City Life Starter

I. The Word- Daniel 3:13-18

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

II. Reflection Questions

1. What does Nebuchadnezzar accomplish by throwing them in the furnace?
2. What do we learn from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response?
3. How should we react when God’s way seemingly loses in society?

By Danielle Clark

Throwing people into burning furnaces may not be common practice anymore, but we functionally do the same thing when we silence, expel, and destroy those with differing opinions. That’s what Nebuchadnezzar was ultimately trying to accomplish; he would rather annihilate these 3 men than listen to their point of view. What’s extraordinary is the three components of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s response. We can learn a lot from them about engaging with a society that would rather destroy you than listen to you:

1. Refuse to respond out of pride or anger

This is where almost all Christians get in trouble, myself very included. The three men immediately state they don’t need to defend themselves. They are not avoiding necessary conflict or saying their beliefs cannot be defended. On the contrary, Nebuchadnezzar has already prevented any meaningful dialogue; at this point the men recognize any arguing would only aim to gain the pride of being right or express anger at their misfortune, and not to turn Nebuchadnezzar’s heart to God. We should only debate our Christian viewpoints for God’s saving mission, and never to maintain our pride among society. Once the individual would prefer to personally insult or silence you than discuss, there is no shame in calmly ending the conversation. It is much better to exit with dignity than spew prideful, unloving words in the name of God.

2. Trust that God is all-powerful, sovereign and loving

Next, the three men express their knowledge that God can save them from King Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace. As it says in Romans, there is no force on Earth that can keep you from the love of God! He can protect you in a lion’s den, whale’s stomach, or fiery furnace. In addition, God says He doesn’t withhold good things from his children. If He’s placed you in a situation where following Him could cause persecution, we must trust He will secure what is best.

3. Cling to God’s absolute truth, regardless of outcome

Finally, the three men say their trust in God’s truth is not dependent on having a favorable outcome. Even if they die in the furnace, that does not mean that absolute right and absolute wrong don’t exist. The truth that Jesus is Lord led Him to be beaten, stripped, and killed; if this can happen to God himself, we can’t expect to always have enjoyable consequences from following God. If we claim that God’s way always leads to our personal satisfaction, then non-believers will always discredit God when Christians don’t get their way in society, e.g. failed political movements. The most compelling thing we can do before a staunch non-believer is disadvantage ourselves for the sake of God’s truth.