Trusting God's Plan in the Fire: Lessons From the Book of DanielSample

King Nebuchadnezzar decides to summon Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into his presence. Let me state the obvious here. Daniel is not mentioned in this chapter, nor during the fiery trial. We have no idea where Daniel is at this point. Could it be that he was away on a mission sent by the king? All we can assume is that if Daniel was indeed around, he too would not have complied with this worship of the statue. After all, he later would be thrown into a lion’s den due to his faith in the one true God.

King Nebuchadnezzar asks Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego if they have obeyed his command and if they haven’t, he gives them an opportunity to do it right on the spot.“...if you are ready to fall down and worship the image of gold I have made, very good.” v 15 He’s giving them a chance to be compliant to his order. Essentially, no problem if you guys didn’t do it before, but now you can bow down right here before me. But then true evil is revealed in his next statement.“But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.” v 15

Let’s examine his motives a little further. King Nebuchadnezzar really didn't care if these Jewish young men wanted to accept the faith of the Babylonian gods. He wasn’t trying to make them good followers of his pagan deities. No! This was all about CONTROL, plain and simple. These guys were defying his mandate and he didn’t like it. If they defied him on this, what else might they do?

The king makes his most outrageous statement after threatening them with death by fire.“Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” v 15 Talk about extreme arrogance! I’d be stepping away from that man for fear a huge lighting bolt might come down and strike him. Strangely, King Nebuchadnezzar was right about one thing. No little g-o-d would be able to save them. Only the all powerful, almighty, all knowing and big GOD was able!

Now we finally have a chance to hear Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego speak up to the king.“O 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 save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” v 16 - 18

There are so many good lessons here. First of all, they didn’t feel the need to defend themselves. They knew God’s laws and that this order was against His laws. Secondly, they KNEW that God was able to save them. Remember how he saved them from death by providing the interpretation to the king’s dream after they prayed with Daniel? Also, there was the time that they only ate vegetables and water for 10 days to prove the need not to defile themselves with the king’s food. They had seen God work before and knew He could do it again if He chose to.

Here’s the part I love the most about what they said. They believed that God would rescue them, but they also allowed God to do the choosing. They said, “But even if he does not…”. Many times as Christians, we tell God what to do. We essentially write the script and hope that He signs off on it. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are a great example because they believed God was able and that He’d do it, but even if He didn’t, they still were not going to bow down. THAT my friends, is a great example of true faith when the heat is cranked up.

Questions:

1. What do you think about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego giving God the option to save them or not?

2. Do you think this showed a lack of faith?

3. Why is it important to remember God’s past actions on your behalf when in the fire?