We are still in the book of Daniel. If you remember from Daniel 2, God sent a dream to Nebuchadnezzar that had a huge image in it. The interpretation of this dream was revealed to Daniel, and he told the king what the dream meant. The king was a very powerful and proud man, so what do you think he does in Daniel 3? He tries to bring glory to himself instead of to God.
He erects an image 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide on the plain of Dura. He has everyone assemble before this image and commands them to bow down and worship this image at the sound of his band. In this way they are worshipping King Nebuchadnezzar. If anyone refuses to do so, he has a fiery furnace heated up to throw them into.
Hopefully, you are familiar with this story because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down. The king gave them another chance to obey his command. This is Daniel 3:1518, “. . . . if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
I have to confess that I had preached for several years before I really noticed what they told the king. “Our God is able to save us, but even if He doesn’t, we’re not going to worship you or your image.” Folks, that’s the kind of faith we need to be living today. God bless you, and have a good week!