SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Captivity

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Captivity"

Jonas Davis
5 years ago
Views:

1 THE FIERY FURNACE Elementary Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Seven SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Captivity AIM: to teach my students the importance of obeying God s Word, using the story of the fiery furnace. OBJECTS TO HAVE: A small musical instrument that you can play a little bit A CD player, with a CD of secular, but descent, instrumental music (like Big Band) A large idol A large fire Your Bible POINT OF CONTACT: I love music! I love to hear music, and I love to sing. I love to hear the piano play on Sunday morning in church. I love to hear the choir sing. I love to sing the hymns. I love the songs we sing in Sunday School. I love to play a CD of good Christian music while I ride in the car. I can t wait until church starts this morning, because I love music, and I bet you do, too. Can any of you play a musical instrument? It doesn t matter how good you are. But can you pick it up and play it a little bit? (Whatever musical instrument you have, use it to play a song for the kids.) It s nice to learn to play the piano, the guitar, the trumpet, or the flute, because music is great. Music can be used for a lot of different things. Music can be used for good things, or it can be used for bad things. That s why it is very important what kind of music you listen to. Some music helps you want to do good things. That s why we sing hymns in church because the hymns helps you want to hear the preaching of God s Word, and they help you want to think about your God. But music can also make you want to sin. It can make you want to hate, to steal, to think bad thoughts, or to hurt other people. Music can make you want to sin. Music can be used for good, or it can be used for bad. Today we are going to learn about a king who tried to use music to get people to do wrong. But we re also going to learn about some young men who refused to let the music cause them to do wrong. Now, I m going to need your help this morning. I need you to pretend that your hand is a trumpet. Your trumpet sounds like this (demonstrate). And every time I say the words, the music played, I m going to point to you, and I want you to play your trumpet just like that. STORY: The wicked King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had taken a group of young men from their homeland of Jerusalem, and brought them to his own country of Babylon. In Babylon, he had taught these young men a new language, given them new names, new customs, and a new education. We ve already learned about one of those young men, a young man named Daniel. Today I am going to tell you about three of the other young men. Their names are a little more difficult to remember. See if you can say them. Ready? Shadrach. Meshach. Abednego. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego lived in Babylon, and were forced to obey the laws that were set down by the wicked King Nebuchadnezzar. One day, Nebuchadnezzar did something that would affect everyone in the land. Nebuchadnezzar had his men build a great big statue made of gold, called an idol. Nebuchadnezzar had his men make that great big gold idol look just like him. It was a massive statue, and Nebuchadnezzar was very proud of it. After a long time of building, when the workers were finished, Nebuchadnezzar held a big dedication ceremony. Since he was the king, he could make everybody come to the dedication whether they wanted to or not; so that s what he did. Nebuchadnezzar made everybody who worked for him anywhere in his kingdom come to where his big statue was, and be there for the dedication. Every mayor, every governor, every police officer, every postal worker if they worked for the king, they had to come to the dedication. Nebuchadnezzar put together a musical group made up of many different instruments, just for the dedication ceremony. Now, they did not have all of the same instruments in those days that we have today, but they had some that were very similar. They had some instruments that were like trumpets, some others like flutes, and some others that were like saxophones, and clarinets, and horns, and drums, and tubas. When they put them all together, they probably sounded something like this (play the music CD). The day finally came for Nebuchadnezzar s big dedication ceremony. Thousands of people had traveled many miles to be there for the ceremony. A huge crowd of people gathered in front of Nebuchadnezzar s huge idol. Nebuchadnezzar s messenger stood up and announced, We are here to dedicate the king s wonderful new idol. We have come today to

