“Trial by the Beast”

Scripture: Daniel 6:13-28

Last week, we saw how Daniel’s fellow governmental officials became jealous of him, and plotted to rid themselves of the Hebrew. Daniel, in faith, not only continued to trust in his God, but he began to pray even more earnestly and more intentionally. Through it all, he was strengthened by the Spirit of God, and never gave in to the threats of the world.

But today, we see just what the Spirit can do for a faithful person, when they are willing to put it all on the line for Almighty God.

Read Daniel 6:13-16

It would seem that Daniel’s faith had finally sold him down the creek, and there wasn’t a single paddle in sight! Or was there? The Holy Spirit is always present but seldom in an obvious way. It comes in faith, and it works in faith, and no matter what the world or the church may think, no one can influence it one way or the other. It is who it is, and it does what it does.
But what it does is purely a matter of bringing glory to Almighty God. It isn’t to make our lives easier, and it isn’t to make the world’s lives more difficult – it is, through the faith and righteousness of God’s people, a demonstration of Divine power and holy grace. And we are never quite sure of when or how he will appear, but we do know that it always involves a step in faith by us before he can begin.

The American novelist Peter Matthiessen writes:
Explore the road of life. You may discover all sorts of bears and lions on the road, but the lions never get out of the road of the person who waits to see the way clear before starting to walk.
- Peter Matthiessen The Snow Leopard (New York: Viking Press, 1978)

The Spirit will never begin to clear our way until we start the journey, trusting that we are on his path and in his way.

The lions in Daniel’s case were those who were opposing him – not the king, and certainly not the beast – it was the other officials. The king had been duped by his administrators, and now was simply following the law of the land. Even Jesus told us that we are to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22: 15-22, etal), and Darius seems to be doing both. He even offers a prayer to God on Daniel’s behalf, which might very well have caused the other officials some major concern! They had tricked him into setting himself up as a “most high god”, and now it might appear that he was reversing his belief!

Could the Spirit be working in Darius’ life too?

Read Daniel 6:17-22

“Has your God saved you?” The king’s words are more of a plea than a simple question! It actually implies the answer that Darius wanted – that God has, indeed, kept Daniel safe. But it also suggests that a lot of doubt continued to cloud the king’s heart and mind. He wanted God to rescue Daniel, but he wasn’t all that sure that he would or could! But he would soon discover that Daniel’s God had a power beyond anything that he could develop or even imagine.

And so, we come to the first understanding as to whom the Trial of the Beast was for. It wasn’t for Daniel, as his faith never faltered, his trust in God never wavered, and he never doubted that the Lord would be with him no matter what happened. Remember the 3 young men in the fiery furnace? They told Nebuchadnezzar that their God could save them from the fire, but that even if he didn’t, he was still their God and that the idol of gold wasn’t! (Daniel 3:16-18) That was the same faith that Daniel was exhibiting.
Daniel wasn’t on trial – the trial was for Darius. Darius had liked Daniel, and knew what he had been doing to make the kingdom great. Daniel had never caused him any concern, never cheated him of wealth or prestige or power, never used his position to make himself appear exceptional or better than others, and never used it to demean any other official or person.
Daniel was a great benefit to the king, and when he finally realized the predicament that he had forced his favored subject into, he turned to the only power that he thought might be able to save the day – Daniel’s Almighty and Glorious Jehovah! It wasn’t in a personal faith that made him do this, but rather in the faith that he had witnessed in Daniel.
Darius was tried by the peril of the beast, and, I believe, was found worthy.

Read Daniel 6:23-28

No charring or even the smell of smoke on the clothes of the 3 young men (Daniel 3:26-27), and not a scratch on Daniel. Now that was a mighty powerful force that working in and for them, wasn’t it! And the proof of God’s power and wisdom wasn’t lost on Darius – the very sentence that the others had tried to have imposed on their intended victim was turned around and pronounced on them and their families.

