Why were these men being persecuted? (Daniel 3:6, 12)
How did they react to this persecution? (Daniel 3:16-18)
As Christians can we expect to be persecuted? (Matthew 5:11, 12)
How are we to react to our persecution? (James 1:2, 3 and 1 Peter 4:12-14)
BBC BACKGROUND from Daniel 3
In Babylonian religious culture, statues were worshiped. The image in this chapter stood 90 feet high and 90 feet wide. The pressure to bow down to it must have been enormous; but like the food and wine in Daniel 1, Daniel and his three friends discerned that this would violate God's law and refused to worship the image (Exodus 20:3). So, they suffered the furnace of fire.
The fire killed Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers but not the four men in the fire. The fourth man could have been an angel or the pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Isaiah 43:2; Psalm 91:9-12).
Through this, they were protected from death and God was glorified among the Gentiles! Nebuchadnezzar did not turn to their God, but he did acknowledge that God is powerful and commanded his people not to speak against the God of all gods!
REFLECTION
I lived in a pretty pagan environment during college. I got pressured and condemned quite a bit for following God in the midst of it too. But women have called me and thanked me over the years. Many have turned to Him.
God richly rewards our obedience and glorifies Himself in the process!
D.L. Moody often preached on Daniel, and here’s an excerpt from the message:
Daniel thought more of his principles than he did of earthly honor or the esteem of men. Right was right with him. He was going to do right today and let the morrows take care of themselves. That firmness of purpose, in the strength of God, was the secret of his success. (D.L. Moody, Bible Characters (Fleming H. Revell, 1888), 9.)
One of Mr. Moody’s associates, musician Philip P. Bliss, expressed this truth in a song that’s not used much today, but the message is certainly needed. The chorus says:
Dare to be a Daniel!
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known! (Be resolute, p. 157)
1APPLICATION
Dare to be a Daniel today!
PRAYER
Lord, glorify Yourself in how we relate to a lost world today. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Lord, glorify Yourself in how we relate to a lost world today. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
1 comment:
I had so much more persecution during college. Even as an employee of the university 40 years later, I had less persecution! But the good news, some of those who persecuted me have called me to apologize and tell me that they have become followers of Jesus! So it was all worth it, I am still praying for the one that persecuted me the most.
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