Daniel 3: The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace.

Daniel 3: The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace.

• Setting
• This writing occurred around 586 BC, approximately 18 to 20 years after King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream which Daniel told and interpreted from Chapter 2.   Jerusalem was also finally destroyed in 586 BC.
• The statue was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide.  The main portion was made of wood and then covered with gold.   The statue also stood upon a wooden base.
• The statue was built in the Plain of Dura, which is a province of Babylon.   It was located about 6 miles south of Saddam Hussein’s palace.   A large wood pedestal had been found there and it is believed to be the base that Nebuchadnezzar’s statue stood upon.   The fiery furnace was also located near the statue.
• This statue and its worship are shades of what happen in the book of Revelation with the image of the Beast and the Anti-Christ.   (Revelation 13:11-17)
• The King had summoned around 300,000 of his officials for the dedication of the statue.   They included the satraps, prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and provincial officers.
• Daniel was not part of those who were in attendance.  It is assumed he was sent on a mission for the King.
• Satraps were governors over major divisions of the empire, serving as the chief representative for the king.   Prefects were the governors over conquered cities.   Governors were civil administrators over provinces.

• Nebuchadnezzar was corrupted by his power and required the officials to attend the dedication.   This was an act to signify their loyalty to him.   Nebuchadnezzar was also considered a monarch.

• A monarch is the sovereign head of a state, officially outranking all other individuals in the realm. A monarch may exercise the most and highest authority in the state or others may wield that power on behalf of the monarch. Typically a monarch either personally inherits the lawful right to exercise the state's sovereign rights (often referred to as the throne or the crown) or is selected by an established process from a family or cohort eligible to provide the nation's monarch. Alternatively, an individual may become monarch by conquest, acclamation or a combination of means. A monarch usually reigns for life or until overthrown.
• Nebuchadnezzar was clearly in charge.   All of the officials in attendance were required to fall down to their knees and worship the statue once the music played or they would face death.
• Overview
• Daniel’s friends (Shadrack, Meshach, and Abednego) take a stand and refused to worship the image of the false god built in honor of King Nebuchadnezzar.   Because of their refusal to follow the King’s command, they were thrown into the fiery furnace.
• All 3 men worked in the courts of King Nebuchadnezzar and were in charge of the affairs of Babylon as we saw in Chapter 2.   They were now men between the ages of 35 and 40.   They had been set in charge of the King’s affairs now for about 20 years.
• They must have been the envy of the other counselors as they were foreigners who had been exalted by the King.
• Fire was used for testing and purification, as it eliminates the dross in a metal.  (Malachi 3:2-4, Hebrews 13:28, I Peter 1:6-8, Psalm 66:10, I Corinthians 3:10-15, I Peter 4:12)
• Notice the back sliding of Nebuchadnezzar since chapter 2, where he praised the God of Daniel for providing his dream correctly and also providing an interpretation as well.
• In Verse 15, Nebuchadnezzar gives the 3 men a 2nd chance to bow and worship the statue.   The King was familiar with the God of the Hebrews and this could be seen as a challenge of the Hebrew’s God and faith.   
• The word worship is used 11 times in this chapter.   Music was used to stir the people’s emotions and made it easier to manipulate them and win their submission and obedience.
• Quote made by William Congreve, a British playwright- ‘Music has charms to sooth a savage beast.”
• Breakdown of the Verses.
• Verses 1 - 3:   The Heart of the King.
• The statue was built as a strategy to help unite and solidify Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.  The statue may have also been built out of the fear the King had for himself and his vast kingdom.  He may have wanted to make sure that his people were loyal to him and that they would not be rebellious as well.
• The King planned to unify his kingdom by means of religion and fear.   The people in attendance had the choice to worship the statue or be burned to death.
• Imagine the King’s pride when he was told that he was only the head of gold on the statue from Daniel’s interpretation of his dream.  He was also told that his kingdom would be overthrown by another nation stronger than his.  After Daniel’s dream, Nebuchadnezzar had become stronger and his kingdom became larger.   The King’s pride continued to grow as his kingdom grew from his conquests.   He wanted to insure his kingdom would remain, so out of his own vanity, he had the statue built, to be worshipped by his subjects.   The statue was more than likely built to show he was stronger than the other nations and to prove the dream Daniel had interpreted was wrong.
• The entire statue was covered in gold to signify that Babylon will live forever and that the whole world was to eventually worship it.  Nebuchadnezzar couldn’t see another kingdom becoming stronger than his, including another kingdom overthrowing it.
• The King sent his official messenger to all the provinces of his kingdom.    This was to be more than a political assembly, it was a religious service with music.
• Verses 4 - 7:   The Heart of the People.
• The people in attendance had no choice as the Herald told them what was about to happen.   He also announced it was a matter of life or death.   At the sound of the music they would either bow down to the statue or be burned in the fiery furnace.
• The people were already accustomed to worshipping gods and goddesses, so this was nothing new to them.   They showed a credulous faith since they believed and obeyed the King and the Herald.   The 3 Hebrews showed a confident faith as they believed in the commandments of God so they disobeyed the King’s command.
• Everyone lives by faith in something.
• The people of Babylon conformed because of an edict and they did what everyone else did.   The Christian believer lives by Faith in the living God and his revealed word.
• Verses 8 - 12:   The Heart of the 3 Jewish Men.
• Because the 3 Hebrews held offices in the province, there were required to be at the ceremony and dedication of the statue.
• The 3 Jewish men must have stood tall amongst the others, as the King’s officials had bowed to the statue once the music began playing.   They knew God was in control and they had nothing to fear.   
• Faith means obeying God regardless of the feelings within us, the circumstances around us, or the consequences before us.   True faith isn’t frightened by threats, impressed by crowds, or swayed by superstitious ceremonies.
• They realized that God could either rescue them or not.  To them, it did not matter if they were rescued or not.   The 3 men made a firm stand for the one and only living God.   They remained faithful while the remaining Jews were becoming accustomed to the Babylonian ways.    They were familiar with God’s word.   (Exodus 20:1-5)
• Once God speaks on a matter, there's no compromising.
• Bowing to the Statue would destroy their witness and break fellowship with God.
• By bowing once to the King’s god/statue would mean they would have to continue for the rest of their lives.
• It appears the King did not notice Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego standing.  Astrologers approached the King to inform him of the 3 Jewish men who did not obey his decree.  It is very possible the astrologers were waiting for an opportunity to accuse the foreigners who had been promoted by the King.
• The advisors must have forgotten that Daniel saved their lives by interpreting the King’s dream.   This probably was done out of an act of jealousy by the astrologers.
• Verses 13 - 18:   True Faith Confesses the LORD.
• The King has a fit of rage when he learns the 3 Hebrews refused to bow to his image/statue.   The King had conquered many nations but he could not conquer himself.    (Proverbs 16:32)   
