Iâve never really been a fan of those get-to-know you games at youth group. They do serve a purpose. And Iâve learned things about people that I wouldnât have otherwise. But the get-to-know you game I donât really get is âTwo truths and a lieâ. Does that game actually encourage you to sin? Anyway, in the spirit of get to know you games, Iâll share two truths and a lie, you can try and pick the lie.
Which one do you thinkâs the lie? Itâs the third one.
Well, this morning, weâre going to get to know the God of Daniel 3 by thinking about two truths about God taught in the passage, and a common lie about Godâa lie that part of us thinks is true, but it is not.
King Nebuchadnezzar ruled over Babylon in modern day Iran and Iraq around 600-500 BC. He was the most powerful man in the world back then. And in Daniel chapter 3, he is dictating who his people can and canât worship. Daniel 3:5-6:
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 doesnât fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. (NIV)
Forget freedom of religion: this is prescription of religion. King Nebuchadnezzar tells you who to worship. He says that all people and all nations will bow down and worship his towering golden statue. Do like I tell you or else youâll be thrown into a blazing furnace. Youâll do it when I tell you: When you hear the horn, the flute, the zither, the triangle, the bassoon, the egg shaker! Thatâs really how ridiculous this whole scene is.
Now as you heard our wonderful band playing this morning, playing delightfully on piano, shredding on guitar, rocking out on drums, how come none of you fell to the ground and started bowing down to a golden image?
Well firstly, because that golden image has since been levelled and itâs long gone. And secondly, Nebuchadnezzar is long gone too. Heâs just another dead king who has no claim on your life. At the end of the day, this golden statue was simply some thing set up by some one an eight-storey high golden toothpick. The passage emphasises the idea of âset upâ: 9 times itâs repeated in Daniel chapter 3. It might be bad English style to use the same word or phrase again and again, but the Bible is more interested in helping us see where are the really important bits by repeating them. So the phrase âset upâ is found on the lips of Daniel in verse 1:
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. (NIV)
Itâs on the lips of the herald telling the crowd in verse 5:
You must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up (NIV)
Itâs found on the lips of the astrologers who dob in Danielâs three mates in in verse 12:
They [Danielâs three friends] neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up. (NIV)
Of course, Nebuchadnezzar himself says it too in verse 14:
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Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? (NIV)
And finally, Danielâs three mates go head on with Nebuchadnezzar, look him in the eye, and say to his face that he is not the king and then say in verse 18:
We want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.â
So why the repetition? It is because back in Daniel 2:20-21, we read, âPraise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. (NIV)
Daniel is emphasizing that God is the real deal! Nebuchadnezzar can set up all the little images he wants, but heâs got nothing on the God who has put him on that throne in the first place. Before Daniel chapter 3 is about three men thrown into the fire and surviving, it is a battle of the gods. In the blue corner we have Nebuchadnezzar, and in the red corner, Yahweh, the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. As the chapter unfolds, it becomes clear that this battle is not even a contest! The first clue that it is no real contest is because one minute Nebuchadnezzarâs satraps, prefects, and governors are bowing down to the golden toothpick, and the next minute in verse 27 theyâre crowding around to see the work of the real God. The second clue is Nebuchadnezzar himself. At the start of the chapter weâve got an earthly king asserting his power, and at the end of the chapter, in verse 28 heâs done a complete 180:
Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants (NIV)
In fact, this same king not only recognises the power of a greater king, but in verse 29, Nebuchadnezzar makes a new law that if you badmouth God, you get the death sentence. And our God is the same God who calls the shots in Daniel chapter 3.
Let me share my proud dad moment. Yesterday, over breakfast, my son was telling me how one of his mates at school challenged him about God. His mate said, âGod is fake. God is dead.â To which my son said, âNo heâs not. I know heâs not fake because he created you, and heâs alive because Jesus rose up from the deadâ
But let me share with you something that Iâm not so proud of. Iâd like to think that on my best days Iâm all-in on this God whoâs running the show, and who appoints kings just as easily as he removes them. Iâd like to think in my best moments that Iâm exactly like these three Jewish servants. But if truth be told there are plenty of times when Iâm more like Nebuchadnezzar. I forget just how real God is, in my thoughts and actions, and simply pretend heâs not there.
Iâm the one who wants my spouse to appreciate what I do. I want the boss to notice all the extra hours Iâve put in. I want my kids to do what I want them to do: tidy their room, finish their homework, or eat their breakfast.
Nebuchadnezzar sets up this golden toothpick so that people will notice him. He wants to leave his mark. Nebuchadnezzar has come and gone, just like every other fake God. Itâs time to stop trying to find purpose in pretend gods, for there is only one true and living God.
The God who is there is slow to anger, abounding in love, upright, merciful, compassionate, gracious, faithful, and forgiving. He is the God to whom all people from all nations will be called to give an account. He is the one to whom every knee shall bowâwillingly or unwillinglyâand every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
So friends, letâs be ready for that day. Bow the knee today, willingly while you can.
Nebuchadnezzar said in 3:15 to the three Jewish men who refused to bow down to his statue, âWhat God will be able to rescue you from my hand?â Just because Nebuchadnezzar has the matchstick in his hands, he is not invincible. Heâs got tiny view of God. He doubtâs Godâs ability. Itâs as if God hears Nebuchadnezzarâs challenge. God says, âNot even a furnace thatâs heated seven times hotter than usual is going to stop me!â
Fire, even at normal heat, is hot. Things burn. Property gets destroyed. People die. And itâs the same here in Daniel 3. This was not pretend fire. Even the soldiers died just for doing their job. But God intervenes. He shows that he can save like no one else. For God is through the fourth figure in the fire, somehow present with his people protecting them. God can so protect his people that in 3:27, we read that fire did not harm their bodies. Not a single hair on their head is singed. Theyâre robes werenât scorched. Not even the smell of fire was on them.
