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

I love the story of the fiery furnace.  It holds such important lessons for us.  This morning I was struck by a phrase which I never thought about much in the past.  When Nebuchadnezzar confronted the three friends over their failure to worship the golden image he had erected they responded by saying, “we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ”  Notice that they did not say that they did not need to defend themselves at all before him, just that they did not need to do so “in this matter”.  “This matter” was their refusal to bow down and worship the image of gold which he had set up.  They rejected his authority over them in the matter of who or what they worship.  They then asserted that their God could, and would deliver them from his attempt to punish them for refusing to accept his authority in this matter.   Finally, they stated that even if their God did not deliver them from his punishment, they would not follow Nebuchadnezzar’s dictates as to how, who, or what they should worship.  We should follow their example.

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

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

Usually when I write on this passage I focus on the faith and bravery of our three young heroes when they are about to be thrown into the fiery furnace.  However today I was struck by Nebuchadnezzar’s decree and the way in which their noncompliance was reported to him.  It reminded me of parts of our culture today which require adherence to values which are contrary to those taught in the Bible.  While no one in the United States faces a fiery furnace for failing to bow down to these idols and beliefs, they may face expulsion from certain professions and other penalties for daring to remain faithful to God.  Our three heroes stood up when everyone else bowed down.  They knew the penalties they faced for publicly defying the king, but did so anyway, putting their faith in God.  They stood up and God rescued them from the fiery furnace.  Do we have faith that if we stand up today that God will rescue us from our “fiery furnace”?  More importantly, do we have the faith to say, “Even if He does not, we will not serve your gods?”

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

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

My lovely wife married me 22 years ago on the 23rd of this month.  So I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary every day from now until then.

Happy Anniversary, Darling!

When Nebuchadnezzar made his gold statue and set up the ceremony for everyone to bow down to it, I think he imagined it as a unifying event which could help unify all of the peoples of his empire.  For Nebuchadnezzar this ceremony was political, not religious.  Nebuchadnezzar did not care if Jews worshiped God, as long as their first loyalty was to himself.  Thus the nature of his threat, “what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”  Actually, this same attitude is what got Nebuchadnezzar in trouble in chapter 4 after his second dream.  In both cases, Nebuchadnezzar came to believe that no power could stand between him and his desires.  Returning to the story about the gold statue, those who reported Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did so in order to gain political power.  Which brings us to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  For them, this had nothing to do with politics, not because they were unaware of the politics involved, but because their worship of God outweighed, for them, the political implications of their actions.  They believed that God could, and would, rescue them from Nebuchadnezzar’s hand, but if God chose not to rescue them, they would serve no other god.

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

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.

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

In the year 2000, on the 23rd day of this month, my wife married me.  So here we are on day 12 of the 20 days that I am going to wish her Happy Anniversary for 20 years of marriage.  Happy Anniversary Darling!

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

I have always loved the story of Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.  As a child I was taught that this account reveals how God can save us from even the most terrible danger if we faithfully serve Him.  Actually, the lesson I learned was that God will save us from such dangers if we are faithful.  However, a few years ago I was struck by our heroes’ response to King Nebuchadnezzar before they were thrown into the fire.  It comes in two parts.  The first part has been emphasized in most of the exposition I have seen on this passage: ” the God whom we serve is able to save us.”  That emphasis is good.  The God whom I serve (and whom I hope that you serve) is able to save us from even the most dangerous situation.  However, the second part is one to which we need to give more thought: “But even if he doesn’t, … we will never serve your gods.”  God is able to save us from whatever danger we may face, but we must be ready to face that danger even if His plan calls for us to suffer from it.  If we willingly experience whatever suffering comes out way as a result of serving God, He will reward us.  If we bravely stand our ground in faithful service to Him, God may save us from the threats we face, but we should stand our ground even if He does not.  I believe that most of the time God will indeed save us, but if we follow the example of these three men, we will certainly experience a reward and a joy which will make the pain worthwhile.

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

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

The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace is another one of my favorites.  One of the things I have wondered about this story for years; where was Daniel when this happened?  I do not have an answer to that question and it does not really matter to the story.  More interesting to me is the picture I always had of this, which I realized today does not actually reflect what is described.  I have always pictured this as a great plaza with the statue in the middle with a great crowd gathered around.  The musical instruments sound and everybody in the crowd bows down, except for three men who can be seen standing amongst all of the bowing people.  Except that is not what is described.  When I read it today, I realized that Daniel’s three friends probably avoided the gathering altogether.  They likely thought, “Who’s going to notice that we stayed away?”  So, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego may well have tried to be low key and not make a scene about their unwillingness to worship anyone but God, in fact I think it likely that they did.  But when they were called out on it, they stood up for their beliefs.  There is a time and a place to quietly keep your beliefs to yourself and there is a time and a place to clearly state them.

I really like the way in which these three men answered when threatened.  They clearly and unequivocally stated their belief that God could and would save them from the danger they faced.  But they went further than that, they stated that their faithfulness to God did not rest upon their confidence that He would save them.  They stated that even if they knew that God would allow them to suffer and die, they would not worship false gods.  Let us strive to have a similar attitude; bring your struggles and difficulties to God with the knowledge that He can resolve them, but determined to remain faithful to Him even if He chooses to allow our suffering to continue.