Reviewed, edited and approved by Jeff Robb. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version.
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Read by Jeff Robb · 2:44 · Download MP3
Key passage: Daniel 3:16-18 (KJV)
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Reflection
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon set up a golden image on the plain of Dura. It was threescore cubits high, roughly ninety feet. Then he called all the officials of his kingdom and gave a command. When the music played, everyone was to fall down and worship the image. Whoever refused would be cast into a burning fiery furnace.
Three young Jewish men refused. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They had been carried away from Jerusalem and given positions in Babylon, but they would not bow.
The king was furious. He gave them a second chance, and then a threat. Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Their answer is remarkably calm. O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. In other words, we don't need to think this over.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
That's confident faith. They believe God can save them, and they say so to the most powerful man on earth.
But then come three of the bravest words in the Bible. But if not.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Their faithfulness didn't depend on the outcome. They trusted God to rescue them. But even if He chose not to, they would still not bow. They didn't serve God because it worked out. They served Him because He is God.
You probably know what happened next. They were bound and thrown into a furnace heated seven times hotter than usual. And the king looked in and saw four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. They came out without even the smell of fire on them.
God doesn't always deliver us from the fire. Sometimes He meets us in it. But either way, faith like theirs says, I will trust Him and I will not bow, whatever happens.
Is there a pressure on you right now to bow to something? To go along, to compromise, to quietly give up? God is able. And even if things don't go the way you hope, He is still worthy of your loyalty.
Cross-references
Prayer
Lord, I believe You are able to deliver me. Give me faith like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to trust You and stay faithful even when I don't know how things will turn out. Keep me from bowing to anything but You. And thank You that You walk with Your people in the fire. Amen.
For today: Trust God with the outcome today, and decide ahead of time that you will stay faithful either way.