"Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
Daniel 3:15-18
There are some great things here. In the first verse the king asks "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" He asks it rhetorically, as though there were no answer, because there was no God that could save them from him. And yet....
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are amazing here as well. The king just told them that if they don't worship the idol that he has offered that they'll be killed. Pretty extreme consequences. They could just have played along, pretending to go along, gone through the motions, kept their faith quiet. Instead, they answered the king boldly, and told him basically that his question was *not* merely rhetorical, but that their God was certainly able to deliver them.
And then, the clincher: "But if not" ... Basically, they knew that God had the ability to save them, but even if he chose not to, for whatever wise, godly reason, they trusted in him, and they weren't going to worship any other God. ... In the end, God did save them, and even the king said "there is no other God that can deliver after this sort" (verse 29). It's a story about the amazingness of God. :) But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego didn't know for sure that it would work out like that. They had faith anyway, no matter what God chose to do.
I think that it is often hard for us to have that kind of faith. When we're faced with symbolic furnaces in our lives, we sometimes agree to do whatever the king/authority figure wants. We have a hard time standing up for God and what we believe when it looks like it is going to cost us something. That of course doesn't mean that we shouldn't love or work with people that don't believe the same things. We should love everyone, and we can unite in many common purposes with people not of our faith. When it comes to doing as God asks though, that requires some faith and effort on our part in order to be true to God. Today let's work on that. Let's stand strong for God, and not cave when anyone asks to compromise our obedience. Let's remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and have faith that God can deliver us... but if not, let's still do exactly as he asks, no matter the consequences.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
Daniel 3:15-18
There are some great things here. In the first verse the king asks "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" He asks it rhetorically, as though there were no answer, because there was no God that could save them from him. And yet....
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are amazing here as well. The king just told them that if they don't worship the idol that he has offered that they'll be killed. Pretty extreme consequences. They could just have played along, pretending to go along, gone through the motions, kept their faith quiet. Instead, they answered the king boldly, and told him basically that his question was *not* merely rhetorical, but that their God was certainly able to deliver them.
And then, the clincher: "But if not" ... Basically, they knew that God had the ability to save them, but even if he chose not to, for whatever wise, godly reason, they trusted in him, and they weren't going to worship any other God. ... In the end, God did save them, and even the king said "there is no other God that can deliver after this sort" (verse 29). It's a story about the amazingness of God. :) But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego didn't know for sure that it would work out like that. They had faith anyway, no matter what God chose to do.
I think that it is often hard for us to have that kind of faith. When we're faced with symbolic furnaces in our lives, we sometimes agree to do whatever the king/authority figure wants. We have a hard time standing up for God and what we believe when it looks like it is going to cost us something. That of course doesn't mean that we shouldn't love or work with people that don't believe the same things. We should love everyone, and we can unite in many common purposes with people not of our faith. When it comes to doing as God asks though, that requires some faith and effort on our part in order to be true to God. Today let's work on that. Let's stand strong for God, and not cave when anyone asks to compromise our obedience. Let's remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and have faith that God can deliver us... but if not, let's still do exactly as he asks, no matter the consequences.
Wonderful insights!
ReplyDeleteThanks. :)
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