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Winter Quarter 2023-2024: Faith That Pleases God
Unit 3: The Righteous Live by Faith
Sunday School Lesson for the week of February 11, 2024
By Jay Harris
Lesson Scripture: Daniel 3:19-28
Key Verse:
Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. (Daniel 3:28)
Lesson Aims
- To introduce the Book of Daniel and its setting
- To detail the perilous situation that emerged and the resulting clash between faith and culture
- To learn of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s faith when they refused to bow to the statue
- To ponder the way they were miraculously preserved through the fiery furnace
- To contemplate the disobedience of the three and when disobedience expresses faith
Introduction to the Book of Daniel and Its Setting
We are continuing our February Unit which focuses on the theme: “The Righteous Live by Faith.” Since this lesson and the next are taken from the Book of Daniel, it is helpful to get an overview of the book and its overall purpose.
The book of Daniel speaks to God’s people living out their faith in a foreign land in a culture that was indifferent to their faith in the best of times, and downright hostile to their faith in the worst of times. Centuries of war, famine, and exile caused many of God’s people to be dispersed into lands far from home. Those who once belonged to the former nation of Judah began to be called “Jews.” Jews formed communities in these places where they could maintain their cultural and spiritual identity. Some in these communities would remember the trauma of being forced from their homes and carried away into captivity. Others who were born into exile would have no memory of the homeland of their people.
The book of Daniel speaks to these Jews in “Diaspora” (which means “scattered people”). How do you live in the culture, but not of it? The first half of the book tells the story of God’s people by highlighting the lives of four men, and then the second half of the book spoke to God’s people through apocalyptic visions. The purpose of the visions in the second half of the book was to encourage a people who faced persecution at times. At other times, the people had to withstand the temptation go along with a culture that represented the antithesis of their faith.
This lesson and the next come from the first half of the book of Daniel. We will learn how the four men featured in this story come to prominence. This first half could be divided into two sections. Today’s lesson comes from the first section, and the next lesson comes from the second section. Between the first section and the next there is a shift in the ruling government, which makes a huge difference in the context between this lesson and the next.
The context for this lesson is the Babylonian captivity. The army of Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Judah and its capital Jerusalem, the center of their political and spiritual life. Nebuchadnezzar ruled as king of the Babylonian empire.
The Book of Daniel follows the stories of four Jews who were chosen to be a part of a special program for a select group of exiles. The goal of this program was to treat the participants well, teach them Babylonian culture, groom them to serve in administrative positions in the king’s court, and promote good relations between the Babylonians and the exiles. This placed the Four in both an enviable position and a precarious position, as we will see.
As far as the names of the Four go, even this gets complicated by the culture. They are first referred to as
“Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, from the tribe of Judah.” (Daniel 1:6) The palace master, however, gave them Babylonian names: “Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.” (Daniel 1:7) The book of Daniel is not consistent on what these men are called. Daniel is consistently called by his Jewish name throughout the book, but the other three are referred to mostly by their Babylonian names.
Although the Jews were a conquered people, Nebuchadnezzar did not fail to recognize that among them were individuals who possessed abundant talent, skill, character, wisdom, and insight. The Four rose to the top in the same way that Joseph did centuries before in the court of the Egyptian Pharaoh. As they were taught Babylonian culture, we see the Four struggle to be
in a foreign culture,
but not of it.
For instance, we’re told in the first chapter of Daniel that the sumptuous royal diet that they were supposed to eat consisted of foods that were not lawful for Jews to eat. The Babylonian practice of consuming wine in excess carried pagan overtones. In order not to defile themselves in the eyes of God, we’re told that the Four quietly refused to eat the royal rations and chose instead to limit themselves to a vegetarian diet. Their Babylonian attendant knew that taking part in such a defiant action endangered the lives of the Four and even his own life. Even if they tried to keep their nonconformity a secret, the reduced rations would result in the Four losing weight.
Daniel, however, was convinced that with God’s help their secret would be safe. Daniel told their attendant to give them ten days to prove it. When the ten days were up, the Four appeared better fed and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations. By the end of the second chapter, Daniel was promoted within the king’s court, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were also elevated as administrators in the province of Babylon.