Which brings us to the second understanding of who the trial was for. It certainly wasn’t the lion (!), and Daniel was vindicated by God’s salvation – the trial was for those who had falsely accused this man of God. They had opposed Daniel simply because he was sitting in a better light with Darius than they were. He was honest, skilled, and faithful to both God and his king, and they weren’t. They had used deceit against the king, and convinced him to issue an edict that would accomplish their means and little else. And Darius would see through their ploy.

The “trial by lion” was not only for Darius, but also for these officials, and they, unlike Darius, were found wanting and unworthy.

Daniel had been kept safe even while he was in the midst of a fury. We may wonder why God didn’t just keep the officials from setting the scheme up in the first place! But if he did, how would that bring such unmistakable glory to him? Why didn’t God give Darius the wisdom to see what they were up to, and then nip their whole plan in the bud? Same answer – where would the glory for God come from?
Daniel had to be placed in a precarious position for the entire night, so that the Lord’s power could be demonstrated in such an incredible and unexpected manner. Was Daniel overjoyed that he would be used by God in this way? Not especially! Remember that when he heard about the edict, he went straight to his room and began praying for the Lord’s help. But he was praying with confidence that the prayers would be answered, he was praying with a faith that was strong and focused, he was praying to his God who he knew in an intimate and holy way. Daniel wasn’t sure how his Lord God Jehovah would respond to his prayers - he just knew that he would.

Isn’t it interesting that God not only kept him safe from the lions, but once the stone was sealed on the lion’s den, the opposing factions no longer had a word to say.

George Bernard Shaw once wrote:
I never thought much of the courage of a lion tamer. Inside the cage, he is at least safe from people.
--George Bernard Shaw

In his faithful obedience to both the Lord and king Darius, Daniel would be safe from all harm – from the lion as well as those who hated him.

How strong is our faith? How focused and intentional and trusting are our prayers? Do we have a relationship with Almighty God that will survive and even grow when we find ourselves facing our own “lions”?

One last thought - remember Daniel’s words from the pit – “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.” It wasn’t “an” angel, it wasn’t “one angel” – it was “his” angel. Periodically in scripture, we read the words “the angel of the Lord”. Out of 197 references to “angel” in scripture, I found 52 references to “angel of the Lord” (all but 1 of which was in the Old Testament), and 8 more of “his angel”. Some scholars believe that these references aren’t to the average heavenly being, but to Jesus Himself. Every one of the above references were in a significant situation and not one in which God was simply sending a message to someone.
Are we truly prepared to experience the power of Christ, whether in his presence or in the coming of the Holy Spirit? Do we believe that his power is absolute and perfect, just as the 3 young Hebrew men did, just as Daniel did, just as Peter and John would, just as Paul would, just as countless men and women through the ages have? That is what faith is all about.
It’s not about being fearless – it’s about trusting. It’s not about living perfectly – it’s about receiving the righteousness of God through faith in Christ.

The next time your “lions” begin to growl and roar at you, start praying, just as Daniel did, for God’s help. And leave the means of that help completely up to him. God is faithful and will always give to his faithful. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, we read “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so you can stand up under it.”

Believe it! The Lord will be with us in all trials, as well as in all victories, and Jehovah Jireh will provide!

“Trial by Deceit”

Scripture: Daniel 6:1-12

Today is Pentecost – the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church. (Acts 2:1-41) It’s the day when God’s promise that he “would never leave us” is fulfilled. (Deuteronomy 31:6-8 & Hebrews 13:5-6) It is also, I believe, the day when Satan came to the realization that not only had he gained nothing in Christ’s crucifixion, but in fact, had lost it all. But the time for his final surrender has not yet come, and he would continue to seize the opportunities for more mischief and more damage to God’s people.

This isn’t to say, though, that Pentecost is when Satan’s work began. It was simply the day when the world, which at one time had been solely in his domain (Matthew 4:1-11), would be opened to the Lord’s salvation. Israel would no longer have sole possession of God’s grace – now all nations could experience the redemption and cleansing that comes through the blood of Christ. And not only could the people from all nations realize the promise of Godly presence, but they would also come to understand the hatred and deceit that defines Satan.

