Stand Before the Fire

Daniel 3:17-18 ~ “If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
 
Three men stood before the raging furnace that was set to destroy their lives. The king demanded that all people in his kingdom would bow down and worship the golden image that he had set up for his own glory. The Chaldeans came forward and declared, “You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image” (Daniel 3:10). And where the population complied with the regulation, there were three prominent Jewish men who determined not to do that which was forbidden by God. Concerning the carved images and idols the LORD commanded, “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God” (Exodus 20:5). Yet, the judgment of king Nebuchadnezzar was such that anyone who did not worship his image would be burned in the furnace.
 
Our text today does not come during a quiet lull as these men stood enjoying an afternoon in spiritual discussion with the king. They stood at the very mouth of the fire that was meant to kill them. They could probably hear the crackling wood as it heated the dreadful furnace. Perhaps a blast of hot air burst forth from the open portal. They were bound, and nothing lay between them and their dreaded fate. They could rescue themselves, for all they had to do was bow to Nebuchadnezzar and they would live. The most common-sense thing to do would be to bow.
 
But God does not call us to obey common sense. He commands us to obey Him no matter what might make more sense in the moment. And I want to ask you a stark question: are you willing to take your stand, even if it means that you have to stand before the fire? For in truth, it is no brave thing to say that we will hearken to the will of God when doing so poses no great threat against our lives. But let our lives face the angry opposition of this world like these men and then remember that the will of God is greater than the demands of the world. This is not unlike the apostles who stood the test in the face of the Sanhedrin. We find them in Acts 5:29 declaring, “We must obey God rather than men.”
 
As we consider Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, let us remember that they were arrested and charged with the crime of failure to worship the golden idol of Nebuchadnezzar—a crime punishable by death. So there they were, standing before the fire and the reason they could with such courage was built upon their absolute confidence in God Almighty. There was no doubt that God could deliver them from the fire, rescue them from Nebuchadnezzar and secure them from death. They declared, “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us.” It begs the question: what if He does not rescue you? It didn’t matter. They knew God’s command; they would not violate the orders of the LORD. So, as the flames grew hotter, they spoke their bold and resolute words, “But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
 
And this is what it takes to stand before the fires of this world when the hatred of the wicked lash out against the people of Christ. Our LORD told us that we would be hated by all men for His name’s sake (see Matthew 24:9). There may come a day when you will be dragged before the magistrates of this world who demand that you bow your knee and worship their false gods. God Almighty has the power to rescue all of His children from the terrors that the world might devise. He can rescue even out of the fire. But, like these three men of our text today, we must also be resolved to stand firm—even if it means we must do so in the very face of the persecution and hatred of the world. Let us take the same view of those in Revelation 12:11, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Are we so in love with our lives in this world that we will defect from Christ in order to preserve it here? Let us not be so! Christ instructs us in Mark 8:35, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.” May we all find our lives secure in Christ so that not even the threat of death can move us away from Him.
 
Our lives secure in Christ the LORD
No matter the threats they give
Though we stand before the fire’s door
We shall trust the LORD and live.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael
 
 

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