Last week, we turned our attention to the Book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshack, and Abendego were exiles from the Land of Judah living in Babylon. They were captives – many of the elite members of Judah’s society were forcefully relocated to Babylon. Daniel and his friends were taken to King Nebuchadnezzar’s court and were groomed to be officials in the government – the very same government that had forced them into exile.
King Nebuchadnezzar may have lived thousands of years ago, but his erratic behavior and self-aggrandizing exploits still live on in infamy. Last week, we read about a dream he had that all his officials were afraid to interpret – Daniel bravely stepped forward and explained the meaning of the dream to the king. The king dreamed about a gigantic statue with a golden head – in today’s reading, the king commissioned a giant statue to be forged; scholars think he was inspired by his dream and wanted to bring it to life. He ordered his subjects to pay homage to the statue.
Let us now read how the faithful Shadrach, Meshack, and Abendigo reacted to the king’s exploits in Daniel chapter 3:
The Scripture Daniel 3:1-30
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.
So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do:
As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews.
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever!
Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold,
and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace.
But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,
and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up?
Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.
But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual
and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.
The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,
and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Let us pray....
The Sermon Fiery Furnace
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the faithful men into the furnace, but our God is more powerful than earthly kings.... our God is more powerful than fire...our God is more powerful than the laws of science. Our God decided to protect Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace – even King Nebuchadnezzar was awed by the power of God and sang praises to God.
The story of these brave men, who prioritized their faith in God over their government and the orders of their flawed earthly ruler, live on, even though we have trouble pronouncing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Every faithful person must wrestle with the same problems the three friends wrested with: assimilation, resistance and hybridization. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could have followed the orders of their nation – they could have bowed down and worshipped the statue. They could have tried a hybrid approach – bow down, but have their fingers crossed behind their backs – pretend to worship the statue in public but denounce their actions in private. Or, they could have resisted – and that is what the men chose. They refused to bow down and worship the statue. They were faithful to God and followed God’s second commandment (of the Ten Commandments): “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.”
The men were so faithful they were willing to be burned alive for their faith in God. Since the events of their time in the furnace, and their miraculous survival, many men and women have been killed for following our God. Early in the history of Christianity, countless Christians were killed by the Roman government – they were often killed in painful and awful ways: crucified, torn apart by animals, beheaded. During the Dark Ages and the Renaissance, Christians who publicly disagreed with the Roman Catholic. Church were put to death, As Christianity spread around the world, followers of God have been put to death because of theological and religious disagreements. IF you look up lists of Christian Martyrs, Christians are still risking death for choosing our faith for themselves
We are blessed to live in a place where we are not at risk for practicing our faith. But we still are put into the position of needing to evaluate the difficult situations we encounter through the lens of our faith. We may have our faith put to the test – do we assimilate, resist or come up with a hybrid approach? What do we do when our boss orders us to do something that we think is unethical? What do we do when our friends pick on someone who is different than we are? What do we do when our daughter has a volleyball tournament on Easter Sunday morning? What do we do when our government imposes laws upon us that prevent us from practicing our faith? – for example, a few years ago the City of Philadelphia made it illegal to feed homeless people in public parks – essentially shutting down Christian feeding programs. And, Pottstown has been battling Churches and trying to prevent them from using their buildings as emergency homeless shelters? What do we do when the government works to prevent Christians from practicing our faith?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego took the brave route – they resisted the orders of King Nebuchadnezzar and they did not worship the idolatrous statute. They resisted the king’s orders. And they were punished and thrown into the fiery furnace. They were willing to lose life and limb to practice their faith.
We must work together to resist evil. We must work to stand up for what is right. We must remember our loyalty is to God and to our Christian faith first and foremost – not to our team, not to our political party, not to our country – we belong, body and soul, to our Savior Jesus Christ. And, when we are put to the test, we must be brave and remember our allegiance is to our God and to the faith of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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