Courage and Faith | Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego | Daniel 3:1-30

Show Notes

Episode 678: 
In this episode, we dive into one of the most iconic stories from the Book of Daniel: the tale of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We recount the dramatic events where King Nebuchadnezzar constructs a massive gold statue and demands that everyone bow down to it. The stakes are high, as those who refuse face the terrifying consequence of being thrown into a blazing furnace.

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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Bible Guys. Hey, we are jumping right into the segment given to This. Is one of everybody's favorite new segments, our longtime listeners. Oh, they love it. They comment on them all the time. And this is other than your encyclopedic knowledge of movies. Yes, this might be your other wheelhouse. And that is off the cuff being able to sing lyrics. Because our podcast intro is getting dated. How many years were you a worship leader? Fifteen years exactly? Yeah, but I'm not a good singer. I was a worship leader for three I'm not a good singer. You know. You notice I've been preaching longer than I was the singer. So so, but you are, man, you are so good at this off the cuff thing, no rehearsal. And so here's what we did. We're trying to find a new theme song for the Bible Guys podcast. Oh yeah, and so so we just typed it into to chat GPT. Yeah right, well here's what I said, GBT, I'll get it. I wrote, help me write a theme song for the Bible Guys podcast to the tune of Happy Days. Okay, and I just spelled happy Days there, but it still knew what we wanted, and so. It gave us this, Chris, It said, you got it. Here's a version that still fits the Happy Day's rhythm and rhyme, adding a little more flavor and flow. There you go, give us some flavor and flow, Chris. And by the way, to the tune and Happy Days. Anybody under thirty five doesn't know this, I don't know. Yeah, or maybe under forty watch Happy Days that's why. Yeah, okay, okay, well here I'll give it a try quite high. Yeah, they're just doing as many good theme songs as there used to be. Yeah, that's true. Okay. So so it starts a Monday Tuesday, okay, okay, so good, Okay, Monday Tuesday Bible Guys, Wednesday, Thursday, Truth that Flies, Friday. Weekend Bible Guys. Faith in fun with open eyes, Faith in fun with open eyes. These these talks are joyful and free Bible Guys. Bible Time Bud's just you and me, cracking jokes and diving in truth and grace. We always win Bible guys. And then then the. Next one says, hello proverbs, goodbye shame, reading truth in Jesus' name, open joy. We're here to stay walking with the love these days. She whiz. These talks around, joyful. And free Bible guys, Bible time on buds, just you and me, jeeves. We're done, all right, we're done. That's actually quite high. That was a good one. Quite get the tune. That was a good one. So wow, Chris, it is so I keep saying, if the ministry doesn't work out for you, singing jingles. For podcasts, Yeah, that's that. That might be. That might be my future. Hey, you know we're in this board media and we really need a jingle for a Bible podcast. So you know anybody who does. That for a living, well, if we can get him, if he's available. He saw the guy at the homeless guy on the street with the cardboard sign that says he used to do that. No, it's you man, You are the king, the king of podcast jingles. That's it. That's fantastic. So speaking of happy days, yeah, we didn't have a happy day, no, because look at our outfits. They switched. This is the weird transition today. Well, if you've been listening a while, you know that we shoot for weird transitions. So we're actually filming the second half of this podcast on another day. Yes, well what happened was, uh, well, you did an incredible job, thank you on this the first time we recorded it, but there was a problem with the recording and we couldn't use it. Yeah. Yeah, So we're going to pick right up with the scripture reading and we're going to jump into Daniel chapter. Do you think like fifty years from now there will be like the Beatles or something, then they'll they'll release the lost tapes, the lost recordings, Yes, the Bible guys, Yes, that's what they're going. To find that episode. Believe that with all my heart. Okay, Well, anyways, we were going to read once again, yes, Daniel chapter three, and this is one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible. I think it is with one of you two. So here we go. It says in Daniels chapter three, King Nebu Kinnesser made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plane of Dura in the province of Babylon. And then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statute set up. So all these official came and stood before the king the statue King Nebukeinezer had set up. Then a herald shouted. People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the King's command. When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lear, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebucanezer's gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever the race, or nation or language, bowed to the ground or worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuconezzer had set up. But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews. They said to King nebucon Azer, long live the