Faith in the Fire

Have a read of Daniel Chapter 3.

Although Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were worshiping, working and witnessing in the Babylonian culture they refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold and literally got fired!

The king made a decree.

The three friends defied him.

And the Lord delivered them.

The king’s decree

 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

It was a pretty big statue.

About 90 feet high and 9 feet wide.

And it was probably a plinth with a statue on top made of wood and covered in Gold.

And he commands all his senior officials to bow down and worship the image every time they hear the music.

And he declares the cost for not doing so:

Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.

  

The friend’s defiance

 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews.

And here’s what they said:

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego— pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

The king was furious with rage, and summoned the three friends.

No doubt they had remembered the commandments:

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image…

They had a choice – they could break the commandment of God or they could break the commandment of the king. Either they bow down and worship the statue or they don’t.

So how do the three friends handle it?

King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, (they say) the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up

Serving God can be costly. It always has been. Look at the lives of the Prophets in the Old Testament. Read about John - Peter - and Paul and all the disciples.

 “We understood it the first time. We don’t even want to hear the music again! We knew what we were doing, as well as the consequences.

But we would rather die under your hand than to violate God’s Commandment.”

What they say is also remarkable for what it does not have – no argument – no defence - no hint of an excuse for not doing it.

They just go for it!

Of course they could have:

conformed,

capitulated,

compromised.

It would have easy to come up with an excuse. There are so many to choose from:

They might have said:

"There is nothing to gain by resisting; wouldn't we do more good by living?" 

Or, "You know what they say When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

Or they might have said, "Everybody else is doing it. So we may as well.”

“We’ll just go along with the crowd.”

Or “It won’t be for very long. Ten minutes, just for the king. It is stupid to throw our lives away for ten minutes."

“God will understand just this once."

“It won’t hurt if we do it just this one time.”

“What harm will it do … as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody else.”

“We’ll do it in secret … no one will know.”

“God put me in this position … surely He doesn’t want me to lose it … evil men will take my place.”

“How can I be a witness if I turn everybody against me?”

“I’ll do it now … and ask forgiveness later.”

“I’ll go through the motions, but not really worship the statue in my heart … God knows my heart.”

“We should be tolerant of other people – I’ll go along with it so not to be thought of a judgemental!”

Have you ever used any of these excuses … to COMPROMISE your faith?

We’re pressured every day to COMPROMISE our faith … to make up EXCUSES for not obeying God … to JUSTIFY our disobedience to God.

I have to admit that over the years I have used too many of these excuses to justify my behaviour!

The Lord’s deliverance

The king is furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and he orders the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. The three friends are tied up and thrown into the fire. The soldiers who took them are killed by the flames fire but the three friends remain alive!

They are miraculously delivered.

Unbound and walking around in the flames yet untouched by them.

And a fourth person is with them.

[Now you may know that many Bible commentators associate this fourth person with Jesus, what they call a theophany or Christophany – a pre incarnation appearance of Jesus.]

And so the king enthusiastically adds God to his collection of deities and declares that anyone who speaks against this new God will be cut to pieces!

And the three friends get promotion.

Of course we know how the story ends.

But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not know how it was going to turn out!

And it may not always end like that.

But look again at what they said:

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

The refusal of these three friends has been an example to many others down the centuries often at great personal cost.

Is this the pattern that we are called to follow?

Look at James who was stoned to death for speaking up. Or read about John - Peter - and Paul and many of the other disciples.

They did not have it easy. So why should we.

No more playing at it – no more excuses.

Look at the message to the church at Smyrna in the book of Revelation.

“Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.”

We need to let this story inspire us to go out and serve God in whatever ways He calls us whatever the consequences and not allow the world to compromise our faith and beliefs.

Heavenly father, thank you for this true story from all those years ago. Thank you that it has inspired many of you followers to stand firm in the faith when they have been pressurised to compromise regardless of the consequences. Help us to stand firm for you and deliver us from evil. For your great glory and our great joy.

In the precious name of Jesus.

Amen.