and Abednego, the dedication ceremony of Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image
grinded to a halt. God took over the scene, hallelujah!
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF
Another reason why the Holy Spirit restrained Daniel from
interfering was because He wanted Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego to speak for
them selves and walk in Faith for themselves rather than rely on Daniel’s political
position, or depend on what someone else says on their behalf.
The Holy Spirit didn’t want them to put their trust in or
depend on Daniel for help, but to depend on God Himself. You remember before
this time, God had used Daniel to help them secure good positions in the
kingdom of Babylon (Dan 2:49).
However, this time around, God wanted them to take a bold stand for themselves
and not depend on Daniel or brother so and so. You see, a more mature Christian
may carry a babe on his Faith for a while. But after a while, God expects the
babe to grow and learn to take a stand on the word for himself. I can carry you
on my faith for a while, but it’s for a while. You must learn to stand on your
faith. There comes a time when God will expect you to be able to take a stand
of faith for yourself and not depend on anyone else. Therefore, like Shedrach,
Meshach and Abednego, learn to take a bold stand of faith and talk your way to
your miracle. Learn to handle the challenges of life through faith in the word
of God.
YOU CAN CHANGE THE DEVILS
WORD BY DECLARING AND STANDING ON GOD’S WORD
The devils word is not final; the President’s word is not
final. The king’s word is not final; your boss’s word is not final. You can
change the King’s word. Don’t be afraid when you are threatened by someone who
seems to be of a higher social status than you. This is because you have what
it takes to change his or her words. God’s ability resides in you. Job 22: 28 says, "...and you shall decree a thing and it shall be established unto you."
Mark 11:23 says, you shall have what you keep saying.
These scriptures show us the amazing power that we have in the spoken word of God and our words. Make the word of God you word always.
Take a look at what Paul said in Romans 3:4. “…. Let God be true, but every man a liar”. God’s word
will always prove true and right, no matter who questions them. (Romans 3: 4, TLB).
With God’s word constantly on your lips, you can change any
thing that isn’t in line with His will for you.
You can use God’s word to alter any word that is spoken by
man against you, God’s word is final. What you say out of you own mouth is what counts most, not what people say about you, or to you.
Prize Chukwuka
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