God of Nebuchadnezzar
"'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.' Then Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” (Daniel 3:25,28,29)
King Nebuchadnezzar thought maybe he was seeing things.
He knew he'd thrown three men into the fiery furnace, but when he looked in on his captives, he was pretty sure he saw four figures there. Even more alarming, the fourth one looked like "a son of the gods."
Many biblical scholars believe that the fourth man in the fire was Jesus in a preincarnate form. Some translations (https://www.biblestudytools.com/daniel/3-25-compare.html) of Daniel 3:25 do read "like the son of God." Others read "like an angel."
Whatever the exact interpretation might be, this is a plot-twist moment—a peripety—in King Nebuchadnezzar's story. On the one side of it, a cocky king commands the worship of his "little-g" gods; on the other side, a convicted king commands the worship of the one true God.
Nebuchadnezzar saw God. He saw His protection. He saw His power. He saw the results of His power. And look what else he saw: "They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God." Faith in the fire gets people's attention.
King Nebuchadnezzar's entire perspective shifted when he caught a glimpse of the one true God, both as a figure in the fire and in the faith of those who refused to bow to another. This is an ongoing thread woven throughout the tapestry of Scripture. We'll see it again and again as we visit other characters in God's story. And if we are looking, we'll see it again and again as we turn new pages in our own stories. There is always something new of God to see. There is always some change in us He can make so that we are, once again, never the same. And there is always something of God others can see in us so that they, too, can never be the same again.
* * * * * *
God, when I feel as though the only people in the fire are me, myself, and I, give me spiritual eyes to see that You are the fourth person in the fire with me. Give me faith in the fire so that others can see You. And having seen You, may we declare together with new conviction, "No other god can save in this way."
King Nebuchadnezzar's entire perspective shifted when he caught a glimpse of the one true God, both as a figure in the fire and in the faith of those who refused to bow to another. This is an ongoing thread woven throughout the tapestry of Scripture. We'll see it again and again as we visit other characters in God's story. And if we are looking, we'll see it again and again as we turn new pages in our own stories. There is always something new of God to see. There is always some change in us He can make so that we are, once again, never the same. And there is always something of God others can see in us so that they, too, can never be the same again.
* * * * * *
God, when I feel as though the only people in the fire are me, myself, and I, give me spiritual eyes to see that You are the fourth person in the fire with me. Give me faith in the fire so that others can see You. And having seen You, may we declare together with new conviction, "No other god can save in this way."
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!