Now, Daniel chapter 3, I'm taking
the title for the message from verse 29. In Daniel chapter 3,
the last part of verse 29, this is a very good confession of
Debuchadnezzar. There is no other God There is
no other God that can deliver after this sword. Throughout
the book of Isaiah, God says repeatedly, I am God, beside
me there is no other. Certainly true of our God and
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Redeemer who actually
redeemed His people from their sin. He is the only Deliverer
who has actually delivered His people from their sin. He redeemed and saved His people
from all their sin by His blood sacrifice and from the wrath
of God to come. That's what it says in 1 Thessalonians. He delivered us from the wrath
to come. Oh, the wrath to come. Now, if you just read over Daniel
chapter 3, you find a most interesting and amazing story, don't you?
Just reading the story is most interesting. These three Hebrew
believers were brought through this fire by the power of God
and by the grace of God. But this story is not given just
to entertain us, not given to see how God in a certain way
is with us during trials, although that lesson is there, but rather
is given to teach us the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and
to bring great glory unto His blessed name. Remember from Romans
15, we read, Whatsoever was written aforetime was written for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope. We see in this chapter, as we
do in every chapter of God's Word, the gospel of God's grace,
and how he delivers sinners by and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, what are Daniel and his three Hebrew friends doing in
Babylon in the first place? How did they get there from Jerusalem
into Syria in the Babylon? Nebuchadnezzar had invaded Jerusalem,
killed all the priests of God, killed the king of Israel, Jehoiakim,
had taken all those precious articles of the temple, and I'm
sure even the Ark of the Covenant, and took them back to Babylon
and used them in pagan idolatry and in pagan worship. Israel
spent 70 years in Babylonian captivity because of their rebellion
against God. And when Nebuchadnezzar invaded
that country, they took all the best and the brightest students,
the best and the brightest and the strongest young men of Jerusalem
back to Babylon and enslaved them. Among those taken back
or taken to Babylon and brought from Jerusalem were Daniel and
his three friends. Now turn back to chapter 1, verse
6 and 7. Chapter 1 of Daniel, now these,
now among these were the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah. That was their Jewish Hebrew
names. And unto whom the prince of the
eunuchs gave names, for he gave unto Daniel the name of Balthasar,
and to Hananiah that of Shadrach, and to Mishael, Meshach, and
Azariah, Abednego. That's how they got those names. They were enslaved to serve the
king's purpose. But the Lord in His good providence
raised up Daniel and his friends to be rulers in Babylon, much
like the Lord raised up Joseph in his day. Now look at chapter
2, verse 47, when Daniel had revealed unto Nebuchadnezzar
the dream that he had. Nebuchadnezzar said of a truth,
that is, verse 47, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord
of kings, and a revealer of secrets, saying, Thou couldst reveal this
secret. Then the king made Daniel a great
man, gave him great gifts, made him ruler over the whole province
of Babylon, chief among the governors, over all the wise men of Babylon.
Boy, he had a high position. God gave him this position. Then Daniel requested, well how
about my three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? And they
too were given over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but
Daniel sat in the king's gate. Nebuchadnezzar, rather than worshiping
the true and living God, even though he acknowledged that Daniel's
God is God, even though at first he acknowledges that Daniel's
God is God, but rather than worshiping the true and living God, he makes
his own God and commands all in his kingdom to bow to it and
to worship it, how soon he forgot that God is God. Notice again, He says there in
verse 47 of chapter 2 that your God is a God of God, but yet
you read right down in chapter 4 and you see what happened.
He makes him a golden image, much like I'm sure was in the
image of himself, and then he commanded all people everywhere
to bow down and to worship it. You know what that reminded me
of? You remember when the children of Israel were in Egypt for 400
years in captivity, in Egyptian bondage, and God in a miraculous
way delivered them through the Red Sea and sustained them in
the wilderness all those years, and when Moses went up on the
mountain to receive the Word of God, the commandments of God,
you remember what Aaron and the children did? They made them
a golden image like a calf, and Aaron said, These be thy gods
that delivered thee out of Egyptian bondage. How frail, fickle, and
sinful is man left to himself! Nebuchadnezzar at one time acknowledged
that Daniel's God is God, but yet he reverted back to idolatry. The children of Israel did the
same thing. In Exodus chapter 15, they praised
God and thanked God, but yet, left alone, they worshipped an
image of gold. And that's us left to ourselves.
