The God that turned Fiery furnace into an air conditioner.
The book of Daniel tells a story of three Hebrew young guys-Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into a burning fire referred to as the fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar- king of Babylon.
So, what actually happened? Why did the king give such a strong, wicked order?
They were charged with three offenses;
1.They paid no heed to the king and his commands,
2.They did not serve the king’s gods
and the one that angered the King the most,
3.They refused to worship the golden statue of the king himself.
The king was angry. He penalized them for their actions with death. A painful one at that- by burning the, alive.
Now, everyone expected them to be crying and begging at this stage, but then their reply was:
''Dear King Nebuchadnezzar,
We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,
the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your hand.
But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Wow.
The king was furious. How dare these boys reply him in such manner. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace.
Now to let you know how hot this furnace was,the soldiers who threw these three men into the fire were burnt to death just by standing near the furnace.
Now comes the time God shows himself, the Fiery furnace turned into an air conditioner. The boys were just moving around the fire like it's their office. Nebuchadnezzar was astonished that the fire did not consume Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He was even more amazed when he saw not three, but a fourth person with them chilling .
He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
He then ordered the boys to be brought out and he made a decree that the people of any nation or language
who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces
and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
The main lesson in this story is faith. How much do we trust God? What situation are you going through at the moment?
Do you trust God just like these three young men.Their response in the moment of trial confirmed their overwhelming faith in God.
They did not allow their situation turn them away from God.
God himself has told us in Isiah 41 vs 10 ''Do not be afraid for I am with you''.
Jesus also said in Matthew 28 vs 20 ''And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.''
When we walk by faith, we will come out victorious.
Shalom!
Image 1 source: jw.org
Image 2 source: bcpilotradio.com