Grand Entrance

Grand Entrance
By Shirley Mitchell

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, ‘O 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 save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’ ”

Daniel 3:16-18

I have been faithfully reading every night to my kids from a picture Bible that turns even the Books of the prophets into stories with pictures for every scene. When we studied Isaiah, we saw him plead with the people to destroy their idols and only worship God. He warned the kings what would happen if they continue in idolatry and disobedience, but the kings ignored the warnings. Then he prophesied that because Judah had turned away from God to these idols, it will be destroyed, and the people will be carried away as captives.

Then we studied the prophet Jeremiah who saw a vision of invaders from the North coming to destroy Judah. Jeremiah pleaded with King Jehoiakim and later King Zedekiah to turn from their evil ways. However, neither of them would repent. Day after day Jeremiah stood in the courtyard of the LORD’s house and speak to all the people who came to worship. If they had turned from their evil ways, then God would relent from bringing disaster upon them. Instead, the crowds turned against Jeremiah for prophesying against the city and all the people. Jeremiah was beaten, placed in stocks, thrown in prison, and at one point even lowered by ropes into a muddy cistern.

Then the prophecies came true. Babylon lay siege to the city. King Zedekiah was bound with bronze shackles, had his eyes put out, and was taken to Babylon where he stayed in prison until he died. The walls of Jerusalem were broken down by the imperial guard. Every important building was burned to the ground, including the temple of the LORD.

Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, ordered his men to bring to Babylon some of Israel’s young men from the royal family and nobility. Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were among these young men. The very first verb used to describe Daniel is that he resolved not to defile himself. Daniel was spokesman for this group of four young men. Even though they were stripped from their homeland and everything that was Jewish, they refused to defile themselves. It set the tone for their entire time in captivity.

Later, Daniel’s three friends faced the proclamation to worship a 90 foot high by nine foot wide statue made of gold. When the music played, everyone must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever did not fall down and worship the image would immediately be thrown into the blazing furnace. These men knew the consequence was death, but they would not bow down.

Now how easy would it have been to say, “My body may be bowing, but in my heart I’m not.” How easy would it have been to be sick that day or to find another way out of it!

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had seen the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah come true in their life time. Their fathers and grandfathers turned to idols and worshipped other gods. They had allowed innocent blood to be shed. They had not responded to the call to repent. Their hard hearts tuned out the true prophets’ words and embraced the false prophets.

These boys had watched the destruction of God’s beloved Jerusalem. They were the ones who had to pay the high price by their captivity – not their fathers, grandfathers, or the previous generations. When their turn came, they decided that they were not willing to pay anymore so they were willing to pay the highest cost - their lives.

So as I’m reading these stories to my children night after night, God breathed on this for me. You see, God had suffered in agony, longing for His children to come to Him. It was not just Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many other prophets crying for repentance, but it was God, too! These three said to the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” In other words,these three young men said, “No! We won’t compromise one bit. We will not serve your gods!”

When I read this part, it made tears come to my eyes. I realized after all those generations of sin, of course, God had to respond with something that would blow our minds away. Of course, He had to break a few natural laws. They set the perfect stage for God to make a grand entrance. This is what God had been looking for through all those prior generations - people who refused to bend the knee to anyone except to Him.

God responded to their invitation with one of His greatest miracles. Those boys were thrown in the furnace, but they did not burn up. God sent an angel to save them, and many people believe the angel was Jesus pre-incarnate. I can’t imagine any bigger way for God to sign a story with His pleasure. These boys did it! They made the choice that even if God didn’t save them - which they knew that He could – they would still rather die than worship an idol. They pleased God with their loyalty to Him. God made His grand entrance to demonstrate how He rewards those who are faithful to Him no matter what. Let’s live with that kind of faithfulness and give God some opportunities to respond with a grand entrance!

Pray with me: Oh, God, we desire to have the commitment to You like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We want to stand up to the opposing forces. Give us the resolve to not defile ourselves. Make us faithful so we can stand up for what is right. Raise up a generation who will not bow down and worship an idol. It’s in the mighty Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

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