Remembering Time

Daniel 3:1-11

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Notice this statue set up on the plain of Dura. The Babylonian meaning of the word Dura is that of a time, endurance, generation, dwelling, or a habitation. Is it not interesting that for the Hebrews, such a word meant only circle. Remember before, we discussed that Daniel and his friends had to learn to speak Chaldean. Is it not interesting to note that the language thereof is not in existence today. Therefore, it is termed a dead language. How many of you know that God is not dead nor is he done with you yet. God had just given King Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a certain mixed media bronze statue man in the passage before. Then what did King Nebuchadnezzar do but set up the exact opposite of what God had shown him: a golden statue of a man. Let us discuss something here for a minute because I feel like this discussion needs to be had. The Israelites tended to do whatever they wanted, much as we do today. This usually was the exact opposite of what God had commanded or shown them. In Genesis 32:1-24, Moses is seen coming down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments written on the stone tables. At camp he found the Israelites had built a golden calf and a scandalous dance party with pumping music. How many of you remember the time Michael Jackson danced in Egypt running away from everybody with the king's guard chasing him thousands of years later. Tell me here, that God does not remember his people.

I would imagine had I been a person that feared God, I would have been pale and shaken too much as the Hebrew children were. For those however who were unrepentant of those sins which led to captivity, there would have been no such feelings. Nor do the rest of the Babylonian people have apparent issues with King Nebuchadnezzar's request either. Not that anyone would have known or understood his dreams, given that the revelation thereof was private. How many of you are feeling the phrase 'throwback Tuesday' and it is not even Tuesday yet. Notice the king invited all his top officials and all the people to come to this image's dedication. How many of you see this set-up party coming from a mile away. Nowhere is the Lord invited. You cannot have a party, a dedication, or a launch of something without him. No brand, business, or nation will ever be made to prosper without the Lord's help. Man can plan the house but without the Lord, they labor in vain which build it as in Psalm 127:1. How many can say you went to the founding party for this nation, but the Lord was not invited. Every official which had some duty was present but not the Lord. How many of us go about our daily affairs and forget to include him. See, at the start of anything is a dedication unto God. If you have the wrong person to whom all this is for, then you everything else that follows will be wrong.

Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,

There is obedience to the earthly king shown here. If only they obeyed their Heavenly king half as well. God would have these men so set up for success that no one would be able to stand against them. See, when God builds the house, not only will it stand but it also will not be destroyed. These people were willing to come for the earthly king. They were willing to show up for themselves. These same which were ok with what was happening would gladly have erected an image unto themselves, any one of them. There is a standing before seen here which signifies that they themselves practice such. Micah 6:8 says that to do justice and love mercy requires walking humbly before God. You might be a ruler somewhere over much or over little. However much God that has given you, be faithful as unto him. I can hear God saying, 'you will stand before great men and before an image as somebody, but you won't stand before me the Rock of Ages.' When my church family gets together, it is all about the Lord. No one cares about our political status, celebrity status, racial status, or even sexual status. When we stand before the Lord, as a family, we come as we are. We come to seek him. We leave everything else at home. Then we go home and do for our families and our communities as unto the Lord.

This is what ruling righteously is all about. This is why some countries' militaries are all messed up; some police forces are jacked up. Some financial officials are crooked, and other city governments are corrupt in high places. Without a focus on the Lord, there is rottenness in the land. You can put 'in God we Trust' on all the money you please. You can talk about the nation of Psalm 33:12 whose God is the Lord. Until you are willing to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before your God, your officials are still walking before the idols of themselves that have been set up. They are walking before the idols of others. They are partying like there is no tomorrow. They do not see or recognize God in the places they ought. You might be saying to yourself that is some harsh teaching. Is it not though what will be done to them in the end. God will feed them back to themselves and will give them somebody who will treat them as was their want. The Antichrist will do this and more to the political and religious leaders of his time for their dishonor of the Lord. I am not saying there is a problem with recognizing people and having a party. That is not what this is about here. It is about the national lack of care and concern for those under one's care. There is a spiritual principle here of to whom has been entrusted much there will be required much as in Luke 12:48.

That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

Every praise was made but to our God. How is it everything is done so right yet seems so wrong. This is what our worship music sounds like today as it did in that day. I am not saying that playing all sorts of instruments is sinful. But so many of us go to hear the Rolling Stones; then, when we see them, we are in a swoon. Some of us seem to have forgotten all about the Chief Cornerstone. Somebody shout, 'it's a process,' and we are trying to do something over here. It is not about the worship music, even though that is what the devil would like. It is about what has been done in the house of God and to his people. This is why King Nebuchadnezzar commands every nation, language, and tongue at this time to be subjected to what their leaders have gone along with. It is not just the king, the president, or the political party. It is every official and person great and small which has been affected by such a misplaced invitation. Here is the perfect time for all the leaders to turn and protest such a decision. However, they do not. The set-up is such here that the people will face very real consequences, pain, and suffering if they do not worship the graven image installed.

