This past Wednesday, in our study of Daniel, we came to the third chapter and the discussion of the three Hebrew young men and their unwillingness to bow before a golden idol, even if it meant dying…
Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
(Daniel 3:14)
Nebuchadnezzar demanded to know if the report of the magi was true, that the trio really did refuse to worship the Golden image. The answer, of course, is yes. It’s true; they will not bow to anyone or anything but Jehovah. And yet, a weak person might think “What a perfect opportunity it would’ve been for the three Jews to tie their shoes while everyone else was bowing! What perfect time to “just pretend” to be an idolater and trick the Babylonians into thinking they were idolaters!”
I wonder why they didn’t do that? Oh wait, I know: It’s because God doesn’t ask us to pretend to be idolaters! God doesn’t ask us to privately support Him while publicly (but wink-wink not really) support pagan gods. God tells us to publicly support Him, even if dire consequences are the result. When the world bows before an idol and it’s your turn to bow with them, that’s the perfect time not to tie your shoes. That’s the moment to stand defiant. That’s the moment, when the whole world says “move” for you to stand with your feet planted…oh shoot I can’t say it any better than Captain America…
I made the point in class that it was no guarantee that God would spare the lives of the three young men. God didn’t owe them a rescue. God doesn’t owe us an escape from punishment when we serve Him. On the contrary, the Bible tells us to expect hardships for serving Him (2 Timothy 3:12). God saved those three young men because it served His purposes; that’s it. What’s amazing is the fact that the young men at the heart of this account understood that about God: They didn’t believe they were entitled to a rescue, as they told the King…
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
(Daniel 3:17-18)
They recognized that God could save them if He so chose, but if He chose to let them die, so be it: Either way, they had already decided they were not going to bow to that image.
The fact is, throughout history there have been many evil rulers that have punished or even murdered people who refused to bow to evil commands, and God let it happen. That’s no indictment on God, and if you think it is then you’re too in love with this life and this world. Death for a child of God is a gateway to a better life. What would have happened had Nebuchadnezzar killed those three? I’ll tell you what would have happened: They’d have died and been rewarded with eternal life. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the three lived…for a few decades more, maybe longer. But eventually, you know what happened to them? They died and were rewarded with eternal life!
Too many Christians have a worldly mindset when it comes to suffering for the name of Christ. They talk about being willing to endure hardship when they take a spiritual stand while, at the same time, expecting God to give them a “get out of jail free” card as a thank you for not submitting to the evil government.
No, that’s not how it works.
First off, don’t hold your breath for a thank you (Luke 17:9-10), but beyond that, God has never promised us that if we resist evil He will spare us from the wrath that evil men do in response. Sure, sometimes God intervenes (as He did in Babylon) but more often than not Christians suffer and the reward doesn’t come until after death. For that reason, many short-sighted people choose to go along with the evil around them, rather than suffer, because they’re only thinking about the here and now.
Weak people tell themselves: “Here and now I might suffer, and here and now God might not get me out of it, so here and now I will concede to evil.”
What those people fail to realize is, while they may escape hardships now, sooner or later they will meet their Maker, and then they will answer for their cowardice and faithlessness. The question we must ask is: Would you rather be punished now by the government or punished later by God? To me the answer is obvious, but to many the answer is “punished later,” because they fail to grasp that “later” does eventually come, and it lasts forever.
The lost see this as being stubborn and defiant and not conforming. Christians agree (Romans 12:2). The world may hate it. They world may try to punish us for it. The world may even kill us for our uncompromising loyalty to God. So be it. What’s the alternative? What is the world really demanding of us? You want me to take all the security and peace I have in God and throw it away just to avoid being tossed into a furnace…where I’ll promptly die and live with God forever? Are you out of your mind?
Give me the furnace!
~ Matthew