Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego

The account of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in scripture inspires me so much. Those men of God had exemplary faith which confronted kings of their generation so that they had to make a decree to allow worship of the true Almighty God. These men of God held on to their faith even in the hardest and most jeopardising times that they went through. “An accusation was levelled against Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego against their faith: ‘There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you and they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you set up” (Dan 3v12).

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were brought before king Nebuchadnezzar. They refused to bow down to the golden image he had set up. The king ordered the men of God to be thrown into the burning furnace whose temperature was raised to the highest possible. God sent an angel to rescue the men of God, so that not even a hair of their heads was scorched.

Daniel also went through a similar situation in the reign of king Darius when he was appointed as the distinguished president above all other presidents: then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint or fault, because he was faithful. Daniel’s adversary managed to falsely accuse him. Finally, Daniel was cast into the den of lions, but God sent an angel to rescue him. The angel shut the lions’ mouths so that Daniel was not hurt (Dan 6).

Now let us reflect on the good results of the exemplary faith of these men: “King Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that every people, nation and language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other god, that can deliver after this sort” (Dan 3:29). King Darius also made a decree, that in every dominion of his kingdom, people tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.

We still have idols or golden images even in this generation: technology, science, politics, terrorism and many more which seem to solve problems faced by human kind. Some bow down to them, but God wants us to have great faith even in the hardest and jeopardizing moment. We should stand out and hold on to the original faith in God to show the world the true God. Let us preach the gospel to the world and people will turn to worshipping the true Almighty God, then when the number of the elect is made up, Jesus will come to establish his Kingdom.

Bro Christoper Mwewa (Chambishi, Zambia)