The King Distressed
Nebuchadnezzar’s
impatience with the wise men had
created a political nightmare. The
king had publicly humiliated and
discredited the wise men of Babylon.
He had tested the god of the
Babylonians and proved that Marduk
was inferior to the God of the Jews.
Worst of all, he had fueled the
curiosity of his subjects by putting
a death decree on the heads of
Babylon’s wise men. Everyone
wanted to know the contents of the
forgotten vision! The seriousness of
a death decree for the exalted clergy
of Babylon indicated the forgotten
vision was no trivial matter.
Furthermore, when the Jewish
teenager, Daniel, was promoted above
all the wise men of Babylon, it
became obvious to everyone that
Daniel had successfully recalled and
interpreted the vision for the king.
Therefore, now that the vision had
been recalled and interpreted, what
did it say?
We know the vision
predicted the fall of Babylon and the
other world empires, but
Nebuchadnezzar did not want his
subjects to know that the God of the
Hebrews had predestined the fall and
destruction of his empire. The king
knew that if this information leaked
out, his government would collapse. A
government cannot survive without the
submission and loyalty of its
subjects. If the news spread
throughout his kingdom that the Most
High God had decreed the fall of
Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar knew he would
become a king without a throne. How
could anyone maintain confidence in a
king that was predestined to
destruction by the Most High God?
Nebuchadnezzar knew that tenure on
the throne was possible for as long a
people were loyal to him and
his regime. If his subjects heard
that the God of Heaven had numbered
his days, they would rise up in
rebellion and he would perish. (Note:
In ancient times, loyalty to a fallen
king was usually punished by death
when the next king gained dominion,
so people were wary about their
loyalties. The fact that Daniel
remained alive and was appointed to
serve in the government of Darius
after Belshazzar was killed was a
miracle. Daniel 5)
Kings may conquer
nations and kings kill thousands to
secure their authority, but no king
can thwart the God of Heaven. The
rumor began to spread that the God of
the Jews had predestined the fall of
Babylon. Based on
Nebuchadnezzar’s subsequent
actions, I believe it is safe to
conclude that administrators from the
far reaches of the empire must have
sent requests for clarification so
they could deal with the rumors about
the vision. As the situation
worsened, Nebuchadnezzar consulted
with his embarrassed wise men and
they decided to dissolve the rumor by
mixing error with truth.
Nebuchadnezzar chose to distort the
truth that was given to him in the
vision for a number of practical and
political purposes. The wise men owed
their very lives to the king
(actually to Daniel and his three
friends), because the king relented
on the death decree. Consequently,
they were very eager to help the king
solve this political problem.
Nebuchadnezzar and the wise men
conspired to tell the world that
Marduk had given the king a great
vision of “a golden man.”
The people would be told that the
golden man represented the kingdom of
Babylon, which would last forever.
Based on the course of events
recorded in the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar
evidently alleged to his subjects
that he “was commanded” in
the vision to empty the golden
coffers of Babylon to erect a great
golden replica of the vision. Because
the rumor had circulated that Babylon
was predestined to fall, the king
decided to use the golden image as a
way to renew loyalty to his
government. He required all of his
administrators and governors to
travel to the province of Babylon so
that they could be present when the
vision of the “golden
image” would be proclaimed by
the king and the image dedicated.
The construction of a
90-foot tall golden image of a man
began in earnest. (It is believed
that a cubit in ancient Babylon
equaled 18-20 inches, so 60 cubits in
height would equal about 90 feet. For
comparison’s sake, the Statue of
Liberty is 111 feet tall, but Lady
Liberty stands on a pedestal that is
194 feet high, which makes her total
height 305 feet.) Due to the
swiftness of rumors and the
irreparable damage they can cause,
there was no time for delay. Riders
on horses were dispatched to the ends
of the Earth calling the
administrators and governors to be
present on the Plain of Dura at the
appointed time. Because
Nebuchadnezzar anticipated some
resistance to his plans, he sent
orders to those in charge of the
giant smelting furnaces that were
used to cast the metal man. They were
to make sure the furnaces were
burning during the dedication
service. The loyalty test would be
very simple. If anyone refused to bow
down and worship the golden image at
the appointed time, he would be
thrown into one of the furnaces. The
king calculated his loyalty test
would force everyone back into
“the fold” if any loyalties
had been compromised by the rumor
that Babylon was destined for
destruction. The immediate death of
rebels always reduces potential
problems. The king was satisfied that
this course of action would protect
his throne.
I Did It My Way
The Bible indicates
that Nebuchadnezzar had become
pompous and indulgent. He erroneously
believed that he had gained
the throne through personal
shrewdness and superior intellect.
