Day 15: The Exile
If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
Daniel 3:17-18
Advertising surrounds our consciousness, and at the moment, most of it says: “You need THIS to have a happy Christmas.”
Buy this, be content. Give this, be accepted. Cook this, be satisfied.
Do this, be happy. Do this, be safe. Do this, be important.
The implication of not buying in to the advertising is that you’ll miss out, fail, or be disappointed.
God’s people faced the judgement of exile. Babylonians had conquered and taken the best people of the land home with them. Many Jews now lived far from home, and far from the temple – the centre of their religious life. But that didn’t mean they all rejected the Lord.
Some youngsters, the brightest of the bunch, were taken to be trained up in the ways of Babylon so they might serve the king, Nebuchadnezzar. Even in a society, a culture that was against the true God, some of these youngsters still knew what it meant to live for the Lord.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three of them. When King Nebuchadnezzar stuck up a hefty statue of himself and told all his people to worship it, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego found themselves a tiny minority in rejecting the instruction.
“Do this, you’ll be safe,” they were told.
“Do this, or you’ll be thrown into a blazing fire,” they were warned.
Some of King Nebuchadnezzar’s pals grassed them in to the King, and he was raging. The three lads were brought before the king to explain themselves. Did they not understand the gravity of this situation? They were going up against the powerful king who would kill them if they didn’t obey!
They did understand the gravity. But they also knew the omnipotent Lord of all.
They knew that their God, the one true God, could save them even from certain death.
”But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
Daniel 3:18
But even if he didn’t rescue them, they still wouldn’t bow to an idol. Even if death was the result, they wouldn’t be swayed in living by faith, reserving worship for their Lord.
We could end there, and learn from the bold faith of these lads. But as it goes, the Lord did rescue them. Jesus stepped into the fire with them, and brought them out without so much as a smell of smoke on them.
It’s a beautiful Gospel picture. Jesus stepped in to take the fire of hell so that we might be eternally safe, secure, satisfied and happy. All we’re called to is faith, shown by a life of worship for the one true God.
What are we worshipping this Christmas?
Will we buy into all that is promised by the world around us, will we sinfully bow to the idea that we need more than Jesus to be content, secure, fulfilled?
We might not face a furnace but standing up as a Christian in any way in our society will bring dangers, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But we can rest knowing that if our hope and trust is in Jesus, we are secure for all eternity.
Jesus can deliver us from any trial in this world, but even if he doesn’t, living for him will still always prove the greatest treasure and security.
Written by Pete Bell
A Thought to Remember: Jesus is the one and only God worthy of worship.
A Bit More to Read: Daniel 3, 1 Peter 2:12
A Question to Ask: Where might you be tempted to compromise and live for idols rather than Jesus this Christmas?
A Song to Sing: O Children Come
A Picture for the kids: Fire