You all probably remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. That’s the famous trio who go into the fiery furnace in Babylon and come out smelling like a rose. I felt led by the Lord to review that old Sunday school story again today as an extreme example of living out the Peacemaking principles we have been learning the last eight weeks. It’s a long story so rather than read it and then get into the sermon the text is incorporated into the message as a running commentary. 

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. In Daniel chapter 2, Daniel had interpreted the king’s troublesome dream about a statue that was gold at the top, then silver underneath, bronze beneath that and clay mixed with iron at the bottom. This dream statue foretold the coming of three other kingdoms after Nebuchadnezzar’s gold one. There may be a link here, a suggestion that the king later made this entirely Gold statue to proclaim an everlasting kingdom and ultimately defy God who had said his reign would end!

Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace."

We see here that the statue was being used as a test of allegiance to the king. This adds to the idea of the king trying to establish his rule unending. He intended to secure his kingdom by discovering any enemies who would not cooperate with his efforts to unite the nations under a single religion. He was willing to use religion to strengthen his grip on political power. Funny though, any really traitorous persons plotting the king’s end would easily bow down to this idol, only pretending to be loyal, as all true traitors do before they hatch their plans.

Now the conflict begins. The faithful Jews will of course refuse to worship such an idol, being faithful only to the one true God of the universe. One wonders how many Jews avoided trouble by bowing down to this idol and asking for God’s forgiveness, praying things like, “You know I don’t really mean it God but what else can I do to save my life from this evil king?” At this time some astrologers came forward and denounced the Jews. They said “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego pay no attention to you, O king.  They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."

Bravely, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego must have decided that it is better to honor God publically, even at the risk of their lives, rather than to save their lives by hiding their true faith behind a show of allegiance to a false God. This reminds me very much of Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:24-26, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny- himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

So there they stand, in conflict with the king’s edict. They must have been thinking, “We must obey God rather than men.” But notice that our three faithful heroes have not lodged a formal protest. They didn’t go to the king and complain. They just refrained from sin and went on quietly doing the right thing. However, they weren’t hidden either.  They must have been in the crowd, but with so many thousands in attendance, it would have been easy to overlook them, except that certain astrologers or Chaldeans near them decided to tattle. These tattle tales would have been politically motivated, jealous of the three Jews in high government positions on Daniel’s recommendation after he was honored for correctly interpreting the king’s dream back in chapter 2.

These three Hebrew men must have known they would be discovered, yet they obeyed God rather than man. A great preacher named Charles Spurgeon once said, “You will not be able to go through life without being discovered: a lighted candle cannot be hid. There is a feeling among some good people that it will be wise to be very reticent, and hide their light under a bushel. They intend to lie low all the war time, and come out when the palms are being distributed. They hope to travel to heaven by the back lanes, and skulk into glory in disguise. Ah me, what a degenerate set!”

Spurgeon’s commentary is about Christians who are supposed to be the light of the world, looking for bushel baskets to hide in so they do not have to face the heat of opposition. But Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not engage in any escape or avoidance response to this extremely dangerous conflict. They also didn’t go on the attack as we have seen. They didn’t even gossip or complain as far as we know. They were careful to do the right thing, bravely and without making a show of it. But sometimes, even when we do the right thing, worldly people can have a bad reaction and turn up the heat. This is because our response to a conflict does not always make the conflict go away. The other person also has to respond to the conflict, and they may employ the avoidance or attack responses.

Look at what happened. Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar attacked. He summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  To his credit, Nebuchadnezzar did not accept the accusation on hearsay. He made sure of it with a personal interview. "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" 

This was an even greater test for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  It is one thing to make a stand for God; it is a greater thing to stick to your stand when pointedly asked, “Is it true?” Peter could follow Jesus after His arrest, but he wilted and denied Jesus when asked, “Is it true?”  

Now Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego take center stage, to be held accountable for the decision they have made. How are they going to handle this dangerous situation? Now that they stand face to face with the king, they could avoid the problem by saying something like, “Oh king we don’t know where you heard that wild story, of course it’s not true. We will bow down to the idol.” If they give in to the demand they will save their lives.  This is a great temptation we all face, though to a lesser degree. We don’t want to make waves. We don’t want to upset people.  We want to be nice so it is very tempting to back down and change our response in a bid for peace. But that is not peacemaking. We might call it peace faking. It is the typical display of the avoidance response.

