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The King and the Fiery Furnace · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And he answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose,
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  Speaker 1: walking in the midst of the fire, and they have
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  Speaker 1: no hurt. And the form of the fourth is like
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  Speaker 1: the Son of God. Daniel 3.25 One of the greatest
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  Speaker 1: joys I have, Heavenly Father, is knowing that I don't
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  Speaker 1: have to try to defend you and your greatness when
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  Speaker 1: others are bent on trying to discredit your power and holiness.
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  Speaker 1: Because of this, when people of influence try to abuse
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  Speaker 1: their power and try to get me to bow to
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  Speaker 1: the idols of their beliefs, I will stand tall like Shadrach, Meshach,
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  Speaker 1: and Abednego. I will stand tall in the midst of
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  Speaker 1: their threats and scare tactics. Because no matter what they do,
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  Speaker 1: I will be unharmed. Because your arm of protection is
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  Speaker 1: all around me. When the heat of the situation arises
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  Speaker 1: in my life, and I feel like I'm in the
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  Speaker 1: furnace of adversity, instead of tears, I'll choose to praise you,
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  Speaker 1: because I know there's another in the fire that is
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  Speaker 1: protecting me, so that not one thread of my clothing
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  Speaker 1: will be singed by the flames. As I come out
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  Speaker 1: of the fiery trials in life, I thank you that
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  Speaker 1: I won't appear like I just came out of hardship.
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  Speaker 1: Because you elevate my life, no one will get the
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  Speaker 1: credit for what is happening except you. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for praying with me today. Continue listening for
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  Speaker 1: an incredible Bible story brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: The King and the Fiery Furnace In our last story,
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  Speaker 2: King Nebuchadnezzar was tormented by dreams. In search of an interpretation,
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  Speaker 2: the king sought out the wise men and magicians of
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  Speaker 2: the time. They had no answers for him, so the
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  Speaker 2: king went out to destroy all the wise men in
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  Speaker 2: the nation. Before he could do this, Daniel gave him
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  Speaker 2: an interpretation. The Lord was faithful to show Daniel and
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  Speaker 2: the king the what was going to take place among
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  Speaker 2: the nations. Daniel, just like Joseph before Pharaoh, was given
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  Speaker 2: governance over the kingdom as a result. Now we look
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  Speaker 2: at another interaction between Nebuchadnezzar as men of God. Shadrach, Meshach,
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  Speaker 2: and Abednego are faced with a choice between bowing to
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  Speaker 2: the king's god or facing certain death in flames. Inspired
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  Speaker 2: by the book of Daniel.
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  Speaker 3: I'm so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. But before we get to today's episode,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would absolutely love
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  Speaker 3: to send you my daily devotional that will give you
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  Speaker 3: fresh encouragement every single morning and day. From the moment
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  Speaker 3: we wake up to the moment our head finally hits
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  Speaker 3: the pillow, there are thousands of things demanding our attention.
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  Speaker 3: But it's in the midst of all this crush and
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  Speaker 3: hustle and bustle that you and I need peace and
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  Speaker 3: truth in God's Word. That's why I want to help
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  Speaker 3: you spend time each day growing in God's life-giving, life-changing
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  Speaker 3: Word by sending you my free daily email devotional, PowerPoint Today.
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  Speaker 3: So visit jackgram.org to sign up for your PowerPoint Today devotional.
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  Speaker 3: That's jackgram.org, jackgram.org. In our last time together, we saw
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  Speaker 3: how God spoke through Daniel to give Nebuchadnezzar understanding about
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  Speaker 3: his dreams. Though no person in the kingdom could tell
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  Speaker 3: the king what he saw, Daniel glorified God as he
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  Speaker 3: showed the king that God alone could read the hearts
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  Speaker 3: and minds of men. As a result of Daniel's move
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  Speaker 3: of faith, Nebuchadnezzar began to see that there is a
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  Speaker 3: God above all others. He wasn't yet fully bought in, however,
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  Speaker 3: and as we'll learn today, King Nebuchadnezzar still wanted glory
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  Speaker 3: and honor for himself. And as he builds an idol
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  Speaker 3: to himself and commands all to worship him, three young
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  Speaker 3: Jewish men are put to the test. Will they follow
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  Speaker 3: the one true God or obey the king or follow
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  Speaker 3: the crowd? And the big question is this, would God
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  Speaker 3: protect them when they face fiery consequences for their decision?
