I am with you always (IV)

Daniel and his three Hebrew friends were very forthright persons. Even though they were slaves in Babylon, they held their heads high and stood up to be counted for God. They were resolute in their determination to serve the living God only and not bow down to any idol.

It was not going to be easy to live a life that ran against the grain of society. However, the Hebrew boys knew whom they believed. They surely had experiential knowledge of God, and were assured of His abiding presence always. It was only that kind of assurance that could elicit the confident reply that they gave the king when people conspired against them and they faced the danger of death.

The three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) were asked to bow down to an idol or be thrown into the fire. They replied:

Daniel 3: 16 – 18 …“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

In fulfillment of what we read in Psalm 23, verse 4 (Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me…), we note that God’s presence became manifest once the three Hebrew boys came under the threat of the enemy. Nebuchadnezzar himselflater exclaimed,

Daniel 3: 24 – 25 …“Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”…“Look! …I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

God’s abiding presence rescued the three from fire.

At another time, the detractors of Daniel also set him up for death. They had tried and tried to implicate him, but they could not, until one of them came up with the wicked idea that they should trap Daniel using the matter of his God. So, they conned the king into making a law that made Daniel’s daily prayer a crime, and promptly they brought Daniel in for judgment, much to the king’s regret.

They threw Daniel into the lions’ den and went to bed, believing that Daniel would end up as dinner for the lions. However, in the morning when the troubled king hurried back to the den and called Daniel, he was pleasantly surprised to hear Daniel’s voice. What was Daniel’s explanation to King Darius?

Daniel 6: 21 – 22 …“O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me…”

You too, do not fear the enemy. God’s abiding presence shall preserve you always.

To be continued.