The Book Of Daniel 3 And 4 Overview Religion Essay

The narrative in the 3rd chapter of Daniel could hold been taken from today ‘s headlines. It ‘s one of the important chapters in the history of enduring trusters. It sheds visible radiation on what many are sing in the present. And it shows us why they ‘re able to cleaving to God-even in the worst of times.

A sovereign named King Nebuchadnezzar, whom we met in Daniel 1 and 2, continues to play a cardinal function in this portion of Daniel ‘s narrative. His pride and desire for power and acknowledgment prevarication behind two of import events which we ‘ll analyze in this lesson.

The Golden Image Daniel 3

Daniel 3:1-6

All Babylon was bombinating with a wonder that had appeared on the Plain of Dura:

“ Have you seen it? It ‘s incredible! ”

“ A immense statue of a adult male made out of pure gold? ”

“ Oh if I could merely hold one of its toes! ”

As the forenoon Sun crested the hills around the metropolis, its blinding beams danced and shimmered off the aureate caput and shoulders of this semisynthetic image. Visible for stat mis, it was the talk of Babylon.

King Nebuchadnezzar had been profoundly impressed by the image made of different metals and clay ( Daniel 2 ) he had seen in his dream-especially by that caput of gold. For a piece he honoured Daniel and the God of Eden. But after a clip Nebuchadnezzar appears to hold had 2nd ideas. He felt a small resentful. God had said another land would originate and subvert Babylon. Well, possibly Nebuchadnezzar could redact this prognostication a spot. What if he constructed a reproduction of this image-but made it all gold from caput to toe? It would be his manner of making an image of Babylon as the ageless imperium. So the male monarch decided he would make merely that. He would order all administrative functionaries to garner before the image, bow down to it, and pledge deathless commitment to him.

Nebuchadnezzar ‘s applied scientists and designers went to work. It was n’t long until an image towered over the Plain of Dura ; it stood about one hundred pess tall and 12 pess across. This image was truly an act of rebellion. The male monarch was withstanding God ‘s word. He was making a forgery to the true prophetic symbol Daniel had shown him. Alternatively of stating the people of his land the truth about the hereafter, as God had revealed it to him, he deceived them. Nebuchadnezzar was moving on behalf of Satan, the conceiver of prevarications and misrepresentation ( John 8:44 ) . His image finally stood in resistance to Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And so, in Bible prognostication, Babylon came to stand for the antonym of what God stands for-lies, fraudulence, and ageless decease seeking to replace truth, fidelity, and ageless life. This construct comes into clear focal point in the book of Revelation.

Nebuchadnezzar was doing a really of import pick, one with ageless effects. Three immature Hebrew work forces had to make the same.

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3v12

Nebuchadnezzar was utilizing political authorization to implement a certain sort of worship. In ulterior chapters of Daniel and in the book of Revelation, we will see how this combination of church and province is pictured in prognostication. It ‘s portion of a forgery spiritual system that will rise up its ugly caput once more and oppress God ‘s people.

The first of the Ten Commandments states, “ You shall hold no other Gods before Me. You shall non do for yourself any carven image, or any similitude of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the Earth beneath, or that is in the H2O under the Earth ; you shall non bow down to them or function them ” ( Exodus 20:3-5 ) .

Those on the Plain of Dura who wanted to function the God of Eden were faced with a awful quandary: they could disobey God ‘s commandment and bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar ‘s gilded statue-and unrecorded. Or they could obey God ‘s commandment and garbage to bow down to it-and dice.

As the elite of Babylon gathered around Nebuchadnezzar ‘s image, there was rather a ostentation. Horns rang out ; cymbals clashed. The military might of Babylon encircled the crowd-soldiers in full armor. For most of those assembled this was a jubilation. Food and imbibe flowed freely. They partied into the dark. But so all of a sudden the assembly grew quiet. The male monarch ‘s spokesman was shouting instructions. Equally shortly as the royal set struck up, every bit shortly as horns, flutes, lyres, and pipes sounded, everyone was to bow down and idolize the male monarch ‘s aureate statue. In the background dark fume ascended from a brick kiln, stressing the effect of defiance-death in a ardent furnace.