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen now to today's reading of a great story
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  Speaker 3: from God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: The statue shimmered in the summer sun. Its golden frame
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  Speaker 2: reflected the light in every direction for miles. It stood
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  Speaker 2: above every home and building in the nation, looming over
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  Speaker 2: the people like a watchman. It was King Nebuchadnezzar's greatest accomplishment.
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  Speaker 2: A 50-foot golden statue praising his god. In his dream,
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  Speaker 2: only the head was gold, and it represented his kingdom.
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  Speaker 2: Now Nebuchadnezzar erected a statue that was pure gold. a
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  Speaker 2: representation of his kingdom lasting forever. It was idolatry at
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  Speaker 2: its finest. All the governors, counselors, and officials in the
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  Speaker 2: kingdom of Babylon were invited to the palace to stand
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  Speaker 2: before the statue. Its golden rays shone down on the
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  Speaker 2: people below. The king stood below the statue, looking outward
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  Speaker 2: to all his leaders before him. Beside him was a
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  Speaker 2: band of musicians, the horn, the lyre, the pipes, harps,
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  Speaker 2: and bagpipes, were all surrounding him. My servants, Nebuchadnezzar shouted,
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  Speaker 2: by my decree, when you hear the music playing, you
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  Speaker 2: shall fall down and worship the image before you. And
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  Speaker 2: the herald proclaimed aloud, You are commanded, O peoples, nations,
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  Speaker 2: and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,
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  Speaker 2: and every kind of music, you are to fall down
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  Speaker 2: and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
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  Speaker 2: And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately
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  Speaker 2: be cast into a burning, fiery furnace. Therefore, As soon
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  Speaker 2: as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe,
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  Speaker 2: and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and
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  Speaker 2: languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that King
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  Speaker 2: Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were all
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  Speaker 2: in attendance. They looked at each other as the words
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  Speaker 2: of the king poured out to the people. They knew
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  Speaker 2: they could not bow to this idol. It was idolatry
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  Speaker 2: that got their people captive in the first place. Then
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  Speaker 2: they heard the king's voice again, saying, Whoever refuses to
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  Speaker 2: bow shall feel the intensity of my furnace. They shall burn.
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  Speaker 2: The music played, and all in attendance bowed before the statue,
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  Speaker 2: all except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They stood firm in place,
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  Speaker 2: refusing to pay homage to a false god built out
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  Speaker 2: of pride. The men were brought before the king and questioned.
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  Speaker 2: The king berated them and demanded they bow when the
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  Speaker 2: music was played. Nebuchadnezzar fumed with a jealous rage. He
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  Speaker 2: saw their lack of obedience as a personal attack against him.
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  Speaker 2: You shall bow or you shall burn, the king growled.
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  Speaker 2: No god can save you from my wrath. Shadrach, Meshach,
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  Speaker 2: and Abednego answered calmly to the king. We have no
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  Speaker 2: need to respond, they said. Our God will deliver us
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  Speaker 2: from the furnace. However, even if he does not and
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  Speaker 2: we end up burning, know that we will never serve
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  Speaker 2: your gods. The three men were beaten before the king
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  Speaker 2: and dragged into the boiling room where the furnace raged.
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  Speaker 2: Its heat was tremendous. The flames raged in the iron violently.
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  Speaker 2: The three men of God were bound by ropes and
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  Speaker 2: taken close to the furnace. Even standing next to it
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  Speaker 2: was painful. More wood was added to the furnace. making
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  Speaker 2: its grasp for any person in its reach. Shadrach, Meshach,
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  Speaker 2: and Abednego were tossed in the flames, and the guards
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  Speaker 2: who threw them in were burned and killed in the process.
