nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “blessed be the God of shadrach, meshach, and abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own god. therefore i make a decree: any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of shadrach, meshach, and abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” [daniel 3:28-29]
trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
it will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones. [proverbs 3:5-6]
being from a high-born families, daniel and his companions likely had access to many of the writings of the old testament: the law and wisdom written by david and solomon. these must have been a great comfort as they experienced the fire–nebuchadnezzar remarks “his servants, who trusted in him”–what was that basis of trust?–probably their reliance on the word of God, the demonstration of his glory and power shown in scripture. this is why the word is so precious to us–it is the living, breathing, razor-sharp testimony to God’s power.
we want understanding in this chaotic world, and we should (see proverbs 4:5-9), but true wisdom is eternal, lasting wisdom that we can gain by knowing, loving and saturating in the word.
nebuchadnezzar preserves these young men and gives them a high position, and even glorifies God when he sees this great work, but these men know that if God would have allowed them to die, he would still be in control, sovereign and just based on what they know from the word. let us pray for healing for our weary flesh and refreshment for our bones today, let us be humble and turn away from evil by trusting our Savior, Jesus Christ, by knowing him by resting in his presence, gratefully reading and trusting the word!
~ce