“Standing upright, not uptight, in an ungodly culture”
I will call for these Slides:Awake
1 then Awake 2
When the Jews
were taken from Israel as captives to Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar,
(Babylonian Captivity) the king order Ashpenaz (chief official) to find among
the Jews…Daniel
1:4 …young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing
aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and
qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and
literature of the Babylonians.
After 3 years of training, the 4 men chosen were placed into King Nebuchadnezzar’s service. The king found them more wise than any Babylonians already in his service. The Fantastic Four Jews, now serving the King of Babylon were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Ashpenaz gave them new Babylonian names: to Daniel, Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
After
a time, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which caused him to become anxious and
not able to sleep. So he summoned (M.E.S.A.) the magicians, enchanters,
sorcerers, and astrologers to interpret his dream so he could stop dreaming it.
They
were stoked and ready to give an interpretation as soon as the king told them
his dream. The king said, Dan
2:5-12 "This is what I have
firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I
will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But
if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and
rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me."
The astrologers answered the
king, "There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king,
however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or
enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal
it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men."
The
king sent out a decree that all Babylonian wise men will be killed (which
included who?) Right! Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego. When
Daniel got wind of it he asked the commander of the guard to take him to the
King. He agreed to do so the next day so Daniel went home and prayed with the
other 3 as they also praised God. On his way to the king the next day, he told
the commander, not to kill the wise men of Babylon – he saved all their lives,
not just the 4.
To the King, Daniel said, Daniel 2:27 "No wise
man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has
asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown
King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.”
Daniel told what
the dream was (a great statue that would be shattered) and its interpretation
(Babylon will eventually be crushed by another kingdom) and King Nebuchadnezzar
bowed before Daniel honoring His great God. He put Daniel in charge of all the
wise men and he stayed in the royal court, and the other 3 were set up as
administrators in the land.
Oddly enough,
even with that dire interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar built a giant statue and
ordered everyone to bow down and worship the statue whenever the music sounded.
Some of the wise men (who were saved by Daniel and his friends) complained to
the king that some Jews refused to bow down and worship the statue at the sound
of the music. He ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come before him and
told them to bow down at the proper time (because this is the new decree – this
is what we do in our culture) and if they don’t they will be thrown into a
blazing furnace. They replied, Dan 3:16-18 "O 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 save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O
king. 18 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."
Nebuchadnezzar
was stunned and furious at their response and had the furnace heated 7 times
hotter than normal. It was so hot that the soldiers assigned to throw them into
the furnace burned up as they got close and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
fell into the furnace.
Daniel
3:24-30
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire. Everyone saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
SUMMARY OF
WHAT’S NEXT
Nebuchadnezzar has more dreams and must glorify the one true God or will end up eating grass like the cattle – a year later he claims all glory for himself and god sends him away as promised. When he turns from his sin and gives God glory he is then restored.
Then Nebuchadnezzar’s
son takes over and when he uses temple items of gold from Jerusalem at a party,
God writes a message on the wall which he calls Daniel in to interpret it. He
does and the king dies and Darius takes the throne. He is going to put Daniel
in charge of his whole kingdom which makes others jealous, but they can’t find
anything wrong to charge against him, so they hatch a plot. They said to
Darius, “the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone
who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king,
shall be thrown into the lions' den.” Notice they didn’t say thrown into a
furnace.
Of course they caught Daniel
through his window, 3 times a day praying toward Jerusalem and they couldn’t
wait to tell Darius.
Then the men
went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to
the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can
be changed." So the king
gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The
king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you
serve continually, rescue you!" A stone was brought and placed over
the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with
the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. Then
the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without
any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to
the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished
voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has
your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
Daniel answered, "O king,
live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They
have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever
done any wrong before you, O king."
The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out
of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him,
because he had trusted in his God.
At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused
Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives
and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions
overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you prosper greatly! "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
APPLICATION
Painter Andrew
Wyeth’s Understanding of What Doesn’t Show on the Canvas Helps Him Better Draw
What Does show. SLIDE:
“tree”
Andrew Wyeth painted a picture of General Lafayette’s quarters near Chadds Ford, Pa., with a sycamore tree behind the building. When his brother first saw the painting, Andrew wasn’t finished with it. Andrew showed his brother a lot of extra drawings of the trunk and the sycamore’s gnarled roots, and his brother asked, "Where’s all that in the picture?" "It’s not in the picture," he said. "For me to get what I want in the part of the tree that’s showing, I’ve got to know thoroughly how the tree is anchored." I find that remarkable. He could draw the tree above the ground with such authenticity because he knew exactly how the thing was growing in the ground. Close Slide: “tree”
When we know that we are anchored firmly in the providence of God, like Daniel, like the other 3, we can stand firm and solid. We might not go around broadcasting to everyone about the roots we have, but those roots are important if we ever hope to stand firm.
WHERE IS JESUS?
In light of that thought, and these two stories including the fantastic 4, what does that show us about God and what does it say about Jesus. After all, these are HIStory.
The story of Daniel and the story of Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are the same story. They show the same thing about who God is. In each of their lives, God is the underground where these 4 men planted themselves and where their roots grew deep. It allowed them in the face of adversity to have their tree above ground stand strong in a culture that was in complete opposition to their beliefs, but instead of uprooting and running away to plant themselves in a religious bubble (as many Christians try to do) they bloomed where ever they were planted 1) away from Jerusalem (the holy city of God) in Babylon, the most pagan place on earth, or 2) in a fiery furnace where any other tree would be completely incinerated, to 3) a den of hungry lions where that tree could have been clawed and mauled to death.
Because they were so firmly rooted in God, they could stand anywhere and show what was right without having to devalue the God-given gift of humanity with those they encountered. They could have shouted, “You can’t burn us up because God is on our side and if you do he will kill you” Instead they calmly stated the facts, “God will save us from the fire, if not, we won’t bow the knee to your gods.” No argument, no condemning, no blame, just the facts so they would notice God’s glory when it was revealed.
Where was Jesus in these stories? Why did the hungry lions not eat David? Jesus, in the form of an angel shut the mouths of the lions. Do you not see this is Christ himself? It says that Daniel, exiled to Babylon from Judah, was placed into the lion’s den which was covered with a large stone – wait for it, and it was sealed with the king’s own signet ring. This was a preview for what Jesus would one day experience. A large stone covered his tomb and at Pialte’s command, the guards ‘sealed” it, and though Jesus, the lamb of God was dead in his sealed tomb, he rose from the dead as – what? The lion of Judah!
Jesus in the furnace is more obvious. Nebuchadnedzar saw a 4th men walking around who looked like a son of the gods. Of course, that was Jesus! He was with them in the furnace and kept them from being burned alive. Here now these words of Jesus to you and me…
Think
about who God is – the soil of these 4 men who grew their roots deep into him
so they could stand upright, not uptight in the ungodly culture around them.
And Jesus says
to you…John 15:5-8
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me
and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If
anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and
withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you
remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing
yourselves to be my disciples.”
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