Both Israel’s legacy of God’s love and the world’s loathing would now be ours, just as it was Daniel’s. But no one gets God without Satan sticking his nose into the mix.

Read Daniel 6:1-5

Timothy Bagwell writes:
Jesus avoided conversations that tried to persuade by analyzing fine points of the law (cf. the scribes and Pharisees). Rather, he helped people picture the kingdom of God, and he invited them to see themselves in the picture.
--Timothy J. Bagwell, Preaching for Giving: Proclaiming Financial Stewardship With Holy Boldness (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1993), 55.

For Daniel, obeying the law wasn’t a matter of sacrifice - it was an opportunity to come closer to his Lord. He was intimate with God, he was focused on God, and nothing – not the world, not pagans, not masters or conquers - could come between them. But this would never stop the worldly from trying.

And they are still trying! And as often as it happens, I continue to be amazed that they would even care! Why should it make any difference to others whether we are disciples of Jesus Christ or not? But the more I think about it, it seems that it isn’t so much that people stand against the Church, but that it is Satan who objects to our faith, and he uses humanity to do his bidding, just as the Almighty does.
It was Satan who put temptation before Adam and Eve; it was Satan who put jealousy in Cain’s heart; it was Satan who hardened the hearts of Israel during the Exodus; and the list goes on and on until it is far longer than we have time to relate. It is the great Accuser who tears our relationships apart, he is the one who corrupts our faith, and he is the one who causes great dissention in the Church of today. And the greater our faith is, the harder he works to disrupt it.

And so it was with Daniel. His service to Darius was exceptional, and the other administrators and all of the sub-administrators didn’t like it. His heritage was different, his faith was different, they saw him as an outsider, and he had to go. Why couldn’t they see this Hebrew as a good example, one who they could learn from, one who could put them in a good light with the king? They couldn’t, because Satan told them a lie - that Daniel was a threat to their positions – and they believed it. He turns our benefits into liabilities; he turns our blessings into curses; he turns the joy of Almighty God into a burden on our lives.
And for Daniel, the plot would only get thicker and thicker.

Read Daniel 6:6-9

They could find no fault in Daniel, so they decided to come against him in faith. That’s Satan’s work - he puts pride in the heart of Darius, and uses the officials of the land to accomplish it. Remember that Pentecost morning, when the faithful began to speak in tongues, and the Spirit was roaring through the house, and people began to gather to find out what was happening? One man in the crowd, in response to the question “What does this mean?”, replied “O just ignore them – they’re all drunk!” Everyone could not only hear the disciples, but they could understand them. And because the phenomenon couldn’t be explained, it was ridiculed.
Satan? You bet! But on Pentecost, a large portion of the crowd listened just the same, and heard the message that Peter was to offer, and 3,000 would be baptized and come to faith in Jesus Christ.
But what about Daniel? The deceit of the governmental officials was taking place, and the king, even though he had great trust in the Hebrew, fell for their ruse, and the order was given. Everyone would be required to worship the king, without question and without exception, for an entire month. Including Daniel.

Read Daniel 6:10-12

But Daniel wasn’t about to comply. Deceit or no deceit, edict or no edict – his God was still his one and only God, and he promptly turned to the only source of truth to help him through this situation.

Do you know the song “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together.” The third verse reads “Sometimes the church is marching, sometimes it’s bravely burning, sometimes it’s riding, sometimes hiding, always its learning.”(“We Are the Church”, The United Methodist Hymnal, The United Methodist Publishing House, Nashville, 1989, pg 558)

This hymn isn’t about the church as an institution – it’s about the church in you and me. Sometimes our faith is under attack, sometimes it is in doubt, sometimes it is gloriously proclaiming Christ, sometimes it is retreating, sometimes it is strong, and sometimes it is completely silent. That’s where Daniel was that day – under attack – and in faith, he knew that he was not going to be able to withstand the assault by himself. So, in defiance of the king’s order, he turns to God, in prayer, for help.