We'll always gravitate toward idolatry and that which is false. Nebuchadnezzar makes a decree
that if any do not worship the image that he set up, will be
cast into the fiery furnace. Now look at chapter 3, verse
8. Wherefore, at that time, certain
Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. No doubt there was
much jealousy going on, as these foreigners were set in a high
position, and those who were natives to that country, they
were envious and they were jealous, and they came to accuse these
three Hebrews. They spake and said unto the
king, Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever. They butter him
up. Verse 10, Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man
that should hear the sound of all the instruments and the music,
they are to fall down and worship the golden image. Whoso falleth
not down and worshipeth, he shall be cast into the midst of the
burning fiery furnace. Now, they remind Nebuchadnezzar
of his decree that he had made. And then they accused these Jewish
believers, there are certain Jews whom thou has set over the
affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
these men O king, have not regarded thee, nor served thy gods, nor
worshipped the image which thou hast set up." The enemies of
the Hebrews, they see an opportunity to have these Jews destroyed. And what these men were accused
of was true. They did refuse to worship the
idol. They were guilty of the charges. In verse 12, they have not regarded
thee, they serve not thy gods, nor did they bow down to the
image that you have set up. I trust that we are all guilty
of the same. Are you guilty of that? I am.
I'm guilty of refusing to the God of this generation. I'm guilty
of refusing to bow to a God who wants to and can't. We, as believers,
worship the true and living God, who is God. Besides thee, there
is no other God. Yes, we're guilty. Refusing to
bow to the gods of this world, refusing to bow to the man-made
religion of this world, we are only to worship the true and
living God and by His grace. We seek to do so, don't we? The
Father seeketh such to worship Him in spirit and in truth."
You see, we've been turned to God, the true and living God,
from our idols to serve Him. And by His grace, we are determined
to do so. Are you guilty of those things?
Guilty of refusing to bow to the God of this generation, to
the God of this world? Look at verse 13, 14, and 15.
These believers are arraigned before the King to answer for
the accusations against them. Verse 14, it says, Is it true
that you deliberately disobeyed my command? Look at verse 14.
Nebuchadnezzar spake unto them, Is it true? What I hear about
you true, that you do not serve my God, which I've set up, look
at verse 15. Now, if you be ready, he said,
okay, okay, let's just compromise. I'm gonna overlook it one time.
If you repent and turn and change your mind, we'll just forget
about everything. Now if you be ready, verse 15, at that time,
at what time you hear the sound, all the music, the instruments,
you fall down and worship the image which I've made well. But
if you worship not, you'll be cast the same hour into the midst
of the burning fiery furnace. Now look at verse 15, the last
part. He said, who is that God that shall deliver you out of
my hand? I'm the king. Who is that God? Can your God deliver out of my
hand? Who is that God? Nebuchadnezzar
gives them opportunity to recant and to change their mind and
become pagans with the threat of death before them if they
do not. If they do not, what will happen?
They'll be cast into the fiery furnace. Who is that God? The last part of verse 15. Who
is that God that can deliver you out of my hand? Now, you remember in Exodus chapter
5, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, said exactly the same thing when Moses
came before him and said, God said, let my people go. And Pharaoh said to Moses, who
is the Lord? that I should obey his voice
to let Israel go. I know not the Lord, neither
will I let this people go." Pharaoh found out who God really is. And he was eternally condemned. Now we may be faced with the
same questions in our day. Is it true? Is it true? Is it true we will not bow down
to the false gods or false gospels of men? Is it true? Yes it is. Yes it is. We worship one God, there's one
gospel, there's one Lord, there is one faith, there is none other. Who is that God that can deliver
us? The true and living God in whom
we trust. He's the only one that can deliver
us. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one able to deliver
us. And has already delivered us. And He will deliver us from
the wrath to come. Now look at verse 16. I love
their answer. In verse 16, 17, and 18, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar,
we are not even going to think about what we're going to say.
