No Smell of Smoke

I often post about what I'm studying in the Bible in addition to what's going on in our lives, and the following verse sums up why: Colossians 4:6 "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

This week I studied the third chapter of Daniel. I'll put some insights between the verses that I found interesting:

Daniel 3 The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

If you look back at chapter 2, you'll see that the idea for an image of gold came from the dream Daniel interpreted for the king - he was the head of gold. In essence, he was building an image for himself. Then we talked about image building and how we often do this - every time we try to appear to be something we're not...every time we make others look worse or lower than ourselves...even beauty magazines and the media tell us the type of "image" we're to have.

2 He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. 3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

According to Beth Moore, these people would have been the "it" people of the day - high officials in order of rank. How important do we feel if important people are rubbing elbows with us? Is this more image building? Would we dress nicer if we knew a celebrity would be among us than if we were going to a family event, etc?

4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: 5 As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."

I never thought of it before, but she also noted that the furnace wasn't far off. It wasn't like "in ten minutes we'll get some wood and build a fire," that furnace was right there and blazing hot to begin with. So, the torture of being on fire would have been in the forefront of their thoughts.

7 Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."

Notice that these men were denounced because of their religion right away. They weren't just any guys...they were jews (said twice). In addition, if you go back to verse one, they were on a plain. So, it would be obvious that everyone but three were down low. This brought up another point that I was most impressed with or most related to me this week. She asked the question, where was Daniel? From the first chapter, we learned that there were four among the men that chose not to defile themselves and became wise. Daniel appeared to be the leader - he's the one who had the courage to inquire the slayer about what was happening and ask the king for time, and he's the one who encouraged the others to pray and had the dream revealed to him. So, where was he? The answer is found at the end of the first chapter. He was put in charge of a different area and was at his post, where he was supposed to be. He was never asked to come and worship the idol. Which leads to one of the most relevant points for me: 'If someone you've relied on is conspicuously missing, it's time to step up!' These three became known in this story for standing their ground, even without their leader present. In my own life, I'm experiencing something similar, and it's as if God is saying "it's your time!" She said if you're always the follower and base your decisions on what someone else does, maybe it's time to take charge or be bolder to do what God's calling you to do. If you're always in charge, it's time to sit and allow others to show what they can do. If someone's missing, step up to the plate and take a swing!

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

Beth Moore noted their response here - look at what's missing from how they addressed the 'king.' They said "O Nebuchadnezzar" unlike the astrologers who said "O king." They also say they don't need to defend themselves in this matter. They were loyal, which we learned this week means what you would typically think "steadfast, loyal" but also "prepared, having made up their minds already"... They knew long before they faced the furnace that they would NEVER bow to any other gods. Have we made such a commitment to Christ?

17 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. 18 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."

Verse 18 is the one that gives me goosebumps. "But even if he does not..." We spent quite a bit of time on different scenarios. Putting a "fiery trial" into a real life "test," Beth Moore said picture finding out that you have a large lump and the doctor thinks it looks like cancer. There are three things that could happen:

1. God could deliver you from the fire, and your faith would be built. [This would be where you would pray and then go back and they couldn't even find the lump or they would test it and it would be benign, and you would praise God and it would build your faith for a short time while you remembered His grace in saving you.]
2. God could deliver you through the fire, and your faith would be refined. [This sickness would not end in death but God would be glorified through it. (John 11:4) The cancer doesn't kill you, and your faith is refined as said in 1 Peter 1:6-7 "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."]
3. God could deliver you by the fire into His loving arms, and our faith would be perfected. [The cancer takes your life and you blink from this life and meet Jesus face to face.] James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." Hebrews 12:1-2"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

While we always pray for the first option, do we have the resolve to say "even if it's the third scenario"..."even if He doesn't" we will never bow? How many people when they aren't in scenario one renounce their faith or lose heart or lose their resolve?

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

The next point that gave me the chills is that their ropes alone were flammable. Fire only burns off the things that bind us. When God brings us through trials, we are set free from things that have held us in bondage for years! WOW!

This is the first Bible study I've taken where the fourth man in the fire is thought to be God himself. I always heard an angel, but we examined this point at length. The true translation says "the fourth loos like the son of diety" or the son of God. It was a visible manifestation of God himself. Since John 6:46 tells us that no one has seen the father, that means that this was Jesus, or the son of God. Isaiah 43:1-2 says "But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.'" Notice how it says "when" rather than "if." God promises that we will not be burned and the flames will not set us ablaze, but it also says He will be with us. When we are going through fiery trials, there will always be four - the holy trinity and us! This passage also says that God called them by name - and she said you can bet that he didn't call them Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, He called them by their real names: Hannaniah (God has been gracious), Mishael (Who is what God is?) and Azariah (God has helped).

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

The next point that I was in awe over and had missed in other Bible studies was that "there was no smell of fire on them!" I've been in bars where the smoke nearby has been enough for me to want to wash my hair and change my clothes. Even when we go camping every year, the next day I can still smell the campfire from the night before on my skin, and I wasn't nearly as close as these three were! That brought up this point: we smell like smoke when we complain about the situation, when our hearts get hardened, when we become bitter... When we go through a trial of fire, and we come out angry that we had to go through it or voice our discomfort and bitterness, we reek of smoke. These three didn't even smell like the fire they were in!

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

This was the last mention of these three guys in the Bible - look how they left! The last mention of their names was in the context of God's fame! May that be true of me!