Daniel didn’t have a body of believers that he could to turn to – no church, no synagogue, no faithful friend. He was alone. He had been placed in an exalted position in the nation’s government, but even that did him no good. Not only was his faith under attack, but the continuation of his physical existence had become very uncertain!
For 3,200 years, the faithful of Israel have been pushed and shoved and beaten and stomped on, and faith survived even though many of the people haven’t. For 2,000 years, the Body of Christ has suffered a similar fate, and faith has not only survived, but it has, for some reason, grown. There has never been much hard physical evidence to support the claims of Christianity, and yet, faith has lived on in the lives of millions upon millions of souls.

I believe that Pentecost – the explosion of faith – is an ongoing event in the lives of God’s people. The Spirit of Pentecost has sustained the faithful in times of trial, in times of exile, in times of conquest, in times of burning and hiding and fleeing. This is the same Spirit that would be with Daniel as he faced judgment for his refusal to turn away from the Living God. The Spirit was with the disciples as they moved from days of despair, to days of fear, to days of realization, and into days of faithful ministry. This Spirit would be with Saul on the Road to Damascus, and in Ananias’ house, and in ministry to the gentile world. That same Spirit has been with Christians for 2,000 years when they have struggled and when they have rejoiced, and is with us today.

Pentecost isn’t just about speaking in tongues or a wind that howled through the lives of thousands – it is about overcoming the deceit and hatred of the world, day by day, through the power of the Spirit of God. Pentecost isn’t about the burning or the hiding or the abuse that comes our way – it is about proclaiming the grace and glory and promise that comes to us from the Incarnate God, the Son the God, the Redeeming God – the one who we know as Jesus the Christ.
Our faith will constantly be under trial – not from God, but from Satan. Satan knows that his defeat is near, and that Jesus’ victory cannot be stopped or delayed, but he will continue to try to break the spirit of the faithful.
Daniel’s trial isn’t over – we’ll see more of it next week. And our days of trial aren’t finished, either. But Daniel knew that his God would never leave him, and we know that we will never be forgotten or abandoned, and that is the good news that we must share with the world, even as they plot and scheme to destroy us.

Live in the Spirit, and while the world does their worse, know that we have the Best!

“Trial By the Word”

Scripture: Daniel 5 (Selected verses)

I believe that one of the greatest gifts that we have ever received in creation is language – it blesses us in so many ways. We use it to convey thought – our hopes, our needs, the things that trouble us, the things that thrill us. We use it to express opinions and judgments and convictions, and it allows us to share them with others. We use it to entertain, to teach, to preserve, to compare, to relate. Without language – whether written or spoken or in thought – we are lost and isolated from the world.
And yet, even with language, there is still so much that we can’t convey and don’t understand. But with the help of others, and through our use of language, we can at least begin to discuss those strange and difficult to understand concepts with each other, and possibly to come to some level of awareness of their meaning for our lives.

And the understanding that language can bring to us doesn’t just bless us - it can frightens us, convict us, and even threaten to destroy us.

Read Daniel 5:1-6

Belshazzar used his gift of language to insult Almighty God, and he would quickly begin to understand his error. Not only had he used the temple treasures in a sacrilegious way, not only had he used these holy treasures to honor pagan gods, but he seriously underestimated the power of the one true God!
But this was what Babylonian kings did with the sacred relics of defeated nations. Normally, it was the captured icons and idols and images that they would trot out during banquets and other celebrations, but since Israel was not allowed to make an image of God for their worship (Exodus 20:4), Belshazzar desecrates the ritual goblets and vessels instead. It was simply a way of saying “I am more powerful than your God!”, but he was to soon discover just how wrong he was.
And while they rejoiced in the gods of their nature, the very ones that had been created by the Almighty, God appears and displays his judgment.

