DS 003

Faith is a Relationship of Confidence

Daniel 3:1-29

Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrians upon deserting Yahweh as their God. The people had been taken from their lands and mixed with other nations until they lost their identity. Subsequently, the southern tribes, Judah, had continued down the same path of abandoning Yahweh. For love of the former king David, God had allowed them to be taken more or less whole into captivity to Babylon, such that Judah did not lose its identity. En route to exile, those of Judah recognized their failure in the words of their prophets like Jeremiah. They gave themselves once again to serve Yahweh more adequately. Among those were Daniel and three friends, renamed by Babylon as Shadrac, Meshach, and Abednego.

Babylon had changed their names to reflect the names of the Babylonian divinities, but these three recognized that they should still maintain faithfulness to Yahweh. They understood that the future of their nation depended on the faithfulness of the exiles. God had promised to return them one day to their land, but only after they had learned to take their relationship with Yahweh seriously.

Amid exile, these three Jews faced problems before Nebuchadnezzar, the emperor of Babylon, due to the required state cult of the Babylonian gods. From one moment to the next, it became necessary for them to position themselves against Yahweh or in favor of the emperor's order. Their lives were at risk on one hand, and the future of their nation on the other. Certainly, these three could not assume full responsibility for the exiled nation. At the same time, they were the representatives of the Jewish nation at that moment. It was a difficult situation for the three. If they were to deny faithfulness in this, they would be turning their backs on God. They would be placing the responsibility for faithfulness in the hands of others. The problem was they were in an appropriate position from which to defend the need to serve and trust Yahweh faithfully, which had been lacking in Judah.

It no longer mattered what they thought about Yahweh. It no longer mattered what they determined to be the truth with regard to Moses, Abraham, David, and the prophets. What did matter to them and the nation was how they responded to Nebuchadnezzar's demands regarding the idols of Babylon. How would these Jews on foreign soil respond to the need to decide between obeying God and the state?

For many, the fact that they were in exile communicated that the gods of Babylon had been victorious over Yahweh, God of Judah. The understanding expounded by the prophets of Yahweh, however, was that Yahweh had sent the nation into exile through the Babylonians. What was obvious to some was not interpreted the same way by others. The fact of their oppression, however, conflicted against accepting that Yahweh was still God for the descendants of Abraham, still as powerful and faithful so as to be worthy of the faithfulness of all Jews.

Sure, the three friends had time to recognize what would happen to them. A great decree like this of Nebuchadnezzar was not something that would have been kept under wraps before its official proclamation. Surely, they had heard what was coming and had been praying to God about the problems encroaching upon them. Consequently, they were prepared upon hearing the official demands of the emperor. What they did not really know was how they would respond.

It would seem they had already planned out the response they would give the emperor along with their determination not to bow before any idol. Perhaps they had taken that decision some time before, even en route toward Babylon. Between making a decision in secure settings and giving feet to the same amid conflict, however, there is a lot of difference. What can never be assured is how we will truly react when the moment comes.

The book of Daniel registers that the three did not flinch. They already knew their decision. They already knew what they would do, for they knew what their actions would mean for their lives and the future of their nation. They recognized that the results of their actions were not assured. They did not know how Yahweh would respond to their decision to be faithful, placing their lives at risk. What they did know was that they had a responsibility to do more than simply proclaim that God was great. It was their faith responsibility to place their lives fully and faithfully in God's hands.

Nebuchadnezzar built his idol. He made his proclamation that all should bow before the idol he had erected. When it was communicated to him that these three Hebrews had not bowed in honor to the idol, he became enraged. He had them brought into his presence, giving them one more opportunity to demonstrate their acceptance of the gods of Babylon. They answered the emperor, however, that they would continue obeying Yahweh, whatever the consequences. They further declared Yahweh had the power to protect them from the fire to which the emperor was set to condemn them. However, they also said that did not mean that Yahweh would protect them. Even so, their mission was to obey Yahweh without considering the consequences.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego demonstrated before the emperor that their faith was much more than accepting some doctrinal positions. It was much more than accepting the reality of Yahweh or Yahweh's power and authority. Their faith encompassed the dedication to follow Yahweh in confidence and dedication. They would leave the results in Yahweh's hands due to that confidence. In the meanwhile, they would continue obeying Yahweh in the submission due to God's servants. They entrusted their lives into God's hands. They dedicated their actions with basis on the confidence they had placed in God. Then they followed through faithfully as obedient servants.

The Babylonian court was not pleased. The emperor became even more enraged with these Hebrews who should have responded as defeated subjects. He ordered the furnace in which they would be thrown heated seven times more than normal. He had them thrown into the fire to take their lives. He hoped to appease his wrath with the death of these youth.

What actually happened frightened him much more than the anger which had taken hold of him. He looked into the flames of the furnace and saw a fourth figure moving freely among the youth who were now untied. In his surprise, the emperor ordered them to come out, and he noticed that there was no indication of fire or smoke on them or their clothing.

The faith of these three was not in the security that nothing would happen to them. It was not in having knowledge of God. Their faith was that of living according to a confidence in Yahweh. It connected with a dedication to follow Yahweh faithfully. Are we ready to place our lives in the same category of dedication and submit our all to God? If we have real confidence in God, based on our faith in a relationship with God, it makes it possible to give our all into God's hands.

—Pr. Christopher B. Harbin

© Copyright 2017 Christopher B. Harbin.