Text: Forasmuch as thou sawest that
the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God
hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is
certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Dan.2:45
The prophet Daniel is one of four Major Prophets in Hebrew
Scripture, along with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The Book of the Twelve
follows the Book of Daniel. Daniel in the Lions' Den is a favorite Bible story
for children. Also, the captivating
prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the Book of Daniel one of the most read
of the Old Testament of the Bible.
The Book takes its name from the hero, Daniel a young Jewish
prophet who lived in Babylon following the Babylonian Captivity, which began in
597 BC. The prophet Ezekiel, who wrote his prophecy in Babylon about the same
time, mentioned three Biblical figures in a row as men of righteousness, Noah,
Daniel, and Job (Ezekiel 14:14 and 14:20). Jesus referred to Daniel the Prophet
(Matthew 24:15).
Daniel is one of the most important books of the Bible to
understand. Daniel connects the Old and
New Testaments. Through Daniel, God revealed the exact date month and year of
Messiah death (Christ) and events leading to His return.
Messiah would come 483 years after the decree to rebuild
Jerusalem (Dan 9:25, John 12:12-23).
Messiah would be killed (Dan 9:26, Matt 27:35)
Daniel demonstrates God's complete control and comprehension
over time and nations, by giving detailed prophecies about the succession of
kingdoms and rulers. Daniel foretells
the eventual establishment of Messiah's kingdom, which will overthrow the
kingdoms of this world.
Messiah would be 'a son of man' given an everlasting kingdom
(Dan 7:13-14, Luke 1:31-34)
Revealed as the 'stone' (and His kingdom) that smashes the
kingdoms of the world (Dan 2:34,44)
For this reason, Daniel is often the most attacked book in
the Bible.
Daniel is also essential for anybody who wants to understand
Bible prophecy. Without understanding
Daniel, a thorough understanding of Revelation is impossible. Daniel is the
foundation for the book of Revelation.
The text of Revelation is the completion of the plan first revealed to
Daniel in the Babylonian and Persian kingdoms over 2500 years ago.
There are six significant stories in Daniel:
The Kings Food- God
Protect the Faithful
The Kings Dream- God
Reveals the Future
The King's Fiery
Furnace- God Protects His People
The King's Banquet-
God Judges the Wicked
The King's Lion's Den-
God Protects His People
Daniel's Dream About
Beast- God Reveals the Future
In the story of the King's Fiery Furnace, the lives of three
Hebrews are on the line. Those who hated
them have brought them before the king, and they are faced with denying their
faith or serving the LORD. They know if they served God they would be blessed
if they disobeyed they would forfeit the protection of the LORD.
Moses gave Israel a roadmap to blessings in the 28th chapter
of Deuteronomy. If they obeyed the LORD,
they would be blessed. When they turned
away from serving the LORD, they would be cursed. In every case of persecution of
the Jews, it started with disobedience.
When the Jews were obedient to the commands of the LORD, He blessed
them. When Jews disobeyed, they were
cursed. The Babylonian Captivity came
about because of disobedience.
What is interesting is that the Jews when disobedient
suffered persecution, while the Christian suffered abuse when obedient.
Here is the resolve of these three men, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this
matter. 17 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. 18 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.
That takes courage.
Today, there would be those who would have us compromise our faith.
"It is alright to bow down, in your heart, you can worship the LORD. After all, God looks on the heart and not on
the outside." This is why we lack
power with God today. The faithfulness
of these three young men was a powerful witness to the power of God in the life
of a faithful follower.
We see Christ in the book of Daniel typified in the 4th man
in the fiery furnace. Look at the
astonishment of the king when he asked how many were cast into the furnace:
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of
the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of
God. (Dan 3:25)
When Nebuchadnezzar looked into the flames in Daniel 3:24-27,
he expected to see the young men roasting to death. Instead, he saw them
walking around, unharmed and unbound, and a fourth man walking with them. He
calls him "the Son of God," which is a strange insight for a pagan
king.
