Wednesday, April 6, 2022                             (click here to read today’s scriptures)
Even if He does not
Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you will not serve my god?
King Nebuchzdnezzar wavered in his faith, which he placed sometimes in the God of Daniel and his three friends, sometimes in himself, sometimes in the gods of his fathers. His advisors suggested that he put up a 90-foot statue of gold in the plain outside the city where earlier the Tower of Babel had stood, fallen into ruin, and then raided at night, for bricks to be used in houses built for themselves by Babylonian citizens.
Talk about a bad idea, and Daniel had told him so a few months earlier when he interpreted the king’s dream. I think the king was easily swayed by the words of others. As I am. But at least I’m not a king.
The three young men from Israel spoke up.
There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If our God, whom we serve, can save us from the white-hot furnace and from your hands, O king, then may he save us! But even if he does not, O king, know that we will not serve your God or worship the golden statue that you set up.
And of course, that’s what really set the king off.
King Nebuchadnezzar’s face became livid with utter rage and ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual.
Couldn’t they have been a bit more abashed? But in their own kind of humility, they knew they should speak the words God gave them to speak.
And so they were thrown into the white-hot heat, and the king fell into a very fitful sleep, from which he rose early and found a fourth man resting comfortably in the furnace with his young men from Israel. The fire was out, in spite of all efforts to keep it going. Perhaps they were just awakening. They stretched and yawned and looked up at the strongest men in the king’s army looking down at them through the opening far above. The three were pulled up, while the fourth disappeared from sight. And the king once again bowed down to the King of Kings.
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him.
Last weekend at Grace Covenant’s mens’ retreat, David Daniels talked about two results of the three Israelites’ stand against the king’s command: fellowship with each other and with God in the midst of fire. And freedom, the ability to choose whom I will serve, to what I will be in bondage. In one of his most enduring songs, Bob Dylan wrote and sang about choices:
Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody)
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
In Taos two weeks ago I happened upon a magazine, Tempo, part of the Taos News, and an article replete with paintings by Bob Dylan the artist. Turns out the guy who wrote “When I Paint My Masterpiece” really does paint! About the most recent Dylan concert the author Lynne Robinson attended (with her daughter), she said, “Gotta Serve Somebody was the standout of this set, on every level. Dylan’s delivery, arrangement, even his piano playing … not to mention the sentiment during these harrowing times.”
These harrowing times have been with us since before, and since, the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. Dylan described everyday life since Adam and Eve chose what to do with that apple in the Garden.
In this world, it is good for me to take a deep breath, and choose to follow Jesus.
If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
(Daniel 3, Daniel 3 – deuterocanonical, Luke 8, John 8)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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