Not Your Typical Church Lady

"There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." ~Daniel 3:12 (KJV)

Every time the book of Daniel rolls around on my daily Bible reading schedule, it makes me happy. If you've not taken the time yet to read the book of Daniel, go ahead and try it. It's one of those books that I like to circle back to just for fun. It's only 12 chapters long so if you're new to Bible reading, or you want a good refresher, go to Daniel and enjoy it. You can also read Esther in a short period of time and its just as action packed and even shorter. But back to Daniel...

In Daniel Chapter 3, we find that King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has built an impressively tall image made of gold. One of my Bible translations says that it was 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. To put in perspective how tall 90 feet is, take a look at one of the tall silos at a farm. They vary in height, but 40 to 80 feet is probably a safe average. Ninety feet is pretty tall. After the golden image is built, Nebuchadnezzar decrees that when people hear the horn, pipe, harp, zither, lute, etc. played, they are to fall down and worship the gold statue.

Now enter Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were among the Israelites who had been taken captive by the Babylonians as teenagers and had gained respect and had been elevated to esteemed positions in the king's service and put in charge of the affairs of the province of Babel. They still worshipped the one true god- the God of Heaven, and they were having none of this nonsense. Of course the snitches of the day (nothing has changed much in the past few thousand years – we've still got those) had to run and tell the king, as seen in the opening verse listed above. Nebuchadnezzar confronted the three men and gave them one more chance to fall down and worship the golden statue he had built. If they didn't, they would be thrown into a blazing hot furnace.

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied 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'" (Daniel 3:16-18, NIV).

How many reading this would have the same response? If your choice was to worship a false idol or be thrown into a blazing hot furnace, what would you say? It's nice to think that we'd all be brave enough to face the fire, but I think most would cave in. As an observer, I hear a lot of talk, but I don't see much "walk." It seems that there are many who are quick to save their own hides. There is not much show of faith these days and frankly, it's quite disappointing. Where are the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednegos?

Their response to the king angered him (authority figures tend to get pretty hot when some one has the nerve to stand up to them) and he ordered that the furnace be fired seven times hotter than normal. I wonder what the furnace was used for normally? Was it just there to throw people into or did it have another purpose? There are probably commentaries and writings somewhere that explain it, but I digress. Nebuchadnezzar then ordered his strongest men to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and cast them into the furnace. It was so hot that these men he gave the order to perished carrying out his command. But wait! That's not the end...

The king suddenly noticed that there were not just three men in the furnace, there were FOUR and "the fourth looks like a son of the gods" (Daniel 3:25b, NIV). He approached the furnace and called to them to come out. He and the princes, governors, captains and counsellors saw that these men not only were alive and well, but not a hair nor their clothing was singed. They didn't even smell like smoke.

"Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who hath sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies that they might not serve or worship any god, except their own God" (Daniel 3:28, KJV).

And then they got a promotion. I don't think the thought of a promotion was what compelled them to stand firm in their faith. They were doing what their hearts convicted them to do, to stay true to God the Father at all cost. May we be as bold in our faith when faced with the fires of this life.

"We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22b).