GOSPEL LIBERTY IS TAUGHT IN BABYLON.
By W. W. P.
Nebuchadnezzar was king over all the earth, and it was a new thing for any one to dispute his absolute authority. It was to him a case of unbearable insolence when the three Jewish captives from conquered Jerusalem presumed to withstand him to his face. “Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.” The question to be decided in this experience was, Who is God? Is there any king greater than the king of Babylon? The God of heaven placed his case in the hands of these three men, saying unto them, “Ye are my witnesses, . . . that I am God.” Nebuchadnezzar was therefore on trial, and he appeared as his own witness, but his own testimony was against his claim to be king. When he was “full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed,” he was testifying that he lacked the power of the true king, the power to control himself. A greater power was being revealed in the men who refused, in the face of death, to betray the sacred trust committed to them, and that without bringing “a railing accusation” against the unrighteous decree of the king, than in Nebuchadnezzar, who became so angry at their refusal; and the course which he pursued to vent his rage only served to make more decisive the testimony which was borne in behalf of the God of heaven. “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee.” The king of Babylon did his utmost. The furnace was “exceeding hot,” and from its fiery mouth it breathed forth death to “the most mighty men” that were in the army of the king of Babylon. They were literally slain by the breath of its mouth. Not one of that assembled multitude could say that the flame and the heat were not real, for it was demonstrated that men selected for their power of resistance could not endure to approach near it. To them it was “a consuming fire.” And there was no possibility left to the three captives for escaping from the furnace, for they “were bound,” and they “fell down bound,” into the very center of the flames. Thus did the king of Babylon purpose to inflict summary punishment upon those who presumed to question his right to dictate what and how they should worship; and by making a public example of these few he would effectually check any such tendency to these “treasonable” sentiments on the part of his other subjects. But he did not know with whom he was dealing; for he had not yet become acquainted with the God whose dwelling is with flesh, and there was no Gamaliel to say to him, “Refrain from these men, and let them alone: . . . lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” That God who had brought these men to Babylon to reveal his power to save, and whose presence was known to them, would through them make his presence known to all the people. “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 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. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” This was the second time that Nebuchadnezzar was shown in a manner to impress his mind most forcibly, that there is a God in heaven whose ways are not his ways. It was the second time that the truth was presented to him that there is a King, a kingdom, and a dominion greater than the king, the kingdom, and the dominion of Babylon. It was the second time that it was made clear to him that the whole current of his life needed to be changed. It was the second time that the gospel of the kingdom was publicly proclaimed in Babylon. In the dream and its interpretation Nebuchadnezzar was taught concerning the failure of all earthly kingdoms, and the outward setting up of the kingdom of God “in the latter days.” In the lapse of years this lesson had faded from his mind. In this second experience he was taught that this same kingdom of God, which would be set up outwardly “in the latter days,” a kingdom of greater power than any earthly kingdom, was set up as a present experience in the hearts of men who through faith in that power “quenched the violence of fire.” The effect of the fire upon the men who were cast into it was very different from what was expected. Instead of consuming them, it consumed the bonds with which they were bound by the king of Babylon; and so the men who were cast in “bound” were seen to be “loose, walking in the midst of the fire.” These men were not proclaiming a theory, but they were revealing a fact. They were not merely talking about a power that could save, but they were taking hold of that power, and being saved by it. And “the form of the fourth” who was with them in the furnace was the visible evidence to Nebuchadnezzar that “there is a God in heaven” who is also “God with us,” in the person of his Son. W. W. P. (This study to be concluded next week.)