Have you ever wondered just how long God will wait to confront sin? How long he will allow his holy name to be ridiculed and demeaned by his created order? How long he will tolerate the paganism and sacrilege that opposes his will? Could it possibly be a Godly trait to be accepting of these things? For many, open-mindedness toward the sinfulness of the world is a good thing; many believe that we are to be accepting and tolerant of everything, and never judgmental. But scripture would have us know differently – Psalm 52 tells us that we must stop boasting of evil, to stop loving evil, and to turn our lives back to the way of the Lord. Romans 6:1-14 calls us to die to sin and to become alive to God in Christ Jesus. So the question before us today isn’t how long will God wait but rather how long can we wait? And the answer is “We can’t wait!”

And in Belshazzar’s case, God didn’t wait either. The word of God begins to come to him, but because of his faithless life, he can only comprehend the significance of the writing, but not the specifics. The word of God didn’t make sense to the king, but he knew that it was from a power beyond anything that he had ever known. Belshazzar knew that even though he didn’t understand the message, even though the words didn’t make sense to him, they were being given for a reason.
I wish the people of today had that much wisdom when it comes to receiving the word of God! We have all heard “If it doesn’t make sense, ignore it. If it offers little support for your life, then it must be for someone else.” The problem is that folks try to analyze scripture piece by piece, instead of taking it as a whole. There is a reason that we call the Bible the word of God – singular! We are to see scripture, not simply as 66 books, or as 1,189 Chapters, or as 31,101 verses – we are to receive it as a single message. It must be taken as a whole, or we will miss the entire gift.
Belshazzar was frightened enough that he wanted to know what the message meant for him.

Read Daniel 6:7-9

The message remains as clear as mud! The Babylonian scholars don’t understand the words either, and because the meaning of the words continues to be hidden from him, Belshazzar becomes even more worried. But the queen would remember what Daniel had done for the king’s father, Nebuchadnezzar, and the Hebrew prophet would be called to reveal the meaning of the words that had been written on the wall.

Read Daniel 6:13-17

Why Daniel? Why not these men who were intelligent, and gifted, why not those who had experience at this thing? The truth is that they had no faith, no connection to the God of Israel, and therefore, they could neither speak nor understand his language. But Daniel could.
As each of us grew up physically, we also grew in our language. A friend from my college days was married to a woman from Quebec, and they were raising their young son to speak both English and French. He told me that the boy, as he began to talk, would mix French and English words within a single sentence, which caused no little confusion when friends came to visit. But it was a natural and normal thing for the little boy.
When we, as adults, venture into the world of multilingualism, it usually requires a concerted effort on our part. How many of you studied a foreign language in high school or college? I took Spanish, and quite honestly, it was a disaster. I didn’t put nearly enough time and effort into learning the language, and learned just about enough to be able to order a meal when my ship (U.S. Navy) made a port call in Valencia, Spain. And today, I might be able to recall 5-6 words. A Spanish translator I am not!
The best way to learn a language is to live with someone who speaks both that language and yours fluently. Daniel knew God’s language because he spent time with him, and trusted him, and believed that the Lord would teach him all that he needed to know. And he did.

Read Daniel 6:22-31

Daniel gives the king, in no uncertain words, the reason that he doesn’t understand the meaning behind God’s words – he isn’t humble, he has taken a stand against the Lord’s ways, he has desecrated the items taken from the temple, he glorifies gods who have no power and no standing, and ridicules the one God who has all power. And the faithful Daniel brings life to the words that the Lord wrote.

Interestingly, many scholars believe that the words which were written on that Babylonian wall have a financial significance. Mene implies “counting”, Tekel means “to weigh”, and Peres means to “divide”, with Parsin probably referring to the Persians who would be at their door that very night.
Daniel tells the king that the number of days of his life are running out, that he has been weighed and judged and found wanting, and that the once all powerful kingdom of Babylon will be defeated and divided between two new earthly powers. And that night, the prophecy would be fulfilled.

Belshazzar was tried by the word of God, and he failed in the judgment. He had lived his life with the sole purpose of bringing glory to himself. He cared nothing for others. He refused to show respect and honor to the Living and True God. And because of these failings, he was kept from understanding the words that were given to him until a man of God was brought to explain them.
Is it any wonder that some people still believe that the Word of God has become irrelevant in the 21st century? Is it any wonder that some actually believe that the scriptures need to be rewritten to bring them up to the world’s standards for life? Consider the words of condemnation that Belshazzar was judged by – self-glorified; uncaring; disrespectful and dishonoring toward God; filled with self and empty of the Spirit; weighed and found wanting; divided and no longer one. Sound familiar? And the world, too, will be judged, not by some capricious standard, but by the Living Word of God.