Another important part of the context to know is Nebuchadnezzar’s personality. In the second chapter of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar reported that he had been having a recurring dream that was bothering him because he did not know what it meant. He called all his wise men together, which included the Four. He told them if they could not interpret his dream they would be put to death. When the wise men wanted to know what he had been dreaming, the king refused to tell them. The king thought that the wise men ought to be able to know what he had been dreaming without him telling them. The king flew into a violent rage when they pointed out that the king’s request was impossible and perhaps unreasonable. The Four would have met their end then, along with the rest of the wise men, if they had not prayed for God’s mercy. When they prayed, God revealed to Daniel the dream and its interpretation.
When Nebuchadnezzar enrolled the Four in his leadership training program, what do you imagine would be the advantages to them? What do you imagine the dangers would be? What line would they have to walk?
A Perilous Conflict Emerges Between Faith and Culture
In the third chapter, from which our lesson comes, Nebuchadnezzar had a huge golden statue made, and erected it with instructions that everyone one must fall down and worship the statue when the signal was sounded. The punishment for not falling down and worshiping the statue was death in a fiery furnace.
It was noticed by people that certain Jews were not falling down to worship the statue, which was a clear violation of the king’s edict. We know that according to the Ten Commandments, God’s people were to have no other gods before the Lord God, and they were prohibited from worshiping graven images. God is to be worshiped exclusively in a way that is free from the idolatry of the culture.
This is an instance where the faith of God’s people and the laws of the dominant culture came into sharp conflict. Their faith and the laws of the land in this situation were mutually incompatible. Nebuchadnezzar held Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego directly responsible for this subversive behavior among the Jews because they were their leaders. Nebuchadnezzar was angry and summoned the three to him and warned them in no uncertain terms that they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. He was giving them one last chance to fall in line.
We learn a lot from the response of the three:
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)
The three let the king know that they did not intend to obey the king’s command because it clashed with their faith. Although they held out hope that God would deliver them, they were ready to suffer the consequences of their disobedience if God did not deliver them. They prioritized their obligation to God, to remain faithful to God, even before their own safety. They were ready to lay down their lives for their faith. They loved God more than their own lives.
Their disobedience did not come out of a lawless heart. Their disobedience came about for the sake of their conscience. They were ready for Nebuchadnezzar’s response, however it turned out.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary 20 and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.
We should not be surprised that Nebuchadnezzar flew into such a violent rage. It was not only a part of his personality, it was a part of his general disposition that made him into the oppressor who subdued the Near Eastern and Mediterranean world. He was a tyrant. He believed there were no limits on his power. He believed “might makes right.” He believed he was the highest authority.
What do you think of courageous response of the three to Nebuchadnezzar? Reflect on both their words and their actions? When do you think faith and culture clash in our time?
Faith in God’s Deliverance
We know from the response of the three that they believed God
could deliver them. They believed it was within God’s power, and it was within the loving nature of God. Such faith in God is open to possibilities that are beyond normal human comprehension.
21 So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. 22 Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
Notice the emphasis on the fact that the three were still wearing their clothes which would be made of very flammable material. Notice also the how hot the fire was and how the flames raged so much that it killed the king’s handlers who ushered the three to the furnace. The three, however, still remained alive to enter into the furnace.
This gives us an early preview of the outcome that emerges when good and evil come into contact with divine justice, as illustrated by the fire of the furnace. Those on the side of the oppressor were consumed by the fire, and the ones on the side of the oppressed were in a position for their reputation to be refined.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his counselors, “Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25 He replied, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the fourth has the appearance of a god.”
As the three walked into the furnace, the king was looking into the furnace to see their fate. He saw a fourth figure. They were walking through the fire unbound and unharmed. To Nebuchadnezzar the fourth had the appearance of a god.
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not scorched, and not even the smell of fire came from them.
They were insulated from the effects of the fire to the degree that their hair and clothes were not burned, singed, smoking, or smelling of fire. Nebuchadnezzar referred to these men as “servants of the Most High God.” Nebuchadnezzar had already distinguished the God of the Jews as the “God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries” when Daniel interpreted his dream in the second chapter. Now, the preservation of the three offered further proof that the God of the Jews was indeed the Most High God.
