Title: God of Salvation (Daniel 3:28-30)
Contents
Lesson 33 The God of Salvation (Daniel 3:28-30)
3:28-30
Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his messenger, who trusted in him and forsook himself, and disobeyed the king's command, and worshiped no other gods but his God, and did not bow down to him. Therefore, I now issue a decree, that every people, every nation, and every tongue, whoever speaks arrogantly to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and his house shall be used as a dungeon. There is no other god to save." And the king finally exalted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the city of Babylon.
King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to kill Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So he bound them and threw them into a furnace that was seven times hotter than usual. But according to their faith, God rescued them from the burning furnace and from the hand of the king. When King Nebuchadnezzar saw the miracle, he must have been astonished and terrified in his heart. Perhaps he was afraid that he would be angry by angering the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So King Nebuchadnezzar exalts the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. are praising. Otherwise, you would have thought that you might be punished.
Let's see how we did it. Verse 28. "Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego." "Praise be to God," he said. King Nebuchadnezzar has not yet fully repented. What must be done to become full repentance? "Destroy that great image immediately. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! What is the name of the God you serve? What kind of God is that God?" Asking this question, it would have been right to declare, "Now there is only one god of Babylon, Jehovah God." But now, for King Nebuchadnezzar, Jehovah God is just the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He was not my God.
Let's see how Nebuchadnezzar exalted the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and why he sang. First of all, two reasons for praising God are recorded.
First, "He sent the messenger." God sent a messenger. That's right. God allowed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to go through extreme trials. But I just sit on a high throne and say, "I'm in trouble, what do you do? How pitiful!" How did you not do this? God sent messengers. In the midst of that ordeal, he did not leave Daniel's three friends alone, but was with them.
There are times when God allows us to undergo extreme trials. But He is a God who has not left us alone and is with us in the midst of trials. He is the God who takes our hand and takes care of us so that we can overcome the ordeal.
Second, "He saved those servants who trusted in him and forsook himself, disobeying the king's command, and worshiped no other gods but his God, and who did not bow down to him." The first is that God was with them and sent messengers, and the second was that He rescued three people from extreme tribulation. So we exalt and praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Look again at the middle of verse 28. God saved those servants. What kind of slaves did you save them from the great tribulation?
First, "Trust yourself." He did not depend on man, not on material things, not on his own strength, but only on God. God saves those who depend only on God. I hope that all of you and I will not look at people even today and trust, rely on, and rely on Jehovah God alone more and more.
Second, "by throwing away the body." Romans 12:1 says, “Present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice.” That's it. He did not spare himself, but gave it to God. But what about us? "God, I need this. Give me this. I need that, so give me that." If you just bow your head, "Give me this, give me that, and if you think about it, I need this too".
What kind of people did God say he would save? God saves those who say, "I will give my body to God. I will give even this body freely." Don't just take it, but give my heart, my body, and everything to God this morning. Then God will provide the rest. Why would you allow your beloved son to suffer? I hope that this morning as well this morning we will give our all to God.
Third, "disobeying the king's orders." In the face of injustice, he had the faith to bravely disobey the king's strict orders, and he had the faith to say that what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong even if a sword is in his throat. God saves those who have courageous faith.
Fourth, "He saved those servants who worshiped no other gods but bowed down to him." Single-mindedness It is a faith of single-mindedness that serves only God and loves only God.
Once again, God will bring suffering to those who first depend on God, secondly give their body to God, thirdly have courageous and bold faith with the spirit of one-sided determination, and fourthly give their undivided love and loyalty to God. That you have saved me from the middle. King Nebuchadnezzar saw it right.
Then look at verse 29. "therefore." The word "therefore" here means "because the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego clearly saw the work of saving Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when they were in the midst of great tribulation." "Now I am issuing a decree," he said. It is more authoritative to issue a decree than to simply give an order in words. The word Joseo was used to indicate that a command was given more clearly and with certainty.
Then look. “Every people, every nation, every tongue,” he said. Please take a look at 3:4.
"The preacher cried aloud, saying, The king commands all of you, you peoples and nations and every tongue."
It is in the plural of "with peoples and nations". What more words are included in today's text verse 29? It means "each". "Every people and every nation and every tongue," that is, everyone, without exception.
“Anyone who speaks bluntly to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” Until now, King Nebuchadnezzar himself had spoken hard before the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. To speak bluntly is to oppose. "Who can deliver you out of my hand?" Nebuchadnezzar, who used to be, now forbids anyone else to do it. What did you say to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? He said, "You shall cut off his body and make his house a manure." King Nebuchadnezzar is still unconscious.
What is God saying through this verse? Who is in charge of human life and death? That there is only one God. However, King Nebuchadnezzar says, "He cuts his body in pieces," as if he were killing and raising a man. And who is in charge of hwabok? He is God. But he said, "Let that house be a manure place." still arrogant. I still didn't get it right.
So, in chapter 4, God struck King Nebuchadnezzar. So I lost my mind and went crazy. I ended up in a lowly condition that ate grass like a cow. King Nebuchadnezzar, who should have known that only God is in control of human life and death, is still proud. He thought he could control everything.
Look at the last part of verse 29. "For there is no other god who can save people like this." It is simply that the god Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego believe in is one of the most superior among the many gods, the most high. Jehovah God is not the only God. So we can see from the words of King Nebuchadnezzar that King Nebuchadnezzar had a polytheistic view.
See verse 30. "And the king finally exalted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the city of Babylon. What did the king do to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? It was said that he was exalted even more in Babylon. Isn't that surprising? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego gave up all their high positions for the sake of the Lord. I gave my body. They are people who generously gave their lives for the Lord. What is the result? Rather, God exalted them even more.
Conversely, what about the Chaldeans who accused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? They accused them of taking their place by killing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were exalted. The Chaldeans who accused them would have been even more miserable. That's right. This is a valuable lesson that shows us that if we die for the Lord, we live, and those who want to live will die.
How good is our God. Daniel's three friends must have prayed in the scorching furnace, saying, "I believe that the God who is with us will save us." God listened to their prayers and answered their prayers. When we think of this fact, there is a song of praise that resounds in our hearts. Let's end today's talk by singing this praise together.
"Good God, good God
our very good God.
who answers our prayers
Our God is so good."