The spokesman gave a signal, and the set began to play. Barely a note was heard before the sea of people environing the image flattened ; everyone lay prostrate on the land. A smiling must hold crept across Nebuchadnezzar ‘s face at the spectacle. But his pleasance was ephemeral. Several Chaldeans rushed to the male monarch ‘s side and delivered unpleasant intelligence.

3:17-18

Nebuchadnezzar was ferocious! He ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego brought before him. He told them he would give them one more opportunity to bow down. If they did n’t, they ‘d be thrown instantly into the blaze furnace. What a scene! Prostrate functionaries were peering out of the corners of their eyes at the disturbance near King Nebuchadnezzar. There they stood, three immature Hebrews who defied the male monarch. These immature work forces did n’t necessitate more clip to believe about it. They gave the king an reply instantly.

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3:19-25

Belly laugh! What would you hold done in that state of affairs? You ‘re confronting a ramping furnace ; black fume whirls above it. Sparks fly ; you can experience the strength of the heat on your face. Death is certain. If those three Hebrews had hesitated, if they ‘d thought about salvaging their cervixs, Satan might hold had an chance to do them conform. But they clung to their religion as an ground tackle and made a speedy response to follow their Lord unconditionally.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believed that the God of Eden was at their side. But they besides acknowledged that He does non ever take to present us in the manner we would wish. They knew about the prophesier Urijah ‘s destiny. A few old ages before he ‘d given clear warnings aimed at King Jehoiakim ‘s corruptness. That cowardly sovereign had him executed ( Jeremiah 26:20-23 ) .

Have you of all time felt isolated as the “ different ” one? Possibly you did n’t laugh at a cruel or racialist gag ; possibly you chose non to watch some popular Television show because it was mean-spirited or vulgar ; possibly your beliefs make you seem the “ uneven 1 ” at work. Remember, God is a great Jesus, but sometimes He allows us to witness for Him in what may look to be licking instead than triumph. When Jesus felt really stray and burdened in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He was confronting decease on the cross, He still managed to pray: “ Thy will be done, non My ain. ” God will assist you do the same. The Lord can utilize evident licking and isolation to convey about triumph and rapprochement. Just do certain that you keep attesting the graciousness and friendliness of Christ.

John Huss is an illustration of a individual who suffered for his faith-and yet remained gracious to the terminal. This Czech reformist stood house for gospel truth against the corrupt church of his twenty-four hours. But he was ever eager to larn. When the Council of Constance demanded that he abdicate his scriptural instructions, Huss replied, “ I would most lief recant before all the universe every falsity and every mistake I of all time have thought of stating or have said. ” But his accusers tried to bully alternatively of persuade, and Huss was condemned. At the executing grounds Huss underwent a “ ceremonial of debasement. ” When bishops intoned a concluding expletive, “ We commit your psyche to the Devil! “ -Huss answered, “ And I commit it to the most merciful Lord Jesus Christ. ” As the wood and straw, piled up to his cervix were lit, Huss began singing, “ Jesus, Thou Son of the life God, have mercy on us. ” His lips were still traveling mutely when he died.

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3:26-30

What a powerful illustration of God ‘s power and protection! Jesus stood in the furnace with His friends! Through this great rescue He says to you and me, “ You do n’t hold to travel into the furnace by yourself. I will travel with you. In fact, I will walk into the fires before you do and take you bit-by-bit through the fire. So bring Me your jobs, your tests, frights, and letdowns. Bring Me your yearnings, your desire to be changed. Bring to Me your faith-no affair how small or how large. ”

Have you of all time felt like you were walking in the fires without God? You ne’er have to once more. Listen to God ‘s promise: “ You are Mine. When you pass through the Waterss, I will be with you ; And through the rivers, they shall non overrun you. When you walk through the fire, you shall non be burned, nor shall the fire singe you. For I am the Lord your God ” ( Isaiah 43:1-3 ) .

