Post by Admin on Jun 15, 2017 6:07:57 GMT
Tonight’s discussion centered on the familiar story of the three Jewish men tossed into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar for refusing to bow to the golden statue installed by the King. The familiar parts of the story were the absolute commitment of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to God, even under threat of death, and of course God’s deliverance of them.
Less remembered from Sunday school stories was the insidious efforts of the other “wise men” to undermine Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in their position over Babylon by ratting them out. That is an unfortunate fact of the workplace that many of us have experienced. Another fresh point was to consider Nebuchadnezzar’s motives for building the golden statue in the first place: to challenge God’s prediction from the dream he had about the statue with a gold head, or just an expression of his ego? Also, when the three men were thrown into the furnace, they were bound hand and foot; when they come out, not only are they and their clothes untouched, the ropes binding them are gone. They were not saved from the fire by God; they were saved in the midst of the fire, and then they were freed. While God may not rescue us from having certain experiences, He will be there to get us through them.
We discussed the extent and magnitude of the commitment Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had made to God, probably confirmed and strengthened in every little choice they made every day of their lives up to this great challenge. They were so certain of the authority of their God that giving in to even a little worship at the statue was unthinkable, regardless of the consequences. We also mentioned that there is no indication that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego deserved being thrown into the furnace, just as suffering and injustice sometimes visits us, not because we are sinners, but because we live in a sinful world.
Less remembered from Sunday school stories was the insidious efforts of the other “wise men” to undermine Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in their position over Babylon by ratting them out. That is an unfortunate fact of the workplace that many of us have experienced. Another fresh point was to consider Nebuchadnezzar’s motives for building the golden statue in the first place: to challenge God’s prediction from the dream he had about the statue with a gold head, or just an expression of his ego? Also, when the three men were thrown into the furnace, they were bound hand and foot; when they come out, not only are they and their clothes untouched, the ropes binding them are gone. They were not saved from the fire by God; they were saved in the midst of the fire, and then they were freed. While God may not rescue us from having certain experiences, He will be there to get us through them.
We discussed the extent and magnitude of the commitment Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had made to God, probably confirmed and strengthened in every little choice they made every day of their lives up to this great challenge. They were so certain of the authority of their God that giving in to even a little worship at the statue was unthinkable, regardless of the consequences. We also mentioned that there is no indication that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego deserved being thrown into the furnace, just as suffering and injustice sometimes visits us, not because we are sinners, but because we live in a sinful world.