“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
Dear Faithful, Fearless and Fruitful Seed Sowers,
This is my prayer for you as we travel through some of the big, bible stories together. I pray you remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray the Holy Spirit emboldens you to remain fearless and I pray that you plant all the seeds you can and that those seeds grow each season.
Do you believe these three words: GOD WITH US? or even GOD WITH ME?
How do these three words affect your life? How could these three words affect your life?
Over the next few weeks, we will spend time together in the Old Testament book of Daniel. Today we jump into the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and then we find our ourselves in the lion’s den with Daniel.
Get ready! This is going to be a great series to put yourself into the story! Maybe you already feel like you’re there, living the story! Maybe it feels like you have been in a fiery furnace this past year or maybe you’ve found yourself in the lion’s den with this worldwide pandemic.
The GOOD NEWS is found in these three, small, but mighty, words:
GOD WITH US.
GOD WITH ME.
Let’s set the stage for the next two weeks as we study Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel:
Babylon is the ruling power in the days of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar is the King of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar has already attacked the southern kingdom of Judah three times, beginning in 605 B.C. The second invasion occurred in 597 B.C. when Jehoiakim, son of the king of Judah mentioned in Daniel 1:1–2, was compelled to surrender Jerusalem and go into captivity with many of the Jewish leaders, including the royal family, the commanders of the army, craftsmen, and some of the priests like Ezekiel. The third invasion is the one I remember the most. It took place in 586B.C. when Jerusalem was completely destroyed, and the people of the land were deported to Babylon. A side note of interest is that the prophet Jeremiah was in Jerusalem at the time of this final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
Daniel and his three friends were taken in the first deportation of the people of Judah under King Jehoiakim. All four of these young men came from noble or royal descent and were teenagers when taken into captivity. All four had been given Jewish names that reflected their families’ faith and their God: Daniel and Mishael both end in “el’ which is the plural for “Elohim.” Daniel means — “God is my Judge,” Mishael means, “Who is like God?” The names of the other two, Hananiah and Azariah, both contain a shortened form of the name Jehovah. Hananiah means “Jehovah is Gracious” while Azariah means “Jehovah is my Helper”. The very names of these men were reminders of their heritage and a challenge for them to remain faithful to the Lord. But now, they were deported into a strange, pagan land, and their names were changed. Add insult to injury because their new names contain a reference to one of the false gods of the ancient Babylonians: Marduk, Aku and Nego. Daniel wan renamed Belteshazzar, which means “Guard my life,” it was a prayer to Marduk, one of the Babylonian pagan gods. By changing their Jewish names to Babylonian names, this was a way of saying that these four, young men who had been servants of the Jewish God, were now servants and worshipers of the gods of the pagan pantheon. How would you like to be renamed by a pagan system, after a false god?
I want to emphasize something here, and it’s a good “SO WHAT?” for us. The change of their names accomplished nothing.
You see, King Nebuchadnezzar had changed the men’s names, but he could not change their hearts. What does this mean for you and me? No matter we are going through, no matter how tough life is–no one can change your heart without your permission. Remember this.
The four men remained faithful to the true God of Israel.
Will we be faithful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? When life gets burning hot, will I remain faithful? (Write that down. Think about that!)
As we begin this story, I want you to place yourself into what’s going on. We’re not in Kansas anymore. We’re in Babylon. Nothing is the same, nothing is familiar anymore; they have even changed our names to honor their gods.
Can you relate? A year ago, things were pretty normal but not for long. Covid 19 hit us and so did masks, gloves and the rush on paper products! Life has not been normal. Life has been anything but normal this past year. And, yet, can we be more like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Can we remain faithful to God?
GOD WITH US!
GOD WITH ME.
When Daniel and his three friends were taken captive to a foreign land and given different names did God make a mistake? Did God forsake them? As we are all faced with a world-wide pandemic, does God not know what is happening? Has God forgotten us?
Has your faith begun to fail? Go ahead and read this story. Put yourself right there into Babylon. And answer this question:
To whom or to what do I bow?
As you read, remember this: These young men did not sit down and rationalize our their options. They did not justify their actions. They did not go and discuss their decision with others. They did not stop to consider the arguments of others. These young men simply remained faithful to their one, true God.
So What?
I am reminded of the great theologian and church reformer, Martin Luther, when he was on trial at the Diet of Worms. Luther was told by his authorities to recant his convictions, and to recant the 95 questions on the door of the Wittenberg Castle. Listen to Luther’s reply as his very life was at stake: “Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me.”
I have a long homework project for you to do this week. Read the following question. Pray about it. Think about it. You can even discuss it with people you love. Here’s the question:
What are my convictions? (Conviction: a firmly held belief or opinion.)
And now a final “So What?” homework question: which of the above convictions are worth the fiery furnace to you?
“HERE I STAND. I CAN DO NO OTHER. May God be with me.” Isn’t it just another way of saying, “GOD WITH US” or “GOD WITH ME”?
As I close, the past few weeks have been pretty intense for my wife and I. Caring for Dad in our home has many challenges. Remember the recent MOHS surgery I had on my nose and shoulder? I’m sensitive to the stitches, the gauze, the tape that were used. I have four, dissolvable stitches in my shoulder and it’s going to take 3-4 months for them to dissolve. My entire left side of my shoulder is aflame. I’ve not been taken into captivity by any means but let’s just say, “I get Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And, I’m not bowing down to anything or anyone except the one, true God.”
Are you there? Are you with me?
Next week we conclude the fiery furnace and move into the lions’ den. Oh, man! I can hardly wait!
Spoiler alert for next week: there’s a fourth man in the fire and there’s another in your fiery furnace, too.
GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I!
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com
Join us for worship on Sunday at 10am Pacific. The link for the live interactive worship is:
theseedchristianfellowship.online.church
if you miss the 10am worship on Sunday you can always go to our YouTube channel and watch the complete worship service or just the children’s message for your children or the weekly sermon.
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