Fully Devoted: Israel, Act 2Sample

Even If ...

Yesterday we noticed how it wasn’t loud protests that made an impact on the world around Daniel and his friends, it was their humble devotion to God. So when the Jewish people were taken into captivity, God spoke through prophets to remind them how to conduct themselves in this foreign empire. It’s pretty powerful. 

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:4-7 NIV

God literally encourages them to seek the peace and prosperity of the city—to pray for it and its leaders. Because here’s the thing: As people belonging to God, the spaces and places in which we exist should be better because of our presence in them. We carry freedom and hope. We treat each other differently. We seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. And when we do that, it’s life-giving and helps people flourish. It points people to the God we get to represent. Because with our God, even exile is an opportunity to know and show His grace. 

Peter speaks to our present reality as believers with the same language:

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:11-12 NIV

Peter calls us exiles too. And similarly to how Jeremiah encouraged the ancient Judean exiles, Peter challenges us to live in such a way in our modern-day Babylon that people look at us and are not surprised when God shows up. So what can we learn from Daniel and his friends about how to do exile well? 

In Daniel 3, we find the famous fiery furnace story. Most of us are familiar with these events on some level, but just like the Noah’s ark scenario, these are not kids’ stories! These are men being threatened with an excruciating death! 

To set the scene, we discover that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were leaning into exactly what God had spoken through Jeremiah—they weren’t sulking in a corner because of their exile; they were working hard and doing their best to seek the welfare of the city. And because of this, they were placed in positions of leadership over the entire province. They show us something powerful about how to lead well: Seeking the welfare of the city does not mean compromising our integrity. These guys weren’t just “going along to get along.” They were living with intentionality. They were living in the tension of following God and leading in a pagan nation. So when the king set up this huge golden image and commanded all his officials to bow down and worship it, guess which guys were still standing in the back? Yep, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Because here’s the thing: Exile is not an excuse to pretend to be something we’re not. It’s not the exit ramp for our integrity. It’s the exact opposite. It’s an opportunity for our character to be strengthened and for God to show up. And that’s exactly what happened in this story. The three friends refused to worship the idol even in the face of a furnace that was hot enough to melt the flesh off their bones. Even then, they maintained their integrity. There was no, “Well, what if we just bow down and picture that it’s an image of our God instead …” Nope. Notice the kind of faith they demonstrate: 

“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 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 3:16-18 NIV

Even if He doesn’t do what we hope He will and know He can … we still choose to trust and follow Him. Is that the kind of faith we have? Because it’s the kind of faith and devotion we’re being invited to cultivate. But you don’t just wake up one day with furnace-ready faith. These three friends walked with God closely enough so that when they stepped into this moment, they not only knew what He was capable of doing but they trusted His wisdom and mercy in deciding. Our faith is not just a set of beliefs that we agree with, it’s a Person we trust in. And it’s that trust that transforms us and impacts the people we interact with. In this story, God showed up and miraculously saved His followers. And the nation’s ruler ended up worshiping the God he had been trying to replace. This is the impact of an exile’s faith.  

Journaling Questions 

• What verse or verses stuck out to you today? Take some time to write those down. Why did they stand out? 
• What is a space that you exist in right now that you could make better as a follower of Jesus?
• Where has your integrity as a member of the people of God been challenged? How are you responding? How do you want to respond?

Memory Verse

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 NIV