The Book of Daniel, Careful Not to Answer, Daniel 3:16-18 - Lesson 14

Daniel 3:13-18,  Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.  Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?  Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?   Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

God has provided in the book of Daniel, a panoply of history regarding the nations that affect his people Israel.

The modern use of the word panoply is to describe a complete set of diverse components, a complete or impressive collection.

The original definition of the word "panoply" is a complete set of armor, that is the shield, breastplate, helmet, leg coverings and the sword or lance.

Paul in the New Testament tells us to put on the whole armor of God which includes putting on books like the book of Daniel which gives us a foretelling of what is to take place as the ages pass.

You and I know that it is better to know what is on the horizon than to not know what is to come.

Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to spiritual things.

We seek to know the day’s weather so as to make preparations for coming storms or hurricanes.

Jesus reminded the people of his day of their ability to discern the face of the sky and of the earth and asked them why they could not discern the signs of the times.

In fact he called them hypocrites for not being able to do so.

We are acquainted with the saying, He can’t see the forest for the trees.

The people of our day also are well able to determine the signs that indicate hurricanes and storms but they are ignorant of the signs of God’s times.

They are stuck in a forest without knowing anything but the trees.

They are stuck on today without knowing what is to come tomorrow for they refuse to look at the big picture that God provides in his word.

These cannot be blessed by the events of the day but are cursed to be fearful for they know not what is coming on the earth.

Jesus said in Luke 21 when we see signs in the sun, and in the moon and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, and the sea and the waves roaring and men’s hearts failing them, to not be in despair but to look up and lift up our heads for our redemption draws nigh.

Only those of us who look for his appearing will know the signs for we know the scriptures.

We will know what we are learning in the book of Daniel and we will be prepared for what is to come.

We are blessed to know the beginning from the end, for our God does not desire ignorant children and has provided his children knowledge to discern the times.

We are not given knowledge to change the times but to know the times.

Nebuchadnezzar at this time in the book of Daniel, namely chapter three, was not a believer and he chose to attempt to change the times, not accepting the fact of the dream he was given but desiring to change the outcome of the dream by certain measures.

And these measures were designed to bring a cohesiveness to his kingdom that the iron and clay of his dream did not offer.

And this cohesiveness was to be brought to his kingdom through the agency of a new religion with its own point of worship, namely the golden image on the plain of Dura.

All was expected to go well until the three Hebrew children spoiled his worship service for they refused to obey his commands to bow, they refused to cohere in spite of the fact that refusal meant their death.

Much is revealed in their answer to the king’s offer of a second chance to bow, with all to be forgiven when they yielded to the king.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.  But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The king had posed the question: and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

They had said without thought that it was their God, the God of Israel, who would do such a thing.

They were not careful to think on this thing, but were sure of the protection of their God.

They took no counsel, they did not list the pros and cons before responding to the king’s command.

They did not run to consult Daniel or any other fellow Hebrew.

They knew full well at the onset what their answer would be for they were grounded in their faith.

They lived by principal and obedience to the Word of God!

The foundation of their faith was secure and there was absolutely no reason to ponder their response.

Nebuchadnezzar assumed their hope was to be delivered from the fiery furnace but the three Hebrews had a much higher definition of deliverance and their definition was not based upon the temporal but the eternal.

God is able to deliver us out of any fiery furnace but if He chooses to consume our bodies in the furnace, real deliverance comes by going home to be with the Lord.

For he has promised a new body, a far better body, and one that is free from sin and will be given when the proper time comes.

It is a wonder that in light of this promise we cling to these bodies of sin so ardently.

But God promises true deliverance, deliverance from this body of sin and that is the deliverance that the Hebrew children sought.

They knew not to make their defense before him for the king could not do what God can do.

They did not humble themselves before him, asking deliverance.

There is no deliverance coming from this earth and therefore they could not bow down to his golden image.

God delivered his people out of Egypt and in so doing He commanded them to not bow down to any image under penalty of death.

God instructed "If you worship idols you shall die," while Nebuchadnezzar said "Worship idols or die."

This was not a quandary to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego for they knew to whom they were accountable.

They had in their hearts the same knowledge that Jesus preached to the multitudes in Luke 12 when he spoke of fearing that which is eternal rather than that which is temporal:

And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell;

This is the lesson of whom to fear.

We are not to fear man for man can only kill the body and as far as man is concerned that is the end but as far as God is concerned that is only the beginning.

I think of all of the critical comments that are offered by people of the world about what kind of God would let so many children die in the earthquake in China and the cyclone in Burma.

But those comments always are based upon what takes place on the earth but never account for what takes place in heaven.

We think the story ends with their death but God has more chapters in his book of life and we are not given to read those chapters.

The three Hebrews knew their God and knew that the story would not end in the furnace.

They remained faithful to God even when feeling the heat of the furnace designed to eat them up.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are the chosen ones of God, complete Israelites, who obey God’s law even when it is life-threatening.

They would rather face the wrath of men than the wrath of God.

They had eternity’s values in view!

Daniel 3:19-23,  Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.  And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.  Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.  Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Daniel, nor God’s Holy Spirit, does not want the names of these three to be forgotten.

Four times they are listed, designed to flow off the lips of children as they are told this story.

For it is to the young men and the young women that God wants this lesson imparted.

Stand for God, stand for God’s son, even in the face of death.

They are to stand for God in the face of the most powerful of kings as they witness the redness of Nebuchadnezzar’s face formed from his wrathful disposition when he hears these men will not obey his command, even if it means the furnace.

Heat up the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated!

The order goes out and instant obedience takes place.

His word will not be ignored by the furnace tenders who add fuel to the fire lest they be the fuel for the fire.

No doubt the multitudes were shaking in their places as they watched this play unfold.

It seems that the furnace was such that offenders could be cast into the fire by means of an opening at the top.

The king apparently was able to see into the furnace from a side door that was used to fuel the fire.

The furnace tenders were satisfied that the temperature had reached the multiplier of seven and the signal was relayed to the king.