Falleth Not Down

On a Sunday morning not so long ago, I sat in the morning service of St. Andrews Free Church of Scotland in St. Andrews. The message on this particular morning was from Daniel Chapter 3.

• “Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”   Daniel 3.1-6

(I just love that King James Version)

As I heard these words from the pulpit, I could not help but compare them to our current political climate at home in the United States.

We have an administration, a cabinet, and countless non-elected public servants who think of themselves as the image of gold. Everyone in the administration, “the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces,” and all the media, the Hollywood elite, gather round and pay homage to the created image- that is our government.  It’s just like in Daniel! They worship the Liberal, Democratic, Globalist, Socialist image that has been created.

Just like in Daniel, the rest of us are to fall down, under penalty of the fiery furnace. “Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people,… That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

If you “falleth not down,” it’s the fiery furnace for you.

In Daniel, and we all know the story, there were three, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who made a decision to “falleth not down.” 

But an interesting thing happened. The fire, though it killed the soldiers who had bound the three and took them to the furnace, harmed them not

In Daniel everyone except for the three fell down and worshiped the golden image. Their God protected them.

Johnny Cash famously sings of this in his song, The Fourth Man In The Fire.

Politically, in the US, when high government officials or their spokesperson speak, we are to as they did in Daniel, fall down and worship. 

When you hear “the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick,” what will you do?