STANDING TRUE TO GOD IN OUR FIERY TRIALS
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The scene: Babylon – 6th century BC – King Nebuchadnezzar has besieged and defeated Jerusalem. To prove his power over the nation of Judah, he brings 10,000 Israelites of the nobility, young, bright and handsome, to Babylon. Among those selected to be trained for the king’s service are Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom. – Daniel 1:17
The four young Israelites are trained for three years to enter the king’s service. Their divine wisdom and understanding sets them apart, well above any in the kingdom. They soon rise in position and prominence within the royal monarchy.
King Nebuchadnezzar, in a display of pride and power, decides to set up a towering gold idol 90 feet tall on the plain of Dura. He issues a decree that everyone must bow and worship before it or be thrown into a blazing furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego place their absolute faith in the one true God, refusing to bow before any graven image…
Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. – Daniel 3:17
King Nebuchadnezzar is furious that these young men would boldly defy his command. He orders that the furnace be heated to seven times its normal temperature. Daniel’s three friends are bound and tied. The blazing heat is so intense that the soldiers who throw the men into the fiery furnace are killed by the flames.
Expecting to see a quick demise of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the king springs to his feet in astonishment…
Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?…
True, O king
Look!… I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. – Daniel 3:24-25
The three are walking freely through the fire, no longer bound and tied. God has divinely intervened, protecting them from all harm. The fourth figure can be interpreted as the pre-incarnate Christ present with His followers in their fiery trials.
Nebuchadnezzar calls to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to come out of the blazing furnace. The three walk out unscathed, their clothes unscorched, with no scent of smoke upon them. What a miraculous deliverance!
The king praises the God of the Israelites…
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! – Daniel 3:28
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego meet their Rescuer in the blazing furnace… the fourth in the fiery blaze. He is the One who was there at the creation of the world. The One who always was and always will be. The One who has been their Deliverer as they resolutely stood faithful and loyal to God.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. – Isaiah 43:2-3
The Christian walk is never without trials. We are not promised that. A prevalent misconception is that when a person becomes a Christian, their lives will be peaceful, prosperous, secure. Yet we live in a fallen world. Life will not be perfect until we reach our heavenly home.
When we stand for God in this world, we will have trouble. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we can be strong and true to Him in our trials. These biblical heroes chose to not bow to any idol. Even as their royal positions, their secure futures, their very lives were on the line, they remained faithful. We can refuse to worship the worldly gods of power, possessions and security. Our loyalty is to be to God alone.
When trials come our way, we can trust that our Lord will never give up on us. Jesus promises to be with us in trying times. In His sovereign wisdom, He may choose to deliver us… or He may walk into the fire with us, ever by our side throughout the fiery adversity. We may not understand the eternal reasons for the trials we face. Yet we can trust the One in whom our future rests.
† Eternal Takeaway – Jesus is our Rescuer, our Deliverer when we face fiery trials †
