But Even If He Doesn’t…
Lessons from Exile: Dan 3 Lent week 2 Mar 4, 2012
Intro:
How big a deal do you think sin actually is?
This is the second Sunday of Lent, and we continue our journey to the cross and the empty tomb together. This is a season of repentance, but with that comes joy. I’ve been thinking about how Lent sometimes becomes morose; sometimes even our celebration of communion becomes a little bit heavy, we talk about sin and the mood gets a little depressing, sometimes almost defeatist. Should it be like that? Yes, sin is serious business. Yes, conviction is unpleasant (to say the least). Yes, sometimes we need to squirm as the Holy Spirit speaks to us of things that need to change. And yes, as your pastor who loves you sometimes I need to stand up here and say, God says don’t live like that. It will hurt you. Stop it. Repent, already!
But. To stop there is sort of like paying for the plane ticket, going to all the work to book a hotel, reserve a car, plan a bunch of things to do, but then staying home feeling all depressed because of how much money it cost and how much time it took to look up those places and choose those things. Crazy, right? Yes! Just as crazy as only looking at sin – how much it cost, how much time it lost, how depressing it is. Or just as defeatist as only staying at the cross and never going to the empty tomb. See, the point is that conviction of sin is good because it leads us to repentance, repentance leads to freedom, and freedom leads us to joy.
Let me take it a step further: getting rid of existing sin, and then choosing not to sin, is by far the best way to live. Honestly. Everything else is a hideous lie. And yes, that means that a whole lot of the messages of our popular culture are hideous lies: have lots of sex and you will be happy (and if you can’t, just use pornography, that’s almost as good!) – LIE!! get lots of money, and you will be happy – LIE!! pursue everything you want and when you get it you will be happy – LIE!! be skinny, and you will be happy – LIE!! have a big house and a fancy car and pretty friends and the latest gadget, and then you will be happy – LIE!! Those do not bring happiness; actually they bring death. When those are the types of things we pursue, they kill our soul, our capacity to love and be loved, and our ability to accept and embrace that which truly brings life. And, to be really honest with you, I hate those things because I see, all too clearly, in myself and in others like you whom I love, how those things bring death and pain rather than the happiness they so easily promise.
Getting rid of sin, and then choosing not to sin, is by far the best way to live.
Let me approach this from a slightly different direction: If you stop and reflect on the moments in your life when you have been most alive, most intensely full of joy, most full of life, most deeply satisfied in the depth of your being, what moments would you identify? I know it is not going to be when you were looking at porn, had $1000 in your hand, were skinny, or when you got some possession. Whatever thrill those may have brought were temporary, fleeting, and disappointing. I am quite confident, instead, those moments in life were times when you experienced the presence and love of God in relationship with Him and in loving relationships with others. When sin was far away. When you were close to Him. Awake to His presence. Maybe like the three main characters in our story.
Dan 3 (NLT):
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. 3 So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then a herald shouted out, People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. 6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.
7 So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
8 But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, Long live the king! 10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments. 11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.
19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. 23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.
24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?
Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did, they replied.
25 Look! Nebuchadnezzar shouted. I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.
The Sin:
The story is a Sunday School favorite: it’s got all kinds of drama, a great climax, an incredible miracle, a king’s reversal.
But there is a whole lot more to it than just a great story. That you’ve heard a bunch of times before.
First let’s talk about the sin and the choice. The sin was obvious, idolatry, expressly forbidden in the first two of the ten commandments. The 3 Jews knew that, and knew it well. Their choice was simple: bow to the idol, or get thrown in the blazing furnace (which was most likely there and had been used to melt all the gold needed to clad the statue). It was sin and live; or obey God and die. And that choice was pretty clear right from the beginning.
Or was that really the choice? If they chose to bow to the idol, would they really live? Yes; physically. But what would that blatant disobedience to the two most important commandments of their faith, which had been taught and rehearsed and drummed into them since their earliest days, have done to their spirits? It would have crushed their identity as children of the living God in exile, it would have been a rejection of their nation and their God and their identity, it would have been making the same choice they had watched their forefathers make while Jeremiah prophesied ruin for disobedience to God, the choice to abandon God.
This, I think, is what we often fail to see is the real choice. We think the choice is to commit a little harmless sin or else deny ourselves some pleasure. But that is another part of the lie, that the little harmless sin is actually little and harmless. The scorpion is a nice little pet who does no harm. The choice is actually to obey God and live , the abundant, joyful, purposeful, meaningful, significant, powerful life that God desires for us or else to choose sin that starts to kill off parts of our souls, numbing them, lulling us to sleep, isolating us from God and from healthy relationships with others.