So, Nebuchadnezzar decided to honor God. What else could he make? All his functionaries around him had witnessed the power of God. They had seen how He honours those who follow Him. Unfortunately the male monarch did non stay broken before the God of Eden. Chapter four continues our narrative.

DANIEL 4

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4:1-10

What Nebuchadnezzar saw at the fiery furnace impelled him to decree that anyone who spoke against God was to be killed. But he himself forgot about God and suffered greatly. What he learned as a consequence is recorded in Daniel chapter 4. This is a singular papers: the personal testimony of the most powerful sovereign of that clip uncovering how God intervened in his life.

4:11-26

Nebuchadnezzar had another upseting dream. Once once more he called the wise work forces before his throne. This clip the male monarch remembered what he ‘d dreamed. But his wise work forces were unable to state him what it all meant. Then Daniel walked in. Nebuchadnezzar told him about the dream. In his dream the male monarch had seen a tree grow to such a tallness that it was seeable from everyplace on Earth. It provided shelter and nutrient for animate beings and birds. But so an angel ( spectator ) is sent from Eden. He ‘s commanded to cut down the tree and chop off its subdivisions. The stump of the tree was to be left in the land and an Fe set clamped around the stump ( Daniel 4:13-16 ) .

The angel decreed, “ Let it be wet with the dew of Eden, and allow him crop with the animals on the grass of the Earth. Let his bosom be changed from that of a adult male, allow him be given the bosom of an animate being, and allow seven times pass over him ” ( vss. 15, 16 ) .

With its baleful displacement from “ it ” to “ him, ” Daniel realized at one time what this dream meant. And it filled him with apprehensiveness. This was non good intelligence. But Nebuchadnezzar urged him to uncover what he knew. And so Daniel explained the dream:

4:27-33

The message of the dream is this: Unless Nebuchadnezzar changed his ways, he would go so crazed that he ‘d move like a cow who had to be turned out into the Fieldss to eat grass. He would stay in this status for seven old ages. His untrimmed and uncombed hair would entangle together until it looked like bird of Jove plumes. His fingernails would turn long and coils like the claws of an bird of Jove. Today, psychopathology identifies an affliction like this as “ boanthropy, ” a status which makes people think they are a cow and get down moving like an animate being.

Nebuchadnezzar, nevertheless, would be able to get away this catastrophe if he surrendered to God and chose to follow Him.

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4:34

Overlooking his capital, the male monarch exclaimed, “ Is non this great Babylon, that I have built? ” Babylon was so a magnificent city. Nebuchadnezzar ‘s male parent, Nabopolassar, had defeated the Assyrians and assisted in the rebuilding of Babylon, which had been destroyed in 689 B.C. The metropolis boasted many beautiful castles, temples, shrines, and rooftop gardens. In fact, its Hanging Gardens were finally considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Nebuchadnezzar wanted all this glorification for himself. He forgot that it is God who sets up male monarchs and who removes them. And so his tremendous self-importance snapped. The male monarch lost touch with world.

4:35-36

Nebuchadrezzar at last made the right determination, the right committedness. He had faced the same large inquiry that Daniel faced, the same large inquiry that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all faced- ” Will I be a faithful friend of God? ” That is the ultimate inquiry for you and me. It calls us to do a determination. Will we do a committedness to stand with God-even in the worst of times? To whom make you associate the most-Nebuchadnezzar or the three Hebrew immature work forces? God can assist you to be faithful, merely like the three immature work forces, if you ask Him. Why non inquire Him today?

Each of us can happen the same strength and the same resoluteness. We can happen it as we build a relationship with God through Bible survey and supplication. He will prolong us through the conflicts and struggles we face in mundane life. It may be a hard matrimony. It may be a loved 1 with a chronic unwellness. It may be struggles on the occupation. It may be unrealized dreams. But whatever your troubles, God is making out and promising, “ I am the reply. Come to Me, and I will give you peace and remainder ” ( see Matthew 11:28-30 ) .

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