(Daniel 4:30; Daniel 7:4) He had
heard Daniel’s declaration, but
he did not comprehend the fact that
the God of Heaven gave him his
kingdom. In short, the king was
arrogant and to protect his throne,
he thought a golden image and a
loyalty test would bring an end to
the rumor that Babylon was
predestined to fall. It is possible
that this is the most expensive lie
ever told by a man. Consider the
amount of gold and work that was
required to cast a statue 90 feet
tall. Consider also, the amount of
travel and logistics necessary to
bring thousands of administrators
from the far-flung corners of the
Earth to the plain of Dura. This
story highlights an interesting point
about the carnal heart: Power
is of greater value than money. Men
will go to extremes to gain or hold
on to power. (We regularly see
politicians spend millions to win a
government office that pays very
little money.) To keep his lie
covered up, Nebuchadnezzar prevented
Daniel from attending the service. He
had highly honored Daniel for telling
the truth, but now that he was
implementing a great lie, he did not
want Daniel to be at the service to
observe his foolishness.
A Time of Testing
When Daniel was
promoted above the wise men of
Babylon, Daniel asked that his
friends be recognized for their
contribution toward solving the
mystery of the vanished vision.
(Daniel 2:18,49) Their promotion
almost proved to be the cause of
their death. The king wanted everyone
who was someone in his government to
be present at the dedication of the
golden image. In the political arena,
the question of loyalty is paramount
to everything else. One man can
exercise power over others only if
the others are willing to submit.
Daniel’s friends,
Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego, knew
the test of loyalty was coming. What
should they do? They could not run
and hide because the king had given
them high positions in the government
of Babylon. Furthermore, the impotent
wise men of Babylon were jealously
eager to have Daniel and these
“three Jews” removed from
their high offices. Therefore, if
they were to avoid the dedication of
the golden image, they would show
reluctance in honoring the king.
Hesitation on this point could be
regarded as treason. As the date
approached, I am sure Daniel and his
friends met together to ask the Lord
for divine intervention. On the basis
of their testimony during the
dedication service, it is safe to say
that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
obediently went to the service
expecting to be thrown into the fiery
furnace. What courage! However, this
is exactly what God wanted! God
needed three young men who were
willing to go to their death so that
He could exalt His holy name.
Remember, this story began because
God wanted to defend His holy name
before the nations of the world. The
Jews had profaned His holy name by
their degenerate behavior, and God
wanted to set the record straight. In
order to accomplish this, God needed
an expensive golden image, a pagan
king who knew the truth, a large
crowd of world leaders who were
confused by rumors, a very hot fiery
furnace and three young men who would
be faithful to their death.
The Moment of Truth
“So the satraps,
prefects, governors, advisors,
treasurers, judges, magistrates and
all the other provincial officials
assembled for the dedication of the
image that King Nebuchadnezzar had
set up, and they stood before it.
Then the herald loudly proclaimed,
‘This is what you are commanded
to do, O peoples, nations and men of
every language: As soon as you hear
the sound of the horn, flute, zither,
lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of
music, you must fall down and worship
the image of gold that King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever
does not fall down and worship
immediately be thrown into a blazing
furnace.’ Therefore, as soon as
they heard the sound of the horn,
flute, zither, lyre, harp and all
kinds of music, all the peoples,
nations and men of every language
fell down and worshipped the image of
gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set
up. At this time some astrologers
came forward and denounced the
Jews.” (Daniel 3:3-8)
All of a sudden, the
dedication service stopped. As far as
the eye could see, all but three Jews
had bowed down before the golden man.
The wise men wasted no time reporting
this anomaly to the king. The three
Hebrew were arrested and presented to
the king. The golden image was
forgotten. The music stopped.
Everyone stood up and turned around
to see what had happened. Every eye
focused on the three young Jews who
dared to rebel against the monarch of
Babylon! As they approached the
throne, the king uttered some bad
Babylonian words under his breath as
he said, “How did they
get here?” The king was
embarrassed and frustrated. The whole
dedication service could unravel and
the result could be worse than the
truth he was trying to hide!
Did you notice the
astrologers came forward to report
the insolence of the three Hebrews?
