8 “Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 “You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; 11 “and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 “There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.” 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? 15 “Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But 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 Abed-Nego 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.”
3:8
“Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.
Some Chaldeans accused the Jews of not bowing to the image of Nebuchadnezzar. They may have been astrologers. They may have been the religious watchdogs for Nebuchadnezzar.
3:9
They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!
The accusers of the Jews sought to curry favor with the king.
3:10
“You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image;
The Chaldeans remind the king of his declared consequences of not bowing before the image.
3:11
“and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
This reminder came from the motivation of jealousy.
3:12
“There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”
The Jews “set over the affairs of the province of Babylon” were clearly those whom Nebuchadnezzar placed there. They made accusations against Daniel’s three friends but oddly not against Daniel.
3:13
Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king.
The king became enraged because of this insufferable insolence.
3:14
Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up?
The high status of the Jews in the kingdom made their refusal to bow before the image even more intolerable.
3:15
“Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But 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?
Nebuchadnezzar gave the three friends of Daniel another opportunity to bow before the image. The king warned of the consequences of not obeying his command. He figured that no one would be able to stay this execution because of his absolute power in the kingdom.
3:16
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
The king asked the three Jews (v.15), “who will deliver you from my hands?” They felt no need to answer the king because their resolve did not equivocate under duress. They counted the cost and were willing to accept the consequences.
Notice that the three do not say, “O king, live forever,” as did the Chaldeans.
3:17
“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.
The three Jews expressed confidence that God was able to deliver them from the fiery furnace. They also asserted that they served God first and foremost.
PRINCIPLE:
God expects unequivocal allegiance to Him and His plan.
APPLICATION:
God expects His children to operate with undaunted courage and constancy. We cannot parley with sin for, if we do, it will be fatal to our walk with God. The only way to truly walk with the Lord is to fully resign ourselves to do the will of God.
Job 13:15, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.”
Mt 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
God does not want us to operate in sullenness when things do not go our way. Resolve to do the will of God does not grant us the privilege of resenting that will. There is no equivocation here. We must have the idea of “Get you behind me, Satan.” There is no contrivance here. There is no wiggle room.
The statement: notice that the three do not say, “o king live forever” as did the Chaldeans. If the point being made is that it would have been wrong for them to say that to the king, what about when Daniel said these words to King Darius in Daniel 6:21? Was Daniel wrong to use that phrase?
Wanda, Darius I (1st) may have been a believer. Also, the context was entirely different from this situation where the three had a vested interest in showing who was truly King.