Sunday Devotional: Daniel 3:16-18

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to respond to you with an answer concerning this matter. ¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will save us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden image that you have set up.” [Legacy Standard Bible]

How often do we find ourselves faced with choices that are difficult not because we don’t know what God’s will is, but because we do? We know what would be the right thing to do, but the right thing might have negative consequences. People might get hurt, bad things might happen, we may lose our jobs or our lives. Surely the Lord would understand if just this once we did what we think is best to avoid a potentially worse outcome?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego certainly knew the will of God. It was right there at the top of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3, LSB). The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had issued a decree that everyone was to bow down and worship the beautiful golden statue he had just made whenever they heard the musical cue. Failure to do so would result in immediate incineration in the blazing furnace. Then a group of Chaldeans ratted on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, three Jews who had recently been appointed administrators over Babylon, saying they refused to serve the Babylonian gods and wouldn’t bow down to the statue. The king brought the three men before him and was about to offer them the chance to save their lives and worship the statue. Instead, they responded with today’s passage.

Consider the choice before them. Cave to the king’s demand and keep their lives, their jobs, and perhaps their social standing among their Babylonian peers, or stand firm and die. If it seems like an easy decision, put yourself in their shoes. What if they had families to support? Wouldn’t their witness among the Babylonians be enhanced if they appeared less rigid and more tolerant or culturally sensitive? How many lost opportunities would there be if they died prematurely?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego knew that there was another option: God could rescue them from the furnace–and we know that’s what happened. But their response wasn’t, “Do what you want to us, O king, because we know God will save us!” Rather they said, “So be it. Our God is able to save us–and He will save us from your hand. But even if He doesn’t spare us the fire, we’re not going to disobey His command.” In other words,

1. We know God is able to save us. He can do it. He is the one true God, after all.
2. God will save us from the king’s hand one way or another, either in life or death.
3. It doesn’t matter to us whether God spares us or lets us burn. We know the right thing to do, and we are not going to disobey what God has commanded.

The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego was not that they trusted that God would rescue them. They knew He could, but they didn’t know whether or not He would. Rather, they demonstrated their faith in their willingness to obey God regardless of the consequences. God’s justice and judgment will ultimately come about, but that wasn’t their primary concern. Their primary concern was being faithful.

I pray we would have the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and do the right thing–the thing that is right in the eyes of the Lord–even if it seems like the worst option at the time. Even if it seems like it would cost us too much. Even if it’s hard.

May we desire more than anything to be faithful to the Lord no matter what, and have faith enough in Him to leave the consequences in His hands.