Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian king who captured Jerusalem
when kings "who did evil in the sight of the Lord" seemed to be the
norm...
He took some of the children of Israel, some of king Jehoiakim’s
descendants, and some of the nobles (Israel's brightest and best looking young
men) to "retrain" them in the ways of the Chaldeans. Daniel and his friends were among them.
Daniel first distinguishes himself and his companions when
he asks to not be fed the king's food or drink the king's drink - just veggies
and H2O for 10 days. And it worked!
At the end of 10 days, Daniel and his friends looked
healthier than the other young men. So the king's eunuch changed the meals for
all.
They all got to eat veggies and drink water. I'm guessing
Daniel might not have been real popular with any carnivorous friends at that
point. But I digress.
God gives Daniel the ability to understand and interpret
dreams and visions. Which comes in handy when King Neb gets stressed out about
a dream that none if his magicians or sooth sayers can interpret, much less
tell him what the dream was (which is what he commands them to do). When they
cannot, he decides the best thing to do is kill them all.
Fortunately, Daniel and his friends pray, God answers, the
dream is interpreted, King Neb is satisfied, and they all get to keep their
heads. Not only that, but Daniel is
promoted with wealth and status, and he even gets great jobs for his three friends!
The in Daniel chapter three, King Neb then sets up a large
golden image (some scholars believe it was of himself) that all the people are
to bow to and worship whenever they hear music playing.
Being Jewish means that Daniel's three friends cannot bow
and worship any graven image, and especially not an image of a heathen king!
They are accused of not bowing to the idol, and are brought before
the king to see if they will obey. He tells them he will cast them into a fiery
furnace if they do not bow.
Their reply is incredibly bold, not arrogant, just
bold. "If that is the case, our God
whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will
deliver us from your hand, O king. But
if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor
will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
Did you catch that? They believed that God was able to
deliver them from the fiery furnace, BUT even if He didn't, they were not going
to bow!
I love reading about that kind of faith!
It reminds me of how countless Christians have stood strong
in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, and even when facing death, refused to bow
to the idols if this world; they refused to deny the One who gave up His life
for them. Many of them became martyrs, but refused this world's ways. If you
are interested in reading some of their stories, Foxes Book of Martyrs is a
good place to start.
In our day, I think of Pastor Saeed Abendini, who is an
American pastor in prison in Iran. His crime? He is a Christian. He has been
threatened with death, beaten, and dumped in the worst hell-hole of a prison
you can imagine. Yet he will not bow. He will not deny his faith. May God
deliver him soon to be with his wife and children here in the States.
When Rack, Shack, and Benny (thanks Veggie Tales®)tell the
king they will not bow, he is furious! He commands them to be bound and the furnace
to be heated seven times hotter than usual. In fact, it is so hot that the
soldiers who throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego into the fire are burned to
death!
Suddenly the king looks and declares “Look! ...I see four
men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the
form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:25
He calls them to come out of the furnace, and is amazed. "And
the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered
together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the
hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the
smell of fire was not on them." Daniel 3:27
Not only did God show up with the in the fiery furnace as
the "Fourth Man," but the ropes that bound them were burned up, their
hair wasn't singed, and the clothes they were wearing didn't even smell like
smoke! When God delivers, He does it completely!
If you are going through a trial, or your faith is being
challenged, remember that God is more than able to deliver you. He will loose you in the midst of the fire,
and Jesus will be that fourth man for you!
You will come through this, and people will be amazed because your
clothes and hair will not even smell like smoke.
Well, King Nebuchadnezzar is pretty impressed by all of this
and not only calls the men out, but he makes a decree, "That
any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall
be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” That may seem pretty sever, but King Neb was
definitely impressed by the God who delivers from the fiery furnace!
God turned their situation around and
changed the heart of a king in a moment.
All it took was a miracle!
God can turn your situation around as
well.
Whatever you are going through, whether it
is illness, or lack, or not feeling loved, or anything at all, God can change
it. He wants to change it. He will change it. He has
not changed His mind about you. He has
set His love upon you and will not change His mind. His gifts and His callings are without
repentance...
"For God’s gifts and His call are
irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not
change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His
call.] Romans
11:29 Amplified
Look to Him today. Whatever your need, He is more than enough. He will not let you down and will not turn
away from you. Trust Him.
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