Part 3: Recognizing the Lion is not King

Well if you read this week’s study chapters 3 & 4, you likely had the same question my wife had. How could Nebuchadnezzar not want to fully worship God after Daniel explains his dream? Well that prompts a larger question for most of us today. How is it that, God is apparent everywhere around us yet many still choose to ignore? Looking at Nebuchadnezzar we get a first-class lesson in arrogance and pride. Often times this sort of heightened entitlement causes one to ignore God. However, even everyday people face these character flaws when sin replaces the value one places on sight. The king’s vision was limited as there was no room in his heart for God to have authority. Plus, he was too busy erecting a grand statue of himself and seeking his own praise. Make note, the importance of the statue is not only for Nebuchadnezzar to express his greatness. Unknow to him it’s symbolic of the 4 temporary kingdoms. Also, the symbolic stone which will ultimately crush those kingdoms represents the 1 eternal kingdom of God at the second coming of Jesus. I pointed this out to you last week from chapter 2. This also connects the dots for how these tie to the beginning of chapter 3 and the later chapters 7-12. For new testament reference John also makes ties to Daniel in the book of Revelation and so does Jesus in the book of Matthew.

Now we also see where things start to get hot and not for the boys in the fiery furnace but for Nebuchadnezzar. So Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah disobey an order from the king’s statue dedication ceremony. They were to bow down and worship the pagan statue when they heard the sound of the symphony music. Of course, whoever did not was to immediately be put to death in the fiery furnace. Their defiance enraged Nebuchadnezzar so he confronts them and taunts his authority over them. “Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands”? Pause here, I want us to really try and sense the boy’s response which displayed a calm confidence. They tell the king “we have no need to answer you in this matter” that is powerful. It’s the assertion of their foundation we only worship the true and living God (Daniel 4:16-18). They were saying to the king being enslaved to serve and work for you is one thing but to bow and worship is reserved for God alone (ref 2 Kings 17:35, Acts 10:25-26). What makes this even greater is they had no concern for their lives. If you look closely at verses 17-18 their response is spiritual not earthly. What do I mean by that, well they understood fully they were delivered from Nebuchadnezzar’s hands, whether in this life or the one to come. This upset the king even more and he orders for the heat to be intensified 7 times hotter. At this point the king’s men tie up the boys and proceed to march them to the furnace. However, the men are killed by the fire’s intense flames and the boys fall down into the furnace. I want to point out here I doubt as those boys were being marched to the furnace, they reflecting on their slave names. I’m almost certain they reflected on their God given names because it spoke to what God can and has done for them. Lo and behold the king is astonished because he sees 4 men walking in the midst of the furnace. He then says, “they are not hurt and the form of the fourth man is like the Son of God”! So, remember the number 7 well it represents completion. Jesus showing up represents His complete covering to come for those who choose to accept and believe in Him, as this act occurs before Jesus comes to earth to offer salvation in the form of his own creation, man.

Finally, in chapter 3 after the furnace miracle. Nebuchadnezzar converts and gives God all due praise and decrees that no ill word ever be spoken against God. Then in chapter 4 he has a second dream which Daniel interprets. This time it’s about him as a tree and God eventually cuts the tree down but leaves the stump and roots. The tree and the branches represented his reign and the vast reach of the kingdom and all things that were under it. The stump represented God’s ability to restore the tree (Nebuchadnezzar’s reign as king) but he had to turn from sin and iniquity (immoral, grossly unfair behavior). God wanted him to live a righteous life and be merciful to those less fortunate. So, as with most of us when God is trying to get our attention and we are stubborn to it, we have to endure a humbling trial or valley moment. Now this is not always to say you are doing something wrong when you encounter a difficult time. God can use even the righteous and upstanding like Job to show forth his will, authority and purpose. Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling moment came as the dream noted he would spend 7 years in the fields grazing and acting like the rest of the beasts (animals). So, during this time he is stricken with a disease known as lycanthropy. It’s when a person thinks they are an animal (beast) and they live in the wild and live inhumanly eating grass and having unkept hair and nails. Again, we see the number 7 all this was so God could complete his work in Nebuchadnezzar’s heart. God does restore him to his kingdom as He promised. All this was God showing to Nebuchadnezzar and all future rulers/leaders to come, even for today, “…In order that the living may know, that The Most High rules in the kingdom of men”. Daniel 4:17

Read: Daniel 5-12 this week as we will wrap with Part 4 next week.