Lessons from the book of Daniel
Daniel, ch 3 part 4
Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, and he commanded some of the best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Since the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire.
If I were one of these three guys, I would be pretty bummed about the way this is working out. My feeling is if I do the right thing, it’s supposed to turn out happy for me. If I do what God wants me to do, then people are supposed to say, “Oh wow, that’s tremendous.” Some people do congratulate us when we do the right thing, but most don’t. Nebuchadnezzar is one of that “don’t” crowd.
When Nebuchadnezzar gives the order, “Tie them up,” right about then I want an angelic presence to intervene so that the guys coming toward me can’t reach me. I want their feet to stick in a weird and cartoonish fashion. I want the king to exclaim, “My goodness,” and call for more men who also find the force field too great to overcome with brute force. I would then mock, “You see, our God has delivered us from you.”
That’s not the way it works. These three guys are tied up tightly and thrown into a fire so hot the guards who threw them in died on the spot. These guards are some of the strongest men in the army. I would have been doing some serious praying here. I would have cried out to God, “You know we’ve stood firm. We said we wouldn’t bow down no matter what. You’re our only God. Please, hurry God. It’s getting hot. I’m getting very uncomfortable here. Save me, God.”
It doesn’t say they floated into the furnace. These men are bound and thrown forcefully into the blazing furnace. They fall into the blazing furnace. Sometimes God ordains that we go through things that are not fun. In those moments we should never assume that somehow we must have made a mistake. Don’t be tempted to think that maybe you should have bowed down and worshipped the image. Doing what God tells you to do may send you to the furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king.
He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God—come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
This is a command they are happy to obey. They don’t say, “No, you threw us in here. You come and get us out.” Wouldn’t you be tempted to play it up? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego come out of the furnace immediately. They obey. It’s right to obey the authorities, when you can do it without compromising your obedience to God.
When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Talk about a miracle! Yet, these guys had to go through the fire in order to get the miracle. Two things happen to them in the fire. First of all, they encounter the Lord in a way they never had before. God’s presence is made real to them in a way they’d never known. The Lord actually comes and meets with them there in the furnace. Many of us know firsthand that in the furnace we meet the Lord in a brand new way.
The second thing that happens to them in the furnace is important on more than one level. Their hair isn’t singed. They don’t smell like smoke. Their clothes are not damaged. The only thing that gets burned up in the fire is the rope. The thing that had them bound is burned. They are set free.
God will often put us through the fire in order to free us from things that bind us. People have said to me, “Cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me. It made me aware of what life is all about.” Or, “The best thing that ever happened to me was my heart attack. Now I know who to live for.” Or, “The best thing that ever happened to me was when I lost my loved one. As much as I loved her, I got to know the Lord in a whole new way, and it has given me a brand new perspective on life.”
I don’t know what you’re facing. I don’t know what you’ve been through. I don’t know what lies ahead for you, but I do know this: God knows. If we’re obedient, we don’t have to fear what’s coming.
Please remember: When you are not afraid to die, decisions become easier, and you don’t have to compromise with sin.
There are countless examples from Church History, both ancient and modern. The people who are not afraid to die are ready to live. Until you’ve been to the cross and you’ve been to the empty tomb and you know that death has lost its sting and that you are ready to go to be with the Lord anytime, you’re not really ready to live. You’re going to remain bound. You’re going to be easily influenced by the world around you. You’re going to give into temptation. All kinds of things will besiege you and you will not know how to stand against them. But when you decide, “There isn’t anything they can do to me. Kill me for all I care. I trust God. I will do what He says,” then you’ll be ready to live.
You have to be ready to die in order to be ready to live. There’s only one way to be truly ready to die and that’s to know Jesus Christ in a personal way. When you know who He is and what He did for you, when you understand that there’s nothing you can do to make yourself acceptable to God, but God has provided the perfect sacrifice through His son in order to make you acceptable, then you’re able to come into the presence of Almighty God and say, “Everything I have is yours. Everything I am is yours. I want to do your will.” Do this and then you will be ready to live. It makes decisions a whole lot easier. When you are not afraid to die, decisions become easier, and you don’t have to compromise with sin.
