God Doesn’t Need Man’s Help

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. – Daniel 3:19-30 ESV

Nebuchadnezzar became enraged when he realized his death threat had not dissuaded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from refusing to bow down to his idol. He had warned them, “If you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:15 ESV). Then he arrogantly challenged their God to do anything about it.

“And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” – Daniel 3:15 ESV

But the three young men refused to compromise their convictions. They held their ground and refused to obey the king’s edict, choosing instead to place their faith in God’s power and providential care. They truly believed that Yahweh was fully capable of keeping them from the flames or rescuing them out of them.

“…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” – Daniel 3:17 ESV

They had no way of knowing the outcome of the day’s events. God had given them no verbal guarantee that their lives would be spared. They even displayed a willingness to suffer whatever fate God may have in store for them.

“…even if he doesn’t [rescue us], we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” – Daniel 3:18 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar couldn’t comprehend their willingness to face death rather than to compromise their convictions. He took their refusal as a personal affront to his power and authority. They weren’t just refusing to bow down to his image, they were rejecting his right to rule their lives. As king of the world’s most powerful nation, Nebuchadnezzar had grown drunk on his own success. He was obsessed with his image and used to getting his way. Nations fell before him. Lesser kings bowed down in front of him. His own citizens feared and revered him. But when these three young Hebrew men dared to question his sovereignty and withhold their allegiance, it was more than he could stand. So, he ordered their immediate executions.

The text makes it clear that Nebuchadnezzar was not simply carrying out his own decree by ordering the deaths of three recalcitrant Hebrews. He was launching a personal attack on the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. This had become a personal battle between him and this dream-inducing, future-predicting God of Daniel and his three friends. Nebuchadnezzar was determined to come out the winner in this war of wills, so he ordered his “mighty men” to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He wasn’t leaving their arrest up to some low-level infantry soldiers who might allow them to escape. Next, he ordered the furnace to be super-heated and the three men to be clothed in layer after layer of flammable fabric. He was taking no chances. Nothing would prevent him from proving his power and asserting his authority over the meddling God of the Hebrews.

Nebuchadnezzar must have felt a perverse sense of joy as he watched his guards get consumed by the flames while throwing the three Hebrews into the furnace. There was no way of escape for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and there was no way their God could come to their aid. But Nebuchadnezzar was in for a shock. As he gazed into the furnace, he saw something that took his breath away.

“Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” – Daniel 3:25 NLT

This was impossible. There was no way these men could have survived the flames of the furnace. Yet, they were walking about unharmed and accompanied by some kind of celestial being. To Nebuchadnezzar’s polytheistic mind, this fourth individual was “like a son of the gods.” The appearance of this being was not like that of the three men and the king concluded that it must be a divine manifestation.

Shocked and shaken by what he was witnessing, Nebuchadnezzar approached the mouth of the furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” (Daniel 3:26 ESV). The king refers to their God as 'ĕlâ ʿillay – God most high. As a polytheist, Nebuchadnezzar was simply confessing that the Hebrew God was the greatest of all gods. He was not declaring Yahweh to be the one true God; he was admitting that no other gods could compare or compete with the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

To the surprise of Nebuchadnezzar and his royal officials, the three men exited the furnace unharmed and untouched.

The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. – Daniel 3:27 ESV

There was no logical way to explain their miraculous survival. The king’s magicians, sorcerers, and seers were dumbfounded by what they had witnessed. The Chaldeans who had maliciously accused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego must have been stunned by the unexpected outcome of their efforts. Having hoped to eliminate their competition, they had to stand back and watch the three Hebrews receive further praise and adulation from the king.

“Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” – Daniel 3:28 NLT

This was not the outcome the Chaldeans had expected. Rather than seeing their enemies burned alive, they watched as the three Hebrews were celebrated and elevated to even higher positions within the king’s administration.

But what happened next should not be overlooked or dismissed. It shouldn’t be misunderstood either. As a result of God’s miraculous deliverance of the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Nebuchadnezzar issued another rash and unnecessary edict.

“Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” – Daniel 3:28 NLT

At first glance, this appears to be a positive outcome. The king of a pagan, idol-worshiping nation is commanding that the God of the Hebrews be treated with honor and reverence. But look closely. This edict commands the worship of Yahweh under the penalty of death. It is devotion motivated by the threat of destruction. It was the same tactic Nebuchadnezzar used to coerce the worship of his statue. Bow down or die.

But God does not need men's help. He also does not desire worship that is motivated by abject fear or simply as a means of escaping death. During the days that Israel wandered in the wilderness on their way to the promised land, Moses commanded them, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4 ESV). "Worshiping" that is coerced or done out of a sense of obligation displeases God. It is meaningless, vain, and hypocritical. 

God despises heartless worship that is motivated by fear rather than true faith. The whole reason Daniel and his friends were in Babylon to begin with is because their forefathers had failed to worship God is spirit and in truth.

“I hate all your show and pretense—
    the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
    I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
    an endless river of righteous living.” – Amos 5:21-24 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar was trying to manufacture worship, just as he had done with his statue. He thought he could force his people to have faith in Israel’s God. But that is not the kind of worship God requires or desires. God did not need Nebuchadnezzar’s help, and He did not desire the worship of those whose hearts were not in it. Worship done for the wrong reason and with an improper motivation is an affront to God.

Nebuchadnezzar’s edict was not going to produce true worshipers. It would only create the same kind of shallow, fear-induced worship that God accused the Israelites of displaying.

“…this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men…” – Isaiah 29:3 NLT

God didn’t want or need Nebuchadnezzar’s help. Manufactured worship is not worship at all. Faithfulness that is the fruit of fear and the byproduct of threats is a sham. It won’t last and it can’t withstand the heat of the furnace. The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego wasn’t forced, it was from the heart.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Test Yourself.

