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Sunday School Lesson
It is easy for a person to think that a one-time religious experience is an indication of a close relationship with Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This idea is not taught in scripture. Jesus taught that one must "deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23. The Apostle Paul testified, "I die daily." 1 Corinthians 15:31b. The prophet, Jeremiah, wrote that the divine "compassions fail not. They are new every morning…" Lamentations 3:22, 23. When Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, captured Jerusalem, the first captives that he carried away included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Daniel 1:6. The three, along with Daniel "purposed in his [their] heart[s] that he [and they] would not defile himself [themselves] with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank…" Daniel 1:8. This unusual request (Daniel 1:12-16) did not put these young men at any kind of disadvantage as they prepared to serve the king. The king had a dream that was interpreted by Daniel. Daniel 2:1, 19, 31- 45. This interpretation seemed to have inspired the king to construct a statue that was to be worshipped. Daniel 3:1. The indication is that this was a statue of himself, thus setting himself up as a god. The king called all of the leaders of the nation to come to the place of this statue. Daniel 3:2. A decree was given that at a particular moment, every person was to bow before this image. Daniel 3:4-6a. For those who refused, the sentence was that "the same hour [to] be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." Daniel 3:6b. At the time of this orchestrated worship, "certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews". Daniel 3:8. These accusers reminded the king of his decree, then they informed him regarding the three. Daniel 3:12. These three were called before the king. Daniel 3:13. He questioned these men regarding their lack of compliance, and offered them a second chance. Daniel 3:13- 15a, b. He asked, "who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" Daniel 3:15c. The answer given showed that their basis for trusting God did not center around their one time pledge. "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter." Daniel 3:16. The king knew these young men, and already had some understanding of their beliefs, and their faith in their God. They continued their response by declaring, " If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace…" Daniel 3:17a, b. Whatever the physical outcome, "he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king". Daniel 3:17c. It is important that we remember that these young men did not know the outcome of their declarations. Even under these difficult circumstances, they declared, "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. The king did not see these statements as declarations of courage. He viewed them as open rebellion. "Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of this visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated." Daniel 3:19. The royal sentence was immediate, regarding these rebels. "And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." Daniel 3:20, 21. The king was responsible for the deaths of some of his mighty men, thus, decreeing that some women would be widows, and some children as fatherless. "Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego." Daniel 3:22. The record declares that "these three men, Shadrach. Meshach and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace". Daniel 3:23. The king watched the proceedings. He might have experienced some sense of divine superiority, as he witnessed that scene. However, this pagan king was given a glimpse of the supernatural that caused him to question those who were by his side. "Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did we not cast three men bound into the mist of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king." Daniel 3:24. The king saw something that he had not expected to witness. - "Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the son of God." Daniel 3:25. We are told that, "Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come hither." Daniel 3:26a, b. The response of these men showed their loyalty to the one who had placed them in their governmental positions, and they submitted to him as their king. "Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire." Daniel 3:26c. There is no evidence that these men showed any kind of arrogance nor a sense of superiority. They became the point of focus as they exited the furnace. "And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them." Daniel 3:27. Even though the gathering was for the purpose of pagan worship, "Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve, nor worship any god, except their own God." Daniel 3:28. The king gave a royal decree concerning the worship of Elohim (Daniel 3:29), and these young men were "promoted…in the province of Babylon". Daniel 3:30.
Do we take a stand for that which we know to be right? How faithful have we been to the commitments of the past? Please pledge to be faithful to Jesus Christ, today.
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