Idols and Devotion
Daniel 3:1-18
Imagine being thrown into a furnace for refusing to worship an idol.
Photo by Hossein Nasr on Unsplash
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was sixty cubits and whose width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to assemble and come to the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. So the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. When they were standing before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, the herald proclaimed aloud, "You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire." Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Accordingly, at this time certain Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These pay no heed to you, O king. They do not serve your gods and they do not worship the golden statue that you have set up." Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up." - Dan 3:1-18
There is a lot of talk these days about the fear of losing our freedoms. Many believe that the leadership of this country can turn it from a democracy to a monarchy, with a monarch who could take away all our rights.
The founding fathers absolutely did not want a monarchy, but they were also not in favor of a democracy. They feared "mob rule."
What we wound up with is a republic that is structured to balance power and avoid the temptations to become either a monarchy or a democracy.
What it all boils down to is personal choice. The three Jews who stood up to Nebuchanezzar and refused to bow down to his statue chose to defy his edict. They chose to follow the laws of their God, as given in the ten commandments.
You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make any idols to worship.
From the beginning of time, the battle of devotion and obedience has raged. Do I follow the law of the land or follow the law of God?
This lies at the heart of all conflicts between us humans, especially when one side is in power over the other.
These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, represent our human struggle. Across the globe, people are being tortured and killed for being devoted to God above all else.
What the story of these three men teaches us is to be committed to God, unto death. That devotion has its consequences in a world where power and corruption reign.
We think we can create a safe haven where these threats cannot harm us, but even our founding fathers feared we could not do that.
All we have is the best compromise they could come up with, between mob rule and autocracy.
So, we do as these three men did and pray to God for strength to deal with what may come along, and, if possible, prevent the disaster that may befall us.
More to come...