But the story still seems out of reach for us. No one has a fiery furnace pointed at our heads if we don’t bow down and worship an 90 foot tall gold statue of some other God. Idolatry, we think, is such an old testament sin and doesn’t really apply anymore to us.
Another great big lie. An idol is anything that is more important to us than God. Is there anything that is more important to you than God? Anything that you spend more time thinking about? More time pursuing? More time trying to get? Anything that is more important to you to please than it is to please God? Anything that tells you how to live, which you follow and obey more than God? That is your idol. We could list a bunch: money would be at the top of the list for many; and with it all the lifestyle issues. Career. Social standing. Pleasure. Comfort. Anything that you and I spend more time or place more importance on than God – anything that you and I love more than God – that is our 90 foot statue that we bow before. That is our idol. And idolatry is just as deadly a sin for us today as it was for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Because it does the exact same thing: it rejects our true identity as the adopted, loved, forgiven children of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Response:
I love the choice these 3 guys make: O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.
They get it. They understand that spiritual death is worse than physical death. So they look straight in the face of the most powerful man on their earth and say, no.
And, they get thrown in the furnace. There is something really important here for us. Obedience to God does not keep us out of the furnace. How do you think they felt being dragged up there by the strongest soldiers in the army? Crying out to God to save them maybe? Terrified? Losing bladder control? We know the end of the story so we picture them all calm and serene and accepting. I don’t think so! They didn’t know, they even said even if he doesn’t save us. And they were not spared being thrown in the furnace. They were dragged up. They were thrown in.
Obedience to God does not keep us out of the furnace. It does not mean we will never struggle, never suffer, never be afraid.
But what happens to the 3 guys happens to us as well. When we choose obedience instead of sin, God comes alongside.
There is a bit of an academic debate ; who was the fourth person in the furnace? To me, it is a no-brainer. It is Jesus. Immanuel, God with us. They met Jesus in the furnace. After they had obeyed, as they experienced the attempt to burn them to a crisp, in the middle of the terror and horror, they met Jesus.
Now, I must say this. There is a difference between suffering because we are obedient to God, and getting thrown into the furnace by someone else and suffering because we have disobeyed, rejected God’s command, and lived life for ourselves and our own pleasure. That is the suffering and death that comes from sin, which I was talking about earlier. That suffering is of our own doing. That is us looking at the furnace and saying, it doesn’t look so bad. All my friends are doing it, I think I’ll jump on in and see if I like it.
Don’t expect Jesus to meet you in that fiery furnace. Why should He? In that case, we turned and walked away. He stood outside and said don’t go there, don’t do that, you are going to get burned, but we went anyway. We looked Jesus in the face and said, duly noted; I think I’ll do it my way. We looked up at our own 90 foot idol, most likely it being our own desire to be in control of our own lives, and bowed. Why should we expect Jesus to meet us in the fiery furnace when we threw ourselves in?
We shouldn’t expect to meet Jesus there, but He comes anyway. Did you notice in the story that Nebuchadnezzar gave the 3 guys a second chance? The jealous astrologers tattle on them, and Nebuchadnezzar hauls them up, and gives them a second chance.
So does Jesus. It is the reverse: the 3 guys did not sin, so Nebuchadnezzar gave them another chance to sin. With Jesus, it is the reverse: we did sin, but Jesus gives us the chance to repent and be forgiven. In essence, He joins us in our suffering from our sinful choices and says would you like to end this? would you like to be free? would you like to be forgiven? Jesus comes down into the fiery furnace we jumped into, joins us in the suffering, and offers us another chance. He invites us to repent. Bow to me, instead of yourself. Live life as I command, not according to your fleeting desires that will bring you death. Live life as I command, because it is the best way to live.
It is clear that all of us will suffer. Sometimes because of our sin; sometimes because of our obedience. Either way, the response is the same: we need to grab hold of Jesus. We need to cling. We need to hang on for our very lives. We need to repent of all sin – every bit, and then bow our knee to the One and Only God, who knows all, forgives all, heals all, and redeems all.
Let’s take a few moments of quiet preparation leading into communion. Find Jesus, grab hold, bury your face in his shoulder, release your sin, and accept His forgiveness and life. Let it pour into you.
Remember how the story ends? Nebuchadnezzar calls them out of the fire: 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
Sounds like a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy:
1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
4 you are precious and honored in my sight,
and I love you
I invite you to come and receive communion this morning from that place. As a stepping out, as a response to being summoned by name, as a choice to reject every idol and bow only to the Lord Jesus. Let us not stay in the morose place, heavy and sad, but rather let us step out into joy, awaken into power and life, with those words of power echoing in your ears and in the depths of your spirit: you are precious and honored in my sight, and I love you.
Prayer for communion, invitation.
