MISDIRECTED WORSHIP

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Daniel 3:1-7

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, revealing all that God had imparted upon him about it. In return, Babylon’s king bowed down and professed Daniel’s God as the God of all gods and Lord of all lords. He acknowledged as the true King of the world and you would think he would have went forward from that point giving the Lord God Almighty all of his worship, respect, and admiration.

You might think that but as we find out in the opening verses of Chapter 3, you would be wrong. For we see that Nebuchadnezzar’s display of devotion to God was nothing more than a mere ruse, an insincere gesture with no lasting intent. Look at these words again here:

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  Daniel 3:1-7

The very God that Nebuchadnezzar had hailed at the end of chapter 2 was the God that Babylon’s king now violated and dishonored at the start of chapter 3. That God, the one and only true God, was the God who had commanded many times over to not worship false gods and idols often represented by images. And yet, what do we see Nebuchadnezzar doing?

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

The king had the image of gold made for the express purpose of worshiping the idol and as if that wasn’t bad enough, we read where he commanded his people to do the same:

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.   

Essentially, Babylon’s king was giving his people two choices:

Either worship the golden image or be burned alive in the blazing furnace.

And so the people of “all the nations” and “every language” opted for self preservation and did as the king commanded, falling down before the idol at the sound of a variety of instruments to worship the gold image. They really had little choice given the threat that was propagated by the king.

This account from the scriptures underscores two huge mistakes by Nebuchadnezzar, mistakes that were soon going to come back and bite him.

First, he had the image made in the first place and completely disrespected the God he had made such an effort to bow down to in Chapter 2.

Secondly, Nebuchadnezzar commanded his people to join him in worshiping the image and promised the death penalty by fire if they refused to comply.

In the end translation, we find that although Babylon’s king had acknowledged God as the God of all gods, he wasn’t ready to give God his worship. Not even close. For if Nebuchadnezzar had truly admired God as he proclaimed then he wouldn’t have even considered directing his worship elsewhere and would have expected his people to follow his lead and worship God alone.

All this caused me to wonder about how many Nebuchadnezzar-like believers are in the world today, believers who on one hand profess God as the God of gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords while on the other hand choosing to worship the things of the world in lieu of God. These believers will be in church on Sunday giving God all the praise and then not commune with him again until the next Sunday. In between, they give their devotion to any number of worldly trappings, misdirecting their affection from the One who deserves all of it, the God who fully devotes Himself to His people.

Friends, worship isn’t hard. It’s something we’re expected to do every day but it’s only real worship if it is directed toward the Lord God Almighty, the Maker and Master of all things. For as long as we give Him our direct worship and undivided attention and adulation, we will be always worshiping the right way.  

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com