28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
The fourth being in the fire was identified by Nebuchadnezzar as an angel sent by the Most High God to deliver his servants. Some Christian interpretation has suggested that the fourth being was Christ himself. Whether an angel or Christ, the fourth being seemed both human and divine in appearance. It is a preview of the Incarnation where the Word became flesh to dwell among us—Emanuel, “God with us.”
We should always remain in awe of this part of the Christian Story. The righteous live by faith in how God enters our situation in a way that is accessible to our experience. He comes like one of us, but we also know we are in the presence of God. God comes to us. We know that we are not alone.
We should not think that Nebuchadnezzar became a full-fledged convert, but Nebuchadnezzar was learning that he was not the highest authority. It was a check on his belief that he was above any sense of accountability. Ultimately, God was the One who had subverted the authority of Nebuchadnezzar. It was poetic justice to say the least that this lesson came to Nebuchadnezzar through one of his conquered subjects.
How have you or people you have known gone through a “fiery furnace” kind of experience? How would you say God entered their experience?
When Disobedience Becomes a Faithful Response
It was not only the presence of the fourth being that caused Nebuchadnezzar to bless the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It was the trust that the Lord’s servants had in their God. Nebuchadnezzar was convinced by their witness and by the way they lived out their faith even when it placed their life in peril. As he said, “They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.”
When does disobedience become a faithful response to God? One application is when people have opposed unjust laws for conscience sake and for the sake of people’s liberation and wellbeing. During the American Civil Rights movement, people opposed unjust laws that were based on discrimination along racial lines. They participated in non-violent, civil disobedience, and subjected themselves to physical abuse and imprisonment. Their disobedience highlighted the unjust systems that existed. The crackdown that came upon them demonstrated further the unjust situation that existed. They aroused the sympathies of a nation and, in time, the unjust laws were removed or were replaced with just laws. The nation began to address racial inequalities in a way that had not been addressed before.
It is no coincidence that the leaders of the movement were Christian leaders who felt like they were living out the scriptures and living out their faith. They trusted God to use their efforts in the quest for the liberation of oppressed people.
Another broader application of disobedience does not have to with laws as such. It is when we “disobey” popular convention when it goes against our faith. It is when we disobey the “rules” of a workplace when they tempt us to do things that are illegal or unethical. It is when we choose to disobey “the law of the jungle” that says it is okay to do whatever it takes to get ahead, even at the expense of our fellow human beings. It is when we choose not to be pressured to “go along to get along” when we are being asked to compromise the principles that are informed by our faith. It is when we defy worldly social conventions that seek to divide us into race, class, and political factions.
We could add to the list above. The point is that our faith often calls us to live counter-culturally. The Jews living in captivity were seeking to live in a way that honored their faith and expressed their faith, even though it made them stick out from the surrounding culture. We will continue to see the Jews living courageously in this way in the Book of Daniel. This is one more example of how the righteous live by their faith.
Later, this will become a prominent feature of the early Christian movement as told in the Book of Acts and the Epistles of the New Testament. The religious leaders and political leaders of the time will try to suppress all talk of Jesus. One scene in the Book of Acts that stands out in this regard is when Peter and the apostles boldly answered the religious establishment: “We must obey God rather than any human authority. (Acts 5:29)
The early Christians were often persecuted for their faith. Tertullian, in the 2
nd and 3
rd Century A.D., made this statement when the persecution of Christians by the Romans had grown: “The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow. The blood of Christians is seed.”
Can you name an instance when you or someone you have known expressed their faith through disobedience? What difference did it make? How do we stand up for our faith? When we stand up for our faith, what conditions need to be in place for it to have a positive and winsome witness in the eyes of others?
Prayer
Lord God | You taught Your people to live differently than the dominant culture of the land to remain true to You | Teach us the importance of living differently than the culture, and give us the ability to do it | That the difference in the lives we lead might be attractive to others and draw them to You and Your way | Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who calls us to be salt and light, Amen.
Dr. Jay Harris serves as the Superintendent of Clergy and District Services for the South Georgia Conference. Email him at jharris@sgaumc.com. Find his plot-driven guide to reading the Bible, the “Layered Bible Journey,” at www.layeredbiblejourney.com.
