Tuesday, January 22, 2013

What Would You Do?


Daniel 3:4-6 - Then a herald cried aloud: “To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; and whoever does not fall down and worship shall  be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

This is  in the time of Daniel. The Book of Daniel is prophetic. It shows us what happened in the past will happen in the future for some. It is a warning...and a blessing for those who heed the warning.

Look at the world around us. There are idols everywhere. Sports, entertainment, games, occupations, automobiles, power, politicians, food, alcohol, drugs. Anything that consumes our minds. Anything we spend too much time involved in. Anything that takes our minds off the better things, like God.

Moderation. Balance. These are words that should be associated with our lives. Not obsession...or possession.

If you recall, while Moses was up on a mountaintop with God being given the commandments, the people below were sure something had happened to him. Thinking he would not return Aaron directed them to pool their jewelry and precious gold to build a golden calf image so they could worship. They would bow before it. To this day I can't understand how worshiping the image of an animal would be like worshiping God. It doesn't compute. It is a great lie and these Israelites fell for it.

But isn't that what we do when instead of taking those few minutes of spare time and conversing with God? When the noise of life distracts us.

What has this to do with Nebuchadnezzar's proclamation above? The rest of the story is revealed shortly after. Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, Jews who worshiped God, we're noticed not bowing when all others had. Their allegiance was to One they claimed greater than a manmade god. It was brought to the king's attention and the consequences of their actions adhered to.

The king called them before him and gave them another opportunity to bow before his god. He made sure they realized what the consequences would be asking them, with a sneer no doubt, which of his gods would be able to rescue them from the fiery furnace. They stood their ground and said that their God, if He chose, would deliver them. If not they still would not bow to his.

This clearly angered the king and as he had proclaimed, these three young men were thrown into the center of burning of fiery furnace, one that was made hotter than normal. Three other men were ordered to take them. As they threw the three young men in, the fire consumed their guards, yet Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were not. However, now they bowed down.

Nebuchadnezzar was amazed when he saw four men in the fire, none of whom were consumed. He exclaimed: “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 3:25)  Like the Son of God. Isn't this the Old Testament? Didn't the Son of God appear in the New Testament? Oh, that's right, this is prophetic! This Son of God was His holy angel.

There was a catch in my spirit when I wrote the 4th person seen was an angel. If this is a prophetic book, this was not an angel but a picture of Jesus, of He Who is with us in our greatest times of need if we bow before Him. Later in our Bible study on Daniel-admittedly I did not do my homework, only read Daniel 3 then wrote the blog-the fourth person as Jesus was mentioned and I recalled the catch in my spirit, which I failed to listen to. There you have it!

These three men came out of the fire without singed clothing or hair, not even the stench of smoke. They had been saved and delivered. That's what my God does.

We are all called to bow to one God alone. What does bowing and giving our lives to Jesus do? It saves us. It saves us from an eternal death...in hell. What are we told about those who will not bow? They are thrown into the pit of hell where the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:11). The fire never ceases. The beast is one satan who deceives us daily into believing our idols are good.

Needless to say, Nebuchadnezzar became a believer after that. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, 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! ...there is no other God who can deliver like this (Daniel 3:28-29). Blessed be our God for what He has done for us.

We can be comfortable in our conveniences and distractions. Life is Good, as a motto states. What will it take for others to recognize this God I speak of? What disaster of life... illness, addiction, idol, loss, hurt or abandonment...will cause one to think twice about what consumes us? What will it take to cause one to no longer bow before an idol of their own making and bow before the King of kings, Lord of lords, whose promises are sure and whose forgiveness is amazing. Our God is greater and more costly than the "gold" of our idols.

The law of the Lord is perfect...the testimony of the Lord is sure...the statutes of the Lord are right...the commandment of the Lord is pure...the fear of the Lord is clean...the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb...and  in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalms 19:7-11)

1 comment:

  1. There was a catch in my spirit when I wrote the 4th person seen was an angel. If this is a prophetic book, this was not an angel but a picture of Jesus, of He Who is with us in our greatest times of need if we bow before Him. Later in our Bible study on Daniel-admittedly I did not do my homework, only read Daniel 3 then wrote the blog-the fourth person as Jesus was mentioned and I recalled the catch in my spirit, which I failed to listen to. There you have it!

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