Not Gonna Bow!

Daniel 3:8 - 18

At this time some astrologers^[b] came forward and denounced the Jews. ⁹ They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! ¹⁰ 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, ¹¹ and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. ¹² 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.”

¹³ Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ 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? ¹⁵ 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?”

 ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ 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.”

When I was a teenager, I loved Russ Taff's music.  He is a Christian singer who first toured with Amy Grant, and later the Gaither Vocal Band.  He based a song on these verses, that I still hear in my head when I read about idols.  This song, Not Gonna Bow, even today, plays a big part of my thinking when it comes to idols.


Not Gonna Bow 
Michael Landau/James Newton Howard


Ninety feet tall and nine feet wide
Solid gold – “it must be a god”
They were told
“when you hear the music play
Fall on your knees and begin to pray”
They were told
But when the trumpet sounded
The whole world bowed
Three men stood there all alone
– they said

[Chorus]
Not gonna bow to your idols
Not gonna bow, oh no
Not gonna bow to your idols
I won’t bow down

All Bobby wanted was just to fit in
To be accepted he must act like them
He said no
“everybody does it – so what’s the fuss? 
Come on, Bobby – won’t you be like us?”
He said no
And when the pressure came
He watched them bow
Bobby stood there all alone
- he said

[Chorus]

We don’t have to give in to it
We can choose to go against the crowd






This story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego teaches me that it is okay to stand up for your beliefs, especially if it is God's way and not the world's way.  I  think these verses, and this song is one of the greatest stories for teens today.  God wants all of us to stand up for Him and for what we truly believe. It is hard with the peer pressures of the day, but it is possible, especially if we support each other and help each other as a family should.  This is one good reason to have small groups of support for us, and to have your children in Youth Group and activities of your church.  They can make lasting friendships and a firm foundation of beliefs.  Join a small group or start one.  It will be make the difference in eternity!

Idols

Daniel 3:1-7


 1King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,^[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ² 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. ³ 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.

⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: ⁵As 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. ⁶ Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

 ⁷ 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.

We don't know how much time has lapsed, but obviously it isn't too much.  Daniel had given the King the meaning to his dream and now he (the king) is having a golden image made.  And not just any golden image, a huge one.  The king decided that at the dedication, the nation should bow down to the idol.  


Growing up in a Christian home, I really don't understand statues that people make into idols.  I understand how someone can be deceived by a talking serpent, or an idealistic movie star, but an inanimate object?  If it can not talk to me and give me it's ideas and sway my opinion, then I really don't give it a thought.  I try to keep my thoughts on God and what he wants me to do.  Usually in my family if you tell us to do something, that is just an excuse for us not to do it.  But, if God is my focus, then I won't bow down to the world's idols.

Daniel's Reward

Daniel 2:44 - 49

 ⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

   “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

 ⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

 ⁴⁸ Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. ⁴⁹ Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

Daniel explained the meaning of the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar.  When all was revealed, the king payed him honor and gave him many things.  He made Daniel be over all of Babylon and put him in charge of the wise men.  Daniel did not forget his friends.  He asked if they could be overseers of Babylon.  

When you do not understand something, isn't it a relief when you do know the meaning?  It frustrates me when people think they know what it is all about, but in honesty, they are wrong.  The wrong may be something they were told and chose to believe, or it was a miscommunication, but in either case jumping to conclusions until all sides of the story are in can be frustrating.  When you hear the whole story, then the light bulb can come on and you can wade through and find the facts.  If you are lucky enough to have a mentor, then it makes it easy.  But for most of us, we chose to believe things that are not true and usually do not want all the facts because we rely on half truths.   

King Nebuchadnezzar heard what Daniel said and knew it was true, because he did not tell anyone what his dream was about.  He lavished great gifts on Daniel and trusted him.  Daniel relied on God for this and because of his faithfulness, was rewarded in kind.  

Foundation

Daniel 2:36-43

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. ³⁷ Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

 ³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. ⁴⁰ Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹ Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

I am so glad I do not have to interpret dreams.  Kingdoms represented, countries torn apart, and such bad news to give.  I would rather people come to realizations on their own.  I do not want to spell it out for them.  That's why   I am not in the psychic business.  