king. You issued a degree a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn the flute, the zither, the lear, the harp, pipes. And other musical instruments. That decree also states that those who refuse to obey it must be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews, Shadrack, Mishak and Abtnigo, whom you have put in charge of the prop to Babylon. They paid no attention to you, your majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you've set up. Then nebu Keinezer. Flew into a rage in order that shadracked me shack in a bed to go be brought before him. When they were brought in, nebu Keinezer said to them, is it true, shadrack me shack in a bed to go, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I've set up. I will give you one more chance to bow down or worship the statue I've made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what God will be able to rescue you from my power Shadrack, me Shack, and a bed and go, replied, oh, Nebu Canezzer, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the god whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, your majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, your majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you've set up. Nebu Caineza was so furious or Shadrack, me shack in the bed and go, that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual, and then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrack, Meshack, and a ben ago and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in, so shadracked me shack and a bed and go securely tied fell into the roaring flames. But suddenly Nebu Kinezer jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, didn't we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace? Yes, your majesty, we certainly did, they replied, Look, Nebu Cainnezer shouted, I see four men unbound, walking around in the fire, unharmed, and the fourth looks like a god. Then Nebu Canezer came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted, shadrack me shack in a bed to go. Servants are the most high God, come out, come here. So shadrack me shack and a bed and go stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, anders crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads were singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn't even smell like smoke. Then Nebukanezer said, praise to the God of shadrag me shack and abed and go. He sent his angels to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the King's command and were willing to die rather than to serve or worship any god except their own. Therefore, I make this decree. If any people, whatever their race, or nation or language, speak a word against the god of Shadrack, Meshack and Abed ne Go, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this. Then the king promoted Shadrag, me Shack and Abed to go to even higher positions in the province of Babylon. I mean, come on, there's not a more epic tale. I mean, I can think about it. I mean, this stands among the top right, Yes, it's definitely in the top ten. Absolutely for sure, best movie in the Bible. Yes, well them, you know I think that, right, I see this playing out movie wise, with all the emotion and drama and score of the music underneath. Right, look at my shirt today, leave the gun, take the canoli. What what movie is that you've told me before? I can't remember. It is a Godfather. It's such a classical line. It's so great, so. So I think it's funny how how extreme neby Canezra is. Oh goodness. So he goes, He's like, I'm gonna build a ninety foot statue if anybody doesn't, and then I'm gonna have a rock band play before you have to get down and worship it. And then if you don't worship it, I'm gonna throw you in a fiery furnace. And this is like an industrial furnace, like for making bricks or steel or not steel but iron or something like that. Then they're they're. Like, uh, throw them in the fire and it was turned up hotter and uh. Then the guys that he throws them in they die. And then when when God rescues them, he goes, all right, anybody who doesn't honor the Goddish hatter massion, I'm going to tear them limb from limb and destroy their houses. Ye. It's like he's manic or something, just totally over the top top. Yeah. Now as we remember Shadwack me check at Bendigo where the friends of Daniel, we just read in Daniel chapter one, and uh and Daniels I mentioned here and and and uh so maybe Daniel's out of town. We don't know. He's out for a smoke break. Yeah right, no, right, smoke, Yeah, there you go. So uh so, anyway, here's here's what I love. I mean, there's so many things I love, but the main thing I love by far is their response to the king, because because this king says, you know, hey, what, God's going to save you from my hand, my power. He's threatening him, and he's saying, like, do you not recognize who I am in this moment? There's the furnace, you know, here you are, and I am telling you you better do this. I'll give you one more chance because nothing is going to stop you from my wrath. And and and then it's basically what he says. And then I love it because they said, we're not careful to answer you in this matter. Right, Like, we don't have to we think about this. It says, we do not need to defend ourselves. This translation says, but another version would say, we're not even careful. In other words, we don't even have to calculate our words. We