This is amazing. The wise men owed
their very lives to these three young
men and yet, the wise men were the
first to report their disobedience to
the king. (There is an end-time
parallel here. The clergy will be the
first to condemn God’s
servants!) “They said to King
Nebuchadnezzar, ‘O king, live
forever! You have issued a decree, O
king, that everyone who hears the
sound of the horn, flute, zither,
lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of
music must fall down and worship the
image of gold, and that whoever does
not fall down and worship will be
thrown into a blazing furnace. But
there are some Jews whom you have set
over the affairs of the province of
Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego – who pay no attention
to you, O king. They neither serve
your gods nor worship the image of
gold you have set up.’ Furious
with [embarrassment and] rage,
Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. So these men
were brought before the king, and
Nebuchadnezzar said to them, ‘Is
it true, Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, that you do not serve my
gods or worship the image of gold I
have set up?’” (Daniel
3:9-14, insertion mine)
The king personally
knew Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
He knew their integrity and loyalty.
He knew they were close friends of
Daniel, but somehow they had been
overlooked in this scheme. They
should not have been present. Now, he
had no other option but to destroy
them if he wanted to protect his
throne. The king was “up the
creek in a chicken wire canoe.”
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Earth,
had created a huge lie, but the God
of Heaven had gathered everyone
together to hear and see a truth that
was greater than a golden lie. (The
truth of God is most clearly seen
when openly confronted with
falsehood.) The king responded to the
rebellion of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego with feigned generosity,
hoping they would humor him on this
matter. The king had a big political
problem on his hands (which he had
created by threatening the wise men),
and he did not want a showdown with
the Most High God of these three men.
So the king tried to appear generous:
“Now when you hear the sound of
the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp,
pipes and all kinds of music, if you
are ready to fall down and worship
the image I made, very good. But if
you do not worship it, you will be
thrown immediately into a blazing
furnace. Then what god will be able
to rescue you from my hand?” (Daniel
3:15)
The words of
Nebuchadnezzar are interesting. The
king honestly knew these three lads
were not rebellious toward him; after
all, they joined with Daniel in
seeking an answer to his vanished
vision. But the king was haughty
enough to taunt the lads with the
remark, ‘Then what god will be
able to rescue you from my
hand?” The king uttered these
words because he knew of their
loyalty to their God. He may have
even known about the second
commandment of their God. The action
of the king reveals another
interesting fact about the carnal
heart: The performance of a
miracle does not always change the
carnal heart. (Centuries later,
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in
the presence of many unbelievers and
some of them still refused to accept
Christ as the Messiah! See John 11.)
In Nebuchadnezzar’s case, he
personally experienced the vanished
vision and witnessed the miracle when
Daniel told him what he had dreamed.
However, neither event changed the
king’s heart. When confronted
with the loyalty of the three Jews to
the King of kings, the king of Earth
thought he had the high ground, but
as it turns out, he was on holy
ground! To protect his lies,
the king had to kill those who stood
for the truth. He knew that they knew
the truth about the vanished vision
because he had promoted them for
participating with Daniel in praying
for the truth! He also knew that he
could never recover from public
disgrace if he showed any sigh of
weakness or timidity in the presence
of thousands of his administrators.
Therefore, the king did what every
carnal heart would do, and the young
men did what every born-again
believer would do. The metal in each
heart was revealed.
“Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego replied to the
king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do
not need to defend ourselves before
you in this matter [because you know
the truth and we know the truth about
the vanished vision]. 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. 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.’” (Daniel 3:16-18,
insertion mine)
Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego had prepared for this
moment. Through prayer and fasting,
they had strengthened their resolve
to stand firm for God. This event was
a showdown between the gold of
Babylon and the pure gold of faith in
God. When the king saw these young
men were not going to acquiesce and
“go along” with his plan,
he became very angry. They had
publicly rejected his authority, and
this was the very thing he was trying
to protect with the creation and
dedication of the golden image!
“Then was
Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the
form of his visage was changed
against Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego: therefore he spake, and
commanded that they should heat the
furnace one seven times more than it
was wont to be [normally] heated. And
he commanded the most mighty men that
were in his army to bind Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast
them into the burning fiery furnace.
Then these men were bound in their
coats, their hosen [trousers], and
their hats, and their other garments,
and were cast into the midst of the
burning fiery furnace.” (Daniel
3:19-21, KJV, insertions mine)
I like the way the KJV
states these verses because I like
the power of its language. The Bible
says, “The form of his visage
was changed.” I understand this
to mean that Nebuchadnezzar’s
face turned fiery red (maybe his
blood pressure hit 220/160). He was
hotter than a firecracker on the
fourth of July because his kingly ego
had been hammered. Here is a mystery:
Even though the carnal heart is
full of rebellion, it hates
insubordination more than anything
else. When the carnal heart
cannot get its way, its fury knows no
limits. The king’s authority was
publicly rejected, and no king can
tolerate open rebellion. Rejection,
or fear of rejection, is the
underlying basis for peer pressure
and much social torment. To
successfully deal with rejection, a
person must receive daily injections
of spiritual courage and stamina.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were
at peace with their fate on that day
because they had walked and talked
with God. They had practiced
obedience in small things – this
was not their first test. Loyalty
that can withstand the prospect of a
fiery death does not come overnight.