2 Corinthians 13

Examine yourself to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. – 2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT

There comes the time in every believer's life when they must examine themselves and determine whether what they say they believe is making a difference in the way they live their lives. In this passage, Paul is not calling into question his readers' salvation, but their sanctification. Did their lives demonstrate that they were in the faith? Did their behavior give evidence or having been justified by God? Paul wanted them to do what was right. For twelve chapters, Paul seemed to take their salvation for granted, speaking to them as believers and never questioning the validity of their position in Christ. So it doesn't make sense that he would suddenly become suspect of their saving relationship with Christ. Instead, he is asking them to take stock of their salvation and examine the fruit of their lives. Were their actions in keeping with their faith? The NSRV translation of verse five reads this way: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith." One of the key evidences of sanctification is obedience. Paul wanted them to take a long, hard look at their lives and be brutally honest about their own fruitfulness. He wanted them to see that the problem was not with Paul and his apostolic authority, but with them. They were disobedient and rebellious, refusing to accept Paul's correction or submit to his authority in their lives. So Paul plead with them to "do the right thing before we come" (2 Corinthians 13:7b NLT). He wanted them to see the error of their way and repent before he had to come and deal with their rebellion first-hand. If forced to, he would wield his apostolic authority when he arrived, but preferred that they would do a serious self-examination and correct their behavior before he arrived. Paul's prayer was that they would become mature and do the right thing.

One of the things that had set Paul off was that there were some in the Corinthian church who were demanding that Paul give them proof that he was speaking on behalf of Christ. So Paul turned the tables and demanded that they give proof of their own sanctification. He told them to examine themselves and give proof that they were living in obedience to Christ by doing the right thing. Rather than test Paul, they needed to spend some time testing themselves. He was not the problem, they were. "The logic of Paul’s argument is compelling: If the Corinthians wanted proof of whether Paul’s ministry was from Christ, they must look at themselves, not him, because Paul had ministered the gospel to them” (Bibliotheca Sacra 154:614,April-June 1997: 181). They were in Christ, now they must act like it. They had been justified and made right with God by Christ, now their lives must reflect that right standing by doing the right thing. Paul was calling them to Christian maturity. He wanted them to grow up in their faith. Rather than questioning their salvation, Paul is calling them to sanctification. He closes his letter with these words: "Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. then the God of love and peace will be with you" (2 Corinthians 13:11 NLT). When all was said and done, Paul simply wanted to see the Corinthians living obedient, godly lives. Their willing submission to his God-given authority would be ample proof of both his divine calling and their own sanctification.

Father, what a great reminder that I must examine my own life on a regular basis to see if the fruit of my own sanctification is evident. Too often, I am content to rest in the assurance of my salvation, and then fail to see that salvation producing true life change. Never let me grow content with where I am. Keep me striving after godliness, not to earn favor in Your sight, but because I expect life transformation to take place each and every day of my life. Amen.

X-Ray Vision.

Proverbs 15

“Even Death and Destruction hold no secrets from the Lord. How much more does he know the human heart!” – Proverbs 15:11 NLT

God knows your heart. Kind of a scary thought, isn't it? He knows all there is to know about death and the grave. Nothing surprises Him. There is nothing mysterious or unknown to Him. He knows it all. And the same truth applies to our hearts. He knows them inside and out. He knows our actions, attitudes, motives and behaviors. He knows what drives us, inspires us, tempts us, and fills our minds every second of every day. Nothing escapes Him. While we can fool others and sometimes even fool ourselves, we can't fool God. Over the in the book of Jeremiah, the prophet makes this point very clear: "The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?" (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT). We can be deceived by the wickedness in our own hearts. We have no idea just how bad we can really be or are. Our hearts have a way of justifying our actions, rationalizing our behavior and excusing our sins. But God is not fooled. He knows all. He sees all. Jeremiah goes on to say, "But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve" (Jeremiah 17:10 NLT). God has X-ray vision that allows Him to probe into the inner recesses of our hearts, clearly seeing the motives behind our behavior. Solomon reminds us, "The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3 NLT). He sees all that is going on. But God is not limited to watching our external actions. He is able to look into our hearts and determine exactly what prompted our behavior. He sees the pride, greed, jealousy, anger, need for recognition, and all attempts to get others to see us as something other than what we really are.

This understanding that God is able to see into our hearts is somewhat disconcerting. It is disturbing to think that we can't hide things from God like we do from everyone else. We can pose, posture, and pretend with others. But God sees through the flimsy facade we erect, looking right into our hearts. But rather than condemn us, He convicts us and calls us to repentance. He lovingly exposes our hidden faults and offers to help us change. He reveals the true condition of our hearts so that we might be truthful about our need for Him. David knew this about God and not only grew to appreciate it, but invited God to examine him. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life" (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT). David wanted his heart, his motives and actions, examined by God. He wanted God to examine him, revealing anything that might offend Him. Because David knew that there were thing hidden there he couldn't see. There were unseen areas of his heart that needed exposure and cleansing. David knew that he couldn't confess what he didn't know. He could repent of something he knew nothing about. So he asked His all-knowing, all-loving God to give him a complete examination. So when's the last time you asked God for a check-up? Sure, it's kind of scary to ask God to show you what's really in your heart. But relax. He'll not only show you what's wrong, He'll show you how to fix it. He'll not only help you, He'll heal you.

Father, it is scary to think of You looking into my heart and seeing all the gunk that is there. But never let me forget that You do so as my loving Father. You care for me. You want to help me. You desire to change me into the likeness of Your Son. And to do so, You have to constantly expose the sin in my heart. Help me get to the point, like David, where I not only look forward to it, but I invite it. Amen.