Text:
Daniel 3:8-18
Memory Verse:
“If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O King” (Daniel 3:17).
Delievers will, at some point, reach a crossroad of faith, when they have to take a stand even at the risk of great personal loss. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced such a moment. They were given one simple choice, bow or die. There was to be no bargaining, no compromise, no “meeting halfway”. They were to bow to the King’s idol or face the fiery furnace. They chose the Furnace.
A furnace is a high combustion structure in which materials, including metals,
can be melted under very high temperatures. It reduces people to stubble,
straw or ashes. Anyone who is thrown into a furnace will crumble, unlike Lot’s
wife who remained a pillar. If the sun collides with the earth, it will burn it.
In the story of Nebuchadnezzar and the three Hebrew friends, those who were
commanded to throw them into the fire were consumed instantly (Daniel 3:22). However, a mighty protection, unexpected by the king and his
men, made the three Hebrew boys survive the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar
exclaimed “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:25).
He commanded the men to come forth and the three of them came out from
the midst of the fire. The king’s counsellors and others gathered together and
“they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power and the smell of fire was not on them” (Daniel 3:27). They were immune to the fire.
Prayer Points:
1. Thank You, God, for the immunity granted to Your children.
2. Help me, Lord, to be able to stand for You and not bow to the idols of this
world.
