8At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes 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. 12But 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, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”
When everybody else is bowing down and you’re the only ones standing, you’re not going to be hard to notice. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three faithful believers to whom we were introduced in chapter 1. After this third chapter, these three men are no longer mentioned. In this chapter, however, they are the central figures, because they simply refused to obey King Nebuchadnezzar’s command. They were young men; since it is safe to assume that the king erected the golden image early in his reign, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were probably about 20. Humanly speaking, they had their lives ahead of them. But although they had only a few moments to make a decision that could cost them their lives, they made their decision without hesitating.
The questions have been asked, “Where was Daniel? Why were these three the only ones who refused to obey the king’s command?” The Bible does not answer these questions. Did Daniel occupy so high a position in the government that no loyalty oath was required of him? Was he ill on the day of the dedication? Or was he perhaps out of town on the king’s business? It is enough for us to know that Daniel himself recorded this account and that he omitted mention of his absence because it had no bearing on the case.
The signal was given for all to stand once again, and immediately several men approached the king. They are described simply as “some astrologers,” royal officials. Perhaps they were former trainees of the king who during the three-year training program had observed how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had not defiled themselves with heathen customs but remained loyal to the God of their fathers. These men now approached the king, reaffirmed their loyalty (“O king, live forever!”), and proceeded to denounce the three young men for being disloyal, for not having the best interests of king and empire at heart.
It was not pure patriotism which moved these informers to approach the king. It was envy as well. Listen to their accusation: “There are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon . . .” It still rankled the accusers that the king had promoted these young foreigners, these outsiders, over the heads of some of his Babylonian advisers. The king must have been surprised, and then irritated, when he remembered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were the very men for whom Daniel had requested a special favor (2:49). On Daniel’s recommendation King Nebuchadnezzar had promoted them to positions of importance and responsibility. And now they had rewarded him by refusing to obey his decree and by refusing to acknowledge his gods! “Talk about ingratitude!” the king must have felt.
To heathens like Nebuchadnezzar, what he had asked of his citizens was not unreasonable. But in their hearts Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that what the king was asking was terribly wrong. They knew God had said, “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
It was not sinful to declare their loyalty to the established government. Today as well, Christians may in good conscience pledge allegiance to their country and its flag. But it was dishonest to give credit to the gods of Babylon for making the country great. It was an evil business, and the three young men concluded, “Our loyalty to the true God makes it impossible to give the impression of obeying the king’s command. God’s First Commandment forbids fearing, loving, or trusting anybody or anything as only God is to be feared, loved, and trusted.”
There was an evil nature inside each of these three young Hebrews, just as there is in each of us. And you can be sure that evil nature tempted them to draw a conclusion different from the one just described. How natural it would have been for them to argue, “The king is not asking us to become heathens, or even to join in worshiping at heathen temples. All he asks for is a simple act of devotion requiring a few minutes of our time. We don’t even have to be convinced of the truthfulness of what we’re doing. And if we do bow down—just to escape the furnace—God will understand. After all, our work as administrators of the province of Babylon has just begun. Won’t we be able to do more for God and his people if we’re alive than if we’re burned to a crisp? Why lose our jobs and our lives needlessly?”
They could have argued this way, but they didn’t. They realized that the goal of life is not to stay alive, but to glorify God. The three young Hebrews realized there is no way you can bow down in front of an idol to the glory of God. If they had obeyed the king’s decree, they would have disgraced God, not glorified him. You see, God asks us not only to love him and to trust him but to fear him above all things. We fear him when we give all glory to him, when we are downright afraid to do anything that would disappoint or dishonor him.
How simple that made their decision! And how much simpler our choice will be when making the day-to-day decisions life thrusts upon us if we regularly ask ourselves, “Can I do this to the glory of God? If I do this, would he look on me with loving joy, or with sorrow?”