don't have to think twice, we don't have to pray about it, we don't even have to think. Listen, do you. Understand that our minds are made up. Much like in chapter one when they resolved in their minds. Daniel one eight, right, he resolved in his own heart. He says, we don't have to we don't have to discuss this. We just want to let you know very clearly, right, we'll never do it. And God's able to rescue us. But if he doesn't, let it be know, we will never right. And so it's just I love it. It's just such a stance of saying we have made up our mind a long time ago that we will never do this. We don't need a second chance. No, let's not waste any time, right, we don't need to waste any time at all. Now they're very respectful, and I can appreciate about these young men. This is one of those things that you found. I pointed that out in Daniels chapter one as well, that they tend to be pretty respectful to the king even though they're captives, and there is something about that diplomacy. But even here, even in their defiance, they're not defying him as as you know, all of a sudden, now they're out protesting and we're going to burn down your buildings and we're gonna you know, deface your property or anything like that. They're just saying, listen, we're going to stand on our principles. You don't need to give us a second chance. We're not going to do it, your majesty, And they did. They called him your majesty a couple of times. And so it's possible for us to disagree and still be you know, ladies and gentlemen when when we're you know, letting people know, hey, we're just not going to go that direction. Yeahs. You know, I look back in my life when I first became a Christian, I was always taught, and it was a model for me to be quite honest, I hate to say it this way, but sort of like to disrespect authority. Like we like we were always mad at teachers. Oh they're just the worst. I'm mad at policeman. Ah the you know, I smell bacon. Here comes a cop car. You know, like, oh dude. We were totally disrespectful, right, which of course I'm totally in the opposite now right, totally respect police officers. But back then we just didn't. It was like, I don't know what it was. It was almost like our family, you know, it was a bunch of blue collar people on the south side of or you know, west side of Youngstown that just wanted to you know, you know, give it back to the man, you know what I mean. And so consequently, there was a lot of times where I think that I stood up for what I believed in, even in Christianity, my faith, but I. Did not do it. I did not do it respectfully. Like I think of high school. I think of my teacher that was out for me, and she really was. She hated the fact I was a Christian. She publicly mocked me. She was an atheist, and she made fun of me. And I stood back up to her, but I did it so disrespectfully because she was going to make fun of me, I was gonna make fun of her. And I wish I wud have done it differently. I wish I would have taken the upper higher road, you know. But but yeah, you're right, they totally show respect and and and that's probably what kept them their jobs at the end, right, because God delivered them. And come to find out, you know, they. Didn't shame him. No, they just stood on principle, right, that's all, yes, And so they don't have to shame a king who disagrees with them, or who is even a bad man. They just stood on their principle and said, hey, we're willing to suffer the consequences. Now. You and I know the story. I mean, this is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. Most of our listeners probably have heard some version of this story. But they didn't know what was going to happen. They had a really good shot that this was going to be the end of it for them. They said, hey, our God is able to protect us, and he is going to deliver us from your demands. But they're not saying, you know, if he doesn't save us. They're not saying we know for sure God's going to do it, because they go, if he doesn't save us, well then that's okay too, because we're still not going to bow right. And the kind of courage it takes to stand on principle, not knowing what the outcome was going to be and still being civil when I mean facing death here, and I don't think it's going to be a pleasant death. No, So they must be looking down into a furnace, right, So the picture makes more sense, you know, because furnaces sometimes they'll have like like like a lower spot where you can shove cole into it, you know. So it wasn't that it had to have been it had to have been something opening big enough for spectators to view. So the studies and the readings. That I've seen in the past was probably like an open top, you know, open top with some sort of an elevated platform to throw things down in. Right, It's like you'd throw down into a pit or something. And so that would make more sense because if the strong men were consumed by the flames, it makes more sense that they were consumed by flames going up perhaps, right, I mean, we don't know, But then think about it. The king always is elevated. We know that king's always elevated, So the king would be in a position to look down into the furnace. How else can you see four people through a doorway? Right, But if it's an open top, well, it does. Say he could he came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace. What yeah, does it really twenty six? Be