In the previous article, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had offered a “second chance” to three Israelite men who wouldn’t bow down to an idol when the king told them to. The king had asked them – almost rhetorically – whether any god could save them from his punishment if they wouldn’t change their mind. The three exiles didn’t budge from what they knew to be right though.
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.”
Daniel 3:16-18 NIV
If we paraphrase, we might say that the response of these three Jewish men was, “Challenge accepted!” They knew that their God could literally rescue them from death. And, this wasn’t just some vain hope: the history of the Jewish people (whether we consider their exodus from Egypt, or even going back to the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) confirmed that God is more than capable of suspending the way that the universe works, since He was the one who created it in the first place and retains sovereignty over it. Specifically, this is the God that the Jewish people knew as Yahweh (based on our transliteration of the Hebrew constants and other sources), and who we (based on an English translation of how God described His name) might call the Great I AM.
As a commentator put it, “…instead of pleading for the king’s mercy, they cast themselves on the mercy of their God” [Mangano, p.199]
However, verse 18 is really important: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t choose to serve God – the true God – merely because of what He could do for them. Their worship of God was not limited to what they could get out of it, nor was their allegiance to Him going to expire if He stopped doing what they wanted Him to do.
Instead, they were committed to God, even if it cost them something…even everything that they had in this life. In fact, their belief and their faith was strong enough that they were ready to face the consequences of continuing to follow Him when it put their very lives at risk.
It is one thing to say that we believe in God, but are we willing to stand by that belief when “push comes to shove”? Do we just say that we trust God’s plan over our own ideas, even when God’s direction appears to collide with our own safety and security? How about when it disrupts our comfort and convenience?
In contrast to these three men, I see certain people (although not all) in the news today complaining that their stand for a cause has cost them something, and wanting to be able to push for change without any negative consequences.
- Perhaps they were let go from a job because they broke the rules, even if they did so for conscience’s sake.
- Perhaps their degree was withheld from a college because they violated existing rules while protesting for a cause they believed in.
- Perhaps they “stood up for themselves” as a cover for doing what they wanted (for selfish reasons) and now have to face the criminal penalties for breaking the law.
I’m not sure what “other people’s causes” came to mind as you read through the list above, but let’s challenge ourselves to consider them once in context of a cause that we believe in, and then again for a cause that we don’t agree with. Do you see how, regardless of what we think about individual causes, if beliefs aren’t strong enough to hold up in the face of adversity, maybe we should question how important those beliefs are?
Of course, sometimes we must advocate for change, and for consideration to be extended to those who are punished because of rules or laws that are wrong. Positive changes have been made as a result of good people breaking bad laws. However, when looking at ourselves, if we don’t believe in something strong enough to step out into where there will probably be consequences for it, did we really believe it in the first place?
And, specifically for those of you who – like me – follow Jesus, does our Christian faith hold up even when living it out may cost us something? I hope so, for all of our sakes and for the sake of a world around us that need to know the good news about Jesus Christ.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for June 16, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, June 16, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Esther & Daniel, by Mark Mangano. © 2001 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 