If these words of judgment fit any of our lives, we need to make some radical and drastic changes, and it must be done quickly! Trial by the Word will not be delayed.

“Trial By Fire”

Scripture: Daniel 3 (Selected verses)

During the month of May, we will be looking at some of the trials that people of faith are subjected to. In some instances, our struggles are similar to those of the world, such as illness, finances, hunger, and so on, but there are others that are unique to the faithful, and they usually center on issues related to persecution.
But even in the commonality that we have with non-Christians, we approach our troubles, and we deal with our troubles, in different ways. When we get sick or break our arm, we all go to a doctor for treatment and care – or at least we should! When we lose our job, or experience financial setbacks, we change our lifestyle to reduce expenses, and set out to find a new job. We all do that. When we’re hungry, we eat. When we’re tired, we sleep. Nothing very surprising here.
But when we have problems in our relationships, or when we are hated because of what we look like and because of who we are, or even when we have some of the same troubling issues that our counterparts experience, we see the situation, and our way through it, in a different way. Instead of trying to resolve the issue on our own, or just bucking up and moving through the physical pain or emotional hurt with our own strength, we look to the one who not only can help us resolve our struggle, but who will walk with us through our darkness and who will never leave us.
That is the difference - people of faith have always, and will always, depend on their Lord God for guidance and wisdom and power to get them through their trials. And so, for the next 4 weeks, we will consider the divine lessons that we are to learn through the Book of Daniel. The children of Israel were in captivity; they were being held in slavery in Babylon; they were subject to all the rules and demands of a pagan society; and it wasn’t a pleasant time for them. Today, we begin with a look at the extent that some will go to in showing their disdain toward the faith of others.

Read Daniel 3:1-7

Have you ever had one of those days when something happens, and you just know that it will never bode well for you? When Israel heard this particular decree, they had that same sinking feeling – that it was not going be a good thing for them. Worship the gold idol, or die – it was to be, literally, a “trial by fire” for the people. The decree would test their resolve to be faithful to their God, it would test their courage to do what was right, and they knew that Nebuchadnezzar would, without hesitation, enforce the penalty on all who refused to worship.

But the strange thing is that the King knew Daniel and the faith that he had in the true God. Daniel had interpreted a dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s when no one else could. The King showed great honor to the Israelite, he knew the power and wisdom that came from their God, and yet, with the erection of this monstrous gold god, he was, in essence, thumbing his nose at Daniel’s Lord. And just to make sure that everyone knew about it, he summons all of the officials of the land, and there were a lot of them, to come to the dedication of this travesty. The ceremony occurs, the music plays, and everyone obediently falls down in worship to this most recently ordained idol – partly out of respect for the king, but primarily, I think, out of fear for the reprisals!
But they don’t all fall down. Some do not, and it includes 3 young Israelite men who had been placed in positions of authority in the kingdom. Because of their offices, they had become more visible than other Jews, and their disobedience quickly came to the attention of the king’s astrologers. Now we may not see much authority in someone who tries to discern the future, and to unravel mysteries, through the movement of the heavenly bodies. But the people of Daniel’s day did. These men had great influence, and they used it very effectively.

And what was the charge that was brought against the 3 men? They “pay no attention to you, O king.”, which was pretty serious in and of itself, but it got worse. Not only weren’t they doing what the king had ordered, but they had no interest or respect for the king’s gods, and more importantly, in this new one.
Religious freedom was a foreign concept in those days. There was no freedom of choice – you simply worshipped the same as your leaders did. And now, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in trouble.

