Life in a Lost World: Serving Ungodly Governments Pt. 2: Acts of defiance

Last week I introduced four servants of God from the book of Daniel. What makes them relevant to our discussion about serving the government is their roles as public servants under captivity of the Babylonian, then the Persian empires. I talked about Daniel's choice to make godly choices in order to be an example for other Jews, and how he tactfully declined to eat and drink the food offered to idols with the king.

But what happens when a king not only makes a decree that is directly against God, but threatens severe sanctions, even death, for disobedience?

It's clear - God gives rulers the authority over nations. But when rulers attempt to take God place and usurp His divine authority,  the established order is tossed out of balance... not the least of which is that people of God will be put through persecution and punishment for their beliefs.
This was the case with Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebu had his eye in the clouds, so to speak; his ultimate goal was the restoration of Babylon to world dominance and recognition. His notable works were great architectural feats, like temples to the Babylonian gods, the royal palace, the Ishtar Gate, and the wondrous Hanging Gardens.
In Daniel's second chapter, Nebu had a dream in which a giant image made of gold, silver, iron, bronze and clay appeared. Daniel ended up interpreting the dream, telling Nebu that the Babylonian kingdom represented the golden head of the image, the first of many kingdoms that would rise and fall.
I'm sure Nebu had the dream in mind when he decided to have his talented builders erect a 100-foot statue of himself, in plain view on a plain, visible from everywhere in Babylon province.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, 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, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe 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 will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

.... So Nebuchadnezzar took his narcissism and grandiose vision one step further and made himself a god to be worshipped. Indeed, it wasn't enough that the captive Jews were to live among idol worshippers or find a way to circumvent eating the king's feast... now, they were subjected to a universal decree that all must bow down to an image of the king or be put to painful death in a fiery furnace... the simple tolerance of a societal norm was now an unholy mandate. This would be a life and death test for God-fearing Jews... these are the Jews for whom Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah strived to be perfect examples of godliness... and apparently it rubbed off (and rubbed the pagan astrologers and priests the wrong way):

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe 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, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Something I haven't related to yet is that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given different names by their captors as they served the Babylonian kingdom. The names were given so that they would 'assimilate' into the Chaldean/Babylonian kingdom.
A side point about these names - observe the contrast between their Jewish names and their Chaldean names:
Hananiah means 'God who is gracious' , vs. Shadrach 'command of the moon god'
Misha'el means 'Who is like God?' vs. Meshach 'Who is what Aku is?'
Azariah means 'God has helped' vs. Abednego 'Servant of Nebo'

Now, they were being command to betray the one true God in more than just name. These three, obviously, were pointed out as the chief 'instigators' of this rebellion, which enraged the king.

PROBLEM: More than merely a decision of conscience, this was a life-or-death situation in which Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had to decide which god they would serve. It is not indicated that they received any assurance from God or Daniel that they would be safe from the fiery punishment that awaited them for defiance. It was a choice - bow down before a giant golden image and live, or refuse and die painfully. 

Furious with 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? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe 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?”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

I'm sure at this point, within his rage, Nebu was amazed that anyone would defy him, let alone three court vassals. The men to this point had obtained his trust, and on the surface, remained loyal to their duties for the king. But of course, they had a deeper loyalty, to the God who was with them during their darkest rebellions and miraculous recoveries over the ages.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not going to make excuses or defend themselves. You see, their defense was their conviction and utter faith in the power of God beyond what Nebuchadnezzar could ever understand. They certainly did not know what God would allow - but they were ready to walk right into the fire rather than serve the false gods of the Babylonians, particularly a human Nebuchadnezzar who had set himself up as a god.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 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.

A king's narcissism turns to uncontrollable rage, and Nebu wanted to make sure these three men not only got what they deserved, but that they were made an example. The furnace, which I'm sure was already pretty hot, was stoked so hot that the soldiers who were escorting Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego up to the mouth of the furnace were killed. The furnace was obviously some kind of pit, or roofless structure because 

we then read that the three godly men subsequently fell into the fire. 

SOLUTION: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were willing to risk extreme death for what they believed. 

None of them really knew what was going to happen... but it did, in amazing fashion:

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, Your Majesty.”

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 advisers 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.

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.

Who was the fourth man with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Was it an angel sent to protect them (an ancient apocryphal text in the Greek Septuagint  mentions an angel who made the fire feel like the coolness of morning dew)? Was it Jesus pre-incarnate? It's not perfectly clear here. However, what is clear is that the men survived the horrific furnace unscathed, with not a singe on their clothes, hair, or bodies.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were likely no more than 25 years old-- yet their unwavering faith stood up when tested with the ultimate choice.. of serving a real God and losing their physical lives, or bowing to false gods and maintaining the status quo. God never promised them the miracle he bestowed them, yet even with no foreknowledge, these three men defied a king who had command of legions of armies.

RESULT: As a result of the miracle which rescued them from a fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and decreed that these were men of great value and faith, and that nobody in the kingdom was to oppose God... because there certainly was no god like Him.

We claim to believers in Christ, but to what lengths do we believe? Would it inconvenience us terribly to live and speak openly as if we were His children? Consider how far these three men of God went to defy a king and not behold themselves to false gods.
How does this apply to living in the world today? What are the idols we may be compelled to bow to?
How about this - Do you value each and every one of God's created people as yourself? How about the lives of the unborn? What about purity and the sanctity of marriage? Or laws that attempt to restrict our religious freedom by imposing regulations that stand against our consciences?
To trust the government to uphold the kind of morality that a personal relationship of God would provide is absurd. Rick Warren once said that if we put our hope in government in the world, we had better stop, because government has never done such a thing. Imposition of this kind of change doesn't come from the top, it comes from within... from the heart of society, and the impact that the church, standing together and loving the world like Christ did, can make.
So far, I've described two ways we can serve ungodly governments: 1) Do what's right at every opportunity and be an example to all; and 2) Rely on God to help you resist the false gods this world to which the world compels you to bow. Next time, I'll show you something that can change the hearts of the mighty.