We are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 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 thy hand, O king, but
if not, He's still God. Be it known unto you, O king,
that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image
which thou hast set up." Notice they had a ready answer, didn't
they? They had a ready answer. We are not anxious, careful. We don't have to think about
this to answer you, O King. They had a ready answer. You
remember from 1 Peter 3, we are told to be ready to give an answer
to every man that would asketh us a reason of the hope that
is in us with meekness and fear. They were ready. May God help
us to be ready to give an answer. Remember the Apostle Paul's words
in Romans chapter 1. He says, "...For as much as in
me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, it is the power of
God unto salvation." We are ready to answer. Verse 17, "...If it
be so, Our God whom we serve, He is able to deliver us from
the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thy
hand, O King." Now, I love what they say here. Our God is able. Now, their confidence was not
in themselves, were they? I mean, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego were not plotting on thinking, how are we going to
get out of this now? How are we going to get out of
that furnace? They couldn't get out by their power. They could
not conceive a way. Nor did they try to. Rather,
they trusted in the true and living God. They had no confidence
in the flesh. Our God is able to deliver us. You remember Abraham's confidence?
Of all that God had promised, God was able to perform. You remember Paul's confidence
where he said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. You remember the writers of the Hebrews, the confidence
that he had when he said, God is able to save to the uttermost.
He's able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him,
seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us. The Apostle
Jude had that same confidence. We worship God in the Spirit,
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the
flesh. And the Apostle Jude said, He's able to keep us from falling
and to present us, fall us before the presence of God's glory with
exceeding joy. God is able to deliver us. Look at verse 18. But if not,
He's able. But if He doesn't, be it known
unto you, O king, we'll still not bow down and worship that
pagan idol, that we will not serve thy God, nor worship the
golden image which thou hast set up. Our God is able. He's able to deliver us. But
if He does not, He's still God. He's still God. We will only
worship at the throne of the sovereign, almighty God. And you know what this is? You
know what we see right here? Steadfast faith, don't we? Steadfast
faith. Unbending faith. Unyielding faith. Believing God and trusting Him
for all things at all times. This is that precious faith that
is the gift of God that never quits believing God. Even in
the face of this terrible trial, they're still trusting God. Now
look at verse 19 down through verse 22. The king in his rage,
Then was Nebuchadnezzar, he was not happy in what he heard. He was full of anger and his
form of his face changed. And he, against Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego, therefore he spake and commanded that they should
heat the furnace seven times hotter than what is normal. And
he commanded, verse 20, the most mighty men that were in his army
to bind these three, cast them into the burning furnace. Then
these men were bound with coats, in their coats, in their hats,
in their garments, their hosin, their other garments, and cast
into the midst of the burning furnace. Therefore, because the
king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot,
the flame slew, the flame of the fire slew those men that
cast in these three believers." The king in his rage, he hated
what he heard, didn't he? He hated what he heard. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. He hated what he heard because
he hated the true and living God. And he told the men to heat
the furnace up seven times hotter, ordered his best soldiers to
bind these three and to cast them into the furnace. The furnace
was overheated for one reason. Why did he overheat that furnace?
to magnify the grace of God. That's the reason why. And it
just, it wasn't five times, three times, four times, it was seven
times. Number of perfection. And it
was done so to magnify the grace of God, to magnify the mercy
of God, and to show forth the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, naturally speaking, What should have happened to these
three men? It should have been the end, the instant end of their
natural life upon this earth. But we learned that our God is
able to deliver us. Isn't He? He is able to deliver
us. Look at verse 24. The same God
that delivered these three sinners is the same God that is able
to deliver us from the fiery furnace of judgment because of
our sin. Our God is able to deliver us
from our sin. You see, it's the same God. The
same God who is yesterday, today, and forever the same. He said,
I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. The same way these men were delivered,
now listen to me carefully, the same way these men were delivered
is exactly the same way we are delivered from our sin, from
the fiery judgment of God. You see, fire in scripture is
always used as a symbol of judgment. Judgment. All early sacrifices
unto the Lord were offered upon the altar of fire. Abraham was told to go to Mount
Moriah and offer up his son Isaac for a burnt offering. Judgment was going to fall by
fire. Now what's going to happen? These
men were delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ consuming the fire
and that's a picture of Christ at Calvary consuming the wrath
of God for us. Look at verse 24. Then Nebuchadnezzar
the king stoned that were astonished, rose up in haste, spake and said
to his counselor, did not we cast in three men bound in the
midst of the furnace fire? They answered and said, true,
okay, that's right. He answered and said, verse 25,
I see four men, and they're not bound, they're loose. And they're
not burnt up, they're walking. And they have no hurt. And the
form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God, the true and
living God. Nebuchadnezzar comes to check
on the execution of these three men and finds now that they've
multiplied. He cast in three and now there's
four. You remember the Lord said, I'll
never leave you. I'll never forsake you. And he
says here, Nebuchadnezzar the pagan king said, the form of
the fourth man is like the Son of God. Now how did he know that? Some of the commentators speculated.