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  Speaker 2: The fire engulfed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Nebuchadnezzar watched as
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  Speaker 2: the fire danced around the men. His evil smile was
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  Speaker 2: illuminated by the flames. However, something caught his attention. There
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  Speaker 2: were no screams, no cries for help. Nebuchadnezzar peered closely
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  Speaker 2: at the fire. The three men stood there. No, it
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  Speaker 2: seemed as though four men were standing there. Did we
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  Speaker 2: not throw three men into the fire? Nebuchadnezzar asked his men.
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  Speaker 2: We did, sir, the men replied. But Nebuchadnezzar clearly saw
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  Speaker 2: the shadows of four men standing in the furnace. He
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  Speaker 2: saw them walking and speaking amongst one another. His eyes
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  Speaker 2: widened as he looked at the fourth man standing among them.
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  Speaker 2: He was glorious and unhurt by the fire. He stood
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  Speaker 2: over the three men as a protector. His appearance was
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  Speaker 2: like a son of the gods. Nebuchadnezzar began to well
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  Speaker 2: up with fear. His usually confident demeanor was replaced with apprehension. Shadrach, Meshach,
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  Speaker 2: and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out
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  Speaker 2: of that furnace if you are able. The three men
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  Speaker 2: did as they were asked. Their bodies, hair, and clothes
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  Speaker 2: were completely unburned. All men in attendance shuddered in awe
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  Speaker 2: and fear. The king stood before them, ashamed and afraid.'
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  Speaker 2: Blessed be your God!
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  Speaker 3: he shouted.
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  Speaker 2: I once told you no god could save you from me.
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  Speaker 3: I was wrong.
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  Speaker 2: Your god has delivered you. The three men remained silent
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  Speaker 2: in response, allowing the king to process what he had
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  Speaker 2: just witnessed. King Nebuchadnezzar turned back to his men and said,
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  Speaker 2: Whoever speaks out against their god shall be torn limb
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  Speaker 2: from limb. There is clearly no other God more mighty
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  Speaker 2: than He.
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  Speaker 3: In God's Word today, Nebuchadnezzar seems to have forgotten his
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  Speaker 3: adoration of Daniel's God. His concern is now much more
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  Speaker 3: self-centered and self-focused, full of pride. The king had a
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  Speaker 3: 50-foot statue of gold built, an image of himself to
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  Speaker 3: represent a kingdom he believed would last forever. This was
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  Speaker 3: quite questionable, of course, given that he has heard Daniel's
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  Speaker 3: interpretation of his dream, which was a clear word from
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  Speaker 3: God that Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, though it was strong and impressive,
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  Speaker 3: would one day end. Only God's kingdom will endure forever.
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  Speaker 3: But the sinful heart is deceitful above all things, and
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  Speaker 3: the Bible says desperately wicked. And Nebuchadnezzar was certainly deceiving himself.
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  Speaker 3: He was also deceiving the people. For he issued a
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  Speaker 3: decree that when the music began to play, everyone was
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  Speaker 3: to bow down to the idol of the king. They
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  Speaker 3: were to worship Nebuchadnezzar as God. This was not uncommon
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  Speaker 3: for the times. Rulers often were considered gods by the people.
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  Speaker 3: But for the Jews, this was, of course, a clear
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  Speaker 3: violation of God's law. And there were three men in
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  Speaker 3: attendance for this ceremony of self-indulgence that were not about
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  Speaker 3: to disobey their God. Their names? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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  Speaker 3: These were Daniel's friends and assistants. They were faithful Jews who,
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  Speaker 3: along with Daniel, had refused to defile themselves with the
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  Speaker 3: king's food. But this time the story is much different.
