Daniel 3:1-30
Introduction: We are continuing our series in Daniel to learn from his example of exile in Babylon and understand how it can be significant for us today. The book of Daniel has a lot to say about going through tough times but remaining faithful to God at all costs. Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered and ransacked Jerusalem. Though they faced temptations to fully assimilate into Babylonian culture, Daniel and his friends actually experienced a strengthening of their faith in God and their witness for him during their time of exile. That is why this book is so important for us right now – exile meant that Daniel and his friends had lost their “normal lives”, including their normal structure of worship. Their faith was tested in every way possible – mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual – in what can be called a “crucible” of faith. BUT God reveals that he is in control over the crucible and is at work in it.. The fire of exile, which feels like it might consume our faith, can actually deepen and strengthen it.
Definition: a Crucible of Faith | A “crucible” is a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or influence change and/or development. In simpler terms, it is a vessel used to burn something in a fire at an extremely high temperature. In this passage, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shows us 3 things about living in a time of exile and experiencing a crucible of faith.
1. The Pressure to Worship is Intense
The first thing this passage shows us about life in the crucible of exile is that we will feel intense pressure to worship whatever we think will get us through. Worship in the Bible is not simply about singing songs or attending Sunday service. It’s what is at the core of everything we do. Here are some thoughts to consider:
Every person worships. We don’t choose if we worship, we chose what we worship. Every human being has a controlling center – what we value, seek and serve before anything else. When we dig deep down to the core of what drives us, it is worship (what we were made of). Perhaps this is why the very first Commandment is “You shall not have any other gods before me”. Obeying all the other commands hinges on this 1st Commandment because everything else hinges on worship.
Every person & every culture/nation sets up gods to replace God. The most repeated word in this passage is the one translated in English as “set up”, which is repeated 10 times! People are worshipping something set up (ie. man-made). We all – collectively and individually – set up other gods to replace God; even when these are “good” things, the problem arises when we make them ultimate things.
In exile, the pressure to worship (ie to idolatry) is intense. For many of us, the things we have most valued, served and sought are lost, gone, threatened, or simply not coming through for us; things that we have feared and dreaded are happening, or the fear of them happening is paralyzing us. And we are perhaps realizing for the first time that these weren’t just good things we wanted, but actually things that we worship (safety, control, comfort, security); gods that we have set up, good things made into ultimate things.
2. The Nature of Our Faith Is Revealed
In the intense pressure of Babylonian exile – the pressure to worship and bow down before the statute or face the fiery furnace – one of the most famous and powerful declarations of true faith in the whole Bible is produced (vv.16-18):
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
These three young men are declaring their belief that God can deliver them (and us!). They are trusting him to deliver them from the furnace and EVEN IF he does not, they are still going to worship and trust Him alone. Their faith reveals something so important about the nature of genuine faith:
Genuine faith means serving and seeking God for God; it is NOT serving and seeking God for what we get/expect from Him, or serving and seeking as long as He comes through for us in the way we demand.
When the crucible comes, fire comes in the form of suffering and hardship and the nature of our faith is revealed. Are we trusting God? Or are we trusting God + our idea of what God should give us/do for us?
3. The Promises of God Are Our Hope (in the Fire)
How can we have a faith in God like this? This passage not only shows us what faith is, it builds and forms our faith by showing us what God promises to us when the fire comes and what he does not. This is the difference between faith that is consumed and faith that is refined in the fire/crucible of suffering/pressure of exile:
God doesn’t promise to deliver us from the fire.. 1 Peter 4:12: Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you. The Bible tells us that there is no way to fire-proof our lives – suffering will consume our faith if we falsely believe that God will fire-proof our lives if we accomplish specific things, live a certain way, believe hard enough, and pray fervently enough.
God promises to deliver us through the fire. Even though it would have made for an incredible story, God did not send mighty angels to strike down the king’s soldiers and deliver Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to safety (and glory). They went into the furnace. BUT this is where we find out what our faith is truly in.
God promises to be with us in the fire. Although only 3 went in, the king sees 4 men in the furnace! This is the angel of the Lord, the presence of God in human form, saying: in the fire I will be with you in the most personal way possible – you will not be alone, ever. This is the promise of the passage.
God promises to deliver us from the greatest fire. This story also points us to another time when God entered a furnace to deliver his people And because of that, a day is coming when the final furnace will remove all of the brokenness, idolatry and troubles in our fallen world (Malachi 4:1-2, Matthew 13:42, 50). – and that is a furnace that no person’s life would make it through, except for Jesus. Jesus went through the greatest furnace for us and for our healing; He will not let the crucible harm us but will use it for our good, and He is the one entirely deserving of our worship and our trust!
REFLECT OR DISCUSS
What about the message is most relevant to you? How do you feel the challenge of the “new normal” is impacting you most right now? Do you relate (or not) to the image of a crucible for the times we are living in?
How are you feeling the pressure to worship (serve, seek and trust) whatever will get your through this crucible? Are their good things in your life that you have come to realize that you have “set up” as an idol to worship?
The bible says suffering relates to our faith as fire relates to gold. The fire reveals what our faith is in; it reveals the genuineness of our faith. It can also lead to a refined faith. What do you notice about the 3 men’s profession of faith in 3:16-18? What would it look like for you to make this kind of profession in the fire we are currently experiencing?
What enables us to trust God even when he doesn’t carry out our agenda, doesn’t answer our prayers and doesn’t come through for us in the way we expect Him to?
Of the 4 points under “The Promises of God” above, which do you think you most need to remember? How have you learned to find hope in God’s promises? How does knowing that Jesus went into the greater furnace for us give us hope that he will deliver us through this (smaller yet real) furnaces we face?