Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown by you into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up”. Daniel 3:16-18
Those verses from Daniel 3 consist of eighty-one words. But I want to focus on just four: “But even if not...” Four very ordinary little words: but they are deeply significant, because they are a turning-point in a wonderful statement of faith and courage.
What’s been going on?
Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, have fallen foul of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar: as faithful Jews, they have refused to bow down to the king’s golden statue. Nebuchadnezzar threatens them with a horrible death: “Just bow down to my image,” he says, “and you’ll be fine. But if you persist in refusing to do so... into the furnace with you...!”
I wonder what you and I would have done?
Well, that’s for each of us to ponder.
What they in fact do produces one of those spine-tingling moments you get occasionally in the Bible. First, they look the king right in the eye, and assert that their God is far greater than him, and perfectly able to “deliver” them. Then they declare their wonderful faith: “and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.” And then those stirring words, words of sheer defiance: “But even if not... we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
What makes that statement so striking is that, while it displays rock-solid faith in God, it also refuses to presume on his willingness to rescue them. They are convinced that he can, but open to the possibility that he won’t - as if to say, “Do your worst, King Nebuchadnezzar, we will stick with the God we trust. Even your cruel threats won’t break our loyalty!”
The circumstances of most of us, I hope, are nothing like as threatening as those of the three Israelites. But even in the everyday business of life there are times when those words “But even if not” hang like a banner over our decisions and our prayers. We are to be trusting without being presumptuous.
You may have set your heart on a particular job. You feel it’s the perfect fit for you, and, in all modesty, you feel you could do it well. You pray, asking that God’s will be done, and really have high hopes. But those words are always there: But even if not, I will still trust and serve the Lord.
You have become very fond of someone, and decide you would like to marry them. You are convinced that it would be “a match made in heaven.” But... even if not...
Or you or someone you love is seriously ill. You know from the Bible that God is well able to heal the sick, and of course you pray for that to happen. But here again... even if not...
To walk by faith means, often, to walk a knife-edge. On the one hand, we are called to believe in a God of love and of amazing miracles: “Nothing is impossible with him” (Luke 1:37). We cling to the tantalising words of Jesus, “I will do whatever you ask in my name” (John 14:13) (probably puzzling over the exact meaning of “in my name”).
And on the other hand we cannot get away from the fact that the things we desire most are often denied to us. All right, Daniel’s friends were rescued by God from a cruel death. Wonderful. But what about those other saints who, for example, were “put to death by stoning; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword...” (Hebrews 11:37)?
In the end we are left with the plain fact that God calls us to trust him and remain loyal to him even in the face of terrible disappointment. We can only pray that if such a crisis-time should fall to us, we would have the same glowing faith - and the same beautiful submission - as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
I said earlier that I hoped the circumstances of most of us were far easier than what we read about in Daniel 3. But I mustn’t forget that there are many thousands of God’s children who are in pretty much the same situation. Perhaps there’s no better way of ending than highlighting just one...
Leah Sharibu, aged 14, from Dapchi in Nigeria, was abducted from her school almost a year ago with 109 of her class-mates. She alone remains in captivity. Why? Because, like Daniel’s friends, she refuses to renounce her Christian faith; and the God who “is able to deliver” has simply not, so far, seen fit to do so.
Perhaps we might all bow our heads and pray for Leah - and the many thousands of other Christians in similar situations.
How well they know the solemn meaning of those words: “But even if not”...
Father in heaven, I pray for Leah and the many thousands of your children who today are in a similar situation, knowing the agony of choosing between loyalty to you and obedience to cruel and unjust authorities. Give them courage, faith and peace. And help me, if ever I should come into such a dilemma, to act with the same faith as them, the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Amen.
Those verses from Daniel 3 consist of eighty-one words. But I want to focus on just four: “But even if not...” Four very ordinary little words: but they are deeply significant, because they are a turning-point in a wonderful statement of faith and courage.
What’s been going on?
Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, have fallen foul of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar: as faithful Jews, they have refused to bow down to the king’s golden statue. Nebuchadnezzar threatens them with a horrible death: “Just bow down to my image,” he says, “and you’ll be fine. But if you persist in refusing to do so... into the furnace with you...!”
I wonder what you and I would have done?
Well, that’s for each of us to ponder.
What they in fact do produces one of those spine-tingling moments you get occasionally in the Bible. First, they look the king right in the eye, and assert that their God is far greater than him, and perfectly able to “deliver” them. Then they declare their wonderful faith: “and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.” And then those stirring words, words of sheer defiance: “But even if not... we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
What makes that statement so striking is that, while it displays rock-solid faith in God, it also refuses to presume on his willingness to rescue them. They are convinced that he can, but open to the possibility that he won’t - as if to say, “Do your worst, King Nebuchadnezzar, we will stick with the God we trust. Even your cruel threats won’t break our loyalty!”
The circumstances of most of us, I hope, are nothing like as threatening as those of the three Israelites. But even in the everyday business of life there are times when those words “But even if not” hang like a banner over our decisions and our prayers. We are to be trusting without being presumptuous.
You may have set your heart on a particular job. You feel it’s the perfect fit for you, and, in all modesty, you feel you could do it well. You pray, asking that God’s will be done, and really have high hopes. But those words are always there: But even if not, I will still trust and serve the Lord.
You have become very fond of someone, and decide you would like to marry them. You are convinced that it would be “a match made in heaven.” But... even if not...
Or you or someone you love is seriously ill. You know from the Bible that God is well able to heal the sick, and of course you pray for that to happen. But here again... even if not...
To walk by faith means, often, to walk a knife-edge. On the one hand, we are called to believe in a God of love and of amazing miracles: “Nothing is impossible with him” (Luke 1:37). We cling to the tantalising words of Jesus, “I will do whatever you ask in my name” (John 14:13) (probably puzzling over the exact meaning of “in my name”).
And on the other hand we cannot get away from the fact that the things we desire most are often denied to us. All right, Daniel’s friends were rescued by God from a cruel death. Wonderful. But what about those other saints who, for example, were “put to death by stoning; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword...” (Hebrews 11:37)?
In the end we are left with the plain fact that God calls us to trust him and remain loyal to him even in the face of terrible disappointment. We can only pray that if such a crisis-time should fall to us, we would have the same glowing faith - and the same beautiful submission - as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
I said earlier that I hoped the circumstances of most of us were far easier than what we read about in Daniel 3. But I mustn’t forget that there are many thousands of God’s children who are in pretty much the same situation. Perhaps there’s no better way of ending than highlighting just one...
Leah Sharibu, aged 14, from Dapchi in Nigeria, was abducted from her school almost a year ago with 109 of her class-mates. She alone remains in captivity. Why? Because, like Daniel’s friends, she refuses to renounce her Christian faith; and the God who “is able to deliver” has simply not, so far, seen fit to do so.
Perhaps we might all bow our heads and pray for Leah - and the many thousands of other Christians in similar situations.
How well they know the solemn meaning of those words: “But even if not”...
Father in heaven, I pray for Leah and the many thousands of your children who today are in a similar situation, knowing the agony of choosing between loyalty to you and obedience to cruel and unjust authorities. Give them courage, faith and peace. And help me, if ever I should come into such a dilemma, to act with the same faith as them, the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Amen.
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