Who was the fourth man? I believe it was the Lord Jesus
Christ himself. This is an Old Testament appearance of the Son of God coming down
from heaven in bodily form. He stepped into the blazing furnace, and the Flames
lost their power to consume. Just like
when he calmed the sea by saying "Peace be still."
I am struck by the fact that the Lord Jesus appears at only
one place in this chapter. Where is Jesus in Daniel 3? He is not seen with them
when they confront the king. He is not
seen with them when they are bound and thrown in the furnace. He is seen in the furnace waiting for the
young men. You can do the math yourself. Outside there were three, inside there
were four, and outside there were three again. Jesus never manifests himself
except inside the furnace of trial and testing, at the very moment when He was
needed the most. The LORD does give His
people protection.
What a lesson this is for all of us. So often we go through
life for days and weeks without any consciousness of the Lord's presence with
us. But when trouble comes, when the flames lick at our feet, when life tumbles
in around us, then we discover that Jesus has been by our side the entire time.
It is in the fires of life that we experience the presence of Christ most
powerfully. He is always there, but he makes himself known in the fiery
furnace.
In the most famous of the stories in the book of Daniel is
the King's Lion's Den. This is a story
that every Sunday school student has heard.
The king is tricked into signing a law that would take the life of
Daniel. The law could not be
changed. Daniel knew the consequence of
remaining faithful to the LORD would result in his death, but he continued to
serve the LORD daily as he always had done.
The result- he was cast into a den of hungry lions.
In the morning the king rushed to see if the God Daniel
served was able to deliver him? The
result of Daniel's faithfulness to the LORD, an angel was sent to give Daniel
the protection he needed.
The question that could be asked is, does the LORD always
deliver us from persecution and tribulation?
The answer is No. What He has
promised us is He would never leave us nor forsake us. Sometimes the oppression and affliction are
the trying of our faith, testing us, refining us, purifying us, that we may
come forth as pure gold.
Our resolve should be the same as the three Hebrews, If it be that our God whom we serve can deliver
us from this persecution, tribulation, or testing of our faith, one way or
another he will provide us but if not, be it known will not deny the LORD.
In the book of Jude, the authors understand the protection
that the LORD gives to His people- "Now
to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless
before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority,
before all time and now and forever. Amen."-- Jude 1:24-25
The confirmation of Christ's ability to "keep [us] from
stumbling" is an echo of verse 1, which assures us that we are being
"kept for Jesus Christ." There is a complicated connection between
God's glory and our salvation. It is He
who keeps us from stumbling; it is He who qualifies us as blameless.
Instead of dangerously hidden reefs (Jude 12), we see the
visible rock of refuge, the rock higher than ourselves, the stone carved from
the mountain that smashes kingdoms (Daniel 2), the strong tower and safe
refuge, the rock upon which, if we are shipwrecked, it is for our good and
security. Instead of self-centered shepherds, we see the Good Shepherd who
cares for the sheep always, which feeds the sheep with his own flesh (John
10:11).
We see the glory of God not in some thin, misty fog but the
pillar of cloud leading the sons of God through the wilderness. We see the
commander of the winds, the sender and the stopper of them. Instead of
fruitless trees, we see the true vine in whom there is life abundant—the vine
who was once dead but who is now up-risen in glory and vindication (John 15:1).
Instead of being swept along by the wild waves of the sea, we see the One who
walks upon the waves and calms the storms (Mark 6:45–52). Instead of
"wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved
forever" (Jude 13), we see the bright morning star, the blazing sun of
righteousness for whom the brightness of brightest glory has been reserved
forever (Rev. 22:16).
My admonition is don't deny the protection of the LORD for
the pleasures of sin. The LORD will
bring judgment on you for your wicked ways.
No purpose defends a sinful action. The ends do not justify the means. Just as the LORD judged Belshazzar, He will
judge you. That judgment may not come as
swiftly as it did for Belshazzar, but it will happen. The message of the prophets is a message of
repentance and restoration.
If you desire the protection of the LORD in your life, then
you must remain faithful in your devotion to the LORD.
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