As it is here, we see the set up will also be for the end times. In Revelation 19:20, God makes it clear the final penalties will be imposed for the worship of the beast and his image. It is not just about a mark or a chip or an image. Such is done for the worship of the devil and his messengers; these are persons other than God himself even though they claim his identity. Yes, there is identity theft going on in the highest places these days. The penalties of man are great, but they can only kill the body according to Matthew 10:28. God's affect man in eternity also. How many of you know that he is worth all the suffering we may go through in this life. He alone is worthy as Revelation 4:10-11 points out. This temporary suffering of Romans 8:18 was but a doorway to greater deliverance. There is a story which may help to illustrate this. It is often told of the Titanic. The builders bragged only God could sink it. After it hit the iceberg that fateful morning, it began to fill with water. As the ship began sinking lower, the musicians gathered on board to calm the screaming people. There were not enough lifeboats for everyone and surely few would survive.

During the early dawn hours, they began to play Nearer My God to Thee, which can be heard to this day in various forms on YouTube. The most haunting of these invokes the words of the hymn sung in numerous tongues as the men form an a-cappella group. Such is the case for the captives of this time. They should have been gathered, as in Psalm 34:19, waiting for the Lord to deliver them speedily from all their troubles. The rest of those who believed their testimony among the captor lands should also have stood with them. Together they could have waited for the hour of their release. However, such is the language of faith. It is seeing what cannot be visible yet with human eyes. As the captives did, 'even if God does not deliver us, the situation will still work out in our favor.' In Revelation 13:10, the situation will be so that those destined to go into captivity will do so or will die by the sword. But rest assured, the resurrection day for even these are coming too as told in Revelation 20:4. If God will deliver his own Son per Romans 8:32, how much more will he not with him freely give us all things.

Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.

Notice here how almost everyone did as commanded in fear of their lives. Does this not make clear that the person worshipped more than any among all of them was themselves. Thus, making the image of man as unto themselves was the ultimate test that most of them had failed. Hence, God sent the captivity and hence God had given over the foreign nation of Assyria to the breaker of nations as told in Ezekiel 31:11. At this time, a group of Chaldeans came to the king to complain. Is this not just how the devil does. More specifically the devil's intent is to persecute, to harass, and to harm. The devil seems to come before the Lord a lot about other believers and never about himself if Job 1:6 is anything to go by. These men know they are in the wrong, so what do they do but go and find some others to join them. "At that time" certain ones "came near" to ask the king a question. Notice these of the Chaldeans have not bowed themselves down either; they would really like to know what would become of their Jewish counterparts. See these men provoking a problem when they themselves do not believe they should participate in what is going on. I cannot figure out if they suffer from insanity, crazy faith, or plain meanness. Let us see what the Lord will do here. I have to say it seems to me that the little faith virus is spreading, and it is highly contagious.

They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

How is it that people who disagree with something always end up asking 'did you not say?' Genesis 3:1-4 records the first account of such a speech in the Scripture from the serpent. This is the same line fed to Eve in the Garden of Eden. I imagine these men were wondering whether the serpent had indeed entered somewhere. Here these Chaldeans appeal to the king's sensibilities of what he said. They have little else to go on for they are not aware of what has been happening in King Nebuchadnezzar's house or upon his bed where he has been taught by the Lord. Has not the king said. I imagine these men were also thinking about what the Lord has said and hoping that they would not be next to die themselves. This is a very tricky situation. Here you have the Lord on one side and the king on the other. There is a between two situations. Genesis 15:10 speaks of the covenant made with Abraham between two altars. On the cross at the atonement, recorded in Luke 23:33, Jesus was crucified between two thieves. Surely, he will not share his glory with any, much less with a human nation having a party or the king having a dedication. How many of you know that when it is between the Lord and man, he is your place of refuge. There is a house in this situation under which these people would be very safe. However, they do not choose this house. They go to attack the enemy house. This enemy house is not the Jewish people or even what the king said. They are wondering if the devil has not snuck into this garden of the Lord situation after all. Here, the king responds in kind. How many of you know that your perception can determine the outcome. These are as those torn between two camps.

Look at the audacity of these Chaldeans. They knew the language of faith and of service. There were a few people who did not bow down to this image and it is important to see who these are. They include certain Chaldeans, the king, and a few Hebrews children. I know, whenever tribulation and bodily injuries are discussed, things like logic tend to go out the window. This is sheer audacity and raw faith on their part. Pipe down, now. We are doing something, and the dedication service is about to begin. There are two things here that need to be addressed. First, is the pagan practice of sacrificing the children to idols and the second is the people's worship of other gods from themselves to anything in between. This is the trap even the children of Israel fell into along with their pagan neighbors. We are trying to have a dedication service here; should we not find something to sacrifice. What better than the sacred children of service, right? Wrong. We have this culture today as well where we sacrifice our own children for our ease and entertainment. In reality, the children are there to serve others and the Lord. Imagine what the world would be like without the book of Daniel, no one to interpret the king's dreams, none to say thus says the Lord, or to watch and pray all night in the absence of anything else. I think it would feel very empty indeed. Now let us see how God, who was not invited, would like this dedication party to go down.