Nebuchadnezzar

In reading our way through the Bible, we have come to the Book of Daniel. It has always been a favorite of mine; the stories are so full of the details of Daniel’s life as an exile from the Holy Land while he lived in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar. Scripture tells that Daniel and his three friends were elevated to positions of authority after God gave them learning and skill in literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding of visions and dreams. Indeed, after their year of preparation, the king questioned them in every matter of wisdom and understanding, and the king found them “ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.” Daniel 1:20.

Nebuchadnezzar II reigned as king over the Babyloian Empire from 605-562 B.C. This picture is from the Christian Courier, Article entitled “Nebuchadnezzar and Archaeology” by Wayne Jackson 2020.

In the next chapter we find the king asking that the wise men of the kingdom interpret a dream that he had. In fact, the “king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams.” Daniel 2:2. The king became incensed because none of the wise men could state the dream, let alone its interpretation, and it was a troubling dream indeed. At this point, the king ordered that all the wise men be destroyed! Daniel 2:12.

Since Daniel and his friends were considered to be wise men, although they were not consulted by the king about this dream or interpretation, the king’s captain came to take Daniel away. Daniel asked what the problem was and the captain explained the situation. Then Daniel went to the king and asked that the king would appoint him a time so that he could provide the king’s interpretation and the wise men would be spared.

Daniel went to his home and told his three friends about the problem, and the four of them entreated wisdom from the Lord. The mystery was revealed by God to Daniel in a vision in the night.

Ultimately, Daniel went in before the king who asked: “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” Notably, Daniel did not say that he could do this. Rather, Daniel said:

“No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.”
Daniel 2:26-28

After Daniel detailed the dream and then gave the interpretation, the king had his response:

“Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”
Daniel 2:47

In response to God’s revelation to Daniel, the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts; and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

For the purpose of this blog, however, the point of the story is not so much that Daniel interpreted the dream and then was promoted and all the foreign wise men were saved from certain death. Rather, it was what Daniel prayed after receiving the mystery from God, before going back before the king with the interpretation.

Unlike something that I would do, Daniel did not run to his friends and shout “I know the secret”. “We will be saved because of what I tell the king.” Or perhaps “I am so glad that God told me what the king wants to know. I bet this will bring on a nice promotion, and maybe even some perks!

No, after receiving the answer, this is what Daniel said:

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding, for He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.
Daniel 2:20-23

How often do we thank God for answers to prayer?

When we pray, do we expect God to answer? When He gives us an answer, are we surprised?

Do we recognize God is the source of wisdom or have we bought into the culture’s line that we can answer our questions by ourself, without any “outside” intervention?

Do we really believe that God will hear and answer our prayers?

Daniel did. He and his 3 friends prayed for wisdom so that he could answer the king’s demand and so that they would not be destroyed along with all the other wise men of the kingdom. There was no doubt in Daniel’s mind – God would answer his prayer and grant him the wisdom to know both the king’s dream and its interpretation.

Indeed, even the wise men said that no one except the gods could do what the king was asking. But their gods did not respond; how could they? They were stone, iron, bronze, wood. They were work of craftsmen who made the idols and then bowed down to them.

Daniel’s God, however, is not made of wood or stone. He is the Creator of all things. He is the Almighty God, the One who is omniscient, who knows all things; He is omnipresent, everywhere at the same time; He is omnipotent, all powerful. There is absolutely nothing that He cannot do if He desires to do it.

Beloved, God is the same today as He was in Daniel’s day and as He will be at the end of time. God does not change; He is Holy and He is eternal. And there is an additional benefit to praying to God in our day – our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is sitting at the right hand of God and He is interceding for us on our behalf. We have an advocate, and He is our Lord.

What does that mean to you? It means that you can pray to God with full faith and confidence that He will hear your prayer and will answer you according to His will for you. Our Lord and Savior is sitting with God and the Holy Spirit will guide you as you pray. You have the entire Trinity at your disposal when you pray!

Be like Daniel and ascribe to God the praise that should go to Him. Or give thanks and praise to Him beforeyou get the answer. What a blessing you will receive when you do that!

Father, forgive me when I have considered prayer to You as a burden, or something that I just didn’t want to do. Forgive me when I have prayed without any expectation that You would answer. Forgive me when I pray for things that are transitory or temporal. May I pray in recognition of my own frailty, sin and unworthiness as I approach Your presence, knowing that I can approach Your throne with confidence through faith in my Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the Bible stories that I learned early in my life was about Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In fact, when I was a child, I thought the third name was “to bed we go”! The friends were the same friends who prayed with Daniel when the wise men were going to be executed because they could not tell the king’s dream or its interpretation. See Daniel 2

Nebuchadnezzar apparently had a shortened memory of spiritual things because after acknowledging all that God had done through Daniel when he gave both the dream and its interpretation in chapter 2, in chapter 3 we find the king setting up a huge statue of himself. The people were to bow in worship of the statue and if anyone didn’t do so, they would be killed by being thrown into the fiery furnace.

This presented Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with a problem. (We aren’t told about Daniel here, just his three friends.) They clearly could not worship a statue of the king when their allegiance was to God Almighty. The king learned of their refusal and the following dialogue is recorded in Scripture:

Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Daniel 3:13-18

The three men were then thrown into the furnace fully dressed. The furnace had been super-heated so that the men who threw them into the furnace died from the heat.

The king looked into the furnace and was surprised to see 4 men walking in the flames. This is what the king said:

Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
Daniel 3:24-26

The king was amazed because not only were they not killed, but their clothes were also not harmed, and there was no smell of the fire on them. Then the king sang a different tune. Instead if wanting the men to worship him, the king blessed God, saying:

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Daniel 3:28-30

For purposes of this blog, I want to highlight what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to the king before they were thrown into the furnace. They announced without reservation that God was able to save them even in the fiery furnace and that God would deliver them out of the king’s hand.

But that is not all they said. They also said that even if God did not deliver them from the flames of the furnace, they would still not bow to the statue of the king. In other words, their allegiance to God came without any expectation of deliverance. They would be true to God whether or not He delivered them from the king’s hand.

Beloved, I doubt that we are in any danger of a fiery furnace, but the challenges that we have today can be just as scary. We see dwindling of resources, we see riots in the streets, we see political divisions, we experience COVID 19 fears, and we have anxiety and tension everywhere.

The God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is still active and alive. Indeed, He is eternal and everlasting. Rely on God. He is in control and He will care for His people through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Father, so often we act as though You are not aware of our circumstances or that You don’t care about our problems. Father, You are indeed aware of all things surrounding Your people and You protect and deliver them according to Your will. You call us to Yourself and bring us into Your glory when our time on this earth is through. But, in the meantime, You guide, protect, and give wisdom to us as we walk in your will. May our trust in You be absolute as exhibited by Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego. Thank you, Father.