I just had to share this! I have heard the story of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego a lot! It was always a "Bible Story" to me, because I never got past the Sunday School lesson level with it. I decided last year that I was going to read the Bible from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation 22. It has been awesome! I am now reading Daniel, you know Daniel in the Lions Den, The Handwriting on the Wall..... That Daniel. Well I read all three of those stories today but Shadrach, Meschach and Abdnego really stood out to me.
There are so many amazing parts to this scripture.
Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were being put in the furnace for not worshiping king Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue. These men remained faithful to God and were going to be punished for it. The furnace/incinerator was heated to seven times the normal heat. Why would good ole Neb's do this? I say he did this because God was in control and wanted to really show him who was in charge. Seven is the number of completion in God's word, so.... the king demands that the furnace be brought to a heat seven times that of the norm for this type of punishment. The men who brought these three to the furnace were burned up and they didn't even go in the middle. Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego go in to the middle, they are laying down because they are bound and can't move. Now this is where it got interesting for me and God revealed to me the absolute coolest part of His story.
When Neb's goes back to see what is happening to the men he is punishing for not worshiping him, he not only sees them alive and walking around, but he sees a fourth man that he describes as "The Son of God." Wait what?! Back the truck up! The Son of God!!! That's right before Jesus was even born he showed up to be with God's faithful. I also want to point out that the straps used to bind the men were burned up, but their clothes, hair and even their smell stayed in tact. The smell of the furnace didn't even fall on them, I can't sit by a campfire and cook smores without smelling like a bonfire when I am done.
Jesus will show up for any of us in our time of need, even if someone doesn't believe He will show up. He does it over and over again. He hadn't even been born yet, and these men had no way to believe, or not believe in him because he was just a prophecy in their mind, yet he came to give them God's love. When Paul was going before the court and is held in prison with his life on the line, Jesus shows up and says, (paraphrase here) Don't worry, you are not going to die here, I need you to go to Rome and spread the gospel there. Which he did, granted he was a prisoner but still.....! God lets those who believe go through our own furnaces I think for multiple reasons, but the biggest is to give Him the glory of what He can do in our lives, and so that our lives can be a witness to others. No one wants to be in the furnaces of life, but I am definitely going to be looking for Jesus the next time I am in one. Thank you Jesus for your faithfulness!
By the way, after Nebs saw what God did for Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, he signed a decree that no one was to worship anyone but the one true God. That leads me down a whole other train of thought that I will save for another day.
To read this part of scripture go to Daniel 3:1-28
TTFN, I Pray God Blesses you,
Jen
Harmel's Helping Hands is my business and it allows me to be relentless in purusing my passions which are God, my family, equine massage, energy healing, and animal welfare. This is just a place for me to do my brain dumps and updates. This won't always be about my job, it could just be a rant about my day.