You remember, and you read this story and it kept going over
in my mind, where's Daniel? Where's Daniel? He's sitting
in the king's gate. Maybe Daniel told him because
he brings all of his advisors around, the counselors, and he
asked him, didn't we cast in three? And now there's four in
there. Maybe Daniel told him, well, the fourth is the Lord
Jesus Christ himself. But rather, I think, He knows
the fourth by a special revelation of God to his heart. God who commands the light to
shine out of darkness has shined in our heart to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you read over in chapter 4,
Nebuchadnezzar did have a revelation of the greatness of God, the
majesty of God. Remember? Turn over there to
chapter 4, verse 34. Later on, He does worship and
only worship the true and living God. In Daniel chapter 4 at the
end of days, verse 34, I Nebuchadnezzar leapt up my eyes unto heaven,
and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most
High, and praised and honored Him that liveth forever and ever,
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion. His kingdom is eternal.
is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his will in
the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth.
And none can stay his hand, or none say unto him, Lord God Almighty,
what doest thou? How do you know that? By revelation. Somehow, by a special revelation,
God revealed unto him that this fourth man walking in there with
the other three is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. who
consumed the fire and protected these men. You see, the Lord
Jesus Christ is the uncreated Son of God. He says in verse
28, who sent His angel. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is
the uncreated messenger of God, the Son of God. And he is a messenger
of the covenant. And he's speaking here of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who sent his angel, delivered his servants
that trusted in him, have changed the king's word and yielded their
bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god except God
who is God. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the eternal, everlasting God. He is God the Son, the true and
living God, but He is also the Son of Man, and He is the Son
of God. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. He is sent to deliver us. If the Lord is ever pleased to
show us who He is, we'll worship Him. We'll worship Him. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
is our God and Savior. He's the only one Son of God
to deliver us from our sin. Remember? Call His name Jesus. He shall save His people from
their sin. And He does so by taking our
judgment to Himself. That's what the fourth man in
the fire was doing. He consumed the fire. Christ
also once suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that
He might bring us unto God. The Lord Jesus Christ took our
sins to Himself. He bare our sin in His own body
on the tree. He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The Lord
Jesus Christ, upon Calvary's tree, received not only taking
our sin to Himself, but taking our guilt to Himself. and being
punished for our sin in His own body on the tree. God made Him
to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. The Lord Jesus Christ took the
fiery wrath of God's judgment for our sin. Therefore in Christ
there's no judgment, there's no condemnation. The Lord Jesus
Christ put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself, so much
so that He said, their sin and their iniquity will I remember
no more. Now because the Lord Jesus Christ,
now in Christ there's no fiery judgment left for us, because
He consumed the wrath of God on account of our sin. You remember
we read in 1 Kings 18, when the fire of God, the judgment of
God fell on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel that Elijah had
laid out, with all the barrels of water, the stone, and the
wood, when the fire judgment of God fell, did it consume the
sacrifice?" Remember? My friend, the Lord Jesus Christ,
when the wrath of God fell upon Him on account of our sin, it
didn't consume Him, He consumed the judgment. He consumed the
fire. Therefore in Christ right now
there is no condemnation to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died for his people, he consumed all
the judgment against our sin. That's why God said, he that
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How shall
he not with him also freely give us all things? Who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Christ has already died for my
sin. It is God that justifies. Who
is he that condemns? It is Christ who would die. You
see the picture here? The Lord Jesus Christ, in that
furnace with them, consumed the fire and saved them. And that's
the gospel. That's what happened at Calvary.
