Good morning,
This Sunday we continue our journey through the book of Daniel and we’ve come to chapter 3, the famous trial by fire of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. There is A LOT going on with this chapter, so much so that I’m just not going to have time to discuss all of it. Here are some questions that some folks have when they read this story:
When did this happen?
We know that the worshiping of the golden image on the plain of Dura took place after the events of chapter 2, and there does seem to be a bit of a time jump between chapters 2 and 3. How much of a jump is the question. Three different views have been suggested. The first and most commonly held view is that Nebuchadnezzar started building this golden image shortly after his dream in chapter 2. It would have taken a good bit of time to build it, so the dedication of the image was about 2 years later.
Other folks suggest that the building of the statue and its dedication took place after a coup was attempted in about the 10th year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. Since the primary purpose of the dedication was for the government officials to prove their loyalty to the king, that would make some sense as well.
Finally, there is some evidence outside the Bible that suggests that this took place after the destruction of Jerusalem in 585 b.c. which would have been about 20 years after the events of chapter 2. The empire was pretty much at its peak at that point, so the thought is that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to unify the nation and brought all of the different people groups together to acknowledge that the gods of Babylon were greater than their gods.
Where’s Daniel?
Daniel does not appear anywhere in chapter 3, and for some folks his absence draws a lot of scrutiny. If the story really happened, they wonder, then why wasn’t Daniel with his friends?
Some scholars suggest that Daniel was there but there was no way that the officials would accuse Nebuchadnezzar’s right hand man. Others suggest that he must have been away on government business, or that he may have been ill.
However, the most likely reason is that Daniel was back in Babylon running things while the king was away on this little day trip. We are told in 2:49 that Daniel remained in the royal court at the place to perform his duties. This makes the most sense to me…by the time the image dedication rolled around Daniel had long since proven his loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar.
What is certain is that if Daniel had been there he would not have bowed to the image.
Why stoke the fire seven times hotter?
Many scholars point out that in his rage and foolishness Nebuchadnezzar seems to have made a mistake. If he wanted these guys to suffer for their “crimes,” he should have had the furnace cooled, not stoked! Stoking the furnace meant they were going to die instantly, which is what happened to the soldiers who threw them in the furnace. Cooling the furnace would have prolonged the men’s suffering.
Now, perhaps, Nebuchadnezzar just wanted to get the whole thing over with and go back to worshiping the image, but that seems out of character for him. The king was constantly threatening to tear people from limb to limb! It just proves the point that there is no greater fool than a guy (or a lady) who loses their temper. You just end up doing and saying stupid stuff and often do things that actually hinder, not accomplish, what you want.
Here’s what’s happening:
1. Youth Group meets tonight at 6:30pm in the schoolhouse.
2. Men’s breakfast is this Saturday, 1/25 at Kreider’s Market at 8 am.
3. Our congregational vote on the 2025 church budget will now be held after the service on Sunday.
4. Cornerstone Reproductive Health will be giving a ministry update during the service on Sunday and we will be launching a Baby Bottle drive after the service.
5. Onesimus Ministries is holding a breakfast fundraiser on Saturday, March 1 at Waterway Church in Oxford. The event will be from 9am to 11 am. Tickets are free and a freewill offering will be taken. I’ve enclosed a flyer with all the information or you can go to onesimusministries.org.
In Daniel 3 three faithful men find themselves in a dire situation - bow before an idol or burn in a fiery furnace. On Sunday we look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's response, consider how Christians today might respond when they are told to conform to the ways and patterns of the world, and what God's Word has to say about it!
Stay warm,
Scott