We all know the story. Three young men, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, later to become Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, along with Daniel are taken from their homes in Judah and shipped off to Babylon. At this point in time, Jehoiakim, the second son of Josiah, was king of Judah. He was not a godly king at all. 2 Chronicles 36:5 says it all, "Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. he did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God." Because of his sin, God handed him over to the Babylonian ruler, King Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzer took these four men, along with other young, healthy Israelites of nobility, back to Babylon with him. He wanted them to learn and study under him so as to serve in his palace. Daniel was especially liked by Nebuchadnezzar and earned a high position in his court.
The story I want to focus on, though, is found in Daniel chapter 3. It is a very familiar story. No doubt if you attended Sunday School as a child, you probably heard this story more than once. In my Bible, chapter 3 has a title, The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace. Sound familiar yet?
Basically the story goes like this. King Nebuchadnezzar thought it would be a good idea to build a huge image of gold. My NIV Bible says that this statue was ninety feet high and nine feet wide. Then, just to show how great he though himself to be, Nebuchadnezzar had all of his rulers in all of his provinces come to see this giant statue he had created. However, it wasn't good enough that they just come see it. He wanted them to worship it. He wanted them to literally get on their knees and bow down to it. They were to do this as soon as they heard the music. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't messing around either. He gave them a warning, "Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace," chapter 3 verse 6.
This puts our friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in a predicament. Being godly men of Judah, they have been taught their whole lives that they are to worship no one except for the God of the Israelites. They are absolutely forbidden from bowing down to any graven image. This could get ugly for these young guys.
The music sounds. All around, people are bowing down to this graven image. I can just picture Nebuchadnezzar looking around and feeling so proud of himself. Look at all these people who are practically bowing down to him and his creation. I'm sure he was feeling pretty good right about then. However, his good mood was about to be spoiled.
Everyone was bowing down to the image of gold except for three guys - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Imagine the guts it would have taken to remain standing. When all around them, people are bowing. These three men of God refused to bow. They knew the consequences of their stand. They knew that this could only mean certain death. Yet this did not deter them. They knew what was right, and they refused to conform. They valued their God over their own lives.
Nebuchadnezzar summons them and tells them again that they will be thrown in the furnace if they do not bow. Their reply is awesome: "...If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up," chapter 3, verse 17-18. They knew that God was able to save them. They also knew that He might choose not to. Regardless of whether or not God was going to rescue them, they still refused to bow down and worship the king's image.
I can see Nebuchadnezzar's face now. I bet he is really ticked. The Bible says he was so furious that he ordered the furnace to be heated three times hotter. He ordered his strongest soldiers to throw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the flames. It was now so hot that it killed the soldiers who threw them in.
But then the amazing happens. Nebuchadnezzar is expecting these rebels to burn up instantly. After all, his soldiers are now dead because of the fire. How in the world could these three survive? He was probably feeling a little relieved that they were gone. Now he could go on with the ceremony... but wait. As he looks into the fire, he can make out the figures of the men. But now, there aren't just three figures, there are... four figures. Four! He tells his advisers, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods," verse 25.
To make a long story short, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walk out of the furnace without even a singed hair or the smell of fire. Nebuchadnezzar declares that praise be made to God because of this. And after this whole ordeal, our friends walk away with a promotion. How awesome!
Let's go back to the bowing part. Could you have done that? Could I? In the face of certain death, these men made a judgment call. They chose God, knowing that consequences of disobeying Him would be far worse than anything the king could do to them.
It's so easy to conform. It's so easy to just go along with what everyone else is doing. That way, we don't stand out, we don't draw attention to ourselves, and we can just keep on living the way we are living. After all, we don't want to seem too fanatical. This is absolutely wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Romans 12:2 is very clear, "Do no conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will." As Christians, we are to be in the world but not of the world. We are supposed to stand out. We are supposed to be different.
It's not easy to say no to your friends when they want to do something that goes against what you believe. I've been there. I'm not going to lie, sometimes it sucks to have to say no. You want to be with your friends, you don't want to seem "uncool," but you have convictions. Just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you have to make a judgment call. Will you make the right one?
There are often repercussions. You may be mocked. You may lose some friends. But in the end, all of it is worth it. You can stand before God knowing that you didn't back down from what you knew was right. It is always better to choose God. You simply cannot go wrong with Him. Your short life on earth may suffer a little, but compared to eternity, it means nothing.
And to be honest, if you are investing in the right kind of people, they won't mock you for your convictions. In fact, if you have good Christian friends, they will join you in standing against what is wrong. Hopefully they are making the right judgment calls as well. If you have to stand alone, you stand alone. But it is always easier to stand up for what is right when you have someone standing beside you. And actually, you always have Someone standing beside you. Christ will not let you face the battles alone. Just as He was in the furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, so will He be with you when you face the battles and hardships that come with being a Christian.
Like most of what I have written, this is sooo much easier said than done. It's hard to stand up for what you believe in when you are being attacked. I've been there. Fear sets in. You don't want to say the wrong thing or look like a fool. You don't want to be laughed at and humiliated. But weather those storms. Don't let the fear and humiliation consume you. Remember that Christ was mocked and scorned. He was laughed at and humiliated. He knows exactly how hard it is to not back down. He will greatly reward you for your steadfastness.
Keep on standing your ground, my fellow believers. We are entering a time when Christianity is being greatly attacked. We cannot afford to yield. We must push on. We must fight the good fight. We must refuse to bow. The world is counting on us.
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