God's Sovereign Deliverance (Daniel 3)
In preparing for this message, I’ve been thinking a lot about the movie, “I Am Not Ashamed.” This movie is about a teenage girl—Rachel Joy Scott—who attended Columbine High School—the school where one of the first school shootings happened. As the two shooters approached the school, they shot Rachel and her friend multiple times. He died immediately; she was severely wounded. The shooters walk up to her, mocking her faith saying, “Where’s your god now?” and “What would Jesus do?” Then one of the gunmen holds a gun to her head and asks, “Do you still believe in God?” Knowing he will kill her, she looks him in the eyes and says, “You know I do.”
It’s extremely difficult to put ourselves in her shoes. I’m sure many of us HOPE that we would respond the same way if put in that position, but wonder WHETHER we would actually respond by saying, “You know I do.” What causes that type of resolve in someone?
It’s hard for us to put ourselves in this difficult of a situation, but what if we took it down a few notches. What if we were talking about our jobs? What if bills were tight and we were struggling to make ends meet, then we show up to work on morning to hear our boss say, “If you want to continue working here, you need to renounce Jesus as your Savior.” What if your boss said, “If you want to continue working here, you need to act in a way that goes against your faith—or affirm things that go against your faith”? Where do we find the resolve to stand firm in these situations?
Daniel’s three friends find themselves in a similar predicament as Rachel Joy Scott. Let’s take a look at our passage this morning. [Read Daniel 3]
Make sure you don’t miss the connection between this chapter and the previous chapter. All of Daniel 2 revolves around a vision that shook King Nebuchadnezzar to his core—a dream about an image. In that image, Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold. Now, at the beginning of this chapter it says, “King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.” (Daniel 3:1, NIV). You see what’s happening here? The King didn’t like ONLY being the head of gold. He wants to be the “whole enchilada.” So, he makes a massive statue that’s entirely made out of gold and sets it up in the plain of Dura. This is the epitome of pride. This is VERY reminiscent of the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11. This is all about King Nebuchadnezzar placing himself in opposition to God.
Then, the king gathers a whole bunch of people and a whole bunch of instruments. Did you pick up on this as I was reading it? It gets pretty tedious as times. The author gives us this LONG list of people and a LONG list of instruments, then the author gives us the same lists again and again. He’s doing it on purpose. He’s intentionally mocking what the King is doing, showing how foolish this entire “dedication” is. Not only is it foolish, but the king demands that everyone worship this image—everyone must participate in this ceremony. If they don’t participate, they will be thrown in the furnace.
So, everyone obeys the king's orders (well, almost everyone). The author continues to mock all of those who are worshiping the image. He portrays them as puppets being controlled by the king. Whatever the king tells them to do they do, no questions asked. That’s the way the king likes it, pure obedience. The NIV says, “Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the [instruments]…all the peoples…fell down and worshipped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” (Daniel 3:7, NIV). In the Hebrew it says, “As they were hearing they were falling.” They were like trained dogs. When the whistle blows, they sit, fetch, or roll over. In this case, when the music played, they fell down and worshiped the image they were told to worship.
Yet, not everyone worshiped the image. Some of the astrologers approached the king with a complaint. They said, “But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:12, NIV). Now, this accusation is a trumped up charge. The accusers blow this up into something bigger than it truly is—maybe because they are jealous of their promotion. They tell the king that since these three refuse to serve or worship the gods of Babylon, they “pay not attention” to the king, which is entirely false. They have been faithfully serving the king, yet refuse to do this one thing. However, these accusers aren’t looking for a balanced response. They are looking to have Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (to be called “The Three” from now on) thrown into the furnace. So, they make sure the accusation is a serious as it can get.
It works. In his typical fashion, the king flies off the handle, “furious with rage,” and calls The Three to come before him. In his rage, he tries to show some clemency by allowing them to “reconsider” their decision. He gives them another opportunity to worship the image he made. He also threatens them saying, “But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (Daniel 3:15, NIV). I always imagine that Daniel laughed as he wrote that last line. In his arrogance the king says, “What god can rescue you from my hand?” not knowing that THEIR God will rescue them from his hand. Nebuchadnezzar is not as powerful as he thinks.
The Three also know this and respond to this king with an amazing boldness. They say, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.” (Daniel 3:16, NIV). They look the king in the eye, as he is threatening them with death, and say, “We really don’t need to talk about this with you. You can try to throw your power around and intimidate us, but it isn’t going to change reality. We don’t need to talk to you about this and you aren’t going to change our mind.” Can you feel their resoluteness? Can you feel the resolve they have in the midst of an extremely difficult situation? Where does that resolve come from?
It comes from the next part of their response. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17–18, NIV). Their resolve comes from knowing that God is in control. He is fully capable of delivering them from the king’s hand. The king may think he is a big deal, but The Three know that God is a much bigger deal. Everything that the king has, has been given to him by God—the One who is truly powerful—and the king cannot do anything unless God allows him to do it. If the king throws them in the furnace, their God is fully capable of delivering them.