2 bow down and worship the king s great gold idol. The king has assembled a wonderful band of musicians to play for him today. The musicians are going to play their music for us while we worship the king s idol. When the music plays, everyone is required to bow down and worship the idol. Anyone who does NOT bow down and worship the idol when the music plays will immediately be thrown into the fiery furnace. Now, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were required to be at that meeting. They heard the man say that the law required them to worship the idol. They heard him say that everyone who disobeyed would be thrown into the fire. But these three young men had grown up in God s house. They had been taught the Word of God. And in the Word of God are the Ten Commandments. The first commandment said that they were not to worship any god but the true God, Jehovah, the God of Israel. The second commandment said that they were not to make idols, and they were not to worship idols. If they obeyed Nebuchadnezzar s law, they would be breaking God s law. What should they do obey the law of Nebuchadnezzar, and disobey God s Word or obey God s Word and be thrown into the fiery furnace? To these young men, the answer was simple: they must obey God s Word no matter what. So, the music played. Everyone in that huge crowd bowed down and worshipped the king s idol. Everyone except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that is. While all of the other people were bowing down and worshipping the king s silly idol, these three young men way in the back were standing up and praying to their God. They may have been quoting the Bible, singing hymns, or praying out loud to God. But they would not bow down and worship the king s idol. Soon word came up to King Nebuchadnezzar: King, there are three men in the back who did not bow down and worship your image when the music played. They were the only people in the whole crowd who disobeyed your command. The king was furious! What? How dare anyone refuse to worship my beautiful image when the music played. Do they want to die in the fire? Have them brought to me at once!! The king s guard went to the back of the crowd, and brought Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego all the way to the front, before the king. Is it true that you refused to bow down before my idol? Well, I m going to give you one more chance to bow down when the music plays, and if you don t bow down, you will be thrown into the fire. And let me tell you, boys, there is no God who is able to deliver anybody from my fiery furnace! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered: King, we don t need another chance. We can tell you right now that we will not worship your idol. And our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace. But even if He decides not to deliver us, let it be known that we will not bow down and worship your idol under any circumstances. That made Nebuchadnezzar madder than he had ever been. He jumped up off of his seat, red in the face, and ordered the furnace to be made seven times hotter than it had ever been. Then he ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be taken with their clothes, hats, and coats on, tied up, and thrown in the fire. The soldiers did as the king commanded. They made the fire seven times hotter than it had ever been. They brought ropes, and they tied them tightly around the hands and feet of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then, they threw them into the fire. The fire was so hot that the soldiers who threw them in were killed instantly. Nebuchadnezzar stood up to watch these three young men burn to death. He knew that they would die instantly. But as he looked into the fire, he could not believe what he saw. First, the ropes that had bound these three young men were gone. Not only that, but they had not been hurt one bit by the fire. Not only that, but they were walking around in the fire. And strangest of all, Nebuchadnezzar saw four men walking in the fire, when he knew they had only thrown in three, and the fourth man looked like the Son of God!!! Nebuchadnezzar went as close to the fire as he could come, and called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come out. When they came out, their clothes were not burned, and they did not even smell like smoke! God had done a wonderful miracle! Now Nebuchadnezzar changed his tune. He announced to all of the people gathered there: The new law in this land is that no one may speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, for there is no other god that can save but the one true God, the God that these men serve! Remember the question that we asked? Should they have obeyed the law of Nebuchadnezzar and disobeyed the Word of God, or should they have obeyed God and faced the punishment of the fiery furnace? They chose to obey God s Word, and God made sure that they were blessed for it. You will probably never face a golden idol or a fiery furnace. But many times in your life you will be asked to disobey God s Word. It is always right to obey the Word of God at any cost, and always wrong to disobey the Word of God. Let s learn our memory verse - Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

