Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 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.”....
Daniel 3:14-18
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Daniel 3:24-30
Sometimes, to gain true freedom, we have to go through the fire. It is not pleasant. It doesn't feel good, but what does fire produce? What is it used for?
It is used for refining. According to Merriam-Webster, to refine is:
to remove the unwanted substances in (something)
transitive verb
1. to free (as metal, sugar, or oil) from impurities or unwanted material
2. to free from moral imperfection : elevate
3. to improve or perfect by pruning or polishing <refine a poetic style>
4. to reduce in vigor or intensity
5. to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth
intransitive verb
1. to become pure or perfected
2. to make improvement by introducing subtleties or distinctions
Refining separates impurities from precious metals, namely gold, elements that decrease the value and worth of the metal. Fire is needed to separate these impurities from the metal, removing the dross and leaving only pure gold behind.
This process is a metaphor for us, when we go through the fire of life. The fires of stress, illness, loss, rejection, death, or any pressure of daily living.
We all experience these things. But we know we are in the fire of trial and tribulation when these things are increased. In the story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, the firey furnace was 7 times its normal heat. Incidentally, the biblical meaning of the number 7 is perfection and completion. By being thrown into a fire, seven times hotter than the norm, these three men were perfected and completed in their faith in God. They had no guarantee that they would be delivered, and yet they refused to compromise their faith and bow to a foreign and false god. They took a leap of faith, and God saw it, honored it, and jumped into the fire with them, to not only preserve them, but to deliver them, set them free, and promote them.
Though the fire may hurt and be unpleasant, you will not endure its flames alone. God will be right there with you. He will walk with you through the flames, he will shield you and guide you. Notice, that when Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego came forth from the fire, "that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them."
Though they entered the fire, it caused them no lasting harm and they didn't even smell of smoke! When God walks through the fire with you, this is exactly what will happen. You will enter the fire one way, perhaps broken or afraid or angry, or even by choice, but you will not exit the fire the same way you entered it. You will be transformed and made new, and the fire will not maim you or disfigure you, it will remove all the impurities and make you into something beautiful. And though you've endured the flames, the smell of smoke will not be on you. You will shine with the radiant light of heaven, and you will be stronger than you were before. You will lose that which harms you and keeps you captive, in your mind or emotions, and you will gain that which makes you stronger, a better version of you.
However, there is always a choice. God has given us free will. The three men in the above story had a choice. They could have chosen to save themselves and bowed to the king's golden image. They could have avoided the king's wrath and the resulting dump into the firey furnace altogether. But, what then, would have happened?
Aside from the ramifications of breaking Hebrew law, God's intercessory power would not have been made manifest and witnessed by King Nebuchadnezzar and countless others. Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego would have lost their favor with God, along with other serious consequences, and would not have been promoted, either by God or in the Babylonian kingdom.
This one act of faith, I believe, led to King Nebuchadnezzar's repentance and salvation and may have ultimately led to Israel's freedom from Babylonian captivity. It was not the first time God saved Daniel and his friends, but I believe it was the catalyst that set into motion a divine and miraculous chain of events. In the very next chapter, King Nebuchadnezzar is humbled, repents and makes this decree, before he shares his testimony:
"King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you!
It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and his dominion endures from generation to generation."
Daniel 4:1-3
This king endured his own version of the fiery furnace, and he emerged from that experience a new and changed man, transformed and set free in a moment!:
"At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,
for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble."
Daniel 4:34-37
You can choose to bypass the fire altogether, or you can choose to let the fire burn you, warp you and maim you. Or, you can choose to endure the fire and allow it to purify, refine and perfect you. Choosing to enter the fire willingly and with an open and teachable heart and spirit, will ultimately lead to your healing and restoration. But not either as you have experienced before. You will be healed and restored in such a way that exceeds and surpasses all other experiences and that will equip you to endure any future storm that life throws your way.
That's why James was all "Yaaay, we're going through horrible things! Let's celebrate! in James 1:2-4, because he understood that going through the fire and its various trials produces GOLD within us.
That's why Peter spoke about our inheritance and was all giddy about suffering in 1 Peter 1:3-9:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Though the fire may be hot, though it may sting, though it may lead you to feel weary, frustrated and unable to go on, this fire will refine you, remove that which only brings you harm, and will lead to your healing, restoration, and the salvation of your soul!
For how can we truly appreciate and experience freedom until we have been held captive? How can we truly appreciate the joy we have obtained until we have experienced heartache? How can we bask in glorious relief, if we not have endured, persevered and emerged from the fire of trial and tribulation as victorious and transformed?
Even Jesus had to endure persecution, betrayal, loss, heartache and crucifixion, to truly obtain the ultimate treasure, in his eyes: US.
Can we offer him anything less?
In Matthew 16:24-26, He implores us to take up our own cross and follow him. And promises that by doing so, and denying ourselves and surrendering our lives to him, we will not lose our lives, but find life and ourselves, through him.
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