In our family, we love toasting marshmallows in the fire pit. But we donât love it when our clothes smell like smoke afterwards. But these three men got amongst the flames but you couldnât even tell. Daniel 3 teaches loud and clear that we have a God who rescues! God is committed to personally saving his people. Heâs a God who will see us through
We see this in Jesus in his birth. God permanently sides with humanity and enters our broken world. On the cross, God wears our blame, absorbing every last drop of the judgement we deserve. In his resurrection, Jesus defeated death, sin, and Satan. Jesus has won.
As many of you know, weâve been on a journey with our terminally-sick daughter Evie. Most of this sermon was written at her bedside at Mount Druitt Hospital. This was Godâs way of reinforcing this point to me, and hopefully for you too. Because all the ambulances, doctors, nurses, medical equipment, tests, and scans in the world donât save lives into eternity. They only prolong life in this world.
Weâve been reading a Psalm for each day of Evieâs life. So, let me share what we read on Wednesday, from Psalm 68.19-20:
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death. (NIV)
Our God is a God who saves. He can, does, and will save.
God is definitely not like Peter Chamberlin. Peter Chamberlin invented the forcepsâthe salad spoons that help doctors pull a baby out during labour. But Peter Chamberlin and his family sat on that life-saving device. They kept it a secret for themselves for nearly a hundred years. Think about how many womenâs and childrenâs lives they could have saved, including one of my own kids who was delivered with forceps.
One fiery furnace later, God brings Nebuchadnezzar to finally realize that âno other god can save in this wayâ. (Dan 3:29) Friends, if youâve not yet been saved by this wonderful God, thatâs what heâs offering you today. But if youâre someone who has been saved, you can take great comfort in the fact that God not only wants to save you, but he also wants you to know you are saved! And the wonderful thing is that this same God is continuing to rescue people today. We live in a time of reaping, of seeing people move from death to life! Thatâs what inspires us to remain optimistic, to look for opportunities to share Jesus. We pray for boldness that we would take the opportunity when it arises. It all stems from who God is.
Truth number 1: God is real. So we only will bow down to him alone.
Truth number 2: God saves. So letâs be optimistic in seeing the name of Jesus go forward.
Now for the lie, something that part of us wished God said, but didnât. It is that we think that God is committed to our comfort above all else. We think that God is here to meet our needs, that he fits around us. We think that if we follow God, everything in this life will work out perfectly. We expect that we get whatever you ask for in prayer. We expect that will see no sickness, no suffering, no opposition.
Daniel 3 shows that life was anything but comfortable for these three God-fearing men. When they heard the command, âBow or burnâ, they could have said, âLetâs just do it. Then weâve got plenty more yearsâ or âLetâs be respectful. Weâve lost everything to these guysâ. Or when Nebuchadnezzar gave them a second chance, they could have thought, âLetâs just do a quick bow, and then later on weâll say to God that we didnât really mean itâ. The choice was âbowâ or âburnâ, and there was no third option, to âblendâ in. So they say in verses 16-17:
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 Majestyâs hand. (NIV)
Now thatâs guts! They say to Nebuchadnezzar, âYou are not the king: God is. Weâd rather burn than bow. I donât think Iâd have the guts to say that. But these men stand on their convictions They do so because of the two truths weâve already seen in Daniel 3: God is real and God saves. But then they go one step further, in verse 18:
But even if our God does not [save us from the flames], we want you to know, [Nebuchadnezzar] that we will not worship the image of gold you have set up. (NIV)
Friends, this is a picture of loyalty. Shardrach, Meschach, and Abednego refuse to compromise. They do not buy the lie that God is committed to their comfort. They donât think that God owes them. They donât think, âCâmon God, weâve done our bit. Now do your bitâ. We do. But they donât!
These men are a model. They point to Jesus who was both sinless and impeccably faithful. Philippians 2 tells us that Jesus was obedient to death, even death on a cross. So we who live this side of Jesusâ death have every reason to hang in there, because weâre on the winning team. It is worth sticking your neck out for Jesus. But we wonât be shocked when it comes to pain or persecution.
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13)
Whatever opposition or trials we face, donât be surprised, because theyâre to be expected for Godâs people. These things are designed to make us better, not bitter. In fact, you can even rejoice in your suffering, because youâre exactly like youâre Saviour. Just as his suffering led to glory, so too will yours.
The closest I got to the situation we read about in Daniel 3 is a practice in Chinese culture, ancestor worship or veneration. So as a 9 or 10 year old, we would go to my grandparentsâ cemetery in Rookwood, and lay out food, burn paper money, and pay our respects by bowing and burning incense. In offering those things, we were sustaining our dead ancestors and we had influence over other gods, who in turn will give you good fortune.
For my parents, this was purely a cultural thing. My brother asked my dad why we were doing this, and dadâs answer was that theyâd grown up doing it and so we should too. But I donât do this todayâeven though my parents still doâbecause there is only one God who is alive, well and ruling the universe. He is the one God who is real, who saves, and who rather than being committed to my comfort is instead committed to his own glory.