quiet? I want took it where verse twenty. Six the debucators came in closest he could to the door of the flaming first. Wow, everything I just said I'd take back. Well, it doesn't have to be it can be that way. But somehow he could see in and there was a big door entrance there. Wow. But you know what, I'm not sure I ever really cut that. Yeah, there was. There's a note in here that talks about it. Let me let me find it. You know, hey, listen, listen now that I've humiliated myself in front. Of Oh, I'm sorry you humiliated yourself. No, no, no, because you were making another point besides, I was. Yes, I was going to talk about the Son of God or the you know, the Theophany part of it. But the no, here's what I was going to say is in Bible college. Uh, that's what we were reading into. And so I drew a cartoon of this entire thing. I drew like a stick figure, a comic book style. It was one of my homework assignments. Yeah, it was really cool, and I remember how it ended too, And he says, I decree today, and then the last frame was him going like this, and it says, your God is okay. It's really funny. But anyway, all I was going to say. Is I drew it in such a way to where he was looking down and seeing all four people, and I drew them in lounge chairs with coconut palm beach. It was really funny. I wonder, let me look it up in other translations while you tell this piece and see if it's just. Opening or something like that. It's more of a generic phrase than just what this says. But listen this though. What I was going to say is is that we debated long and heard. I'm sure you've talked about it too. We don't really know what the angel or the Son of God, the supernatural being really was, right. So in other words, he says in here this translation the fourth one looks like a god. And then there's another translation that says the son of a God, right right. King James just says, looks like the son of God. The son of God, right and so and so we don't know if this was a theophany where it was an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament, or it was just perhaps an angel that looked like a son of a God. That little g meaning like nebu Caner would not know, right, But it's definitely clear that it's supernatural, and the fact that they came out, and it actually says that they didn't smell like smoke. Is phenomenal, is incredible. Their hair wasn't singed. To walk to walk in the fire completely unharmed and not have your hair singed or smell like smoke, it's pretty amazing. So you and I grew up on the King James. Yes Bible right, yes, King James. So that say about the door of the furnace and yeah. And so I think you got your idea from this. It says then nebu Canzer came near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. Ah see, so yeah, in Bible College that is exactly. So this is what you would have would have had, is the mouth. Now almost all the other translations are saying the door. Yes, but you're you're growing up and learning the story, it just says mouth then leaves it more open then. Yeah, because it would have been literally the opening, the opening, the. Opening of the furnace that he looked into. So there you go. I let you have to hook there, buddy, because I was feeling bad about that man. So there's a reason to believe that perhaps. It could have been the way you were describing it. Yes, the door. The bigger issue is the king could see. Yes, a bunch of guys died. These three guys didn't. And I love that it describes here that they were wearing pants. Right, it was to say that he throws them in there and they're wearing their Where does it say so they tied them up through them in it fully dressed and their pants and turbans and robes and other garments. Yeah, what's your all flammable face to describe. Like during pin Actually, we threw them in there with all their kindling. Right, That's that's how you would have thought. And that's incredible. So they look you know, there's a there's a song I used to love still do the Crab families to sing it? Jason Krabb was the singer of his old Southern gospel song, and it says that, uh, he never promised that the cross would not get heavy or the hill would not be hard to climb. Yeah. Right. He never offered a victory without fighting, but he'd always show up right in time. But then the whole story of the song is this story Sherry scheck in bed and go and then he'll go, he'll uh, he'll go through the fire with you is the thing. Right. So God didn't promise that life wasn't was going to be easy, right. He didn't say it was always going to be mountaintops. He didn't say that every big decision you needed to make was going to be a simple decision with no big consequences. In this situation, it was the most devastating thing. Yeah. Otherwise God would have just showed up and said no and avoided the whole thing. Right. But his glory often is magnified when his people decide to do the right thing and then He shows up just in time to take them through it. Right. Yeah, because that's how faith has played out in our lives. So if God asks us to make the hard decisions to you know, to stand up, to say no to the wrong, to resist temptation, to live in faith, to give right, to give up our time, resources are volunteerism, whatever it is, make the choice to stand on morality. All of those things require faith first. Right. It reminds me of when he says, hey, step into the Jordan river and