The Three Hebrew Boys

(Dan 3:15 CEV)  “Now I am going to give you one more chance. If you bow down and worship the statue when you hear the music, everything will be all right. But if you don’t, you will at once be thrown into a flaming furnace.  No god can save you from me.”

This morning we continue our new series entitled, “Faith and Patience VOL III – Never Give Up!”  As I was praying over whom to write about I could not think of a better example of standing in faith, in the midst of seemingly insurmountable circumstances, and then when given the opportunity to give up and back down, these boys refused to do it.  The are commonly referred to as “The three Hebrew Boys.”  Their Hebraic names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, but the names they used while under Babylonian captivity were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

In Daniel chapter 3 king Nebuchadnezzar ordered a gold statue to be built.  When it was done it was 90ft. high and 9ft. wide.  It was setup in the Dura Valley near Babylon and the kind ordred his governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, and the other officials to come from everywhere in his kingdom to celebrate the dedication of the statue.  This was a huge event.  When all were present, an official stood up and announced that music would soon start playing and that when they heard the music, everyone was required to bow down and worship the statue.  Anyone who refused would be immediately thrown into a flaming furnace.  As soon as the people heard the music, they bowed down and worshiped as commanded.  However, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego understood that they were captives in Babylon, but they refused to comprise their faith.  As Jews, they knew they could not bow down and worship any other God but Jehovah.  Because of their faithfulness to God they had been tremendously blessed, even while under captivity.  Sure enough, they refused to bow.

A group of Babylonians – not happy about the treatment Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been getting – reported the incident to the king.  ere looking for an opportunity to accuse the three Hebrew boys.  They approached the king and said, “Sir, you have appointed three men to high positions in Babylon Province, but they have disobeyed you. Those Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to worship your gods and the statue you have set up.”  King Nebuchadnezzar was furious and confronted the three boys.  He said, “I hear that you refuse to worship my gods and the gold statue I have set up.  I am going to give you one more chance.  If you bow down and worship the statue when you hear the music, everything will be all right.  But if you don’t, you will at once be thrown into a flaming furnace.  No god can save you from me.”  That last statement made by Nebuchadnezzar must have stirred up their faith, because they said, “Your Majesty, we don’t need to defend ourselves.  The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace.  But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up.”  We will stop here for today.

So what does this mean to you today?  A few things:

1.  In this world we will face difficult situations (Jn 16:33) – they were facing death.

2.  Some will envy your prosperity and success – they were promoted to high positions.

3.  When given another chance to compromise, don’t! – they stood strong.

4.  Don’t allow anyone to dishonor your faith or your God – Nebuchadnezzar said that no god could save them from him, basically placing himself over their God.

5.  Face every attack head on – being a Christian does not mean that you need to be a wimp.

6.  Know that God fights for us – they said that they did not need to defend themselves.  In other words, they did not need to fight this battle, God would do it for them.

7.  Know that God is able to handle your situation – they said, “the God we worship can, and that’s the bottom-line.  God was more than capable of handling their situation and He is more than capable to handle yours!

Closing Confession:  Father, I operate in faith in every area of my life.  I stand confidently on the fact that You have already overcome the world and I overcome the world by faith.  I am prosperous because I honor You in all my ways and You bless the work of my hands.  I ignore those that covet Your favor upon my life.  I will never compromise my faith, regardless of the situation.  I face every attack head on.  I am covered by Your blood, anointed by Your Spirit, and called according to Your purpose for my life.  Nothing can stop me.  I am a child of the Most High God and I know that My God is able to handle every situation that comes my way this day and every day.  I confidently stand on my faith and I refuse to quit!  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

This is Today’s Word!  Apply it and Prosper!