Satan’s Attempted Counterattack

Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. 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 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. Daniel 3:14-20

Steps: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12

Satan recognized that God was getting a lot of good publicity in Daniel 2. So he moves upon Nebuchadnezzar’s heart to take the central symbol of the dream of Daniel 2 and alter it and make it entirely out of gold, thus symbolizing Nebuchadnezzar’s desire to have his kingdom never come to an end. He wants his kingdom to be like God’s kingdom. God uses three faithful recovering people to stand up to the king and get his mind refocused. The command of the king is to build an actual image, make it out of gold, and make all of the leaders of his land bow down to it in worship. These three men refuse to do for they have purposed in their hearts to not defile themselves with idolatry. As a result of this decision the king throws them into a furnace. When in there the king is surprised that there are four people rather than three and they are walking around unharmed. The king recognizes, from the stories that Daniel has told him, that the fourth person is the Son of God – the pre-incarnate Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar calls the men out of the furnace and the focus has completely left the image and is now on the servants of God. God again gets great publicity throughout all of the then known world.

Prayer for Today: God, teach us to trust in Your power, wisdom, and grace. Help us not to fear when put in tight places and help us to trust You that You can help us and even if You don’t help us in the way that we desire, help us to know that even then You love us and what You are doing for us will be a blessing to all involved. Thank You again for Your love.