 They might have said, “There is nothing to gain by resisting; wouldn’t we do more good by living?” It is easy to say, “we must live,” but in reality, we all must die - so why not die making a stand for God? They might have said, “We are in a different place; in Rome, do as the Romans do.”  Yet they knew that God has unlimited jurisdiction.  We must do more than “perform” acts of religious obedience when we have an audience. They might have said, “We will lose our jobs and our standard of living.” Often when God blesses us we make the blessing an idol and compromise God to keep what we have. They might have said, “After all, we are not being called to renounce our God.”  They did not have a super-elastic conscience that said “we are not bowing down to the idol, but in respect for the king, or to the music.” Excuses like this are common but prove the principle that anything will serve as an excuse, when the heart is bent on compromise.

They might have said, “Everybody else is doing it.” Instead they cultivated brave personalities, willing to stand alone with God. They might have said, “It is only for once, and not for very long. Ten minutes, just for the king. It is stupid to throw our lives away for ten minutes.” These men knew that ten minutes could change an entire life. Ten minutes can chart the course for your eternity. They might have said, “This is more than can be expected of us; God will understand just this once.” It is true that God understands our struggle with sin - that is why He loves the sinner and made provision at the cross for freedom from the penalty, power, and presence of sin.  Knowing that “God understands” should be a spur to obedience, not a license to sin.

The world says, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” And many of us would like to take that advice and back out of the kitchen in order to get out of hot water. But that advice is not really saying that we should leave.  It is simply pointing out that to stay involved in the conflict might cost us some personal comfort. But what we should be learning from our peacemaking principles is that when the issue is important enough, such as honoring God and trusting him to see us through, if we do get out of the kitchen, we may find ourselves in rebellion against God’s will.

 Our three heroes hung in there with a very gracious s and truthful answer. They did not back down and they also did not attack the king. Just think how brave they could have been to go on the attack and maybe call the king a pagan tyrant and tell him to his face that his idol was an abomination and a mockery of truth. They could have railed against him for passing the unfair law that was so intolerant of other people’s beliefs. You might realize that it wouldn’t have been a very smart move, because he was a cruel dictator king who would just get angrier and definitely have them thrown into the furnace. But then, that would have been the same thing that happened after how they did handle it, so what’s the difference?

The difference is that the angry response demanding their rights would have been the attack response, and perhaps God would have let them burn up for that because it would have been all focused on them judging the king. But our heroes gave the best possible response under the circumstances. They simply restated their reason for their decision and their confidence in God who commands this kind of allegiance and could deliver them as a reward for their faithfulness. Listen to what they said.

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

Why didn’t they need to defend themselves? Because in reality they hadn’t done anything wrong. And what they had done, they would not deny or refute. Then they spoke the truth about the reality. “Our God is real and he is stronger than any powerful human like you o king and he is able to deliver us.” They didn’t angrily demand their rights. Instead they praised God! They placed their full trust and faith in God’s ability to save them from Nebuchadnezzar, either in this life or the next. For they said, “even if our God does not save us from the fire, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

Their allegiance and loyalty is firm and bravely stated, without fear and hopefully even with a little joy! They really showed how much they love God. The men show they have a good understanding and appreciation of submission to God. They know God’s power, but they also know that they must do what is right even if God does not do what they expect or hope Him to do. They recognized that God’s plan might be different than their desires. I have my own desires and dreams and I pray that God fulfills them.  But if He doesn’t, I can’t turn my back on Him. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego surrendered themselves completely to God - body, soul, and spirit. It was the kind of submission Paul wrote of in Romans 12:1: present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

You know how they say true love is willing to swim through shark infested waters for the beloved? Well, these three were willing to be thrown into a fiery furnace rather than stop loving their God. We can imagine the enormous pressure on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to compromise. Everything in front of them - the king, the furnace, the music, their compatriots, their competitors - all of it conspired to convince them to compromise. Yet God was more real to them than any of those things. “Do not judge the situation by the king’s threat and by the heat of the burning fiery furnace, but judge it by the everlasting God and the eternal life which awaits you. Let not flute, harp, or any instruments of music fascinate you, but hearken to the music of the glorified God. Men frown at you, but you can see God smiling on you, and so you are not moved.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed.  Sometimes the right response that honors God enrages those who do not want to honor God but would rather have themselves honored by having you give in to them. Nebuchadnezzar could not afford to lose face on this important occasion. His pride made him declare, “You shall have no other Gods before me.” The angry king with his fiery hot temper ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie them up and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

It was the moment of truth. Our three heroes were tested by fire and found to be pure gold! They were willing to take the heat.  Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
      They replied, "Certainly, O king."