3 THE FIERY FURNACE Teen and Adult Lesson Year Two, Quarter Two, Lesson Seven SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON The Captivity Teacher, choose one of the following truths to expand upon in teaching this portion of Scripture to your teen/adult class. Teach and apply the truth that you choose using statements and illustrations that are most helpful and applicable to your students. I. IN YOUR INTERACTION WITH THE WORLD, YOUR FAITH WILL BE TESTED PERIODICALLY. 3:1-7. You must expect to face times when you will have to restrain yourself from doing what everyone around you is doing, from doing things that everyone else seems to think is normal. After the stand they had taken as younger men in Daniel 1, these adult men might have expected that their testimony was solid, and that they would not be called upon again to stand alone for God; but they were ready when the time of testing came. Don t ever think that your days of having to stand for Christ are behind you. II. IT IS TEMPTING TO WANT TO JUST FIT IN WITH THE CROWD. In this massive crowd, what s it going to hurt to just conform? We can bow on the outside, while inwardly we pray to Jehovah! And what good can we do after we ve been thrown in that furnace? These are questions that someone in their position might have asked, to convince himself that compromise is justified under the circumstances. But God showed very clearly that He was honored by their refusal to bow to Nebuchadnezzar s idol. III. GREAT FAITH BEGINS WHEN YOU ARE WILLING TO STAND FOR GOD EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW IT MAY MEAN TOTAL LOSS. 3: They showed good faith by stating that they believed God could deliver them from death; but they showed great faith by stating that they would stand for God even if it required them to die. Great faith is believing that God is worth living for and dying for. IV. WHEN YOU ARE IN THE FIRE, JESUS STANDS BY YOU. 3: These three young men didn t expect to meet the Son of God as they did; and they never would have met Him had they not gone into the fire. There is certain sweet fellowship that you will never know until you are in the fire for your faith. V. STANDING FOR GOD BRINGS GLORY TO GOD. 3: God was glorified in the sight of Nebuchadnezzar and all of his kingdom, because these three young men would not bow. When we stand with God, it gives God an opportunity to work, and to turn the attention of people towards Him.

4 THE FIERY FURNACE Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown in the fire for standing by their faith, but God protected them in the fire. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

5 The Fiery Furnace Circle the letter next to the correct answer to each question from today s Bible story. 1. What was the name of the wicked King of Babylon? a. Neil b. Norman c. Nebuchadnezzar 2. What did King Nebuchadnezzar build that he required everyone to worship? a. A large gold statue b. A big red barn c. A huge fountain 3. When were the people supposed to bow down and worship? a. When the music played b. When the clock struck noon c. When the wind blew 4. What would happen if they refused to worship his statue? a. They wouldn t get to eat lunch b. They would be thrown in the fiery furnace c. They would be put in jail 5. How many young men refused to bow before his idol? a. three b. five c. seven 6. Which of the following was NOT the name of one of these young men? a. Shadrach b. Meshach c. Abednego d. Bob 7. What did Nebuchadnezzar do when these young men refused to bow? a. he cried b. he forgave them c. he threw them in the furnace 8. What happened when he threw them in the fiery furnace? a. the furnace collapsed b. they did not burn c. they died instantly 9. Who did Nebuchadnezzar see in the furnace with the young men? a. the Son of God b. a ghost c. a fireman 10. What did Nebuchadnezzar do to the young men next? a. he left them in the furnace b. he made them leave Babylon c. he brought them out of the furnace and honored God The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

6 The Fiery Furnace The answers to this week s puzzle 1. What was the name of the wicked King of Babylon? a. Neil b. Norman c. Nebuchadnezzar 2. What did King Nebuchadnezzar build that he required everyone to worship? a. A large gold statue b. A big red barn c. A huge fountain 3. When were the people supposed to bow down and worship? a. When the music played b. When the clock struck noon c. When the wind blew 4. What would happen if they refused to worship his statue? a. They wouldn t get to eat lunch b. They would be thrown in the fiery furnace c. They would be put in jail 5. How many young men refused to bow before his idol? a. three b. five c. seven 6. Which of the following was NOT the name of one of these young men? a. Shadrach b. Meshach c. Abednego d. Bob 7. What did Nebuchadnezzar do when these young men refused to bow? a. he cried b. he forgave them c. he threw them in the furnace 8. What happened when he threw them in the fiery furnace? a. the furnace collapsed b. they did not burn c. they died instantly 9. Who did Nebuchadnezzar see in the furnace with the young men? a. the Son of God b. a ghost c. a fireman 10. What did Nebuchadnezzar do to the young men next? a. he left them in the furnace b. he made them leave Babylon c. he brought them out of the furnace and honored God

Old Testament GOD S WORD. One Year Plan. Created for use with young, unchurched learners Adaptable for all ages.

Old Testament GOD S WORD. One Year Plan. Created for use with young, unchurched learners Adaptable for all ages. Old Testament One Year Plan Created for use with young, unchurched learners Adaptable for all ages. Mission Arlington Mission Metroplex Curriculum for 2011 Lesson 45 Page 1 OLD TESTAMENT LESSON 45 THE