While the Jews were in captivity in Babylon there were some who were exceptional men and were treated with special care. Daniel was one of them...and was given food from the royal diet plan to eat. But...
But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.” (Daniel 1:8-10)The official had every reason to be afraid. As I said earlier, his boss, Nebuchadnezzar, was nuts. He had a tendency to give orders and decrees wildly and with severe consequences. For example, he had a dream he wanted interpreted. So rather than tell his wise men the dream and ask for the interpretation, he told them they had to divine the dream first and then explain the interpretation. He would tell them nothing. And here are the consequences:
The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.” (Daniel 2:5-6)Yeah, real reasonable. Well, his wise men couldn't do it and so the king's orders were to be carried out but...when they came to Daniel he said he could do it. They pushed "pause" on the king's orders and brought Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was careful first to make sure the king knew the source of his ability...
Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come." (Daniel 2:27-28)Well, his dream was revealed and interpreted, Nebuchadnezzar was impressed, lives were saved, Daniel was promoted. There are echoes of Joseph in Egypt in this story.
Back to Nebuchadnezzar and his craziness. Some time later he set up this gigantic statue of himself and told everyone they had to bow down and worship it (him). As usual there are sever consequences...
Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” (Daniel 3:4-6)Now we get to my favorite part in this whole passage. Daniel, and his 3 buddies, refuse to bow and worship. This takes some guts. As I said, Nebuchadnezzar is nuts. He has announced the consequences and has proven his willingness to follow through. This is what Daniel says:
"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.” (Daniel 3:17-18)The thing that hits me hard every time I think of this is not simply the courage it took for them to stand up to Nebuchadnezzar...or even for their faith that God could deliver them...it's that phrase, "even if He does not."
God can supply all my needs...but even if He does not...I will still follow.
God can heal me from cancer...but even if He does not...I will still follow.
God can... but even if He does not...
Well, in this case, God does...
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. (Daniel 3:26-27)Nebuchadnezzar reacts to this miracle, not surprisingly, by issuing a decree with severe consequences...
"Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." (Daniel 3:29)I wonder what happened to the statue.
No comments:
Post a Comment