God does have a great sense of humor. That’s something that
I forget about sometimes when I’m going through something that feels an awful
lot like hell. In Daniel 3:14-29, King Nebuchadnezzar makes a statue of gold
that he decrees that everyone must bow down to. Daniel’s friends, Shadrach,
Mishach and Abednego refuse, because they are following the commandment of God
that we should not make any idol or bow down and worship idols.
When I looked up the story, I found a website called “The Bible Story,” that
had a children’s story version, but it’s not a silly one, it’s just put into
every day words: http://www.thebiblestory.com/tbs/samp_stor_fiery.php.
It also adds some thoughts in the minds of the people in the story, a little
extra description and color, and the additions helped me to see how easy it is
for us to justify breaking the commandments of God.
Shadrach, Mishach and
Abednego are facing certain death. The fire is hot enough already, and the King
gets into such a rage because they will not obey him that he has his servants
turn up the fire seven times hotter. The men who put Shadrach, Mishach and
Abednego into the fire are burned up on the spot just by opening the door and
putting them in. In the children's story version, the author, Arthur Maxwell, writes about
Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego that, “It was an awful moment for the three young
men. Nobody likes to be burned alive. They could see smoke rising from the
furnace which the king would use to punish people like them, and they knew very
well that Nebuchadnezzar would do exactly as he had said if they disobeyed him
again. They could have said to themselves, ‘Well, just bowing down once won’t
matter very much. We wouldn’t really be worshipping the statue. We would just
do it to please the king who has been so good to us.’ But they did no such
thing. They remembered the commandment of God, ‘You shall not make for yourself
an idol . . . You shall not bow down to them or worship them.’ And they decided
that they must obey God rather than man. ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, . . . ‘ they said
respectfully, ‘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.”
That is always the most amazing part of the story for me.
Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego knew that the king was serious, and they did not
know if God would choose to deliver them or not. But in spite of the very real
fire and the very real intention of the king to throw them into it if they did
not bow down before his golden image, in spite of not knowing whether or not
God would deliver them, they refused to go against the commandment of God. And
of course they are delivered, and of course the king recognizes that there is a
God who is greater than he is, and greater than any other gods he is
worshipping.The way they are delivered is beautiful, but it’s also something that makes me laugh. The children's story version I read says it this way, “Throw then in!’ yelled the king in his wild anger. The soldiers obeyed. Picking up the three young men, they threw them into the furnace, then fell to the ground and died from the terrible heat. Nebuchadnezzar did not care. His foolish jealousy was satisfied. Nobody would dare to disobey him again. As for the three young Hebrews and their God, at this point he was glad to be rid of them. Suddenly the cry was raised, ‘Look! There’s somebody in the fire!’ ‘What?’ cried the king. ‘Impossible!’ But there was. Wide eyed with amazement, Nebuchadnezzar gazed through the open doors of the blazing furnace. Yes, there was somebody inside it. Two people in fact, no three, four! Others were looking now, everybody who could get close enough to peer in. ‘Weren’t there three men who we tied up and threw into the fire?’ cried the king. ‘Certainly, O king,’ said those about him. ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed. And the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’ I love that image of the four men in the fire, and how surprised the king and everyone else must have been. God could have just had them miraculously appear outside of the furnace, but He didn't choose to do it that way. The children's story version I read ends this way, “It was a wonderful deliverance, and God used it to cheer the hearts of His people in the days of their captivity. It must have been a comfort to them to know that He was willing to walk in the fire with those three dear faithful young men. Perhaps He will do the same for you some day.”
It’s a great image, the three men who go into the furnace, bound by ropes and facing certain death, and then there is a fourth man, who looks like the the son of God, who walks with them. Every time I read that story I can see it, and it is beautiful and funny all at the same time. The king thought he had them in his power, and all of his servants and subjects, the people who had told him that Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego refused to bow down to his image, everyone thought they were done for. I can see how they must have been gloating over the victory they thought they had, but when we walk with God and refuse to bow down to an idol that someone else tries to put before us, when we are faithful to God no matter what people threaten us with, He will walk through the fire with us and deliver us, because He is our God and He has called us to be His very own. When I read the story of Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego, I think of the times that I face things in my own life that try to threaten me away from what I know to be right before God, and it gives me the courage to say, "You thought that was too hot? It's hotter in hell!"
In Isaiah 43:1-3, we read, “But now thus said the Lord that
created you, O Jacob, and He that formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have
redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are mine. When you pass
through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not
overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither
shall the flame kindle on you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy one of
Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you.”
Not only has He called us by name, and not only will He walk with us and
deliver us, but He will also remove our enemies and stop their plans to harm
us. We don’t have to do anything except to trust in Him and keep doing those
things that show that we are His. Keep loving, keep praying, keep being
respectful, keep telling the truth no matter what anyone else says or anyone
else does.
I needed to hear this story, and I needed to hear it in the
way that Arthur Maxwell told it. I needed to hear his words about the “foolish jealousy”
of the king. I needed to hear the last words of his story, that God used the
story to cheer his people in captivity and “Perhaps He will do the same for you
some day.” Even if it were not 90 plus degrees outside, I’ve been going through
something for the past few months that has me feeling like the fire just
keeps getting hotter and hotter. And all because someone wants me to bow down
to them and not to God, all because someone wants to show their control over my life and keep me in captivity. They’ve been trying everything in their power to break
my faith and my spirit, to make me believe that they have power over me and that my faith means nothing, that I am not a child of God, but God keeps helping me to keep going. I have known
intellectually that He’s with me, but as I was taking a walk last night I was
asking Him for some help, some encouragement, something to remind me that I
wasn’t going to be destroyed by this person who has been trying to destroy me. And
then I started writing, and He said to look up that story, and the version that
came up was the very one that I needed to hear.
When I was taking a walk on Friday night, I went to one of
the supermarkets near where I live and found a flowering plant called “Gaura” that
was marked down to 50 cents. They had stopped blooming because they had
outgrown their pots and I didn’t know if they were annuals or perennials – for anyone
who is reading this who does not garden, an annual will not grow another year,
but a perennial will come back again year after year. I had never heard of a plant called Gaura,
but for 50 cents I thought I’d take a chance. I bought two, one white and one
pink, and I planted them last night in one of the pots in my small garden area.
When I looked up the name, I found out that they are perennials, and they are
also wildflowers that are drought resistant, something that works well in my
container garden, even in years when it is blazingly hot, because I don’t
always have time to water. The plants are also called “Butterfly Gaura,” and a
butterfly is a symbol for our Lord. Butterflies symbolize His resurrection, and also our own. They symbolize the places in our lives that were in bondage and now are free, and the things that held us captive that have no power over us. They symbolize the beauty He gives us after a time of struggle and darkness, and the grace and strength we have in Him. The Butterfly Gaura that I found at my local supermarket for 50 cents was a message to me that He is not only sending one butterfly, but a plant that is covered with them to remind me of who I am in Him.
When we walk through the fire He will always be with us, and
He will make sure that we are not even touched by it. It may feel like it’s
hotter than hell, but it’s really hotter in hell, and as long as we remember
that we don’t need to bow down to anyone or anything else, as long as we know
that He is the only one in charge, as long as we remember that what He has
promised He will do, as long as we know that we can’t pretend to bow down
without losing the battle, as long as we trust that His goodness and
faithfulness can overcome anything that we face, we will be able to walk through
the fire and through the water unbound and unharmed and completely free. We can bloom like wildflowers in any kind of weather, year after year after year, and rise out of a cocoon of darkness to soar free in the open air.
Blessings,
Jannie Susan
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