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  Speaker 3: The king wanted all to pay homage to him, to
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  Speaker 3: worship him, and bow down before him. And anyone refusing
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  Speaker 3: would be thrown to their death in a fiery furnace. Death,
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  Speaker 3: of course, would be certain. The king's astrologers, men who
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  Speaker 3: did not fear the Lord and wanting nothing more than
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  Speaker 3: to see these foreign men wiped out, went to the
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  Speaker 3: king and informed him of their disobedience in refusing to
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  Speaker 3: bow down. They wanted judgment and punishment upon these three
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  Speaker 3: young men. Nebuchadnezzar was enraged. He would not stand for
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  Speaker 3: this disrespect and disobedience. So he brought them before him
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  Speaker 3: to give the men another chance, but they were unmoved.
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  Speaker 3: Rather than make excuses or escape They stood their ground, saying,
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  Speaker 3: we don't need to justify ourselves to you. This isn't
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  Speaker 3: what the king wanted to hear. He would have thought,
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  Speaker 3: of course you need to justify yourself. I'm a God king.
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  Speaker 3: So he made it clear to them that if they
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  Speaker 3: didn't obey, it would be the furnace for them, and
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  Speaker 3: no God could save them. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego stood their ground.
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  Speaker 3: God had rescued his people from much worse, and he
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  Speaker 3: could rescue them. I love what the Bible says in
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  Speaker 3: Daniel 3.18. When the men said that our God is
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  Speaker 3: able to deliver us, they then went on to say,
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  Speaker 3: but even if he does not, we want you to know,
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  Speaker 3: your majesty, that we will not serve your gods or
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  Speaker 3: worship the image of gold you have set up. Our
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  Speaker 3: God is a God of deliverance. He saves us and
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  Speaker 3: rescues us. But sometimes God does not intervene. And we
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  Speaker 3: need to say what these young men said that day
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  Speaker 3: when they were threatened. But if not, those are the
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  Speaker 3: words which describe our faith in the face of unthinkable circumstances.
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  Speaker 3: God will deliver us. We believe that. But if not,
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  Speaker 3: even if we die, we still will not disobey God.
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  Speaker 3: We will still follow him. Our calling is to trust
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  Speaker 3: God and to serve no other God and to bow
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  Speaker 3: to nothing but God himself. The king can't believe his ears,
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  Speaker 3: so he literally turns up the heat to the point
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  Speaker 3: that it killed the guards who threw the three bound
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  Speaker 3: men inside. But as the king and his men waited
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  Speaker 3: to hear the tortured yells of dying men, they instead
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  Speaker 3: saw four men rather than three standing and talking just
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  Speaker 3: like there were no flames to be felt. The fourth
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  Speaker 3: person in the fire had the appearance of the Son
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  Speaker 3: of God. This is the pre-incarnate Christ. There is no
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  Speaker 3: doubt God sent himself as the protector and rescuer into
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  Speaker 3: the fire to save his loyal servants. Nebuchadnezzar was left
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  Speaker 3: with no choice but to let the men out, and
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  Speaker 3: not a hair on their heads or bodies were singed.
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  Speaker 3: The God of the Hebrews had once more shown his awesome,
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  Speaker 3: mighty power, and the king confessed again that there was
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  Speaker 3: no God above the Lord. When God's people stand firm
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  Speaker 3: for him and faithful to him, the world has no
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  Speaker 3: choice but to take notice. Dear God, thank you for
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  Speaker 3: the faith and the faithfulness of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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  Speaker 3: May we be like these young men, that we will
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  Speaker 3: not bend, we will not bow, and we trust you
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  Speaker 3: that we will not burn. We know that our faith
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  Speaker 3: and our trust rescues us from every danger, but if not,
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  Speaker 3: we will be in your presence forever. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. And before we go,
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  Speaker 3: I want you to know that I would love to
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  Speaker 3: send you my daily devotional to give you fresh encouragement
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: every single day. So visit jackgraham.org to sign up for
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: your PowerPoint Today devotional. That's jackgraham.org.