Sermon Tone Analysis

Jerusalem Day

Swept up in the crowd on Jerusalem Day in 2012.

Celebratory, a little out of control at times, but exciting and new.

Jerusalem Day parade called the “Dance of Flags.”

Celebrates the “six-day war” in 1967 when Israel essentially conquered East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, as well as large swaths of land to the North and the South.

Coming in to talk with the owners of our hotel “Hotel Jerusalem”.

This was a day when many in their family had died.

This is a day when “their people” lost homes.

I was just swept up in the moment with no real idea of what it meant.

No one filled me in on the deeper meaning… or gave me time to consider the stances, the pros and cons.

We were in the moment, and all the people everywhere we could see were all in on it.

It was… honestly pretty awesome!

But there’s a reason the Bible calls people “sheep” so often.

In 2005 In Turkey, A Suicide Sheep Jumped Off A Cliff And 1500 Sheep Followed The First One.

The first 450 died, the rest (no joke) lived because of the soft cushion of falling on the previous hundreds.

Let’s go… let’s do it!

Who are you following?

Where are they leading you?

Daniel 3:1–18 (ESV)

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits.

He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Cubit is 18 inches.

So we are talking 90 feet tall!!!

That is our church stacked on top of itself a few times (with steeple).

Absolutely towering over everything else.

Gold.

At least gold plated… blazing bright.

It sounds insane… but this is the guy who built the Hanging Gardens, one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World.

Building incredible things is what this guy does!

And here is the part the Veggie Tales giant bunny version of the story misses.

Nebuchadnezzar has a CRAZY dream about a fork… wait, a statue.

Remember the dream with the statue?

Nebuchadnezzar took the WRONG message away from that dream.

Oh, the other colors are other kingdoms… and I’m gold?

Let’s make the whole THING gold, then!

Then I am the kingdom and I last forever… and maybe if we all worship that we can magically force it to be true!

This is a response to, a rejection of, an attempt to rewrite prophecy by force of will and by force of worship.

2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

So who’s there?

Everybody’s there!

All of the leaders.

all the wise men.

All the smart men.

All the dudes who get stuff done.

All the coolest and most powerful and influential people you know, all gathered together.

Looking at this incredible statue.

4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,

5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.”

7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Talk about an incredible multimedia presentation!

You have the scene, you have the incredible and majestic work of art, unveiled for the first time.

You have all the people and power gathered....

And now you have the rising symphonic soundtrack.

The moment of the movie where the music swells super huge and super loud… it isn’t a movie this is REAL life.

And I bet the music was AWESOME!

How incredible?

Did you catch this… bagpipes???

“a wind instrument composed of a goatskin bag with two reed pipes, one for filling the bag with wind from the mouth, the other pierced with holes for the fingers to provide various notes.”

Stephen R. Miller, Daniel, vol.

18, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 114.

I… had no idea.

Incredible music.

The guy who can build a 90 foot gold-plated statue can afford the BEST musicians.

Just imagine the emotion of the moment, and then everybody bows down.

And to add to the drama, to make it absolutely clear… it isn’t just the manipulation of visual and audible and social pressure… if you don’t do it we will kill you.

Threat and carrot.

So it is ABSOLUTELY no surprise that everyone bows.

Except three young men.

They don’t seem to have been giving advance warning.

They didn’t have a lot of time to think and consider.

I’m sure they were tempted to be caught up in the moment.

I’m sure they noticed the bagpiper and were suitably impressed.

But they.

Didn’t.

Bow.

And people noticed.

8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews.

9 They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!

10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image.

11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought.

So they brought these men before the king.

Get them!

14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?

15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.

But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

He is ready to queue it all up again.

Play the soundtrack again, take it from the top!

Maybe the missed the cue, maybe they didn’t catch it… there is no win and they are going to die if they don’t!

They speak up “don’t bother with the music.

We won’t bow.”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”