30Then
the king caused to prosper Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of
Babel.
What an amazing conclusion to this frightful day in the
lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! What was supposed to be the day of
their brutal executions instead turns into a day of honor and promotion.
As I have translated above, the Aramaic is literally
something like “Then the king caused to prosper Shadrach, …” The “caused to
prosper” gets translated often as “promoted,” which would be a reasonable choice
to convey the idea. As I ponder it, I suppose the “caused to prosper” could
have simply been a huge raise, or maybe he gave them a palatial mansion to live
in, or perhaps a really hot chariot to ride around in. But then, I don’t think “promoted”
is a bad choice. Even if it was just a huge raise, it’s still the boss showing
them unusual favor. I will use “promoted” as it definitely expresses the
general idea of the word in our modern way of thinking (especially if we’ll
allow the word to include all the other unusual expressions of a boss’s
approval).
Once again, it’s time to ponder the unimaginable kindness of
our God. He knew it all along. He knew what He was going to do. He knew in the
morning when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego got up. He knew while
Nebuchadnezzar was raging at them. He knew as they were being carried up the
ramp and thrown over the edge. He knew all along that rather than this being
the day of their deaths, it would be a day that ended with them being promoted!
I suspect Satan always thinks he’s winning. He thought he
was winning when he moved the wicked to crucify Jesus. It even looked like he was winning! But the fact
is God always wins. Just like through
the Cross, all day every day, God is winning. Our God is winning. It says in Eph 2:6,7 that “God raised us up
with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in
order that He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His
kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” Notice the “the incomparable riches of His
grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” “Kindness.” What God
is doing in my life and yours all day every day is displaying “for the ages to
come” His kindness to us. Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego had to go through an awful trial of their faith, but it
was all a kindness!
I personally think that is worth pondering. I know it is
true of myself (and I suspect everyone else) that we tend to fear the future.
There are a hundred million ways “tomorrow” can turn into a complete disaster ... “and it probably will,” we tell ourselves.
The basic forecast, we think, is negative.
But wait a minute! Our God runs this universe and He says the plan is all day
every day for Him to display to the world in our lives “the incomparable riches
of His grace, expressed in His kindness toward us.” The truth is, no matter
what our future holds, it will be God’s kindness – just like Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego found out. Nebuchadnezzar was possibly the most powerful king in
all of human history. The idol was ninety feet tall. The fire was “seven times”
hotter than normal. But none of that could stop our God from showing His kindness
to and through Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And though Satan and all the
forces of evil should marshal themselves against you and me, and though we may
suffer, and though they may even appear to be winning, there is one truth they
cannot change: our God is kind.
It’s crazy to think that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
could have actually gotten up that morning excited to see what the Lord would
be up to that day. They could have even been thrilled to be carried up the ramp
and thrown in the fire! If they could have totally trusted in the riches of our
God’s kindness, they could have actually enjoyed it all! I don’t know if any of
us live long enough or learn to trust the Lord enough to actually anticipate
His kindness all day every day, to actually look at life with a totally positive forecast. We could and we
should. He deserves it. I hope having studied Daniel 3, I can do a better job
of giving Him that kind of trust. I want to. Kindness – that’s the forecast!
I also want to note the paradox expressed in the words, “…
in the province of Babylon.” Where were they promoted? “… in the province of
Babylon.” Note, as I translated above it is literally, “the province of Babel.”
Babylon is none other than that ancient city, the enemy of God. In a sense, all
of human history has been a “Tale of two cities” – Jerusalem vs. Babel. The City
of God vs. the city of Satan. And where do our friends live? In the city of
Satan. They live in the very place that symbolizes rebellion against God. And how
do they fare there? Well, they get thrown in a furnace (not surprisingly), but
in the end they get promoted. They
get honored! Isn’t it crazy that even in the very city of Babel itself, it’s
still true, “Them that honor Me, I will honor.” Even when believers find themselves
having to live in Babel itself, Jesus still says, “Be thou faithful unto death,
and I will give thee the crown of life.”
As parents we often fear for our children, knowing that they
live in Babel. We try to shelter them in our homes but as they walk out the
door, whether to school or to work, or even just to a friend’s house, we know
they live in Babel. Babel surrounds them and allures them with its golden cup
and unfortunately too many fall for its lies. But the fact is it can be done.
Believers can live in Babel, be faithful to their God, and still prosper. One
can only imagine the grief of our guys’ parents, knowing that their young sons
were being carried to perhaps the most wicked place on the face of the earth.
But little could they have known those very boys would rise up to show the world
the greatness of our God … and actually prosper! I hope somehow the story of
the boys’ faith got back to their parents! How proud they would have been!
You or I may feel like the place we live or the place where
we work is Babel itself. But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego teach us it can be
done. We can trust our God and be faithful to Him. Our hope is not that somehow
we can shelter ourselves from it. Sometimes people want to work in a “Christian”
business hoping somehow to shelter themselves from a lot this world’s evil …
and maybe sometimes they can. But that actually is not our hope. Our hope is
that, even if we seem to have no choice but to live and work in Babel itself,
we can still be faithful to God and we can still prosper! Jesus clearly said, “My
prayer is not that You would take them out of the world but that You protect
them from evil” (John 17:15). That is the hope for each of us and it is the
hope for our children. It can be
done.
Even if we have no choice but to live and work in Babel
itself, the forecast is still kindness.
Lord, give us grace to trust in Your kindness. May our faith
in Your kindness make us faithful.
No comments:
Post a Comment