“Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 2 Corinthians 2:11
In Daniel 3 we learn of the wiles and strategies of Satan as he tempts believers to deny and disobey their God. It gives him great delight to go to God and to point out our failings (the very things he tempted us to do) and then to taunt God that this shows that His own children do not really love or honor Him. In Daniel 3 we see His attempts to force Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael to deny God. It’s the Law of the Land We see Satan’s (Nebuchadnezzar’s) first attempt to tempt to sin is to issue a decree, a law, which requires us to do something that violates God’s word. He pressures believers (who must be be good citizens and under authority) to disobey God. He taunts us, “the law must be obeyed”. Peter addressed this when he said, “we must obey God rather than man”.
Intimidation Second we see the Satan use intimidation to tempt believers to disobey God. Threats are used to create fear and shame so they will succumb to the sin they are being pressured to commit.
Shame Nebuchadnezzar asks “is it true?” The mightiest man on earth is disappointed in his servants. He cannot believe that they, ones who have been so loyal and faithful, could do such a thing. This can be a powerful strategy because it makes disappointing another person worse than disobeying God.
Second Chances Nebuchadnezzar then gives the men a second chance. They have made their point now let’s get back to reality. They can worship their God and the king’s too. This tactic was used in Rome to get believers to throw a pinch of incense into a fire and declare “Caesar is Lord”. Satan tells believers to be clever way – obey him and God at the same time (which puts them on the same level).
Rationalization Satan tempts believers to rationalize their behavior. Satan likely bombard these three men with ways to escape their problem.
“There is nothing to gain by resisting; we can do more good for God by remaining alive”. “We are in a different place; in Rome, do as the Romans do.” The three men knew God was in control in Babylon as much a Jerusalem. Faithfulness is not limited to a certain location )like church on Sundays).
“You are not being asked to renounce God.” This is common when one wants to find a compromise, a way out. We can’t be neutral.
“Everybody else is doing it.” Many allow their behaviors to be governed by majority rule. Those who stand for God are always in the minority.
“It is only once, and not for very long.” Ten minutes, just for the king. It is stupid to throw one’s life away for ten minutes.” Disobedience happens in an instant and once it happens, the next steps of disobedience are much easier to take. Ten minutes can ruin a believer’s future life.
“This is more than can God expects of you; God will understand just this once.” The three knew God would not give them more than they could bear. God allowed this test of who these men love for a purpose.
Anger Another strategy of Satan is to have the believer face venomous anger. The king went into a rage over the men’s disobedience to his order. It would be easy to back down in the face of one who feels so strongly and forcefully that we should engage in a certain behavior. These men honored God’s anger over the sin of denying him more than the anger of the king – there was no contest.
What can we learn? Standing for the Lord involves choosing between two alternatives. Moses did this when he weighed staying in Pharoah’s palace instead of serving God with his people. Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael did the same assessment. There were many ways out of this situation if they were willing to disobey God and say yes to a world system that wants the honor that belongs only to God. These men knew what we too must embrace – God’s way is the only way. We must purpose in our heart to obey Him no matter the cost the and then leave the consequences to Him.