In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how, “certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. They spoke and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. And whoso falls not down and worships, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace”, and in chapter three and verse twelve of his book Daniel shared how the accusers told King Nebuchadnezzar, “there are certain Jews” who “serve not your gods”, where we read,
There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded you: they serve not your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.
The verse reads, “There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego;” Daniel began with the words, “there are certain Jews” or “there exist particular Jehudaites or Judahites” “whom you have set over” which means “that you, King Nebuchadnezzar, put, fixed and established in an exalted position above” “the affairs of the province” or “the administration, work and service pertaining to the region and territory” “of Babylon” which means “belonging to Babylon whose name means confusion (by mixing) and was Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates”, “Shadrach” whose name means “royal or the great scribe”, “Meshach” or “guest of the king”, “and Abednego” which means “servant of Nebo”. Daniel shared how the “Chaldean accusers” reported to King Nebuchadnezzar that there existed particular Jewish men whom Nebuchadnezzar exalted to the position of overseers of the work and service within “Babylon” whose names were “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”.
The verse continues, “these men, O king, have not regarded you: they serve not your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.” Daniel added the words, “these men, O king” which means “the male human beings, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, O royal ruler and leader”, “have not regarded you” or “have in no way or manner given account to, subjected themselves or obeyed you, King Nebuchadnezzar”: “they serve not your gods” which means “they, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not in any way or manner revere, minister or pay reverence to your, King Nebuchadnezzar's, deities”, “nor worship” or “do not in any manner give homage and adoration to” “the golden image”which refers to “the idolatrous figure made of gold” “which you have set up” or “that you, King Nebuchadnezzar, erected, fixed and established”. Daniel shared how the Chaldean accusers told King Nebuchadnezzar that “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” did not subject themselves to him, and they did not pay reverence nor give homage to the golden idol that he established.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how the Chaldean accusers continued to bring their charge against the Jewish people and in particular, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego”. They reported how these men did not pay attention to him and did not revere or give homage to his golden idol. We can imagine how this charge affected Nebuchadnezzar, and we shall see how he responds in our next verse. For now let us imagine being in the place of all these characters, especially “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” who were soon to find out about this accusation. God wants us to put our trust and faith in His Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us the power and ability to stand with Him regardless of the accusations that are brought against us.
Next time Daniel shares about, “Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment