The God We
Serve
Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of
the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down
and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down
and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some
Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the
Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar
summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do
not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the
horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready
to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship
it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will
be able to rescue you from my hand?”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King 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 deliver us
from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you
to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your
gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was
furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered
the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and
commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw
them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other
clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and
the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
and these three men, firmly
tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar
leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers,
“Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the
fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Daniel 3:10-25
Courage allows us to do things we would not ordinarily do. That courage
comes from our faith. The Lord did stand with the men of Daniel, just as He
stands with us today.
Trials are the soil in which faith grows.
Our Daily
Bread
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