September 5, 2021
In Daniel Chapter 3, it describes when the king Nebuchadnezzar made a large statue of gold. He then invited a host of people and commanded them to fall down and worship the golden image. All fell down and worshipped, except three men. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Furious these three should defy him, Nebuchadnezzar threatened the three Jews, giving them one more chance to obey him.
” 15Now 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 musick, 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?”
Daniel 3:15
At this point, the three men could have made excuses for themselves to obey Nebuchadnezzar such as;
We will bow down but not actually worship the idol
We won’t become idol worshippers, but will do it this one time, then ask God for forgiveness
We’re not hurting anybody
This is a foreign land so God will excuse us for following the customs of this land
The king has absolute power and we must obey him. God will understand
However, to bow to this image would be a violation of God’s commandments in Exodus 20:3. “Though shalt have no other gods before me.”
Instead, they chose what, and who, they believed in.
” 16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 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. 18 But, if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which though has set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18
Did you catch that? They had the courage to say, “We WILL NOT bow down before this statue! We know God CAN save us, BUT even if He doesn’t, we are still not going to bow.”
Even through the fury being thrown at them from the king, even though they could have made any excuse to not be thrown into the furnace, even though everyone else around them was bowing down, they chose instead to STAND UP for what they believed in. What excuses do you have for not standing up for Him.
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