DWDP: Through the Fire – The Defiant Faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and Nebuchadnezzar's Transformation

Discover the transformative power of faith as Dr. Robert Jackson recounts the daring defiance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego against the edicts of a king. As Dr. Jackson traverses the gripping narrative from Daniel Chapter 3, we're reminded that standing for truth can echo through the ages. Learn how these ancient believers' courage in the face of a fiery furnace mirrors the challenges Christians encounter in today's cultural skirmishes, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the battle for personal freedoms. This episode promises to fortify your conviction, encouraging you to choose the unwavering path of God's commandments over societal pressures.

Witness the awe-inspiring journey of King Nebuchadnezzar from a ruler shrouded in pagan practices to an adorer of the Almighty. The episode doesn't just tell a story from the past; it stirs the soul, challenges the spirit, and calls upon each of us to reflect on our own faith journey. As I share insights on the king's dramatic transformation, prompted by the miraculous sight within the furnace, it becomes clear that our worship and recognition of God's sovereignty have the power to change hearts. Join us and let the enduring truths of these biblical accounts resonate within you, inspiring a deeper commitment to worship and spreading the hopeful message of our Lord Jesus Christ.

https://www.jacksonfamilyministry.com

https://bobslone.com/home/podcast-production/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, dr Robert Jackson.

Speaker 2: 0:16

Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Gather around, grab your bibles and let's look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Speaker 2: 0:43

Well, today we're in Daniel, chapter 3, and this is the story of the golden image which King Nebuchadnezzar established for everyone to bow down before and worship. And if you remember, the golden image was a representation of himself. Now I want us to begin by realizing that in verses 1 through 6 of Daniel, chapter 3, king Nebuchadnezzar had developed some serious short-term memory loss, just like some of my patients, when they have a concussion, they hit their head and they just cannot remember the events of that day, and sometimes for many days thereafter. Well, king Nebuchadnezzar, in chapter 2, verses 46 through 47, after Daniel had interpreted his dream, he had become a worshiper of the living God. Remember what he said. Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said surely, your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery. And then he promoted Daniel, and Daniel had him promote Shadrach, meshach and Abednego.

Speaker 2: 2:23

But unfortunately, this king had short-term memory loss and, as we see in the next chapter, this proud, vain and arrogant king forgot everything that he said about the true and living God. Maybe he just had a bad memory, maybe he had bad counselors, who knows? But in chapter 3 he erects this 90 foot tall golden statue of himself in the province of Dura, in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon, and he instructed that everybody should come and bow down before the statue when the music played. And in verse 7 of chapter 3, all the people did in fact bow down except for you guessed it Shadrach, meshach and Abednego. Now, we don't know where Daniel was in all of this story. Maybe he was on the king's business in a foreign land, we just don't know. But in verse 8, the Chaldeans brought charges against the Jews, specifically Shadrach, meshach and Abednego. Now, if you will recall the same scenario played out in the book of Esther, when Mordecai would not bow down before Haman, who was a high ranking official in the king's court, in a Persian court.

Speaker 2: 4:07

Well, so what's the big deal here? How can? Why call so much of a ruckus? Why would Shadrach, meshach and Abednego not bow down just like everybody else? Well, it's because they knew the Ten Commandments. They knew what the Bible said in the book of Exodus, in chapter 20, in verses 1 through 6.

Speaker 2: 4:38

These young men grew up memorizing these commandments. This is how it reads. Then God spoke all these words, saying I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my Commandments. These young Hebrew men grew up memorizing those verses and remembering those verses, and they understood clearly that they were in exile in Babylon Because their fathers had forsaken that Commandment. They were determined in their hearts to not violate that commandment. And here was a pagan king establishing a golden idol, 90 feet tall, and Expecting them to violate the commandment of God and bring a curse on the third and fourth generation after them. Oh no, they weren't about to do that. The question is who are you more afraid of, the living God or a mortal king? Jesus said do not fear those who can only kill the body, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell forever. Shadrach, meshach and Abednego had their fear Appropriately placed. They feared the true and living God and not a mortal king.