Instead, it comes in little steps.
The God of Heaven
Intervenes
“The king’s
command was so urgent and the furnace
so hot that the flames of the fire
killed the soldiers who took up
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and
these three men, firmly tied, fell
into the blazing furnace. 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, and the satraps,
prefects, governors and royal
advisors crowded around them. They
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.” (Daniel 3:22-27)
The death of
Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers proved
to the vast audience that the heat of
the furnace was extreme. The soldiers
who threw the three Jews into the
furnace went to their death because
they were loyal and obedient to their
earthy king. The three Hebrews that
were supposed to go to their death
were obedient and loyal to their
Heavenly King. (Exodus 20:4-6) In
both cases, loyalty was present, but
the greater question is: “Which
king deserves highest loyalty?”
While the three Hebrew were being
bound and thrown into the furnace,
the king’s mind was in turmoil.
He had to recover from the showdown
caused by these three Jews. He
watched with interest as the young
men were bound and thrown into the
furnace. As he observed their fate
and the deaths of his own soldiers,
the king was shocked! Instead of
seeing their bodies consumed by fire,
he saw four men walking around
in the furnace. The king jumped to
his feet and asked, “Weren’t
there three men that we tied
up and threw into the fire?” His
attendants assured him this was the
case. Then the king exclaimed, “Look!
I see four men walking around in the
fire…” Nebuchadnezzaar
immediately recognized the fiery
presence of God standing in the
furnace with the three Hebrews.
Nebuchadnezzar knew
the golden image service was a
charade. Nebuchadnezzar knew he was
in the wrong when he sent Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego to the fiery
furnace. In spite of knowing these
things, the king moved to protect his
material interests. He did this
because his highest loyalties
centered on himself. In this sense,
Nebuchadnezzar demonstrated the
carnal heart that plagues all of
mankind. Nothing on earth is more
selfish and self-seeking than the
carnal heart. The root of the
world’s problems today is
selfishness and self-seeking.
“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.” (Daniel 3:28-30)
What does a humiliated
king say to an enormous gathering of
world governors when his death decree
upon three Jews was made null and
void by a miracle? The king did
not admit defeat, nor did the king
offer an apology to the God of the
Heaven. Instead, he turned to his
impotent wise men and confused
administrators and said, “If any
of you speak evil about the God of
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you
will be cut in pieces!” Wow! The
king deflects his responsibility once
again. The carnal heart of the king
rejected another chance to be
transformed. Later, the God of Heaven
finally got the king’s attention
by exiling him to the field as an
animal for seven years – but
that is another story.
The End of the Story
When the
administrators and governors returned
to their distant homes, they had a
story to tell! In a few words their
story went like this, “Yes, we
saw the golden image, but that was
nothing! Let me tell you about the
God of the Jews. He delivered three
Jews out of a roaring fiery furnace.
We saw it with our own eyes. The fire
was so hot it killed the king’s
soldiers, but the flames did not hurt
the Jews! That is some God the Jews
have.” This story was repeated
by a thousand pagans all over the
world, exalted the God of Heaven. As
a nation, the Jews had profaned the
wonderful name of God, but God found
three Jews who had the faith of pure
gold and He was able to exalt His
holy name through their obedience and
loyalty.
There are numerous
important end-time parallels in this
story. During the end-time, there
will be “an image to the
beast,” and all people will be
required to worship it or be killed.
(Revelation 13) You and I will be
players in the drama that is
forthcoming. It is possible that we
will have to stand before the dreaded
king of Babylon (Lucifer). Will we
have a faith of pure gold? “To
the angel of the church in Laodicea
write: These are the words of the
Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the ruler of God’s creation. I
know your deeds, that you are neither
cold nor hot. I wish you were either
one or the other! So, because you are
lukewarm – neither hot nor cold
– I am about to spit you out of
my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I
have acquired wealth and do not need
a thing.’ But you do not realize
that you are wretched, pitiful, poor,
blind and naked. I counsel you to buy
from me gold refined in the fire, so
you can become rich; and white
clothes to wear, so you can cover
your shameful nakedness; and salve to
put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and
discipline. So be earnest, and
repent. Here I am! I stand at the
door and knock. If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come
in and eat with him, and he with me.
To him that overcomes, I will give
the right to sit with me on my
throne, just as I overcame and sat
down with my Father on his throne. He
who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches.”
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