https://biblehub.com/nkjv/daniel/3.htm

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To put things in perspective, this statue of King Nebuchadnezzar was anywhere from 60 to 100 feet tall, comparative to a 5 to 10 story building. And you weren’t just supposed to look at it, you were supposed to bow down to it.

Imagine if we built a 100 foot statue of Abraham Lincoln and required all descendants from slavery bow down to it. Can you even begin to fathom the public outcry? But in all honesty, I could easily see a statue of a popular celebrity becoming a public idol. In fact, I just watched a reel on Facebook where two lovely blonde haired women in red dresses became embroiled in a physical fist fight over a celebrity. I do not know who the celebrity was, but one of the bystanders chuckled and commented, “They aren’t even going to be here for a week!”

This meant to me that these people were camping out, a week in advance, for some sort of celebrity, perhaps a concert or something. Whether the fist fight had anything to do with the celebrity, I do not know; all I know is that these people were anticipating the arrival of this “idol” a week in advance.

Can you imagine how wonderful our world would be if we were all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Jesus Christ? He is coming soon, you know.

Another thought. What if a 100 foot statue of our nation’s president were erected somewhere; doesn’t matter who…Trump, Biden, Obama, Bush, Clinton, JFK, Eisenhower, Roosevelt. And what if the federal government required us to bow down to this statue. Would everyone conform? Would any risk prison to avoid breaking the Second Commandment?

Oops, forgot. Those commandments are no longer valid; they were nailed to the cross with Jesus. God now feels it perfectly fine to worship idols.

Sarcasm alert! No, those commandments are still intact; they are a covenant between God and us.

Would you bow down? Would you refuse?

Well, Daniels three friend, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, refused to bow down. And it wasn’t just prison time they were risking, it was death. Imagine the faith these men had. Imagine the love they had for God!

They refused to worship the idol, and they were thrown into a fiery furnance, so hot that the guards who threw them in were killed from the radiant heat.

But their faithfulness saved them. Jesus saved them. And what is so amazing, is that everyone immediately recognized Jesus, although they didn’t have drawings and paintings of a man portrayed as Jesus.

How is this possible? How did Abraham recognize Jesus and the two angels as they traveled past his tent on their way to Sodom? How did Jacob know he was wrestling with Jesus? How did Nebuchadnezzar know it was Jesus?

That is someone you should pray for. In the end, there will be many “false Christs” who come in Jesus name, claiming to be him, and you better be able to be close enough to God to recognize Him, because that is what happened here. The Holy Spirit enlightened these men, and more, so that they immediately recognized a truly Holy Being.

Three men went into the furnace. Three came out. But there were four figures observed inside. Praise the fourth! Praise Jesus!

And despite the fire being so hot it killed the guards who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego into the fire, they walked out with not so much of a single hair singed.

These three men stayed close to God. They stayed within the realm of God’s protection, and He protected them. Your faithfulness comes with great rewards

Then Nebuchadnezzar had a second dream that needed Daniels interpretation. And this dream was about how Nebuchadnezzar would fall from his throne. The dream and prophesy came true. He ended up going insane and caged like an animal.

But in the end, he regained his sanity and confessed that the God of Abraham, our God, was the true God.

Praise God!