Nebuchadnezzar The King of Kings, Part 2

In the secluded dictatorship of North Korea, everyone—residents and tourists alike, no matter their age, religion, or nationality—is ordered to bow before the statues of past rulers Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il or else pay the consequences.

During the regime of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, something very similar occurred. After Daniel interpreted the dream to Nebuchadnezzar, the king defiantly flouted the future that God had foretold to him. In the king’s dream, there was a statue made of different types of materials, and the different materials represented the different nations that would rule the world after the Babylonian Empire passed into oblivion. At the end of the dream, a stone smashed the statue to pieces and became a huge mountain, symbolizing God’s heavenly kingdom, which would overrule the other nations and reign for all eternity.

In opposition to this prophecy, King Nebuchadnezzar had built a statue of pure gold, the material that, in his dream, represented his own kingdom of Babylon. Then he commanded that his subjects, regardless of nationality or faith, bow to this magnificent statue. Failure to comply would result in immediate death. “[W]ho is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15) he asked insolently.

While Daniel was not present at this event, his friends were. When all the other people bowed to the king’s statue, these three young men stood firm, making known that they worshipped the true God of heaven alone (vv. 17, 18). Upon discovering the offense, Nebuchadnezzar had the three Hebrews thrown into a “burning fiery furnace” (v. 21).

But to his shock, in the midst of the flames, he saw a fourth Figure among the three. He saw God protecting His faithful servants from the fire. He called the three men—completely unharmed—to him and not only praised God as being more powerful than the Babylonian gods once again but also admitted that God had proved him, the king, wrong (vv. 26–29).

That day, the Lord demonstrated to Nebuchadnezzar another piece of His character, that He was a God who saved life, not One who exterminated it. Though Nebuchadnezzar had a lot more to learn about our Deliverer, that day the proud king’s heart was turned even further towards Him.

Reflect: Have you ever found yourself in direct opposition to God and His will? What did you do when you realized this?

Key Bible Texts

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. (Daniel 3:25 KJV)