There is a brick in the British Museum with Nebuchadnezzar’s name inscribed on it. Historians say thousands like it lined the walls of that ancient city. Everyone who walked a block in Babylon knew king Nebuchadnezzar was large and in charge.  But, by far, the person who thought most highly of king Nebuchadnezzar was king Nebuchadnezzar. He considered himself so important that he thought there would be no kings after him. He thought he would be a forever king.

Nebuchadnezzar is not as important as he thinks he is (2:44). He is not the forever king. The kings who will come after him aren’t either. God is the forever king and he will set up his forever kingdom. If you can imagine, the man who carved his name into every brick in Babylon didn’t like that very much. So, in chapter three, he builds a different statue.

This statue doesn’t have many materials; it has one material. This statue, standing about 100-feet tall, is made of pure gold.  Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t want to be the head of gold. He wants to be the head of gold, the chest of gold, the belly of gold, the arms of gold and the legs of gold forever and ever amen.

Before our story, in verse 15, he asks Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, “what God will be able to rescue you from my hand?”  But after our story, in verse 26, he shouts that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are “servants of the Most High God”.  So here was Nebuchadnezzar, an important man, undergoing an important change. Namely, he went from thinking he was the forever king to thinking that God is.

Daniel mentions this is taking place in the Plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. And he’s not doing geography for geography’s sake. Because this is a good story. And good stories don’t have pointless information. This is Daniel’s point: Babylon isn’t Israel. So, God’s people aren’t in God’s place; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego aren’t in the land God promised they’d be.

So, it’s starting to seem like Nebuchadnezzar is right about this golden image. Maybe he is the forever king, not God. Maybe God’s not as trustworthy as he says.  Second, Nebuchadnezzar gives everyone a little incentive to worship the statue. Anyone who doesn’t will get burnt to a crisp. Or, in his words, “whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the middle of a furnace of blazing fire”. Enough said.

Third, the fire wasn’t the only incentive. On a brighter note, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had the best jobs Jews could have. They didn’t want to lose those, did they? The music was great. They didn’t want to hurt the musician’s feelings, did they? And, most of all, everyone else is doing it. Everyone. The herald who proclaims this command addresses the crowd as “peoples, nations and populations of all languages”. Now, that’s peer pressure.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we are not in need of an answer to give you concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up.”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s response is three-fold: First, “our God whom we serve is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will rescue us from your hand, O king”  That’s trust. But I thought Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in exile. I thought they had no reason to trust God. They’re trusting him still. Because, whether they’re in Israel or Babylon or Timbuktu, he’s able. He’s done it before. He can do it again.

Second, they say, “But even if He does not”. So, a fiery furnace is not enough incentive for them. Their trust in God does not guarantee deliverance. But that’s okay. To them, it’s still better to burn than to bow. Because, even in death, God’s blessing is better than Nebuchadnezzar’s. And the wrath of the real forever king is worse than the wrath of the fake one.

Third, they say, “we are not going to serve your gods nor worship the golden statue that you have set up”.  Why not? They certainly have every reason to. They have jobs to keep, music to enjoy and people to please. They will not serve; they will not worship because they know the idol is more than just an idol. It is an ideology. And while the world is bowing down to the idea that Nebuchadnezzar is the forever king, they know God is the forever king, whether they live or die.

[The rest of Jacob’s lesson will be presented tomorrow.]

Jacob July