Speaker 2: 6:51

You and I, as Christians, are on the point of the spear when it comes to the cultural wars of our day, doesn't matter whether it's abortion or homosexuality or Transgender issues or the environment. We have to be educated on the issues and Committed to speaking the truth in love. We cannot be silent in the face of cultural wrongdoing or cultural injustice. We cannot just sing louder, as the German Christians did, to drown out the cries of the Jews in the cattle cars as they drove by their churches on Sunday mornings. We have to decide in advance if we are willing to be cast into prison or into the fiery furnace, or to accept gladly the loss of all of our possessions, as Did the Christians in the book of Acts, because of standing for truth and justice, because of not bowing the knee to the golden statues of false science and political Correctness. You see, if these scriptures were written today, it might read whoever does not fall down and worship false science and political correctness Shall be shamed, shall be ridiculed, shall you lose their job and lose their insurance, shall experience a divided division from their family members or lose their medical licenses, as did so many people During the COVID debacle of the last several years.

Speaker 2: 8:38

Well then, in verse 13, the Bible tells us that, in rage, the liberal government, in liberal media, gave orders. Oh, I'm sorry, it doesn't say that. It says that the king gave orders in verse 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and anger, gave orders to bring Shadrach, meshach and Abednego, and then these men were brought before the king. And Then, in verse 14, the king says is it true? You see, he was incredulous that Anyone would defy his orders, just like the secular media of today is incredulous that anyone would defy the popular narrative that Anyone would cling to biblical truth as opposed to secular, humanistic thinking. And then, in verse 15, the king Very graciously gives them a second chance and says to them Look, if you'll just take this COVID shot, if you'll just wear this mask, then you can keep your job. No, that's not what the king said. He said if you'll bow down at the sound of music and worship the statue, he says, then you can avoid the fiery furnace. Oh, but listen.

Speaker 2: 10:02

These guys responded in verse 16 and says we don't even need to think about it, our course is predetermined, it's been decided in advance. And they said to the king oh, nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will deliver us out of your hand, oh king. But even if he does not, let it be known to you, oh king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Oh, my goodness, can you imagine the consternation on the king's face, or the magicians, the conjurers or the Chaldeans, to hear these three men speak so defiantly to the most notorious king of all the earth at that time and they says our king can and will deliver us.

Speaker 2: 11:14

They had a supreme confidence in their God because, you see, the true and living God had a long history of faithfulness to the Jewish people. When the Jews were faithful to him, he was faithful to them because, you see, god is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should change his mind. Or, you see, when God says he will act, and when God speaks, will he not bring it to pass? God is not like you and me. He is not unpredictable, he is not unreliable and he does not disappoint in any way. God is a covenant keeping promise, keeping God. He is faithful. He is faithful to a thousand generations.

Speaker 2: 12:07

And then they said even if things don't go our way, oh king, we still trust him. Who does that sound like? It sounds like Job. You remember what Job said? He says even if he slays me, still, I will trust him. I will trust him even if he slays me. Oh, my goodness, where does that kind of trust come from? Have you ever determined in your heart that you will trust God, that you will worship God, regardless of the circumstances of your life? Do you have a commercial relationship with God that says, as long as he blesses me, as long as things go well, as long as I have good health and strong finances and job promotions and healthy family relationships, then I will bless the Lord, oh, my soul. But if things don't go my way, oh, and I get mad at God. I'm sorry, but I have to withdraw my affection and I begin to blame God and I begin to criticize God. That's what I call a commercial relationship with God. It's contingent upon him doing the things that I need for him to do for me. But you see, not Job, not Shadrach, meshach or a Benton go, they worshiped God regardless.

Speaker 2: 13:44

Let me ask you, where does that kind of faith come from? The Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. You see, brothers and sisters, it's a daily, disciplined exposure to the word of God and weakly worship with Christian friends that allows you and me to cultivate that kind of faith Abiding in the word, reading and studying the word, memorizing the word, living in the word until we think the thoughts of God, until we have the mind of Christ, living with the great saints that are in the Scripture, until we know who they are and we live life with them, until we walk with Jesus through the pages of Scripture and we worship the true and living God every day. And we know His faithfulness to the children of Israel and the wilderness and as they conquered the Promised Land, his faithfulness to the Old Testament prophets, his faithfulness to the disciples in the Book of Acts, and as we read through that, day in and day out, year in and year out, our faith begins to grow. You see, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God that's where that kind of faith comes from.