He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."  It is astonishing that anyone survived for a moment inside the furnace when others perished at the door. The fourth person was of course recognized as a son of God, even by a pagan king. It was none other than the Lord Jesus. The story doesn’t say whether or not Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego knew Jesus was with them.  And similarly when we are in a hot spot, we might not be aware of Jesus presence with our senses, but surely he is with us always.

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!  Come here!"
      So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and everybody crowded around them.  They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.  The trial had no power over these men because they were thoroughly submitted to the power and will of God. Even before the time of Jesus they knew the truth of Jesus promise: In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Similarly, when we endure conflicts by employing the peacemaking principles we have been learning, we can endure fiery trials and know how to behave even when we are dealing with people who do not live by the same principles. Sometimes, our good and loving behavior in such circumstances will sufficiently impress the one with whom we are in conflict. This reminds me of the story we heard in last week’s Sunday school video about the man who brought an extension cord to minister to a neighbor who had lost power in her house and she had been angry in a conflict with him, but his loving act softened her heart.

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."

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Here we have a case study in biblical peacemaking! That clearly shows how God’s way of dealing with conflict will require us to trust in Him. Doing things God’s way does not always look safe! Shadrach Meshach and Abednego faithfully and bravely stood up and held fast to their position without using either of the slippery slope responses talked about by peacemaker ministries.

Here is something I noticed about the slippery slope image form peacemakers with the attack or escape responses. Those two extremes are the same as the animal world’s fight or flight responses. In other words, our natural responses to conflict are based on instincts that we share with the animal world. Without Christ, we respond to conflict in much the same ways that animals would, with just a bit more sophistication and subtlety. But in the power of the Spirit we are enabled by God’s grace to live above our animal instincts.

Let’s also look at the four G’s. Did the heroes have to get a log out of their own eyes? Well it’s not included in the story but what log could have been there? Pride might have induced them to stand up for their rights and take the attack response option. Fear might have led them to employ the avoidance response. But these logs must have already been removed.

Glorify God? It’s obvious! The men held fast because they believed God could deliver them and they said so, praising God publically and proclaiming that their faith in him was the reason they acted as they did definitely glorified God!

Gently restore? Not much chance to do that? In their minds Nebuchadnezzar was obviously sinning by being interested in idol worship. But how could they tell him not to? Nevertheless, their manner was gentle in its bravery because they did not go on the attack. And their faith was rewarded and the king was put in his place under the mighty God. He still didn’t have a personal relationship with God, but at least he moved away from demanding worship of himself. That is something of a restoration to sanity.

Go and be reconciled? They went into the furnace! Not a likely path to reconciliation! But that is what God had in mind. And it did lead to reconciliation between them and the king. 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego fully trusted in God in order to handle this situation the way they did. They were not just talking about God and faith. They depended If you can’t believe that God is all powerful and all loving, you of course will not trust him to be involved in your conflicts. You will handle things in your own way instead of his way because his way will always require you to trust him. on it.

Remember, nothing happens by chance to a believer. God is sovereignly in control of all things. Remember He knows the number of hairs on your head and not even a sparrow falls to the ground without him knowing about it and caring. We may not foresee the future or fully understand the reasons for the fiery trials we may encounter, but trusting does not require understanding.

To truly live by peacemaking principles we must trust God. This will not always result in what we think of as success. But it will always glorify God and that is success! This takes faith. Love God and you will trust him. What could cause you to love him so? Think of Jesus and all he has done on the cross for your sake. He loved you enough to go through the fiery trial of the cross so that you and He could be reconciled by your faith in His work. Love Him back for all the love he bears for you. Believe in him and find that you are able to trust in Him.