As Daniel described what the statue was, a lot of emphasis was on the feet and toes.  At first I thought that was strange, but then I realized that your feet are a foundation.  No matter the size, they help you stand up.  Most of you know that I have small feet.  My Dad's mom had even smaller (and wider) feet, and my Dad has little feet too.  But, we usually stay upright and they get us where we need to go.  I just started a new job a week ago and after the first half shift, my feet hurt!  I am not use to standing on them for more than a few minutes.  I did not sit down but one time during the shift and my dogs were barking!  But then next two shifts, my feet took it in stride.  I didn't even notice if they were in pain or not until I got home.  The more you stand on them, the more support.  The more I stand on God's Word, the more support I get from Him and his book.  My foundation is something that I try to keep a focus on.  For with my foundation is my faith, my joy and my hope.  The hard part is trying to help my family with their find their foundation.  I think I could have done a better job at it, but, I see some rewards already.  Next week, Allie and I are going to Cincinnati Christian University in a couple of weeks for our first college visit.  How exciting!  Her foundation is starting to grow.  It may not be her choice in college, but she is excited to consider it.  And, so am I.  

Daniel's Humble Pie

Daniel 2:28-35

²⁸ but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:

 ²⁹ “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. ³⁰ As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

 ³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

As I read this portion of Daniel, Chapter 2, what I thought was the most interesting part of it was that Daniel did not take credit for any of it.  He said that God showed him the vision so he could explain it, not to make himself greater than anyone else.  How often to we take the praise (or blame) for something that was not of our own doing?  Daniel, from the beginning of this journey, has never taken credit for anything.  In doing so, he made himself likeable to the king.  Isn't that what we all want?  To make people like us.  We usually go about it the wrong way, by taking the credit for things to make us look better.  But Daniel has the correct idea.  Give God the glory and humble himself.  That is what we all need to do.  Have a piece of humble pie.

Never Impossible

Daniel 2:24-27

²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

 ²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”

 ²⁶ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

 ²⁷ Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,..."

After Daniel was praised and thanked God, he immediately went to the commander of the guard and asked him to not kill anyone and take him to Nebuchadnezzar.  That's a lot to ask from a prisoner.  How many times does the prisoner ask for favors without giving something in return?  But Arioch was on Daniel's side.  He had already presented Daniel and his three friends to the king.  But now, Daniel took what God had revealed to him and wanted an audience with the king.  

The king accepted and wanted to know if he knew what the dream was.  Daniel started out saying that no one can explain that mystery.  How could anyone know any part of the dream when the king wouldn't reveal any of it to them?   It was more a trick.  God wouldn't have any of it and showed Daniel the vision.    When up against the wall, sometimes divine intervention is all we have.  Have you noticed that when we think it's impossible, God comes through and as you look back on the situation later you realize how simple the answer really was? God's way is not always about impossible, but about possibilities.  I am thankful for that.  

The Thankful Month

Daniel 2:17-23

¹⁷ Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ¹⁸ He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven ²⁰ and said:

   “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
   wisdom and power are his.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;
   he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
   and knowledge to the discerning.
²² He reveals deep and hidden things;
   he knows what lies in darkness,
   and light dwells with him.
²³ I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
   You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
   you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

Daniel was concerned.  He had heard that the king wanted to kill everyone because he couldn't find anyone to interpret his dream.  Daniel bought some time for himself and his friends.  He then asked the his friends to plead with God that they have revealed to them the king's dream and save them.  God gave Daniel the knowledge of the dream.  Then what did Daniel do?  He stopped and praised God.  He didn't run to the king and take the credit, he thanked God for his wisdom and his revelation.  

Sometimes we get so excited we forget to thank others, don't we?  And especially, we get an answered prayer and then forget who made it happen.  We all do it.  I try, even the little things, like paying the bills, or a good day, to thank God for them.  And, I feel guilty when days later I realized, Oh, I forgot to thank God, and then I quickly send up a prayer of thanks.  

As I just wrote that, I realized that this is the first day of November, or in my mind, the Thankful Month.  American's celebrate Thanksgiving this month and I am grateful for all we have.  Last night, Mike came home and told me that he now officially on mandatory overtime.  This means that starting Friday and through Thanksgiving, he may have to work almost everyday.  He can take a couple of days off for things already planned, but he will be working a lot.  He is not crazy about it, but he did confess that he wasn't too upset.  I see the sunny side in everything, and thought, Yay!  that will pay some bills and Christmas!  As we talked last night, I thanked God that we both have jobs.  Not everyone does.  So, this month, let's focus on being thankful and making sure everyone is aware they have something to be thankful for.  It will make you feel better.