Finally, we come back to the verse that prompted this closer look at Daniel 3.

We have already seen how Neb's perception of the god he worships seems less than god-like. If worship must be coerced, then something must lacking either with the god one is worshipping, or with the worshipper's perception of his or her god.

Then, Neb confronts the three Hebrew fellows about their failure to obey Neb's edict. He threatens them with the fire, "But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace." then follows with this telling question: "And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?" Daniel 3:15 (ESV).

Nebuchadnezzar seems to be making a significant assumption. The implication with his question is that there isn't a god powerful enough to overcome the forces of nature, in this case, that of fire.

He has already demonstrated that the god *he* worships lacks the value to be worshipped in its own right. Neb then makes the more general implication that there are no gods who can prevent the horrible death of these three men.

Indeed, even those servants of Neb who are sent to cast the three into the furnace themselves are burned. It would seem that, if Neb were worshipping a god with any kind of power over nature, this god could have prevented the deaths of the obedient military officers.

But Neb seems willing himself to credit nature with more power than any supernatural being possesses.

How about you? Think about why you worship. Is it because you have understood the one you are worshipping well enough to know that your god is worthy of worship?

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were clear about their God's abilities. Note their response to Neb: "Don't take our word for it. See for yourself, O king."
1) They knew their God's power: "Our God is able". (3:17) In other words, He has power over nature.
2) They knew their God's care: "Our God will" (3:17)
3) They knew their God's sovereignty: "But if not" (3:18) His purpose would prevail regardless. Even if their God chose not to deliver them from the effect of the fire, His choices are still good, and "we still worship Him instead of your gods".

Are you confident in the power, care, and sovereignty of the God you worship? The God of the Holy Bible, worshipped by Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Paul (Saul) of Tarsus, Moses, and Daniel - He is worthy to be worshipped.

Perhaps your worship is not all it ought to be...
Perhaps you realize you are worshipping because someone is somehow forcing it on you...
Perhaps you don't really know *why* you worship at all...

Perhaps you need a better understanding of who it is you are worshipping.

So we are assuming that Nebuchadnezzar (we're calling him Neb) truly believes in whatever entity he has created an idol to. Now he wants others to worship this being as well.

His words tell us something about his beliefs.

1) If the being truly deserved to be worshipped, would Neb have needed to issue a command, forcing his subjects to worship it?

By contrast, consider another biblical account that may be familiar, where worship takes place. When Moses is leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, they reach the Red Sea, and it appears that they are trapped (see Exodus chapters 14 and 15). The army of Pharaoh has been pursuing them, and the Hebrews don't have any flotation devices handy.

God miraculously delivers them, and also destroys their pursuers. He sends a strong wind that opens a pathway across the sea, giving the Hebrews safe passage across, and then just in time, the wind stops, the sea resumes flowing, and the Egyptian army is wiped out completely.

Notice at the beginning of chapter 15, Moses doesn't say "OK, children of Israel - time to worship. Do it now or I will make you wish you did". No, verse one says that Moses and the children of Israel broke out in song, worshiping God, praising Him for His protection, and acknowledging His power. Mind you, these are not terribly spiritual people. It doesn't take them long to begin whining and complaining again. But when they did see God at work, the worship came naturally and sincerely. Verse 14:31 tells us "Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses" (ESV).

Neb, on the other hand, had to coerce his subjects into worshiping. This implies that he didn't really consider his god to be too worthy of worship.

What else does it tell us about Neb's beliefs? Next time...

So Neb is the king. He already has the authority over Babylon and those he has captured -- Jews and who knows who else. (Just a reminder: we are in the third chapter of Daniel.)

Now he has a huge idol created - approximately 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, made of gold. Wow - wonder how much that would weigh?

He has the idol put out in this big open space outdoors, and has all the leaders of all his people and all the captured people congregate there where the idol is, along with a huge ensemble of musicians.

Then he has his best public speaker, I suppose, give the order that the music will start, and when the music starts, everyone out there is to hit the deck and worship this idol. Now, the fact that he wants these folks to worship something is not out of the ordinary in and of itself. What is unusual is:
1. He commands this. He doesn't suggest it, or say that it would be a good idea. He makes it a command. The command of one's king is not to be disobeyed without expecting some sort of punishment in response.
2. He doesn't give them a reason for worshiping. Whether the idol was recognizable to any of the people out there is certainly up for discussion, but it is very likely that many of them would be unfamiliar, because included in this group are those who were captured from Judah - Jews. They knew about worshiping idols, but they knew that it was a no-no.
3. He enforces his command with a death threat. And not just a death threat, but a horrible threat... getting burned alive. Immediately. "Within the hour" is the apparent meaning of the original language.

Why does he do this? Three possible reasons come to mind:
1. He really doesn't care about the idol per se... he sees the worship as worship of him.
2. If the idol represents some entity other than himself, then perhaps he feels obligated to do this, out of fear or some other motivation (regardless of the worthiness of that entity to be worshipped).
3. He sees the idol as representing something other than himself that *should* be worshipped.

Let us assume the best, and assume that the third option is true. Given that assumption, what do we learn from this passage? Next time...

Please read. 'Nuff said.

The first clue we have about the gods that Neb worships is that the worship is forced.

There are other examples of forced worship throughout history, up to current times. Countries have designated a state religion, and sometimes refuse to allow their citizens to worship whom or what they chose.

Indeed, there have been attempts to force Christianity itself upon individuals and nations. To know that this is not what the God of the Bible intended, one only needs to take some time to read what He has said.

Jesus Himself, when he is preparing to send His disciples out for the first time, instructs them to go from town to town, and from house to house, teaching and ministering. But He also says, "And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town." (Matthew 10:14, ESV)

Why does Neb force worship upon his subjects? We'll consider that next time.

There is a king in the Bible, in the book of Daniel, named Nebuchadnezzar (let's just call him Neb, for short). I think he worshipped for the same reasons, and with the same mindset, of probably 99.9% of the non-Christian world. I will say more on this later, but the clue, I think, is in chapter 3, verse 15, in a question that he posed, "And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?"

More to come...