Bowing to Idols

Last night, our family watched Dr. Paul Jehle’s message about the Babylonian Empire, one message in Vision Forum’s History of the World Mega-Conference series. We have just completed our studies of the Babylonians, and this message taught us many amazing and important things that we hadn’t learned. One point that Dr. Jehle just touched on, as in passing, particularly caught my attention. This was the example that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego set for young men and women in the church in today’s culture. You may want to read the first part of Daniel Chapter 3 to refresh your memory in order to see the details that Dr. Jehle points out.

Now, this is a very common Bible story. As far as I have seen in my few years, when a part of the Scriptures is viewed as a “Bible Story” it loses much of its significance and message, particularly those things that it teaches to Christians who no longer have Bible coloring books. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Fiery Furnace certainly fits that description, but there is so much in this account that misguided Christian young people desperately need to know.

As Dr. Jehle states, it is estimated that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in their upper teens during this time. After having been taken from Jerusalem with Daniel, they had adhered to their principles throughout their training in the court of Babylon. Then, Nebuchadnezzar demanded the three young men to do something that they could not- to fall down and worship a beautifully crafted golden idol to the sound of pagan music.

I would like to draw out two points which are applicable today. First, we cannot bow to modern art. This includes drawing and painting, photography, film, and television. Modern artistic expression, as meaningless and filthy as it is, is nothing new. In Babylon, occultism was rampant, and worshipping demons, as idols, was an integral part of Babylonian religion. Skilled craftsman turned their hands to making abominable idols, and Nebuchadnezzar’s idol was just one of these carefully sculpted demonic symbols.

There’s no doubt that film and television are idols today. Is American Idol a joke? I’ve lived in an idol contestant hometown, and bo-lieve me, it was awful. It permeated everything. Is God going to look over this idolism just because Christians say it’s all for fun? There are many worse, immoral things on the Babylon box that, you would think, would appall and repel truly Christian young people. Are they appalled at all? Then, too, there are some things on television that aren’t inherently wrong, but are they edifying? These, too, must be kept in their proper place.

The second point is another art form. This is music, which accompanied the worship of Nebuchadnezzar’s idol. Modern music has been influenced by humanism and modernism so that most of it now fits one of two descriptions. It’s either immoral or meaningless, and very often both. Modern Christian music has trailed right along behind the secular sort, so that the two can’t be distinguished. In fact, if you want Christian music that sounds like some immoral secular group’s music, there are charts telling you what would be the most similar.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced death for their firm decision to remain pure in the sight of God. What keeps the young men of today from a similar resolution? Peer pressure?

It brings me to tears to think about the direction that so many young people in the church are heading. Most will leave the church as soon as they can. We are here to serve God, to glorify him with our lives, and to advance his kingdom on earth. How can so many young men squander their youth in immorality, watching and listening to abominable things, making idols of celebrities, entertainment, or themselves? There are so many opportunities that they will miss to serve God in the culture, their neighborhoods, or their families. I pray that God will keep me on the straight path, and use me for his glory. I know that by myself I can do nothing, but chills run down my spine when I think how great is the God I serve, that strengthens me for his service. May I always serve him in joy with love, praying that the lesson of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, as well as Daniel, David, Joseph, and many other young men in the Scriptures, will be understood by the young men of today. Amen.

~Sherlock