Yet, they say more than that don’t they? They say, “But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18, NIV). They also know that God works in mysterious ways. God is able to deliver them from the furnace but may not do it, just as God was able to deliver them from Nebuchadnezzar's armies who carried them off into exile but didn’t. God works in mysterious ways. He is in control, but doesn’t always do things the way we think He should do things. Yet, they look the king in the eye and say, “Even if God doesn’t deliver us, we’re still not going to worship or serve your gods. We TRUST our God. We trust that whatever decision He makes is the right decision. So, we place our lives in His hands and follow Him. He has told us not to worship other gods, so we won’t worship other gods. Do what you want to do. We’re following Him.”
That’s where their resolve came from—an understanding of God’s control over all things and FAITH that God will do what is right (even if they don’t understand it). I can tell you that this resolve didn’t come to them overnight. It progressively came upon them as they meditated on God’s control and on God’s faithfulness to His people. They spent time meditating on it, driving this knowledge from their minds into their hearts, allowing it to move them and stir their affection for Him. As they increasingly came to a KNOWLEDGE (both head and heart) of who God is and the way He works in this world, their Faith deepened and their Resolve grew. It lead up to this one important moment.
It’s extremely important for us to meditate upon these things right now, even when things may be easy. You may be thinking, “My life is good, things are going great, why would I need to spend time meditating on these things?” I’m telling you that there will be a time coming in the future when you need to have these truths driven deep in your heart. Now is the time to drive them there. Don’t wait until you find yourself with your life on the line to begin thinking about these things. Don’t wait until your job is on the line to begin thinking about these things. Don’t wait until it seems like your world is crashing around you until you think about these things. Think about them NOW, when things are going well, and drive them deep into your heart in preparation for what is to come. God is good; God is in control; and we can trust Him in everything He does. Meditate on those things and drive them deep into your heart.
I still remember the first time when I realized I actually believed these truths. I had grown up in a CRC church, but didn’t actually believe that God was in control. Eventually, as I read my Bible and studied it alongside some helpful teachers, I began to embrace God’s sovereignty. I spent a lot of time meditating on it and trying to understand the God who is in control. Meditating on this drove it deep into my heart. Then, Rachel and I had our first miscarriage. The baby was 15 weeks old—alreading into the second trimester. It was devastating. We wept and wept and wept. A couple days later, we held our own funeral for the child. I remember driving home from that funeral and wave of peace came over me like I had never experienced before. In a moment, the Spirit brought to mind that God is good, God is in control, and I can trust Him with my life. I didn’t understand why our baby had to die. I didn’t understand how “God could use it for the good.” I didn’t have to understand. God is good; God is in control, and I trust Him with everything.
I’m so thankful that the Spirit had revealed these things to me and drove them into my heart prior to this event. That was NOT the time for me to begin wrestling through whether God was in control. I encourage you not to wait to begin meditating on God’s goodness and sovereignty. Don’t wait until something happens. Do it now. Ask Him to reveal these things to you and drive them into your heart. Ask Him to deepen your faith and grow your resolve as you more fully understand the way He works in this world and in your life. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
For The Three, God grants them a miracle. Rather than falling down and worshiping the image, they fall down into the fiery furnace. Yet, God delivers them in a miraculous way—in a way that causes the king and all of his puppets to take notice. As The Three walk out of the furnace, everyone notices that they aren’t singed at all—not even their hair. They don’t even smell like smoke. It’s a powerful miracle.
Yet, God doesn’t always provide deliverance in the way we expect. As Jesus prayed in the Garden, he was faced with a similar situation to The Three. He knew he was going to be tortured and killed. He fell on the ground and prayed to the Father, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39, NIV). Jesus knew that the Father was able to deliver him from the cross. He knew the Father was in control of all things. He also knew that the Father works in mysterious ways. He also knew that the Father is good. So, he trusts the Father to carry out his will. He submits himself to the Father and says, “Not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39, NIV). And the Father’s will was for Jesus to suffer and die on the cross and to be buried. It was also his will that Jesus was rise from the dead on the third day, conquering sin and death, and that Jesus would ascend into heaven where he is ruling and reigning over all of creation.
The Father delivered him in a miraculous way, but in a way that nobody would have ever asked or imagined. We also have comfort knowing that Jesus’ resurrection is only the beginning. We all await a final deliverance that will be glorious. After enduring the pain and suffering of this live, our bodies will be resurrected and renewed and we will become like Jesus. Jesus has earned that for us and that day of final deliverance is coming for all who believe.
In the meantime, God is still in control, God is still good, and we can trust Him with every aspect of our lives—even in the midst of the pain and suffering of this life. We may not understand what He’s doing. We may not understand why things happen. Yet, we know He is in control and He is good and we can trust Him with everything.
This will give us resolve to stand against any trial or temptation that may come our way. It will give us resolve to continue in the path that Jesus has set before us. If we find our jobs threatened because of our faith, we will trust God, follow Him, and lose our job if He so wills. Even if we find our lives in the line because of our faith, we will trust God, follow Him, and lose our lives if He so wills. Calvin says, “But we should gather from our present narrative the sufficiency of God’s protection, if he wishes to prolong our lives, since we know our life to be precious to him; and it is entirely in his power, wither to snatch us from danger, or to withdraw us to a better existence according to his pleasure” (229).
God is good. God is in control. We can trust Him with EVERYTHING.