Speaker 2: 15:13

Then, in verse 19, the Bible says that the king's facial expression was altered. He was so angry that his face changed its appearance. Have you ever seen people that were so angry that their face completely changed? Sure, you have. And they had that demonic look upon their facial features and you thought later oh, he had the devil in him. Well, that's the way this pagan king looked at that moment. And then, after he had such a change about himself, he gave orders for the furnace to be heated seven times hotter and he had them all tied up with their clothes on, and he had his strongest soldiers to cast them into the midst of the fiery furnace and it was so hot that his best soldiers were killed as they threw them into the fire. And they fell into the fire all tied up and still wearing their clothes.

Speaker 2: 16:12

And then the Bible, in verse 24, says that Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste, implying that he was sitting on his throne there watching what was happening. And he said to his high officials was it not three men we cast, bound into the midst of the fire? And they replied to the king, certainly, o king. And he said look, I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. Well, we understand. The theologians tell us that this is a theophany, this is a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is the angel of the Lord walking in the fire with these three Hebrew men. And the king is almost right when he calls it. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. He is close. He's almost right because it's the son of God, the singular son of God, walking in the fire with these three Hebrew men. But then, in verse 26, he calls out to him. And Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire and he responded and said Shadrach, meshach and Abednego, come out, you servants of the most high God, and come here. And they came out of the midst of the fire. And so, in verse 26, he gets it right, finally. He's correct because he calls them the servants of who, the most high God.

Speaker 2: 18:02

And then, in verse 27, he acknowledges that a noteworthy miracle has taken place, sufficient to cause a vain pagan king to worship and acknowledge the one true God. Listen to verse 27. Everybody is gathered together the sat-wraps, the prefects, the governors, the king's high officials. They all gathered around and saw, in regard to these men, that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them. And Nebuchadnezzar responded and said Blessed be the God of Shadrach, meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who put their trust in him, violating the king's command and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any God except their own God. So you see, he's impressed by their willingness to sacrifice themselves for a God, unlike any God that he knows. So, number one he blesses God, the true and living God. Number two he acknowledges his deliverance of his servants, shadrach, meshach and Abednego, and he honors their willingness to sacrifice their very own lives and their refusal to worship any other God except their God. And then he makes a decree that no one should speak ill of their God, and under severe penalties if they do. And he gives a reason why he says there's no God that can deliver like their God. And no true words were spoken.

Speaker 2: 20:05

This pagan king acknowledges the true God and then, moving over to chapter four, verse two and three, nebuchadnezzar. The king makes a statement to all the peoples, nations and men of every language that live in all the earth. He says may your peace abound. It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the most high God has done for me, and here's his decree. How great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation.

Speaker 2: 20:44

Now, that's a pagan king, and because of this mighty deliverance that God accomplished in the life of these three Hebrew men, by delivering them from the fire with the pre-incarnate appearance of our Lord, jesus Christ, as the angel of the Lord, appearing in the fire and delivering them, without even their hair singed or the smell of smoke coming on their bodies. It convinced this pagan king that there was only one God and that his kingdom was an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation. Nebuchadnezzar was an eyewitness to the fourth man in the fire, and it transformed his thinking and made him a God worshipper, albeit temporarily. Here's the question how about you? You had the benefit of holy scriptures and stories just like this one. You had the benefit of the life of Christ revealed in the New Testament, and you had the benefit of Holy Spirit, who was able to open your heart and mind to the truth. Is that not enough to turn you into a serious minded, conscientious, committed God worshipper? Now, this is what that pagan king said His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion is from generation to generation.

Speaker 2: 22:15

It's your choice. What will your choice be? You're listening to devotions with Dr Papa. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, I ask you to like it, follow it or share it. Tell your friends about it. We'll be back again next week. May the Lord bless you. Real good.

Speaker 1: 22:35

Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their web page at JacksonFamilyMinistrycom. This podcast is produced by Bob Slum Audio Production at bobslumcom.