A Walk Among the Flames

Introduction

A. What words or phrases would you use to define commitment? There are numerous examples about commitment. Marriage vows comes to mind. Parenting. Payment of a mortgage or credit cards. All demand commitment. I suppose if we press it far enough, we would say that living for God takes commitment as well. Tonight we are going to look at a dramatic story of commitment found in Daniel 3. It may be an old story, but its focus on commitment inspires us even today.

The Story

A. Nebuchadnezzar builds a huge statue. Some believe that the statue was a likeness of Nebuchadnezzar. Whatever it was, it was intended to be a permanent fixture to remind the people of who their ruler was. At 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, it was intended to be an imposing statue. At the day of dedication, all the bureaucracy of Babylon were called together to see and worship this image. Nebuchadnezzar commanded that all were to bow down to this image. Certainly, the intention is to pay homage to the king. Notice in verse 6 what will happen if one doesn’t bow down to the figure. The wise reader knows what is getting ready to happen. Such an ominous threat is sure to be fulfilled.

B. Three leaders of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—refused to bow down to the image. Imagine the scene. The instruments sound and hundreds if not thousands of Babylonians surrounding the image bow down. But these three remain standing. Noticeable? Of course. And quickly these three men’s transgression is brought to Nebuchadnezzar’s attention. The king is furious. He is not going to have any of his political leaders not obey him. So the king calls for a personal appearance. He is going to give them another chance. If they will bow down before the image, then nothing will happen to them. But if not, then they will be thrown into the furnace.

C. It would have been very easy for them to comply. They could have bowed and prayed to their god at the same time. They could have bowed just out of show and not had their heart in the action. They may have known the difference but the king wouldn’t have known the difference. The very action of bowing before the idol would have demonstrated to the king that he was the ultimate authority and that their faith wasn’t important. But these three men were unwilling to diminish their commitment even for the sake of appearances. They refuse to bow down to the image.

D. Nebuchadnezzar orders the furnace to be heated to 7 times hotter than usual. This is an idiomatic way of saying “make it as hot as possible.” Not that you would doubt but we do have some carvings of the furnaces used in Babylon. It would have been shaped like an old fashioned milk bottle with a large opening for the insertion of ore to be smelted and a small opening at ground level for wood and charcoal to be thrown in to stoke the fire. It is believed that the temperature in this kiln would reach approximately 1800 degrees. You can imagine the fear among the people. They knew what happened to people who were thrown into the furnace.

E. The three are thrown into the furnace although those who threw them in died. But to Nebuchadnezzar’s amazement, not only are the three not harmed, there is a fourth person in the fire with them. We don’t know who the fourth one is, but Nebuchadnezzar’s description leaves little doubt that the fourth one looked different from the other three. The Bible tells us that the three are brought out of the fire with no signs of ever having been in the furnace—no hair singed, no robes scorched, no smell of smoke. Nebuchadnezzar then praises God for his deliverance.

Lessons

A. Three brief lessons. First, people notice when we are committed to God. It is getting more difficult to be a Christian in this culture and not stick out. This is a good thing. We are all being faced with what our commitment really means. ILL. Lack of commitment. While this is humorous what is not humourous is what commitment to Jesus really means. ILL. Commitment—Barbara Brown Taylor. Would such a demand make a difference to us? People will notice when we are making a stand for God. We cannot bow down to the images of our culture and escape notice.

B. Second, commitment means a decision must be made and the decision will cost you. There is a price to be paid for our commitment to God. For most of us, such commitment has not yet resulted in the shedding of blood. But in our culture such a commitment may well mean ostracism or ridicule. Sometimes it may mean the absence of family or the dismissal from a job. ILL. “Decisions: Fisherman.” The truth is that when we decide that we are going to commit our lives to God then it will dominate our thinking, our feelings, and our actions. We will not take shortcuts nor will we seek the easy way out. We will stand for him even when the gates of hell try to defeat us.

C. Third, commitment must be settled before the crisis begins. I appreciate the dramatic response of the three men in verses 16–18. There is a statement of confidence and determination. But there is also a statement of uncertainty. They do not know what God is going to do. God is able to save them and if he does it will be a full and complete rescue. But God is not obligated to rescue them. There is plenty of times when we wonder why God doesn’t stop something from happening or why God doesn’t make something happen. These three teach us that it isn’t about God’s power, it is about their faith. They believed and were going to remain committed to God even if he chose not to rescue them. God’s lack of action did not alter their faith nor did it mean that God was hardhearted.

D. Before the crisis, we have to know what our real commitment is. ILL. Commitment—Swedish army. When the crisis comes, how you respond says something about your idea of commitment. Prayer.

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