Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20070128.htm

THE PREINCARNATE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST
Part XXII: Christ's Work With Daniel's Friends: Aiding Those Who Heed Him Above All Menacing Parties
(Daniel 3:1-30)
  1. Introduction
    1. Heeding God when we have great liberty and human support to do so is vastly easier than obeying the Lord when opposed in the process by great, persuasive, dedicated, powerful parties to the contrary!
    2. The Preincarnate Christ rescued Daniel's three friends when they heeded God versus the great, persuasive, dedicated, powerful Nebuchadnezzar to the contrary, a lesson to encourage us to follow their example:
  2. Christ's Work With Daniel's Friends: Aiding Those Who Heed Him Above All Menacing Powers.
    1. The Preincarnate Christ Who we learned in this series appeared as the "Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978 ed., ftn. to Gen. 16:10) is the One Bible scholars think appeared in the fiery furnace in Daniel 3:24-25 to deliver Daniel's three friends, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 1340.
    2. As such, the Preincarnate Christ aided these men who heeded Him above all menacing power (as follows):
      1. God had directed the people of Israel to worship no other god, graven image or otherwise, Ex. 20:1-5a.
      2. Yet, due to Judah's disobedience of this command, Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were taken captive to Babylon in 605 B. C., Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Jer. 24:1 with 24:4-9.
      3. Once in Babylon, Daniel and his three friends purposed to avoid the idolatry that resulted in their captivity, and so chose not eat of the king's food that was offered to idols, Daniel 1:8, 12-13; Ibid., ftn. to Daniel 1:8. God had rewarded them for this decision, elevating them in Babylon, Daniel 1:19-20.
      4. Yet, their choice to serve God versus all other gods was put to a great test before a menacing opponent:
        1. When Daniel interpreted king Nebuchadnezzar's dream in which he as king was typified as the head of gold of a great image (Daniel 2:37-38), Nebuchadnezzar apparently proudly devised an idea from this dream of building an image overlaid with gold for his administrators to worship, making him both the empire's political ruler as well as its religious ruler, Ibid., Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 1337!
        2. Nebuchadnezzar thus built this image, gathered his officials to worship it, and arranged for moving music to spur them to bow down and worship it or to pay the penalty of death by fire, Daniel 3:5-6.
        3. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were there as required of the king's officials and so had to choose between obeying Scripture or heeding the menacing king Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 3:12!
      5. Daniel's three friends boldly chose to heed God above Nebuchadnezzar (as follows), Daniel 3:7-18:
        1. After the music played and the attending officials had bowed to worship Nebuchadnezzar's image, Daniel's three friends were reported as having refused to heed the king's edict, Daniel 3:7-12.
        2. This news infuriated Nebuchadnezzar, and he called them to him and offered them a second chance to bow down and to worship his image or face a fiery death in the furnace, Daniel 3:13-15a,b.
        3. Revealing how convinced Nebuchadnezzar was of his own importance, he claimed to these men that no God could deliver them out of his hands, meaning he elevated himself above God, Daniel 3:15c!
        4. Daniel's three friends responded, boldly declaring that God could deliver them from the furnace; however, even if God did not do so, they testified that they were prepared to die rather than yield to the king's wishes or even to worship his gods against God's order to worship Him alone, 3:16-18!
      6. Their bold rebellion inflamed Nebuchadnezzar's wrath, so he decided to make an example of judgment out of them: he had the furnace heated seven times hotter than normal and ordered his best soldiers speedily to cast these Hebrew men bound and still in their clothes into the furnace, Daniel 3:19-21.
      7. The flames were so hot that the soldiers who cast them into the fire themselves perished, Daniel 3:22!
      8. However, the Preincarnate Christ delivered the three, causing their bonds to burn off, and He walked with them in the flames to protect them and their clothes from any of the effects of the fire, 3:23-27!
      9. Nebuchadnezzar then honored the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and promoted them to an even higher rank in Babylon though they were Hebrew captives, Daniel 3:28-30!
Lesson: Though threatened by the fury of the very powerful, proud, menacing king Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel's three friends opted to obey Scripture's God, and the Preincarnate Christ delivered them and honored Himself through that deliverance before even king Nebuchadnezzar himself!

Application: May we heed God's Word above all other parties, regardless how threatening they seem!