It was a death trap. A beautiful death trap. After months of meticulous labor, weeks of waiting, and days of suspense, the latest testament to the king’s wealth and power sat waiting to be unveiled. The finished product was expected to be glorious. Ninety feet of towering gold draped across nine feet of land. Surely it would make the plain of Dura look like a golden pond.
The king was throwing a party in its honor. An enormous celebration to dedicate his new idol. Musicians of every type had been commissioned to play. Every prominent person in the government had been invited. Nebuchadnezzar’s own excitement could hardly be contained. He had a grand plan for the day. Everyone would gather around the base of the statue. The scribe would take his place at the podium and the crowd would instantly quiet to hear the words from the king’s hand. When the final word of his new decree was read, music would burst forth from the bandstand. Trumpeting horns. Trilling flutes. Tinkling harps. At the cacophony, all the people would immediately, without question, fall on their faces in worship to the golden god. Everyone. He’d made sure of it.
A wily grin slid across King Nebuchadnezzar’s face as he admitted to himself that the people had been left with no other choice. Their only choice was his choice. They would do it or die. The final sentence of his new decree resounded with clarity. There could be no misunderstanding. Worship or queue up at the entrance to the blazing furnace of fire. His arrogant self-assuredness believed no one would choose death over bowing. Of course they wouldn’t! Except they did.
Standing at the back of the congregation, three men stood shoulder to shoulder, faces set, feet braced, souls settled against the coming onslaught. The scribes’ words echoed in their ears but their choice was already made. They wouldn’t bow. Couldn’t bow. They didn’t need a new god. They already knew the true One. No other god could ever compare to the One who had the power to deliver and rescue and save. The One who had already escorted them quite safely through more than they ever imagined they would endure. They took His command much more seriously than anything issued by a mere mortal. There was no question. They would have no other gods besides Him. (Exodus 20:3-6)
The row of ramrod spines did not go unnoticed. Certain Chaldeans, anxious to stir up strife, scurried to the king, whispering in his ear this latest defection. Burning anger surged in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar. Who would dare to defy his command? Those three Hebrew boys? What were they thinking? Had he not promoted them and given them honor among his people?
Calling Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him, the king smothered his anger enough to graciously offer them a second chance to bow. A gracious offer capped with arrogant scoffing. Surely they realized his power. Surely they realized he would follow through on his threat. They would absolutely march right into that furnace if they refused to bow. No human would stand between them and his decree. No one would intercede on their behalf. No god on earth could or would rescue them from his power.
Nebuchadnezzar was right. The gods he trusted would never be able to save anyone from anything. Gods of gold and wood and stone. Destructible gods. Impotent gods. The god in which Nebuchadnezzar placed his faith and hope and confidence could never do anything for anyone. He clearly hadn’t met their God! Their God could do anything for anyone. In fact, He had a reputation for miraculous rescues.
As well as they knew God’s reputation, it stands to reason that their humanity reeled with questions during the music and bowing, throughout the long walk to stand before the king, or in the middle of his self-important speech. What if God didn’t send a rescue this time? What if He allowed the flames to ignite their hair, the coals to melt their sandals, and their garments to act as kindling for an already blazing fire? What if He allowed their skin to melt, their lungs to ache, their death to be agonizing and torturous? What if He allowed them to be burned alive? Would it be worth making that stand, refusing to bow, taking that chance? Would it still be worth everything to follow God even if He didn’t send a rescue?
Having counted the cost, they announced their conclusion to the king. Although their faith completely rested in the ability of the sovereign God of Heaven to deliver them from the torture of the furnace and the hand of the king, their resolve wouldn’t waver, even if He didn’t. If this was their moment to enter eternal glory, they weren’t going to miss it for the world. They weren’t going to capitulate. They weren’t going to bend even one knee. No matter how many times the music sounded, not one of them would be faking a sneeze or doubling over in a manufactured fit of coughing. No. Even if God chose not to deliver them from being placed in the furnace or rescue them once there, their minds were made up, their hearts were set, their faces would look only to their God. Even if He didn’t send the answer for which their humanity hoped. (Daniel 3:1-18)
You know as I do, there is more to the story. There is a grand rescue. Fire-walking of epic proportions. Angelic intervention. An exodus of men who smelled and looked as if they’d just come from their chambers after readying for the day. The sweeping hand of God in miraculous salvation. It’s all beautiful and wonderful and inspiring, yet I find my mental ship run aground on the words of verse 18, “But, even if He doesn’t…” (Daniel 3:18-27)
From the comfort of your first-world home, surrounded by freedoms and rights and privileges you believe to be indestructible, it is nearly impossible to truly imagine the magnitude of such a moment. Suspended between life and death, your words and actions the deciding factors. The choice you believed you had years to make is placed before you demanding immediate satisfaction. You have run out of time. You must choose. Now. Faith or falsehood. Heaven or hell. Eternal or earthly. Godly or godless.
It is a terrifyingly sobering thought. At a time when sacrificial following of God has been abandoned for cultural Christianity with its permissive pursuit of personal happiness, it seems unlikely that the attendees of the modern church are ready to make a stand. No. They are far from ready. Absorbed in their lives and aspirations, social status, net worth, and earthly acclaim, there has been no time to count the cost. No time to weigh the options. Not a moment to spare on eternal outcomes. And, subsequently, no stalwart answer of faithfulness if ever commanded to surrender their eternity for the world.
We take it all for granted, our freedom to worship and pray and read the Bible. We think it won’t happen to us, this persecution and pain. We believe surely God will deliver His people in general and us in particular, from hardship and suffering for the sake of His name. But what if He doesn’t? What if tomorrow someone knocks on your door and asks you to make the choice of a lifetime? Jesus or a blazing furnace. A stoning. A firing squad. A beheading. Even if your faith steadfastly believes God can rescue you from any of these things, does your answer hold even if He doesn’t? (Job 13:15)
In Matthew 24:9, Jesus says that because of His name, those who have chosen to faithfully follow Him will be delivered up to tribulation, hate, and death. In other words, you have to make a choice. Now. You can’t wait until the fists thud on your door or the knife is at your throat. You have to choose now, while you can think clearly and debunk the fear that will most certainly assail your soul. You have to choose today whom you will serve. Fix it firmly in your mind and set your heart and soul to serve the one true God for time and eternity. Whichever He gives you. (Joshua 24:15; Deuteronomy 30:15-20; I Chronicles 22:19, 28:9-10; Luke 10:27)
So choose today. Now. Not when you are forced, coerced, badgered or bullied. Not when your options are removed and fear is clogging your throat. Not because you are promised freedom from hardship or persecution. Lay aside the earthly and take up the eternal. Count the cost. Weigh the rewards. Is anything worth more than your soul? Then Choose. Choose Jesus. Choose life. Eternal life. Choose faith in the eternal refuge of the one God who can do anything for anyone and hold fast, even if He doesn’t. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Mark 8:36-37; Matthew 6:19-20; Job 42:2)
AWSOME