Today, I am reading and commenting on  Daniel 3-4.

I have always loved the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace.  Certainly much of that love goes to my childhood hearing of the story and the safety it made me feel.  As a young child the message which I was taught by this story was that God could, and would, protect me from any danger, no matter how great.  Then, as I got a little older it gave me the confidence to understand those who willingly gave up their lives to do God’s will.  Here, the trio tell Nebuchadnezzar that God WAS able to save them from the furnace, but that they would serve Him even if He did not do so.  Their service to God was not conditional on Him saving them from danger. We should have the same attitude in serving God: He is able to save us, but we should willingly serve Him even if His plans mean that He will choose not to do so.

However, today I was struck by something I never noticed before, King Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance.  He rhetorically asks of the three, “Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”  His statement there was more than denying that their God was powerful enough to thwart his will.  He was claiming there was no god which could do so.  He had come to believe that he was accountable to no one and to nothing. The dream, its interpretation, and the events which followed in the next passage give a similar message of a ruler who believes nothing will hold him to account for his actions.  Those who make up our government today believe that no one and nothing will hold them to account.  They are demanding that we bow down and worship their “gods”.  If we do not, they promise to punish us in ways from which they are sure that no god can rescue us.  In the face of this threat, let us remain faithful to God, even if He chooses not to rescue us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.