Daniel 1-8
image courtesy of memoossa at stock.xchng
So today we covered about a month’s worth of Sunday school lessons. We read about Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing the king’s choice food so as not to defile themselves. We saw Daniel interpreting dreams for Nebuchadnezzar. We held our breath as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were throw into the fiery furnace. Daniel had a sleep-over with some lions because he had prayed to God even though it was against the law. We scratched our heads as the hand appeared and wrote on the wall.
What did that look like anyway?
What’s interesting to see is the confidence and boldness in these four Hebrew men throughout these various ordeals. To refuse the king’s food was to take a serious risk of seeming defiant. I’m sure that disobedient refugees were not treated well by the royal court. Daniel made a bold claim that he could interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and had he not made good on his claim we know he would have died for it. The penalty for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s allegiance to the Lord and refusal to bow before the image Nebuchadnezzar had made was brutal, yet they survived.
Perhaps my favorite moment of brash on the part of Daniel is in chapter 5 when he responds to Belshazzar’s questions about his reputation and ability to interpret the handwriting on the wall. Belshazzar promises Daniel a robe, a gold chain, and a position of high political power in the land if he can interpret the writing. Daniel’s response is quite forthcoming: You can keep your stuff! But I will tell you the meaning of the words.
Um… Daniel… that’s the king
This was not the first king Daniel had ever tangled with. He’d had dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, as we read earlier, and possibly two other kings whose reigns were fairly short. Belshazzar was also not the last king he would deal with on not-so-friendly terms. However, Daniel knew that his true King was more powerful than any earthly king. In truth, the Lord was the source of the authority and power these kings had attained.
We don’t have to fear people either. If we are in Christ, then we are children of the King of the universe. No earthly power holds any real sway over us. What’s the worst they can do to us? Kill us? That didn’t seem to bother Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They figured that God could save them from the flames of the furnace, but even if He didn’t, they wanted Nebuchadnezzar to know that they would not worship anything or anyone but God, even if it meant death. We should serve Christ regardless of the consequences, knowing that either God will save us from the consequences, or that the consequences are not enough to keep us from being faithful to our King.
Let’s remember the example of these Hebrew men who were surrounded by a pagan culture. Let’s not fear man, but rather, let’s fear God. For man can only kill the body, but God can kill both the body and the soul (Matthew 10:28). Let’s honor God, trusting Him to either deliver us from the fire, or to deliver us through the fire into His presence.
Words of Reason 