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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated
seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in
his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the
blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other
clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was
so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the
soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men,
firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and
asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the
fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire,
unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
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 3:19-27
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
About eight years ago, a great Christian movie called
Fireproof made its debut and it has been blessing marriages ever since with its
message of God’s ability to mend anything that is broken. The idea is that when
the Lord is at the center of a relationship, that relationship becomes “fireproof”
or safeguarded when the flames of life’s challenges come upon it. If you haven’t
seen this film, I highly recommend it.
Well, as we see in today’s scripture passage from our
continuing study of Daniel 3, this matter of God protecting His people from the
fire is not a new phenomenon. In fact, as we see in these verses, God’s
deliverance was from real flames engulfing real people, an event that was as
amazing as any other miracle He had ever performed. Look again at these words:
Then Nebuchadnezzar
was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them
changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and
commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men,
wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown
into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so
hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing
furnace.
Then King
Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t
there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied,
“Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see
four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks
like a son of the gods.”
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
3:19-27
The stage for today’s dramatic furnace scene was set in
yesterday’s devotion. You’ll recall that the three companions of Daniel – Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego (aka Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) – had refused to
comply with Nebuchadnezzar’s command to bow down and worship the golden image
he had made and placed in the plain of Duma. And so the astrologers, who were
made to look pretty stupid by Daniel after they couldn’t do what he could (interpret
the king’s dream), saw an opportunity to get even with Daniel and reported his
three counterparts to Nebuchadnezzar. In turn, the king summoned Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego and gave them a choice: obey his command and live or
disobey and be thrown into a blazing furnace. God’s faithful servants refused
to bow down before a false idol in worship and made a very bold statement to
Nebuchadnezzar. You may remember that it went like this:
“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 three men believed that God would protect and deliver
them from the fire of the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar obviously couldn’t see the
men’s faith beyond his own rage because He immediately ordered Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego to be tied up before being thrown into a furnace that the
king had commanded to be made “seven times hotter than usual”. In fact, the
fires were stoked so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who
had carried the three men to the furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fell
into the blazing furnace.
And that was it, right?
By conventional thinking, the three men would be fried to a
crisp, leaving no remnant of life behind. That’s certainly what Babylon’s king
expected would happen. But this was no ordinary event. Rather, it was a major
God happening, a happening where the Lord of lords would again take center
stage to get the attention of those who had chosen not to believe in Him, those
like Nebuchadnezzar and his advisors.
Indeed, the king didn’t just walk away when the three Jewish
men were put in the incinerator. No, in a twisted way, Nebuchadnezzar stuck
around and even peered into the furnace with the hope of witnessing the
perishing of those who had defied him. What he saw was nothing short of
astounding! And I’m sure Nebuchadnezzar
couldn’t believe his eyes.
For as he gazed into the fire, he witnessed Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego walking through the fire protected and unscathed, which
would have made the scene amazing in its own right but note what else the king
sees in the flames. There’s a fourth person who is hanging out with Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, a person who obviously was identifiable as being greater
than mere man himself. Rather, the fourth man was likened to “a son of the gods”.
With that, Nebuchadnezzar went to the opening of the blazing furnace and
shouted for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to come out of the furnace, clearly
identifying them as “servants of the Most High God”. This was the second time
Nebuchadnezzar chose to give proper homage to God, the first being after his
dream had been translated by Daniel.
And so “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire”
and immediately became the center of everyone’s attention and amazement. For
none of the men present, none of the “satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers”
could see any harm to the bodies of the three men. Not a single hair was singed
nor their robes scorched. In fact, there wasn’t even a smell of fire on them.
All and all, the event was nothing short of astonishing,
astounding, and shocking beyond belief. But that’s what God is in the business
of doing, the business of protecting, rescuing, and delivering His people from the
fires of life when the flames of difficulty, hardship, trouble, and adversity
rise around us. All we need to do is model the behavior of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and place our
fullest hope, trust, and confidence in the God through which all things are possible,
the God who can bring three men out of a fiery furnace unblemished.
If He can do that, is there any miracle He can’t work in
your life?
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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