then I'll part the river. Right. Remember when they're crossing the Jordan and they're holding and they're holding the arc and if they touch it. They're going to die and the Jordan River's raging, and he says, step into it. It's like, no, we're gonna step first. We're not going to part the waters first. We're gonna ask you to take a step of faith. And that's sort of what it is. But again, this is even different than that because there's no direct command. Shad wreck me, Scheck and Bendigo just see the golden image, they see their situation. There's not a warning of exactly what to do. They just know I'm not doing what's wrong, and they just decide we're not doing it. And and here's another thing I love. I love how when when they come out. It says that immediately Shad wrecked Me, Scheck and Bendigo said, there's no other God that could be rescued like this. So think about this. There's a whole sermon in there. There's a whole sermon in there. That says, when other people see God in our lives, they are amazed, and they could be, they could be, they could do a one eighty because because you know, after all, have you ever met a person that you're absolutely amazed that God has done these incredible things in their lives, and you're like, that's almost miraculous, right. And sometimes it's as simple as them being able to love and forgive in a situation where nobody else can, right, Or sometimes it's miraculous circumstantially, or sometimes it's beyond coincidence. But there are people who are non. Believers who will turn, you know, and you would never guess they would turn. Who would ever guess that that same king who says. Bow down because I got the power is going. To turn around and say, let me tell you about this God? Right? Who would ever guess? And it's because they see kisaw God work in their lives. And that's what I was getting at when I was saying that, you know, God is sometimes more glorified in his people going through the difficult thing with him and coming out on the other side, and everybody else goes, Wow, God, I don't know how they made it through that, but their God brought them through it, right, And so that's I think we're saying the same thing there. But then what happens as a result of this These young men who could not know what was going to happen, they believed God could rescue them. They hoped God to rescue them. They didn't know he would rescue them. Then God shows up, they get a miracle. That's pretty cool, But I think it's pretty clear the miracles not just for them. Right, A lot of times our prayers for miracles are for us, our comfort, our wants, our sadness, our joy, that's what that's usually how we pray. In this situation, the miracle saved them, but I think it was for the kingdom. Right now, they benefited, but it was to get the attention to the king. It was to get the attention of all these people. He set up a ninety foot statue. Dude, it was telling the whole country you have to worship this. And by the end of this little story, he goes on, never mind, this God is really impressive. Right, nobody gets to say anything bad about this God. And everybody knew that it was God. So it was bigger than just the three, That's what I'm saying. And there's a bigger story happening in your life, and you are a part of a bigger story. God's story is bigger. Than any one of our stories. So then when our needs align with his needs in his glory, that's when we see incredible miracles, and so they chose to do the right thing, and God rescued them. And then when it's all done, it says in verse thirty, then the king promoted Shadrack Mesheck and they had to go to even higher positions of the province of Babylon. And I've thought a lot about that. Why it's not that he owed them anything, right, he didn't know the manything. Hey, congratulations you lived. They were all right? Right? What can he offer them that's better than what just happened to them? Yeah? Right, And these guys are powerful men now in the kingdom. Wow, they can't be killed apparently so. And they were already rulers, they were already leaders. But now he moves them to higher positions. I think it's because he knew he could trust them. Yeah, their integrity is through the roof. We will do what we say, we will do at any cost. Right, And if they serve a god that is so powerful, then hey, better to have that God on your side. Right with your guys, because they're my guys. Is what Sid or maybe kid is. We're saying, Hey, one last thing, because any of our time's coming up. That statue had to have been a architectural marvel. Ninety feet it's only nine feet wide and it stay stall. Yeah, I mean wow, that's pretty good construction. Yeah, aggressive side and then one last little thing, and I think it's there's real strength and friendship, right. Yeah, it's pretty cool that they didn't have to go through it alone. That's true, and so I'm glad you're my friend, buddy. Hey, there it is. There we go. There's the application. I think The Bible Guys is better. It'd be weird if if the show is called The Bible Guys and. There's only one of us or the Bible Guy. Yeah, it's not so the Loan Bible Guys like. The Twin Pines mall. It goes down to the Loan Pine mall. Right, anybody, no, you don't know No, back to the future. Oh okay, sorry, another movie referenced. Hey, that is our time, and so we will pick it up with Daniel the next time and hopefully we'll see then on the bubble gush