The Fiery Furnace, Lion’s Den, and Walls of Babylon

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The Fiery Furnace, Lion’s Den, and Walls of Babylon

Daniel 3:6

May 29, 2024

“And whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

— Daniel 3:6

When skeptics read about three certain Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, being cast into a fiery furnace, they scoffed. Same thing when they read about Daniel being thrown into a den of lions.

But archaeologists working in the ruins of Babylon discovered an ancient library on clay tablets. Included on these tablets were the punishments for violations of various regulations.

For the offense of impiety to any god, one was to be cast alive into a fiery furnace, and huge furnaces have also been discovered. For an untoward act relative to a king, like failure to worship his image, one was to be cast alive into the den of lions. Cages with iron bars have also been found in the ruins and the diggings of Babylon.

Furthermore, when Babylon was at the height of its glory, Ezekiel prophesied that the great walls of Babylon would be utterly destroyed. These walls were 60 miles long and as thick as 150 feet and 300 feet high, where a number of chariots could race on the top of those walls.

Archaeologists were digging down in the ground and they ran into the base, the foundation of the walls because they were utterly destroyed, just as God said they would be. If you ever see a picture of Babylon, it looks like it has been cut off by a scythe. Once again, the critics are wrong; the Bible is right.

Almighty God, as we consider what happened to Your people in ancient Babylon, we can’t help but think of Your people today in various parts of the world facing persecution for the name of Jesus. Grant them strength, grace, and perseverance until the end…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN FACE DEATH.

Philosophy vs. Wisdom

May 31, 2024

“Beware lest anyone captivate you through philosophy and vain deceit, in the tradition of men and the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ.” — Colossians 2:8 The word philosophy comes from the Greek and literally means “the love of wisdom.” The Hebrews received God’s revelation, which was greater than human philosophy. The ancient Greeks had no such advantage, and though wise in their way, they were like blind men searching for light in a darkened room, whereas the Hebrews were in a room which was brilliantly illuminated. For them all that was possible was to approach unto the light and try to penetrate into it more deeply and understand it more thoroughly. This was called by the Hebrews not philosophy, but wisdom, and there is a great difference between that “vain philosophy” as it is called in the New Testament and the wisdom of God. When the Bible speaks about wisdom, it is talking about an understanding of the revelation of God. It is talking about a heart that seeks to know and to understand, and that seeking to know and understand is aimed particularly at an understanding and knowledge of God. Over and against this are set all of those who have no desire to learn. The person who does not desire to learn is repeatedly set forth in the Scriptures as a fool—as a man or woman of folly whose end is destruction. It is tragic that many people today reject God’s wisdom because they falsely assume it has somehow been discredited by philosophy. Such “philosophers” are described by Paul: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). God of wisdom and might, thank You for revealing Yourself to us mortal beings. Help us to become wise by studying Your Word and knowing You. Thank You that with You, there is wisdom and understanding… BY GOD’S STRENGTH AND KNOWLEDGE, WE CAN BECOME WISE.

A Time to Remember

May 30, 2024

“These stones will be a memorial for the children of Israel continually.” — Joshua 4:7 Memorial Day: It is a good thing to remember. There are more than a dozen different words in the Bible that are translated “remember.” When Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land, he had them build a memorial of stones to remember what God had done for them. We must remember what God has done for us as a nation. Did you know that America is unique because this is the first nation in the history of this planet to have freedom of religion? Religious tyranny prevailed all over the globe. Gradually some nations rose to religious tolerance, like England, but only in America was full religious freedom granted for the very first time. This continent, hidden between two great oceans, was reserved by God for that religious freedom, for that expression of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ—where His Word would be read, where He would be worshiped, where He would be trusted, and His Gospel would be proclaimed both here and throughout the whole world. Today I would like for us to remember not only those men and women who laid down their lives in the wars, but that One who fought the longest to give us what we enjoy most and who often is the most forgotten. In fact, there is a strange lament we find in Scripture that says, “My people have forgotten Me for days without number” (Jeremiah 2:32). Ultimately, God is the source of our freedom, and we should remember that. Thank You, God, that we still have freedom. Help us to remember that it was given us at great price, first by the blood of Jesus, then by men and women who laid down their lives for our country. Please turn our country around before it’s too late, lest their sacrifice be in vain… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE RECOGNIZE THE HIGH COST OF FREEDOM.

The Spade of the Archaeologist

May 28, 2024

“For we have not followed cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” — 2 Peter 1:16 The school of higher criticism began in the late eighteenth century. It seemed the higher critics considered themselves called to demolish all traditional views concerning the Bible. For example, they said that it was quite obvious that Moses could not possibly have written the Pentateuch because writing had not even been invented in his day. It is interesting that not long after the time that higher criticism began, the science of archaeology began as well. But the spade of the archaeologist has been the utter frustration of the higher critic for it was discovered not long after, that writing certainly existed in the time of Moses—actually long before Moses. Isn’t it astonishing to see how many times God’s Word, though doubted by skeptics, is confirmed by the spade of the archaeologist? I have preached whole messages, providing example after example in which the critics assumed the Bible was wrong, but the Scriptures were proved right after all. The Bible is not some kind of fable. The Bible is not some kind of fairy tale. It is not something that happened up on a cloud in never, never land somewhere, but as people have dug into the sand and into the rock and unearthed thousands, tens of thousands of inscriptions and tablets and symbols of every kind, they have discovered over and over again that what the Bible has been saying all along is indeed the actual facts of history and of God. We can believe it, rest our souls upon it, and share it with a lost and needy world. God of truth, Your Word is truth. Thank You for the dependability of the Scriptures, not just as historical facts, but as the means we learn of the bedrock of our salvation and eternal destiny… BY GOD’S STRENGTH AND POWER, HIS WORD STANDS FOREVER.