Read Daniel 3:13-15

You can repent of your sacrilegious attitude, or you can die. Some choice!! Simple, but not especially pleasant! Deny the one true God, or be burned to death. And as if the penalty wasn’t dire enough, Nebuchadnezzar throws out an insult to them – “Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”
Did the king really think that he was more powerful than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? After what Daniel had done for him? Now, maybe the king was thinking about the gods he knew and not the Almighty God, remembering what his gods had been unable to do in the past, and how he was able to do things that they could not. That would put a false sense of power in your heart, if anything would.
There are many people today who consider our God to be bound by many of the same limitations that we are - that standards tend to change with the circumstances that confront us; that decisions are not perfect and must be modified to make them pertinent for the moment; that Godly power can come and go, that it can be strong one minute and weak the next; that God will back down when the going gets tough.
This is about as great a mistake as any that can be made. The king had totally misjudged the power and majesty of God, and he had totally missed the fact that their faith was absolute - that his bullying could never make a difference in their dedication to their Sovereign God.

Read Daniel 3:16-18

The men not only refused the king’s overture to repent, but they refuse to even defend themselves against the charges! Think about it – if they attempted to justify their decision to deny the false god, the king would only have grown more angry; if they had witnessed to their faith in the true God, the king would have refused to listen; if they had appealed to the king’s good nature (which he didn’t really have!), he would have laughed at them. And besides that, why should anyone have to defend God? The omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God of the universe, needing to be defended by the likes of us? There is nothing in all of scripture that calls us to do that! We are to simply follow him and worship him and obey him. Period.

And that is what Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego do. “Our God can save us, no matter what you try to do to silence us. And even if he chooses to let us die, we still won’t worship in your false way!”

That’s what God wants to hear! Faith, and faith, and faith again!

And they are thrown into a furnace that has been stoked up to a heat that is 7 times hotter than it has ever been before – so hot that the soldiers who push them in die from the heat. But the 3 Hebrew men do not!

Read Daniel 3: 24-27

God will not allow them to go through this alone, and a “son of the gods” has joined them. It makes you wonder if this image is not just an angel, but the Angel of the Lord, the true and only Son of God? Has Jesus himself joined them, and in the joining, protects them? In this most severe “trial by fire”. Greater than anything that anyone could possibly imagine, Jesus is with them.

And when the king orders the 3 to come out of the furnace, the same furnace that killed the strongest soldiers of the kingdom, there isn’t even a hint of first degree burns on their bodies, not even one singed hair on their heads, not even the scent of smoke on their clothes – no evidence whatsoever that they were even near the furnace, let alone deep inside it.

The condemnation of the world can never hold a candle, if you’ll pardon the expression(!), against the salvation of Jesus Christ. Not then, and not now. And Nebuchadnezzar recognizes the power of their God, and rightly decides that he had better change his attitude toward Almighty God, and lets his subjects know that no one is allowed to say anything against the God of Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego.

What a demonstration of faith! And we think our trials are difficult! Think about the extent that God went to for these 3 young Jewish boys, and then imagine what he would do for us in our daily circumstances. In illness, in financial loss, in job setbacks, in the corruption of our relationships, in times of persecution and ridicule, in hunger and thirst and exhaustion.

Remember Jesus words:
Matthew 21:22 – “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
And in John 16:23-24 – “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. .. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

But Jesus cautions us that “to ask in his name” can never be a shallow and halfhearted effort. “IF YOU BELIEVE” is the critical phrase here, because just saying Jesus name is not enough – to ask in his name is a statement of faith, a declaration of who we believe in. Shadrack, Meshach and Abednego had faith – solid and unwavering faith – and just see what it brought to them! If we come to the Lord in faith - firm and steadfast, unyielding to the pressures of the world - just imagine what he will do for you!

We have our own trials by fire every day – some are faith shaking, some are soul stretching, and some are life threatening. But none, I expect, are quite as challenging as the one that faced these 3 Hebrew men. God was faithful to them, and he will be faithful to us – in all circumstances, in all situations, in all trials.
Give Almighty God a chance to prove the power of any request that you make in Jesus name, and you, too, will immerge without a single trace of trial left on your soul.