• The 3 Hebrews remained calm and respectful.   ( I Peter 3:15)
• The King had respect for the3 Hebrews as he gave them a second chance to bow to the statue.
• The King was proclaiming himself a god as seen in Verse 15.    
• The King had previously praised the God of Daniel.   (Daniel 2:46-47).
• The 3 Hebrews could have tried compromising with the King, but instead chose to stand upon true faith to the living God of the Hebrews.   There only concern was obeying God’s commands and not the fury of the King or the consequences they would be facing themselves.
• Verse 16 means, ‘We do not need to defend ourselves or our God, for our God can defend both himself and us.’   (Isaiah 12:2)
• It would be arrogant to think that they have to defend God for God is perfectly capable of defending himself and taking care of his people.   Instead our task is to obey God and trust God as he will do the rest.
• They did not make a presumption that God would save them but rather God could save them if he chose to do so.
• People can tend to bargain with God rather than trust him based upon faith.
• The 3 Hebrew were listed as men of faith.   (Hebrews 11:34)
• Verses 19 - 25:   True Faith Confounds the Enemy.
• The King’s temper again gets the best of him as proud men do not like to be disobeyed.   He orders the 3 Hebrews to be thrown in the fiery furnace for turning down his generous offer.  The King was first concerned for the 3 men and he tried to save them by offering them a second chance to bow to the statue.  He is now determined to destroy them for their disobedience.
• The astrologers/court advisors would now get the revenge they were waiting for against the 3 foreigners who became established in their territory and had been promoted to offices that should have been given to the Chaldeans instead.
• The fiery furnace was likely used for smelting ore.   It had a large door and a top for dropping down fuel.   The smelted ore was then taken out from the door at the bottom.  There was an opening in the wall to enable the smelters to watch the progress of their work.   There were also holes in the wall where bellows were placed to make the fire blaze even more.   This furnace was large enough for 4 men to walk around in.
• Making the fire even hotter would instantly kill the men, where a lower flame would have caused them to suffer great pain before dying.   This decision was again affected by the King’s anger.
• The hot fire made no difference as it did not affect the 3 Hebrews.   The King looked in and to his own amazement they were alive and they were no longer bound by ropes.  The King also saw a fourth person who looked like ‘a son of the gods’.
• This fourth person is believed to be the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ from the Old Testament.   (Isaiah 43:1-2, Psalm 91:9-12)
• Notice how the ropes were the only thing affected by the fire.
• The 3 Hebrews then obeyed the King’s command when he ordered them out of the fiery furnace.   They were living miracles as not even their clothes smelled of smoke or had the flames affected them in any manner.  Not only did the King witness this miracle, but his officials witnessed it as well.
• The King makes 3 affirmations.
• He affirms the power of the God of Israel.
• The effectiveness of faith of the 3 Hebrews.
• The remarkable dedication of the 3 Hebrews who gave their bodies to the true God and not to the King’s false god.(Romans 12:1-2)
• BY one act of faith, the 3 Jewish men became witnesses of the true and living God to the entire Babylonian Empire.
• Verses 26 - 30:   True Faith Confirms the Promises.
• This story is included in the Bible to encourage God’s people in their battle against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
• This story offered encouragement in Daniel’s days.
• The Jewish land has been devastated, the temple of Jerusalem was in ruins, and the people were scattered among the Gentiles or living with the Babylonians.   The situation must have seemed hopeless at the time.   The prophets did foresee the day the Israelites would return to their homeland and they would rebuild the city and the Temple, but first they had to endure the shame of captivity.
• The 3 Hebrews provided encouragement and conviction to the captive Jews who were learning to compromise to the Babylonian lifestyle.   They showed the Jehovah God is still on the throne, the Jehovah God had not forsaken them, and the Jehovah God would fulfill his promises to them that were made by the prophets.
• Encouragement in our Day.
• Life can be fairly safe and comfortable for us.
• Some will spare their lives by becoming witnesses for Christ.   (Revelation 2:10)
• The furnace of opposition to Christians will continue to grow as pressure will continue to make Christians conform to the ways of the world.   It will take great faith, great courage, prayer, and grace to remain strong while others compromise.   (I Samuel 2:30).
• Encouragement for the Future.
• Daniel 3 reminds us of the prophecies found in Revelation 13 and 14.   A world leader will arise, just as Nebuchadnezzar arose.   This leader will have an image made of himself and require everyone to bow before it and worship it.   Those who obey shall receive ‘the mark of the Beast’.   Those who do not obey will be persecuted or slain (Revelation 3:4-15).   The LORD himself will seal 144,000 Jews who the Beast will not be able to touch.   They shall arise during the Tribulation period and reign in the Messiah’s Kingdom.
• We should be mindful as in Daniel 3, that God will be with his people who are in the world ‘furnace’ and he will ultimately defeat the enemy and establish his new Kingdom here on Earth.
• Conclusion

• Why does God save some and not others?   Why does God allow evil in this world?
• When we are in the ‘hot furnace’ of trials in our lives, are we more conscious of God than other times in our lives?
• Who was the 4th person that was spotted in the fire with Daniel’s 3 friends?   Witnesses testified that only 3 men were thrown in the fire, but they saw a 4th, a person who looked like a son of the gods.
• You cannot force pure worship.   True praise is spontaneous.
• The Devil tempts us to destroy our faith but God tests us to develop our faith.   A false faith withers in trials but a true faith makes deeper roots, grows, and brings glory to God.
• God always does reward faith, but he doesn’t always step in and perform special miracles.
• This chapter shows us an example of true faith.   The 3 Hebrews would trust God even if God did not rescue them.   (Habakkuk 3:17-19)
• Note from last week’s lesson: Pulse - a form of cereal.