We are in union with Christ. When He died, we died. We're
crucified with Christ. That's the gospel message found
here in Daniel and all the Word of God, how Christ died for our
sins According to the scripture now, this is just more than an
amazing story about three being saved from a fiery furnace This
is the gospel how Christ died for our sins according to the
scripture now in verse 27 Many witnessed this deliverance and
it was a complete deliverance look at verse 27 the princes
the governors the captains the Kings the counselors being gathered
together and They saw these men when they came out of the furnace,
upon whose body the fire had no power, nor was the hair of
their head singed, neither were their coats changed,
nor the smell of fire had passed upon them." This was a complete
deliverance. No fire, the fire had no power,
their hair was not singed, their clothes were not burned, not
even the smell of smoke. It was like they were never in
the fiery furnace, but they were. The deliverance we have in Christ,
my friend, is a complete deliverance from all our sin. It's not a temporary deliverance,
it's an eternal deliverance. Believers in Christ, sin has
no power over us to condemn us. It already has in Christ. The
wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life
through the Lord Jesus Christ. The law of God that was against
us, that was contrary to us, the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed
us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. Righteousness
has been honored. Righteousness has been freely
imputed to His people. We have now on the garments of
His salvation, we're clothed in His righteousness. Not even
the smell of sin upon us. Think about that. You say, preacher,
are you not a sinner? No, I'm a sinner, yeah. But in
the Lord Jesus Christ, I have no sin. The blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanses us from all our sin. You see, all of our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags, but dressed in His righteousness,
I'm as holy, I say this with reverence, I'm as holy as God's
dear Son. In my substitute, Jesus Christ,
I have no smell of sin upon me. You remember that scripture over
in Isaiah 65? You see, by the one offering
we are perfected forever. That scripture over in Isaiah
65 where it says, "...stand by thyself, come not near to me,
for I am holier than thou." Speaking of the self-righteous, God said,
"...these are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all the day
long." But in the Lord Jesus Christ, listen to this scripture,
but now in Christ, Ephesians chapter 5, Be ye therefore followers
of God as dear children, and walk in love as Christ also had
loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savour. We are a savour of life unto
life in Christ. They came out of that furnace,
with not even the smell of smoke. It was complete deliverance.
Their clothes weren't burned, their hair wasn't singed. And
here's the royal decree and the conclusion, verse 28-29. Then
Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and this is speaking of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the messenger of the covenant, delivered his
servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word,
yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any
god except their own god." Verse 30, "...therefore I make a decree..." He's not angry no more. He has
a spirit of worship, doesn't he? "...therefore I make a decree
that every people, nation, and language would speak anything
amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, And Abednego shall be
cut in pieces, their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there
is no other god that can deliver after this sort than the king
promoted." You see what happened to them? Remember, all things
work together for good to them who love God, to them who are
called according to His purpose. I mean, they were cast into the
fiery furnace, but God delivered them by Christ and made what
the king did, what evil he did to them, God turned it to their
eternal good. The king promoted them. There
is no God that can deliver after this sort. Neither is there salvation
in any other but the Lord Jesus Christ. These servants of the
Most High God were promoted, promoted to all things, promoted
not demoted, they were promoted. Turn over here to Isaiah 45 in
closing. Let me read this to you. Isaiah
45. I reminded what Joseph said to
his brother, and you meant it for evil, and Nebuchadnezzar
meant it for evil, didn't he? But God meant it for good, for
their eternal good and ours. In Isaiah 43, look at verse 1.
But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, he that
formed thee, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have
called thee by thy name, thou art mine. When you pass through
the waters, I'll be with thee. Through the rivers, they shall
not overflow thee. When you walketh through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee, for I am thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee, since thou wast precious in my sight.
Thou hast been honourable, I have loved thee, therefore will I
give men for thee and people for thy life. Fear not, verse
5, I am with thee, I'll bring thy seed from the east and gather
thee from the west. I'll say to the north, give up,
and to the south, keep not back. Bring my son from far and my
daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone that is called
by my name, for I have created him for my glory. For I have created him for My
glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him." You see, in
all things God does, He gets the glory for all of salvation
in Him. That's the Gospel according to
Daniel.